Any electrical work around any building will need to be carried out by an electrician, but in saying that, some everyday electrical tasks that aren’t complicated or dangerous can be attempted by yourself. Just remember to always switch off and unplug whatever it is you’re working on, to ensure complete safety and there is no danger of a live current.
The first thing you need to do is find your fuse box which is normally located in a purpose built cupboard, usually where your electric meter is. In the case that there is no light or power, your fuse box contains trip switches – modern ones are fitted with a circuit breaker fuse system and if a fault occurs, the switch is tripped and the circuit is then broken. If it’s more traditional and old, it may need to be replaced as when a fuse blows, there’s no fixing it. This is when you would need to call an electrician to take a look.
To set a trip switch, you will need to open up the cover of the fuse box, switch it off and then back on again. If the tripping happens again, this is probably caused by a faulty appliance somewhere – you then need to identify which circuit has been affected and which one of your appliances is causing the issue.
To see which appliance it is, look around the property and note which sockets or lights aren’t working, remember to unplug all of your appliances on your problem circuit and switch off any heaters (if you have one). Then you can switch the tripped switch onto the ON position and plug your appliances in one by one until the trip goes again. Once you have found it, leave it unplugged and then have it repaired by a professional.