What is Considered an Electrical Emergency?

🆘The definitive guide!🆘

An electrical emergency is any situation involving an electrical system that presents immediate or potential danger to the installation, your home, yourself, or the people around you.

This can be something like:

Flickering Lights: Whilst there are many reasons why lights may flicker, they can flicker due to loose wiring either on the electrical circuit itself or at the consumer unit. Loose wires cause fires and as such and flickering lights situation should be deemed an electrical emergency and an electrician should visit to investigate the cause.
Burning Smell: Electrical burning smells are similar to a fishy, plastic, chemical type smell. Once you have experienced the pungent odour once, you will not forget the smell. An electrical burning smell indicates that there are serious problems in the electrical installation that should be investigated immediately. An emergency electrician should be called at once to come and find the cause.
Tripping Switch: This may or may not be an emergency but at the very least it does indicate that there are electrical issues in the electrical installation and these should be investigated. Some investigation yourself is possible and it is not always necessary to call an electrician out straight away. Unplugging all the equipment in your home may solve the problem and if it does then it is likely there is something faulty that was plugged in causing the issue.
Total power cuts: This can be an issue that occurs outside the home on the electricity supply rather than an issue inside your property but sometimes it can indicate serious problems inside your home. Call 105 to as if there are electricity supply issues. Calling this number puts you through to your local electricity network provider whom are responsible for the incoming supply to your home. If there are no known issues from them then you should consider this an electrical emergency and call an emergency electrician immediately.
Burnt, discoloured or broken outlets or switches: When physical signs of damage, discolouration or distress are shown on sockets and switches then it is an indication that there are dangerous electrical situations occurring. Broken outlets and switches give access to live parts and give rise to electric shock or electrocution. Burnt or discoloured outlets and switches indicate that there is thermal damage occurring due to electrical problems.
Buzzing noises: Whilst some electrical buzzing noises are completely normal and a part of a natural operation of an electrical system. Some buzzing noises can indicate serious electrical situations that should be investigated as soon as possible. Examples of normal buzzing noises would be low, quiet, humming from a dimmer switch or a doorbell transformer. If you are at all worried about these noises, please get in touch with us.
Burnt outlets: When there are burn marks on outlets or switches then this is an electrical emergency.
Receiving an electric shock: If you are receiving shocks anywhere in your home then there could be an issue with your electrical system and in particular the earthing of some or all of the system could be faulty. An electrical emergency specialist will be able to thoroughly investigate the situation for you and get to the bottom of what is causing the problem. Make a note of where and when you are receiving shocks and be sure to inform your electrical professional when you get in touch.
Missing electrical panel / Consumer unit cover: The electrical box in your home is the brains of your electrical system and contains a multitude of LIVE PARTS. As such, the cover should be in place on this at all times with no gaps anywhere if possible. Certain small gaps are allowable under the wiring regulations but if you are at all unsure of the safety of your consumer unit / electrical panel then please get in touch. We offer free safety advice to all customers and may be able to save money by chatting beforehand.
Fuse box / Consumer unit is hot or warm to touch: Whilst some electrical accessories like lamps, bulbs and motors can become hot or warm during normal operation, your consumer unit should never be hot to the touch. If this is the case then you likely have a serious problem about to occur. Turning the unit off is the first step to making it safe. If you are unsure how to do this then call us immediately and we will guide you through on a WhatsApp video call.
Short Circuits: When there is a loud pop and a circuit breaker goes off it is likely a short circuit problem occurring. Whilst you may think its okay as the circuit breaker simply trips off, a short circuit is actually the result of an electrical fault. During this process a MASSIVE fault current of hundreds or even thousands of AMPS can flow through the electrical installation. Without a circuit breaker or FUSE there would be a fire. If you have a circuit breaker or fuse that blows or trips it needs investigating.
Fallen Power Lines: If you can see fallen power lines in the street or nearby then this is likely an electrical emergency. Damage to the electricity network such as this can be reported to the local electricity network provider by telephoning 105 and reporting the situation to them. 105 puts you through to the local electricity network provider wherever you are in the country.
An electrical fire has broken out: Do not call an emergency electrician. Call the fire brigade immediately and follow their instructions. Once the fire has been dealt with then contact an emergency electrician.

What are the best steps to take in an electrical emergency?

🆘If any of the issues mentioned above are occurring then it is best to turn off all your power to your home and call a 24-hour electrician to come and investigate. No investigative work should be carried out yourself other than that mentioned above as interference with electrical systems is highly dangerous and carries great risk🆘

What damage can occur from electrical emergencies?

Electrical emergencies like those mentioned above carry a risk of damage through electrical arcing and sparking, cable damage, consumer unit damage or even fire in the property. Electrical systems are normally well behaved and silent systems that carry out their tasks efficiently and safely but when things go wrong, these systems can wreak havoc upon an installation and property.

If you are still asking “What is considered an electrical emergency?” then please give us a call and describe you situation to us. We will tell you if we think the situation sounds immediately dangerous and what steps you should take to make safe your electrical installation before we attend.