The lights in the apartment went out. What to do?

Without electricity in the house, normal human life is impossible. All household appliances, lights, and electronics run on electricity. Without power, people cannot do most household chores. Electricity can be lost for various reasons - accidents at a substation, breakdowns in the power line, non-payment of bills, connection of powerful devices. Before restoring the power grid, it is necessary to determine why the electricity went out. Every owner should know what to do if the electricity in the apartment goes out.

Analyze this

We must immediately, without delay, try to understand why the lights went out.

For example, you plugged in an iron, or turned on a chandelier in the hall, or there was a click in the entrance, or the smell of burnt insulation was coming from somewhere... In any case, correct diagnosis is the key to successful treatment (it’s not for nothing that I compared myself to a doctor)) .

Even if you cannot fix the problem yourself, this information will be valuable to the visiting electrician.

If the source of the problem can be eliminated (for example, unplug a burnt iron from the outlet), then this should be done. In this case, you must be careful - try not to touch the wires, and do it with one hand.

How to safely turn off power to an apartment

Let's consider a typical option for the correct distribution of electricity in an apartment building.

In addition to the general electrical safety requirements, there are purely mercantile requirements of the energy sales company. They are aimed at stopping unauthorized (more precisely, unaccounted for) electricity withdrawal. In this regard, there should be no access points for connection between the apartment entry machine and the electricity meter.

In practice it looks like this:

At the entrance there is a common use panel with circuit breakers or fuses (plugs) for each individual apartment. After the machine there is a metering device, the contact block of which is sealed by a representative of the energy company. If the meter and machine are located outside the apartment, it will not be possible to connect unnoticed “bypassing”. In practice, you can turn off the electricity meter, but for unauthorized selection you will have to pull the cable into the apartment.

In theory, the panel should contain information about which metering device or circuit breaker belongs to your apartment. At least for safety reasons (in case of an accident or electric shock to a person), and simply for the convenience of taking meter readings.

If your driveway panel looks exactly like this, the question is: “how to turn off the lights in the apartment?” can be solved by switching the desired machine to “off” mode. Unfortunately, in practice, many driveway panels look like this:

You can identify your metering device by its serial number (it is indicated in the electricity supply contract). Then you need to visually trace which wire goes from the meter to the circuit breaker (or fuse). If this is possible, you're in luck. You simply turn off the machine or unscrew the plug.

What kind of protection devices can be found in access panels:

A classic modern machine that is triggered by excess current. On the case there are marks on the position of the key and a color indication: “on” (red or I icon) and “off” (green or O icon).
The classic “plug” is a fuse in a ceramic housing. The power supply is turned off by simply unscrewing the fuse from its socket. Sometimes this is difficult to do - the thread may stick to the cartridge. At the same time, check whether a so-called wire bug is installed instead of the fuse.
A circuit breaker that replaced the outdated ceramic fuse (the so-called plugs). The socket is made exactly the same as on the “plug” (thread and central contact), instead of a fuse, there is a mechanism inside that is triggered when the rated current value is exceeded. For To turn off, you need to press the small red button. Considering the general dilapidation of the design, it is better to unscrew the machine after turning it off.

3. Hands off!

Here I will give those cases in which this step should be the last. Not the last in my life. The last step in finding missing electricity.

So, if the light in the house goes out after:

a bunch of sparks from an electrical panel, socket or junction box,
smell of burning or heated plastic,
messages about planned shutdown,

then you should not touch anything and rely on professionals.

These are the cases I'm talking about:

Burnt electrical wiring. You need a pro here.

Where to call when the power goes out

And first of all, let's look at the services that you can call when the power goes out. These include:

dispatch service of the electric company;
housing and communal services emergency number;
city dispatch service;
rescue service - 112.

Each number is individual and depends on the region of residence. As a rule, you can find them either on receipts or on the official website of the city, where there is a section with information about all organizations.

The electrician himself

Next you need to do the following. Go to your home electrical panel. To do this, you may need to go out onto the landing. There you can find your protective circuit breakers (they are also called plugs, bags, or simply circuit breakers). Check if they are all enabled?

The circuit breaker is turned off in the electrical panel. Try turning it on?

If any machine in the panel is turned off , do not rush to turn it on immediately. Safety comes first, and machines don’t just turn off. Here's what you need to pay attention to:

absence or darkening of insulation, it is better not to approach such places,
do all manipulations in the shield with one hand, the second should be on the side and not touch anything,
If the cause of the shutdown was your old iron, it must be unplugged from the outlet.

