How To Turn Off Your Electricity
If you need to turn off all electricity (e.g. because of water penetration), use the main ON/OFF switch on the electricity consumer unit (fuse box).
Checking your fuse box Modern electric circuits are fitted with a circuit breaker fuse system. If a fault develops, a switch is tripped. If you have a trip switch, it will be on or near your fuse box, your fuse box will always be near to your electricity meter. You should always locate your trip switch and fuse box when you first move into a property – before an emergency occurs. Your trip switch should have a ‘push to test’ or a ‘reset’ button.
Switches can trip for a number of reasons:
– An over loaded circuit – too many electrical appliances used at once
– A faulty appliance
– Over filled kettle
– Faulty connections on appliance leads
– Faulty immersion heater
If a switch has tripped because of one of these reasons, you should flick it back on and then re plug items one by one. If the switch trips again, you will know that that par ticular item is faulty.
Troubleshooting: Switch ON If a switch is on, then turn it off and back on – the mechanism can trip inside the box but not move the actual switch. If this does not restore the supply then push the ‘push to test’ button. If the switch now trips it means you have a problem with your wiring or perhaps a faulty appliance as this button can only trip the switch if you have a good electricity supply. The switch will now be in the off position. This is a problem within your home, so do not call your supplier. You will need to call a qualified electrician to come out and fix the problem.
If the switch is on and the ‘push to test’ button doesn’t trip the switch, this means that there is no incoming electricity supply so you will need to call your suppliers emergency line.
Troubleshooting: Switch OFF If when you go to the box, a trip switch is off, then you should flick it back on. If it stays on but you still have no electricity, then make sure you have not switched off the main fuse box switch. If the switch trips straight away then it means you have a problem with your wiring – you should call out a qualified electrician to look into this.
If the fuse box and trip switch are separate then turn off the fuse box and turn the trip switch back on – it should stay on. If it flicks to off again then there is a fault with the fuse box or trip switch itself.
Troubleshooting: When a switch is tripped Open the cover on the consumer unit to expose the trip switches. Check which switches have tripped to the OFF position and put them back to the ON position. For more detail, refer to any user manual supplied.
Plugs: Overloaded circuits are common causes of a trip or blown fuse. Therefore do not overload plug sockets by using multiple plug adaptors.
