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What would cause half the house to have low voltage in the outlets and dim lights while the other half of the house is fine?
Wiki User
∙ 14y ago
The loads may be unbalanced.
In North America, the transformer has 3 wires coming from it into the house. The neutral wire is the center tap of the transformer. The other two wires are each 120 volts, 180 degrees out of phase. So if 220 volts is needed, the power is taken from those two 120 volt wires.
If only 120 volts is needed, just one of those wires is used along with the neutral wire. The house wiring should alow the loads to be balanced between the two 120 volt wires, with the neutral as a common. If the loads are not balanced, low voltage on the heavily loaded side could result.
On homes equipped with two cartridge fuses supplying 220 volts to the building, with each fuse connected to one of the two 110 circuits, if one of the cartridge fuses blows while a 220 volt load is running (such as a range or drier), the 110 volt circuit on the side with the blown fuse will draw current through the 220 volt appliance, resulting in reduced voltage to the 110 volt loads on that side because of the voltage drop across the 220 volt appliance. Turning up the heat control on a range top element can cause lights on the affected side to go from dim to full brightness.
Wiki User
∙ 14y ago
Wiki User
∙ 17y agoThe electrical loads in a house are divided. Each 'breaker' or 'fuse' controls the maximum current flow to only certain loads. If there is a 'sub panel', it may control a combination of other loads. If you are losing only some loads, a subpanel or breaker has tripped, and not the main breaker. Or you could have a neutral loose at the neutral bar (white wire) check with a screw driver for tightness, or a loose wire at some junction box. Neve stick a screwdriver, or any other object, into a circuit box until you have insured that the power is off!
Wiki User
∙ 13y agoFirst, check all your circuit breakers. It would be unusual for all the breakers on one half of the house to trip at once, and if the master breaker trips, it would normally take out all the power at once, so those are unlikely explanations, but check anyway. If you have a really old fuse box, then one of your master fuses may have blown.
Assuming all that looks normal, the most likely explanation is that you've lost one "leg" of your electric service.
In North America, residential power is usually supplied by three wires: two "hot" lines and a common "neutral" line. If the power goes out in half your house, it probably means that one of the two "hot" lines supplying your house has broken or burned out.
If that is the case, you will need to have an electrician replace that wire. If you have buried wires, the power company can put in a temporary bypass, so that you can have electric service while you get the problem fixed. In most places, the electrician will put in a new wire (or wires), and you then call the power company to get them to connect them to their transformer. They may require you to have the new wires inspected before they will connect them. The electrician can advise you of the procedure.
Wiki User
∙ 11y agoIf all of the breakers are on one side, then you have lost one leg of the power coming into the house. Probably between the house and the nearest transformer.
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If a 1950 era house has 10 gauge wiring for lights and outlets can you safely extend wiring with 12-2 for additional lights and outlets?
You can provided the protecting breaker for the circuit is 20 Amps or less.
Can you use a 120V in a 110 outlet?
The reading of 133 volts is a little high for home wiring. Check your meter with another one to see if its calibration is correct. Your lights in the house would be brighter that you were used to if the voltage was that high.
Why do some lights go off in your house when you turn on too many appliances?
In a well designed house the lights are not connected to the same circuit as an appliance. If by going out you are saying that a breaker trips, then your appliances and lights combined are exceeding the rating of the breaker. You either need to rewire and balance the loads better or plug high current appliances into different outlets on another breaker. If you are not tripping breakers, but lights are just dimming you have a bigger problem with inadequate current supplying your house.
What Voltage type are in outlets at home?
Your home electrical wall outlets current capacity is governed by the breaker that feeds that circuit. In most home situations the wall receptacles are fed with a 15 amp breaker. Dedicated outlets could have a higher ampacity as they are installed for specific appliances or devices. To check your circuit, plug a lamp into the outlet. Start flipping the breakers off. When the lamp goes out that is the breaker for that circuit. Look on the handle of the breaker and it will tell you the capacity of that particular circuit.
List three uses for a series circuit and three uses for a parallel circuit?
Christmas lights , house alarm , and house Christmas lights , house alarm , and house
If a 1950 era house has 10 gauge wiring for lights and outlets can you safely extend wiring with 12-2 for additional lights and outlets?
You can provided the protecting breaker for the circuit is 20 Amps or less.
Can you use a 120V in a 110 outlet?
The reading of 133 volts is a little high for home wiring. Check your meter with another one to see if its calibration is correct. Your lights in the house would be brighter that you were used to if the voltage was that high.
What is the peak to peak voltage for the AC line voltage in normal outlets of your house?
Peak - neutral for 120 volts RMS is 169 volts, or 120 * sqrt(2) Peak to peak will be 2 x this value, or 339 volts.
How do the vamipre live in the house with lights they hate lights?
they hate lights but they need a house with out the lights
Why does your house voltage change?
Loading will cause small voltage fluctuations on the system supplying voltage to your house. Also, the system configuration can change, so you may be supplied from one location today, but switched to a different location tomorrow to allow maintenance to be done without you losing power.
Why do some lights go off in your house when you turn on too many appliances?
In a well designed house the lights are not connected to the same circuit as an appliance. If by going out you are saying that a breaker trips, then your appliances and lights combined are exceeding the rating of the breaker. You either need to rewire and balance the loads better or plug high current appliances into different outlets on another breaker. If you are not tripping breakers, but lights are just dimming you have a bigger problem with inadequate current supplying your house.
When was Kill the House Lights created?
Kill the House Lights was created in 1997.
Why are house lights parallel?
in parallel series if one of the light stops working also the remaining lights can workAnswerLamps will only operate at their power when they are subjected to their rated voltage. The only way of subjecting all your lamps to the same (rated) voltage, is to connect them in parallel (because the same voltage appears across each branch of a parallel circuit).The fact that the other lamps will continue to work if one lamp fails is a bonus!
In the midst of ice storm here in Portland Oregon suddenly voltage has doubled in the house with outlets registering 240v instead of the normal 120?
your NEUTRAL wire from the utility has broken or open-circuited, and your back-up ground rod may not be connected or has rusted of IMMEDIATELY disconnect everything and turn off the lights or you will damage those items receiving 240 volts call the utility company to report
Can you power house off car battery?
No, batteries put out DC voltage and you home runs on AC voltage. Even with a converter there is only enough power in a battery to run a few lights, TV, or a small appliance for a very short period of time.
How are yard lights wired into the electric grid?
Yard lights have many options to power them. One such method is solar power. The method that requires constant power for home use is called low voltage lighting. The lights are ran in a chain. The end of the chain is then plugged into your power outlet on the outside of your house.
How does a house have series circuit?
House and office wiring tends to be set out in a parallel arrangement. The reason is that a parallel circuit can deliver the same voltage to all devices, normally 110V or 230V. Electrical equipment is designed to run on a specific voltage, depending on the power supply standard in the region. If manufacturers know what voltage will be available, it is easy to build equipment that will run on that voltage. A series circuit passes the same current through all devices in the series network and that means that each device will rely on all others to operate. Within a single electronic circuit, series networks are common and and form a fundamental part of electronics operation. The series circuits in a house are normally limited to the internal circuits of electrical equipment rather than the power supplies that run throughout the house.