And only after that we turn on the machine.

In such shields, even I am afraid to turn on the machines). Remember - left hand behind your back! The heart muscle does not like electric current!

If all the machines are turned on , you need to make sure that there is no electricity for your neighbors. This can be done in several ways:

ring the doorbell and ask
look through the windows
Pay attention to electricity meters, including your own. The red indicator will flash on the new counters, the old disk one will rattle slightly.

If the indicator on the meter is on or blinking, then electricity is supplied to the meter

If the neighbors are also sitting without electricity, then “being bored together is more fun.” And you can move on to Step 5.

Power cut for non-payment

You will be warned in advance about power cuts for non-payment.
Power supply may be cut off for debts on utility bills. The procedure is prescribed by law and has no right to be violated. If the light goes out without following the procedure, you can go to court.

The shutdown procedure is as follows:

The owner has debts on bills exceeding two months' payment.
The service provider (management company, housing office) notifies the owner of the debts in the appropriate manner. The notice is delivered personally to the owner.
After notification within 20 days, the owner closes the debts.
If the debt is not paid, another notification is sent after 20 days.
If after the second notification the debt is not repaid within three days, a new notification may be sent again, or the supply of electricity to the apartment will be immediately stopped - depending on the decision of the service provider.

Electricity is supplied by sealing the corresponding meters. Representatives of the management company come with a technician and seal the meter and turn it off. Restoration occurs only after full payment of utility debts and notification of this to the relevant service. Usually connection is carried out within a day after payment is made.

Someone call someone!

If there is no light, and it was not possible to turn it on yourself, then there are several options for the development of events:

If there is no light in the entire entrance, then you need to find out if anyone called somewhere. Or just wait patiently.
If there is no light only in your apartment, and manipulations with the machines did not help, you need to turn to professionals for help - go to your neighbor Uncle Vasya, call an electrician on the phone from the newspaper or from the Internet, call the management company.

Option to call an electrician for Taganrozh residents:

Electrician for home Taganrog. Business card.

You can call the management company at the numbers indicated on the receipt:

Emergency phone numbers on the receipt, example

The single hotline number of IDGC of the South PJSC - Rostovenergo is 8 800-100-70-60
for residents of Rostov-on-Don and the Rostov region.

If you are in another city, you need to act in the same way - look for a specialist via the Internet, newspapers, or call an emergency crew. However, the emergency service will help for free only if the problem occurs before entering the apartment. The rest is for an additional fee.

When you call, try to encourage the electrician to have a frank conversation - in my experience, almost half of the cases are resolved over the phone.

Another piece of advice - if you called a specialist, but after some time the problem somehow went away, take the trouble to call again and tell him not to come. I have had many times when I arrived on call, and everything was already working. And in any case, an electrician will not leave without money)

Reasons for lack of electricity

Usually, when the power goes out, the first thing they check is the circuit breaker.
Electricity may be out in one house or apartment. If the power goes out in one or more buildings, accidents or renovation work are likely causes. You won’t be able to solve the problem on your own, so you’ll have to wait until there is electricity in the house. A power outage in one apartment can be caused by a breakdown in the electrical wiring section, non-payment of bills, or overload.

The main technical reasons for turning off the lights:

Planned and major repairs of individual parts of power supply lines. When concluding an agreement between the service provider and the consumer, the duration of the power outage must be specified. Typically it is 72 hours per year. Without a break, the electricity cannot go out for more than 24 hours. The consumer is notified before any work is carried out.
Scheduled repair of the power supply line
. Emergency situations. Associated with complete or partial output of the energy supply system. The light can be turned off without warning, the shutdown period is not limited. The power supply will be turned on after the fault has been eliminated.
Natural disasters, emergency situations. Homes may also lose power without warning. The light should turn on after the disaster ends.
Electrical wiring faults. If the condition of the electrical network is unsatisfactory, the consumer has the right to turn off the electricity. The decision is made by Rostechnadzor or the housing inspection. The consumer must be notified.
One of the reasons for the lack of light is a short circuit.
Problems with the machine. It can cut out plugs if the device is incorrectly selected.
Short circuit. It can short-circuit both a section of electrical wiring and some device.
Overload. If you use several powerful household appliances on one line or exceed the permissible limit, the lights will go out and the electricity will periodically disappear.

