Low Voltage or other problem?

Lissavane

I'd be grateful for advice, please.

For some months now, I've noticed incandescent room lights flickering some nights and cfl ones slow to light. Not every night. I also noticed that occasionally, when I switched on a high power device like electric kettle the lights would dim.

Most times that happened, I checked ESB Networks site and usually found an outage somewhere within 50 km or so and put it down to that.

Today the incandescent lights are dim, the tv, hifi and low power items in sockets all work fine BUT switching on the electric kettle or any high power device causes power to be lost at all sockets and lights throughout the house. As soon as it's switched off power returns to the low power devices.

The ESB meter is in the kitchen and usually hums. Now, when a high power device is switched on, it stops.

Does this look like a problem with the ESB power supply or an internal one?

Sleeper12

I would call out a registered electrical contractor asap.

Lissavane

Sleeper12 wrote: »

I would call out a registered electrical contractor asap.

I will do so. Meanwhile, I've switched off power and will be away until after Christmas.

Has anyone come across these symptoms before?

Lissavane

CFLs are maybe unrelated they're slow to light when they're cold.

Lissavane wrote: »

Has anyone come across these symptoms before?

Sounds like a brown out.

exaisle

Sir Liamalot wrote: »

CFLs are maybe unrelated they're slow to light when they're cold.



Sounds like a brown out.

Yeah....switching off the power completely is the right course of action. You're likely to damage anything with a motor in it (eg fridge). Anything with a modern power supply will work on low voltage anyhow...

If OP has a multimeter he could check the voltage..but failing that I'd call ESB networks rather than an electrician....if it IS a brown out (effectively only getting 110-120 volts instead of twice that), it's likely to be an ESB Networks problem rather than something internal...

below 207VAC is outtov spec.

exaisle

Sir Liamalot wrote: »

below 207VAC is outtov spec.

Ah...ok....only experience I had of a brown out was on Christmas Day about 10 years ago....voltage measured about 118v...