Half the house lost power

Symptoms

• Some rooms or outlets have power, others don't
• Lights in the working half may seem dimmer or brighter than normal
• Large appliances like the AC or dryer may stop working while lights still work

Likely causes

• CommonA single tripped breakerOne breaker can control an entire section of the house, especially in smaller homes.
• CommonA lost leg of split-phase serviceUS homes get two 120V legs from the utility; losing one leaves roughly half the circuits dead while others stay on.
• PossibleA tripped GFCI feeding several roomsOne GFCI can protect a chain of outlets across more than one room.
• PossibleA main panel or meter connection problemA loose connection at the meter base or panel can drop power to part of the panel.
• PossibleA utility-side outage or damaged lineStorm damage or a blown fuse on the utility transformer can cause a partial loss.

What to do

1. Check the breaker panel for any breaker that's tripped, in the middle, or feels loose.
2. Reset any tripped breaker by pushing it fully off, then back on.
3. If lights are unusually bright or dim rather than fully off, treat this as more serious and skip to calling an electrician.
4. Check GFCI outlets in kitchens, bathrooms, and garages, since one may be feeding the dead areas.
5. Look outside for any obvious utility line damage, especially after a storm.
6. Call your utility to check for a local outage or a blown transformer fuse.
7. If breakers look normal and the utility confirms no outage, call an electrician to check the panel and service connections.

When to call a pro

Call your utility company for a suspected outage or damaged service line, and call a licensed electrician if the breakers look fine but power to half the house stays out.

Safety