Changing the network company is also a cause of power outages. The old supplier is relieved of the responsibility for supplying electricity to the house, and it may disappear.

Illegal power cuts

So that over time the actions of the management company are not recognized as unlawful, its employees must correctly carry out the procedure for suspending the supply of light. It is illegal in the following cases:

Having debt for water or gas supply, but not for electricity.
The debt has been fully repaid, evidence of its absence has been provided to the company, two days have already passed since the last date.
Contractual terms were not met, and a violation of the law was established.
According to the law, it is impossible to apply a rolling restriction of services. Neighbors who regularly pay their bills should not suffer because of non-payers.
In winter, when houses are heated with electric appliances. Illegality threatens the health of residents.
Disconnection from electricity to citizens from the socially vulnerable group.
The organization does not follow the consistent procedure for turning off lights (due to non-payment) required by law.

How to determine what has knocked out the traffic jams

Often the machine goes off immediately when the lights are turned on. In this case, the user must be able to determine that the protection has worked. If, when turning off a household appliance, the machine is knocked out, the lever will be in the off position or will occupy an intermediate position. When there is a significant load, several breakers may trip.

For devices equipped with a button, the corresponding button will be in a depressed state. It is slightly larger in size than the power button and is painted white. Such devices are turned on by pressing this white button.

If plugs with a fusible insert are knocked out, it will be quite difficult to visually determine the operation if the body is opaque. To determine the malfunction, you will need a special device.

Solving the problem yourself

Initially, you should figure out the reason for the power outage and whether the electrician had the right to touch the meter. If the notice was not delivered and it is known for sure that there is no debt, then the actions of the supplier company can be considered invalid. You can file a complaint that the apartment was cut off power illegally on the basis of:

all the food in the refrigerator is gone;
Due to the pitch darkness, an injury was sustained.

If you confirm all your stories with documents, for example, take a certificate from a doctor stating that an injury was sustained, then you have a chance to win a lawsuit against the service provider and win a good amount of compensation.

There are also a lot of other nuances that are best discussed with a lawyer, for example, what to do if the electricity is turned off for non-payment and no one lives in the apartment.

If the disconnection was made legally, then in any case you will have to pay off the entire amount of the debt. It is imperative to obtain a receipt for its repayment and personally visit a representative of the management company.

What Causes Overload

If the plugs are knocked out, it’s worth looking for the source. It is best to immediately look for a device after which the power supply system turns off. Most often, plugs are knocked out when turned on:

Refrigerator. Whatever the power of the household appliance, at the moment it starts, the current strength can increase 5–7 times, causing a system failure;
Washing machine. The magnitude of the starting current in this case is comparable to the values typical for a refrigerator. However, when you turn on the washing machine, the machine knocks out more often. Moreover, such a negative phenomenon is often observed during washing;
Boiler. If the input machine knocks out, then there is a high probability that the cause is a faulty condition of the boiler. Because of them, the RCD trips quite often. They rank second in overall statistics;
Flat TV or computer. Such devices usually do not have current protection. However, they may well cause the circuit breaker to trip;
Microwave and air conditioning. In terms of the amount of electricity consumed, such devices are comparable. However, the starting current of the air conditioner is three times higher than the operating current;
Iron with steam function. Often the machine turns off immediately after the hostess begins to iron;
Vacuum cleaner. Under certain operating conditions, power consumption may reach the starting level;
Electric stove or oven. Such equipment can also cause a power outage. If the protection system is triggered when the electric stove is turned on, you will have to purchase a new one with fewer burners, or install new wiring that can withstand such a large load. It is also worth checking the condition of the electric ignition connected to the burners. Similar requirements apply to the oven.

Why shutdown?

As we have already said, it is necessary to turn off the electricity in two cases:

If you decide to replace the electrical wiring in your apartment or carry out repair work, for example, when you need to disassemble a light switch.
For the duration of your vacation, if you need to leave the apartment unattended. It's better to be on the safe side and turn off the lights before arriving.

In both the first and second cases, you need to open the floor panel at the entrance and find the machine that serves your apartment and which, accordingly, needs to be turned off. How to do it correctly, read on!

Important! To avoid the need to completely turn off the refrigerator, heating boiler or alarm system during departure, we recommend installing so-called non-switchable lines in the panel. We talked about this in more detail in the article: https://samelectrik.ru/dlya-chego-nuzhny-neotklyuchaemye-linii-v-shhite.html