what could be causing this!

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Every few nights all the electric in my house cuts out for 1 sec then comes back on straight away. Its been doing this awhile now. No one is near any electrical appliances at the time. All lights, anything thats plugged in all seem to cut out for a split sec then come back on. Does anyone know what could be causing this?
 
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Every few nights all the electric in my house cuts out for 1 sec then comes back on straight away. Its been doing this awhile now. No one is near any electrical appliances at the time. All lights, anything thats plugged in all seem to cut out for a split sec then come back on. Does anyone know what could be causing this?
Have you asked your neighbours whether they are having similar experiences?

Where I am (pretty rural, with largely overhead supplies), we quite frequently lose power for very short periods - anything from a fraction of a second up to a few seconds, I suspect/presume due to switching and/or tap changing in substations etc. It's even more common when there is lightning within a good few miles from here - in that case I presume because of some breakers in the supply network being tripped and then automatically reset.

Kind Regards, John
 
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Have you asked your neighbours whether they are having similar experiences?

Where I am (pretty rural, with largely overhead supplies), we quite frequently lose power for very short periods - anything from a fraction of a second up to a few seconds, I suspect/presume due to switching and/or tap changing in substations etc. It's even more common when there is lightning within a good few miles from here - in that case I presume because of some breakers in the supply network being tripped and then automatically reset.

Kind Regards, John


Countryside house i live in also
 
Countryside house i live in also
Well, it might be a similar issue, then. I wouldn't say that it hapens to us 'every few nights', but sometimes a few times in a month. It's a pain, since, although the loss of electricity is far to short to be a problem, per se, it can cause on to have to resent/reboot any number of clocks, computers etc!

As I said, if you haven't done so already, I'd suggest that you ask your neighbours whether they are having similar experiences.

Kind Regards, John
 
Best thing to do is report it to the DNO as this does not sound right
 
Best thing to do is report it to the DNO as this does not sound right
Perhaps not 'right' - but, as I've said, pretty common in my area (and has been for decades, quite possibly 'for ever')!

As I've said, I would say that the first thing for the OP to do is to ascertain whether it is a network issue (i.e. affecting his neighbours as well) or limited to just his installation. If the former, he can then decide whether to raise it with the DNO, but I wouldn't put any money on that achieving anything if he did!

Kind Regards, John
 
We get this also and we live right near Ratcliffe-on-Soar powerstation! It's not consistent and happens at random times. Last month we had quite a few 1 second drop outs and more often the lights just dim and flicker -- it was the same growing up at a house a couple of streets away and we often saw the lights get brighter.

I was told it was due to the fact power is delivered through overhead lines which are subject to disruption from wind, debris and animals. I was also told it could be caused be a large electrical load being applied to the network. When the power company adjusts output to compensate this has an effect.
 
Countryside house i live in also
Then it's 99% sure to be overhead lines - Used to be a nightmare at a hotel where I worked. Then one day the electric grid people asked if they could dig all across our parkland to link a town and a village on either side of us, and pick up our sub station :) I don't think an individual or 2 would be so lucky:(
 
Noticable dips in voltage can be caused by someone nearby switching on a large ( > 1 Kw ) motor or using an arc welder. They would not last for as long as one second but might be long enough for a Switch Mode Power Supply ( SMPS ) to shut down for a second. SMPSs are found in electronic transformers and LED drivers and othe electronic equipment.

That said if the power is off for a second or more then definately ( as already mentioned ) contact the DNO and ask them to investigate. They may not be aware of the problem if there is no end of line monitoring on the supply to your area / house.
 
We get this also and we live right near Ratcliffe-on-Soar powerstation! It's not consistent and happens at random times. Last month we had quite a few 1 second drop outs ...
Then it's 99% sure to be overhead lines - Used to be a nightmare at a hotel where I worked. ...
As, I've said, it's common where I am (rural with lengthy overhead supplies) - usually at least two or three times per month, and the timing seemingly fairly random.

Kind Regards, John
 

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