$0 Checks Before a $440 Call-Out: Half My House Has No Power
💵 $0 is what all three checks cost: the street, the switchboard, the safety switch. Our last dead-RCD call-out came to $440 incl GST, October 2026.
🏠 Why only half: a board can carry more than one safety switch, and only the circuits on a tripped one go dark.
⚠️ Stop first: dim or flickering lights, or tingles from a tap or appliance, mean hands off the board: call your distributor.
✅ Then: if TEST does not flick it off, book a licensed electrician.
This is for Victorian homeowners with half the house dark and half still running. The checks come from Energy Safe Victoria, Horizon Power and the Electrical Safety Office Queensland, and the one price comes from a real job.
Half my house has no power: why only half goes off
A switchboard splits your electricity across different circuits, such as lights, power points, hot water, the oven and the cooktop. A board can carry more than one safety switch, and when one drops, only the circuits on it go dark, which is why half the house goes off.
One switchboard, two safety switches
Safety switch 1On
- Lights
- Power points
Safety switch 2Tripped
- Hot water
- Oven
- Cooktop
"Repeat this test for each safety switch in your switchboard"
Electrical Safety Office Queensland, on testing: a board can carry more than one.
Think of it like a power board with its own switch: flick it off and only what is plugged into that board goes dark. The rest of the house keeps running.
The $0 checks, in order
Anything dim, flickering or tingling? Hands off.
"If you have dull or flickering lights, 'brown out', low voltage or partial supply:
- do not touch your switchboard or anything metal in your home
- turn off any power points that are easy to access and unplug appliances
- call your electricity distribution business immediately."
"If you experience tingles or shocks from an electrical appliance or water taps, call your electricity company immediately."
Energy Safe Victoria, Power outages and energy safety
Victorian distributors, faults line
The checks below only apply when the live half runs normally and the dark half is fully off. Anything dim, flickering or tingling: stop, and call your distributor.
You only look, reset once and unplug. No covers come off, and nothing inside the switchboard gets touched.
- The street: look at your neighbour's place, check your mailbox for a planned outage notice, and check for unplanned outages in your area.Energy Safe Victoria; Horizon Power
- The switchboard: see whether a safety switch has dropped, and make sure the main switch is on.Horizon Power
- The safety switch: unplug everything on that circuit, reset it once, plug back in one item at a time, then press TEST. After testing, turn the safety switch back on (on a circuit with a fridge or air conditioner, wait two to three minutes first).Electrical Safety Office Queensland; Energy Safe Victoria
Check 1: the street
"Check your neighbour's house to see if they have also lost power. If your neighbour has power check to see if your safety switch has been tripped."
"Call your local electricity distributor (see the faults and emergencies number on your most recent electricity bill)."
Energy Safe Victoria, Your guide to power outages
"See if you have a planned outage notification in your mailbox."
Horizon Power, I don't have power
Check 2: the switchboard
"Check your switch board/meter board to see whether any of your safety switches (Residual Current Devices) have tripped. If not, make sure the main switch is in the 'on' position."
Horizon Power
"Locate your electricity box outside your home and check whether the safety switch has tripped. If it has tripped, reset the switch.
If the switch won’t reset, call a licensed electrician."
Energy Safe Victoria, If your home loses power
Which one is the safety switch?
- Safety switch
- Looks like a circuit breaker, but has a TEST or T button.
- Circuit breaker
- No test button.
- How often
- Test every three months.
Check 3: the safety switch
Unplug everything on that circuit, reset it once, then plug back in one item at a time. Then press TEST, and put it back on afterwards.
"After testing, turn the safety switch back on. For circuits with a refrigerator or air conditioner, wait at two to three minutes before resetting to avoid possible appliance damage."
Electrical Safety Office Queensland, frequently asked questions
Figure
The $0 checks
Data
Tap a station to see why.
