That’s right, there are some of us that either don’t sleep or are prepared to answer the phone in the middle of the night and go out to a stranger’s home to fix their electrical problems 😊
If you need a 24-HOUR ELECTRICIAN IN LIVERPOOL then give us a call. We will bail out and fix the issue, make it safe, get your power back on and if necessary, re-attend for further works within a couple of days.
Electrical Problems
All sorts of electrical emergencies can occur at all times of day and night and that is why we operate our emergency electrician service. Most commonly issues occur during the day when we tend to use our electrical system the most but just because we are sleeping does not mean that electrical problems will not occur.
Our fridges and freezers can go faulty at night, water can enter our electrical cabling, wiring system or electrical accessories if there is a lot of rain, groundwater or perhaps a leak.
Common Emergency Electrical Problems include:
- Smell of electrical burning
- Lights are flickering
- Electrical items feel hot to the touch (no not your oven 😊)
- Crackling Sounds from Electrics
- Burnt Plug Socket
- Earthing Problems
- Switch Tripping
- Overloaded Circuits
- Electric Shock
Smell of electrical burning
The smell of electrical burning is unmistakeable, it is a fishy, plastic sort of chemical smell. The smell occurs when plastics and PVC begins to overheat, melts, and gives off fumes. If you can smell this odour in your home then it is likely that there are serious electrical problems developing behind the scenes.
Try to ascertain the location of the smell and have an electrician come and investigate this for you immediately. Do not attempt to carry out wiring repairs on your own as there are testing requirements that can only be fulfilled by an electrician to certify the repair and circuit are safe.
Lights are flickering
When lights begin to flicker it is often a sign that there are electrical issues that need attention. Flickering lights are a sign that there are electrical disturbances in the wiring system. There are several causes ranging from fairly benign local voltage fluctuations from nearby heavy equipment through to burning cables in your homes electrical system.
Flickering lights are an issue that requires fairly immediate attention, most electrical issues do not simply resolve themselves and will require professional attention and repair in order to make right.
Electrical Items Feel Hot to the Touch
Typically, electrical systems will begin to warm up when in normal operation. Under heavy load, this heating effect will be more pronounced as the flow of electrical current through wiring causes heat to build up.
These are not a problem. When an electrical system, sockets, switches, cables, or appliances are actually HOT to the touch then IT IS A PROBLEM. Electrical equipment and accessories should generally not become hot when in use. If you find that parts of your home electrics are HOT then it is likely that there are serious electrical problems that need to be dealt with quickly. Call us, your 24-HOUR ELECTRICIAN LIVERPOOL and we will investigate the problem for you.
Crackling sounds from the electrics
If you have any flashes or crackling sounds coming from your electrics then it is VITAL that you stop using the electrical system and IMMEDIATELY contact your local emergency electrician to come and investigate the problem. Crackling sounds with or without flashes, indicate that there is electrical arcing and sparking taking place. Electrical arcing is a situation where an electrical current jumps a gap through air between two conductive points. The danger with this situation is not only high heat through high resistance but the temperatures created when the electricity breaks down the air and passes through it to the other conductive part.
Electrical arcing can see temperatures reaching thousands of degrees and this is likely to create a real fire hazard for the surrounding area and the property as a whole.
Burnt Plug Socket
A burnt plug socket means that there are electrical problems, overheating and fire risk. DO not use a burnt plug socket as the problem will get worse once it has reached this stage.
When plug sockets suffer loose connections, high resistances, wear and tear or age-related problems, they can fail and begin to overheat resulting in burning, melting and fire. An electrician should be called to check the electrical circuit, the wiring, and the plug socket along with the connections at the back to find the cause.
Earthing Problems
These types of issues often go unnoticed by the people using the electrical system and sometimes only come to light when secondary electrical problems occur. Electrical systems will, in many cases, appear to function completely normally even without an earth connection in place. Serious dangers arise when secondary issues appear and this can result in serious electric shock, electrocution, and fire.
Earthing is absolutely vital to the safe functioning of the electrical system and if you suspect that there are problems with the earthing in your electrical system then please have it investigated immediately. As a 24-HOUR ELECTRICIAN IN LIVERPOOL we regularly are called to investigate strange electrical problems and many of these are as a result of poor or NO earthing and connections.
Switch Tripping
A tripping switch is often seen as a nuisance and an inconvenience rather than a symptom of an electrical fault. Many people mistake a tripping switch for a faulty switch, when in reality, the opposite is actually more likely to be true.
A switch that is tripping is likely to be working correctly doing its job by disconnecting a faulty electrical circuit, dispersing a large and dangerous electrical fault current and possibly protecting the home and its occupants from fire and electric shock.
Despite this, the thanks that a tripping switch normally receives for its efforts are a large huff, a sigh and being shoved back into the ON position again and again until the switch itself breaks or the electrical fault becomes far more serious.
DO NOT mistake a tripping switch for a faulty switch, have the issue checked out by an electrician. If you switch is tripping regularly then it needs investigation before more expensive repairs are needed or more serious electrical issues develop. Even if nothing is plugged in, there can still be faults on the wiring that need checking out by a professional.
Overloaded Circuits
Overloading circuits tends to be an occasional and accidental occurrence for most homes and their electrical systems. The issue tends to rear its head around Christmas time as there are several members of the house using the electrical system and we find that many appliances are in use at the same time.
Occasional overload is not an issue and serves as a reminder to be careful not to overload circuits. A circuit breaker will usually trip, we will hopefully think about the equipment we were using and modify our behaviour slightly to take account of the demands on the electrical system and all is well.
When circuits are regularly overloaded then they are exceeding their design specification that is, the purpose for which they were designed. Regular circuit overload can lead to cable damage, circuit breaker failure, sockets and switches failing and shortening the life of the electrical system.
Such an example would be electrical heaters that run for long periods. Under these circumstances you may see issues with overloading the circuits. Electric heaters use a lot of power and when they are run for a long time, especially in the winter, we can see many issues with overheating switches, sockets and cables becoming melted, crispy, and charred. That’s not good!
Under the right circumstances, overloading circuits can cause complete electrical system failure and even fire.
Electric Shock
If you are experiencing electric shocks then this means that there are very serious and potentially deadly problems with your home electrical system. These kinds of electrical issues are one of the most serious emergencies that we are called out to and in many cases, it is as a result of poor earthing to the electrical installation.
Do not hesitate to call us on 0151 351 4011 or 01925 595 980 if you are experiencing electrical shocks and we will attend to investigate the problem.
Power loss and worried?
Many of the phone calls we receive, people have lost power, lighting or they are worried and scared about their electrical problems. This is a good time to call a 24-hour electrician. We will always do our best to help you. There are some help sheets that may assist you before you pay us to come out though….. check the help sheet section on our website. These have been written by us to help you, our valued customers. They are free of charge and free to download. You don’t have to put all your details in or anything like that.
If you have a total power cut then don’t call a 24 HOUR ELECTRICIAN IN LIVERPOOL straight away. Give it a few minutes to see if the power comes back on. It may be a localised problem that is out in the street or down the road and not anything to do with your electrical installation in your home. No point calling us if you don’t need us.
Check the network first!
Give 105 a call to be put through to your local electricity network provider. They will tell you if there are any known problems on the supply network.
We are here when you need us and we will find the problem quickly, get your power back on and then have a chat. Oh and don’t worry, we know you won’t be able to offer us a cup of tea if the power is off.
