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What to Do When There's Only Partial Electricity in Your House
If some lights or receptacles work but others don't, one or more of your circuits is overloaded or has short circuited. Follow this sequence when checking the subpanel or main panel that powers the circuit.

1. No circuit appears to be out.

* Call your electrical utility company.

* Call an electrician—the outage may be caused by a loose wire.

2. Circuit tripped.

* If the non-working circuit has a GFCI receptacle or circuit breaker, you can often solve the problem by simply pushing the reset button.

* Turn off or unplug everything from the problem circuit.

* Replace the fuse or reset the breaker.

If the fuse blows again, call an electrician to check the circuit for a charred wire or defective device. If the circuit works, turn lights back on and plug in electrical devices one at a time. If one device causes an overload or short circuit, the device is faulty—have it repaired. If one device that draws a lot of current, such as a hair dryer or electric heater, seems to be overloading the circuit, turn off other devices when using it. or have your electrical service upgraded.


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