When nothing works in the entire building this means:

• The electrical power from the utility company is not getting to your electrical panel. Call the utility company.
• The electrical power from the utility company is not getting to ANYBODY'S electrical panel. Wait for the utility company to restore power.
• Your main circuit breaker is broken or turned off. Try to re-set the circuit breaker.
• All your circuit breakers are flipped off. Re-set all breakers.
• Something else - time to call Sherwin Electrical Services, LLC.

Short Circuits occur when two electrical wires accidentally touch each other. A short circuit will immediately cause one of your circuit breakers to trip off or one of your fuses to blow.

To fix a short circuit, ask yourself this question: "What was happening right before the short circuit?" If you had just plugged something into a receptacle (outlet) or turned on a light or an appliance, then this gives you a clue as to what just caused the short.

If you just plugged in an iron, for instance, you can simply unplug the iron and then re-set the circuit breaker or replace the fuse. If everything is now OK, then your electrical system is fine-and it's time to get a new iron! If, however, you can't find anything plugged in which is causing the problem, then it's time to call a good electrician to locate and repair your short circuit.

In any location where there may be moisture (like kitchens, bathrooms, garages, and outdoors) special receptacles (outlets) are used for safety. These are called GFI's. The idea of a GFI receptacle is that with the slightest electrical problem, the GFI immediately shuts off the power. This is a great safety feature, and once you unplug the electrical device that caused the problem, you can press the "RESET" button on the GFI to restore power.

When you lose power to a receptacle in a kitchen, bathroom, garage, and outdoor area, check to see if it's a GFI receptacle. There's one pictured on this page. If it's a GFI, press the "TEST" button, then press the "RESET" button.

Hint - Sometimes, you may have a receptacle that is located in a kitchen, bathroom, garage, or outdoor area, which has no power, which is not a GFI. However, it may be "protected" by another GFI that has tripped off somewhere else. You can check for this situation by making sure that all the GFI's in your kitchen, bathroom, garage, and outdoor areas are working properly.

More Technical Stuff About GFI's

A GFI receptacle (also called a GFCI receptacle) is an electronic device that can measure small differences in power as little as 3ma (which is a very small amount). When it detects more power coming in from the "hot" side than going out from the neutral side, it will shut off. This is a good thing because that extra electricity has to go somewhere, and that might be to you or your family.

All GFI receptacles should be tested monthly. Press the "TEST" button. If pressing the "TEST" button does not make the button labeled "RESET" pop out, then call an electrician. If the "RESET" button does pop, the outlet is OK. Press the "RESET" button back in to reset the outlet.

In some homes and offices, instead of lights on the ceiling, there are receptacles (outlets) on the wall that are controlled by a light switch near the entrance to the room. The idea is that floor or desk lamps are plugged into the receptacle, and the receptacle can be turned on or off with the light switch by the door.

So if a device that is plugged into a receptacle has no power, the first thing to do is simply turn on all the light switches in the room. Sometimes the device will immediately come on, which means that the switch on the wall controls it.

Hint - A receptacle usually has two places to plug things into it. Sometimes one is permanently energized and a switch controls the other by the door. This is known as a 'half-hot' receptacle.

A circuit breaker is designed to trip off when it detects too much power running through the wire it's protecting. There are three main reasons circuit breakers trip off:

• There is a short circuit.
• There is an overloaded circuit.
• The circuit breaker is broken.

Short Circuits

Short circuits occur when two electrical wires accidentally touch each other. A short circuit will immediately cause one of your circuit breakers to trip off or one of your fuses to blow.

To fix a short circuit, ask yourself this question: "What was happening right before the short circuit?" If you had just plugged something into a receptacle (outlet) or turned on a light or an appliance, then this gives you a clue as to what just caused the short.

If you just plugged in an iron, for instance, you can simply unplug the iron and then re-set the circuit breaker or replace the fuse. If everything is now OK, then your electrical system is fine - and it's time to get a new iron!

If, however, you can't find anything plugged in which is causing the problem, then it's time to call a good electrician to locate and repair your short circuit.

Overloaded Circuit

Overloaded circuits occur when too much power is running through an electrical wire. To protect the wire, the circuit breaker does its job by detecting the overload and tripping off. The solution to this problem is to remove some of the things that are connected to the overloaded wires and add another set of wires to bring power to them. For this you'll need a good electrician.

Broken Circuit Breaker

Sometimes circuit breakers just wear out and need to be replaced. A knowledgeable homeowner with electrical skills can do the job. Otherwise, call Sherwin Electrical Services, LLC.

To schedule a professional technician to test and evaluate your system today, call 804-222-2213