| Step | Flickering | Street out | Tripped | Dead RCD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Safe? | FAIL: Dull or flickering lights, low voltage or partial supply: do not touch your switchboard or anything metal, and call your electricity distribution business immediately (Energy Safe Victoria). | OK: The live half runs normally and the dark half is fully off. Nothing is dim, flickering or tingling. | OK: The live half runs normally and the dark half is fully off. Nothing is dim, flickering or tingling. | OK: The live half runs normally and the dark half is fully off. Nothing is dim, flickering or tingling. |
| Street | INFO: Not reached: stop and call your distributor. | FAIL: Your neighbour has lost power too. Call your local electricity distributor: the faults and emergencies number is on your most recent electricity bill (Energy Safe Victoria). | OK: Your neighbour has power, so check whether your safety switch has tripped (Energy Safe Victoria). | OK: Your neighbour has power, so check whether your safety switch has tripped (Energy Safe Victoria). |
| Board | INFO: Not reached: hands off the switchboard. | INFO: Not reached: the street is out, not the house. | FAIL: One safety switch is down. Only the circuits on it are off, which is why half the house is dark (Electrical Safety Office Queensland). | OK: The main switch is in the on position (Horizon Power). |
| Reset | INFO: Not reached: hands off the switchboard. | INFO: Not reached: the street is out, not the house. | INFO: Unplug everything on that circuit, reset the safety switch, then plug back in one item at a time (Electrical Safety Office Queensland). If the switch won't reset, call a licensed electrician (Energy Safe Victoria). | OK: Unplug everything on that circuit, then reset the safety switch. It stays on. |
| Test | INFO: Not reached: hands off the switchboard. | INFO: Not reached: the street is out, not the house. | INFO: Press TEST, then turn the safety switch back on. On a circuit with a fridge or air conditioner, wait two to three minutes first (Electrical Safety Office Queensland). | FAIL: Press TEST. If it does not flick off, the safety switch is faulty and you need a licensed electrician (Electrical Safety Office Queensland). |
Source: Energy Safe Victoria, Power outages and energy safety, Your guide to power outages, and Test. Reset. Protect.; Horizon Power, I don't have power; Electrical Safety Office Queensland, switch electrical safety and frequently asked questions.
Look, reset once, unplug, and never open the switchboard.
"Engage a licensed electrician to do all electrical work. 'Do-It-Yourself' electrical work is very dangerous and illegal." (Energy Safe Victoria)
When it is the safety switch itself
The Electrical Safety Office Queensland says nuisance tripping can be caused by overloaded circuits, faulty electrical equipment or faulty wiring. If pressing TEST does not flick the switch off, the safety switch is faulty and you need a licensed electrician.
"If lights or appliances don’t lose power then your safety switch may have failed."
Energy Safe Victoria, Test. Reset. Protect.
| What you see | What it can mean | Who finds it |
|---|---|---|
| Lights dim or flickering | Low voltage or partial supply (Energy Safe Victoria). | Your distributor, straight away |
| Your neighbour is out too | The street, not your house (Energy Safe Victoria). | Your electricity distributor |
| It trips again as one item goes back in | That item may be the cause (Electrical Safety Office Queensland). | You, for $0 |
| It trips with every plug out | Overloaded circuits, faulty equipment or wiring (Electrical Safety Office Queensland). | A licensed electrician |
| TEST does not flick it off | The safety switch is faulty (Electrical Safety Office Queensland). | A licensed electrician |
Our last dead RCD
Lotron Electrical call-out, Melbourne's west
- Date
- 10 October 2026
- The call
- Power outage
- The fault
- A faulty 40A RCD, which is a safety switch
- The work
- Replaced it, and installed fire caulk
- The part
- A 40A Type A RCD, $36.20 inc GST
- Total
- $440 incl GST
Last one we had in October was a dead RCD, power outage call-out. The part itself was $36.20 from Bunnings, the whole bill was $440 incl GST
If the checks point at the safety switch, book a licensed electrician through Lotron Electrical. Replacing it is electrical work, so it is not a DIY job.
And one that was the street
- Date
- 28 October 2026
- What we saw
- No power at our own place
- The cause
- Local electricity upgrades in the street
- The fault in the house
- None
The STOP check first, then the street. Once nothing is dim, flickering or tingling, Check 1 costs nothing and rules out the whole house.
Your quote, your sum
Put in the call-out quote you were given; the default is our October 2026 job, $440 incl GST. Tick the checks you have done, then pick what happened.
- Checked the street
- Checked the switchboard
- Reset and tested the safety switch
Still half dark after the $0 checks?
Book a licensed electrician to find the fault, and hand over your list.
Book a licensed electrician- The street, distributor number, never DIY: Energy Safe Victoria, Your guide to power outages.
- Planned outages, the switchboard, the main switch: Horizon Power, I don't have power.
- Circuits, more than one safety switch, nuisance tripping, TEST button: Electrical Safety Office Queensland, switch electrical safety.
- Dim or flickering lights, partial supply, tingles, the five distributor numbers, if your home loses power: Energy Safe Victoria, Power outages and energy safety (fetched 2026-11-05).
- Turning the safety switch back on after TEST: Electrical Safety Office Queensland, frequently asked questions (fetched 2026-11-05).
- Testing and failed switches: Energy Safe Victoria, Test. Reset. Protect. (fetched 2026-11-05).
- The job: Lotron Electrical, power outage call-out, 10 October 2026, Melbourne's west; faulty 40A RCD replaced and fire caulk installed; part a 40A Type A RCD at $36.20 inc GST; $440 incl GST in total.
- The street outage: our own place, 28 October 2026, local electricity upgrades in the street.
- The electrician: Lotron Electrical, general electrical.