Advice/ help needed- power out in only part of the house

Tried calling the property management company, don't even get voicemail. Their phone system hangs up.

Power in one outlet downstairs is out. All power in two bedrooms upstairs is out, as is the power to the hall light, one outlet in the master bedroom, and the power to the overhead light in the master bath. Oh, and the HEATER (heat pump). Fan won't come on, and we've even tried turning it to the emergency heat setting and nothing.

Dh has tried flipping all switches, and the main breaker. He's an electrically minded guy but not THIS kind of electrical. Anything else he could try on his own?

did you call the electric company?

Hadn't thought of that. I called my brother, he lives in another state so he can't help in person, and he thinks one leg of power into the house is out. I know there are power outages in our general area because of the snow storms. I had never seen only partial power outages inside a house before.

Quote from setsail : Hadn't thought of that. I called my brother, he lives in another state so he can't help in person, and he thinks one leg of power into the house is out. I know there are power outages in our general area because of the snow storms. I had never seen only partial power outages inside a house before.

How old is your breaker panel? It could be they're on a breaker that's fried, and needs to be replaced.

Quote from Frogstar : How old is your breaker panel? It could be they're on a breaker that's fried, and needs to be replaced.

The house was built in 1996. I called the power company and the rep said it's possible that it's just that one leg of power is out into the house (same thing my brother said). Hopefully it will be fully restored by morning. Our fridge is also on that same circuit.

is the main breaker hard to flip? i have seen main breakers lose a leg which would cause the type of problems your having

Check your GFI outlets for flipped breakers. It shouldn't take out that much of your house... but if it's wired incorrectly, anything is possible.

Do any of the breakers feel hot?

Turn off the main breaker switch at the top- of the panel and remove the cover plate. Look to see if any of the lead wires are fried, a melted covering will give it away. The breaker could be bad but still able to stay on.

Nope, breakers aren't hot. As I wrote, dh is electrically minded (25 years working on submarines) so he tried all the common things. The power on that leg just came back on, looks like it blew our TV and PS3 when it went out (dh was watching streaming Netflix).

Nevermind...

It just came back on?

Quote from Drio : Nevermind... It just came back on?

Kind of. Heater doesn't come on, fridge is kind of working. Lights upstairs were on but are now off again.

Dh checked one of the outlets that are on that leg, it's 71 volts.

There are two phases of power that come into your home. If one goes out it will do this. Make sure the power company gets out there. It will burn up your large appliances if you let it go to long. They either will not get enough power or to much. I had this happen at my last house it ruined a fridge.

Quote from doiknwya : There are two phases of power that come into your home. If one goes out it will do this. Make sure the power company gets out there. It will burn up your large appliances if you let it go to long. They either will not get enough power or to much. I had this happen at my last house it ruined a fridge.

Thanks, I did call them. There were already several patches of power outages in my city. The lady asked if our heater and fridge were out, don't know if that changes priority considering some people are completely without power.

Quote from setsail : Nope, breakers aren't hot. As I wrote, dh is electrically minded (25 years working on submarines) so he tried all the common things. The power on that leg just came back on, looks like it blew our TV and PS3 when it went out (dh was watching streaming Netflix).

If this was caused by the electric company (ie. transformer outside, etc.), their insurance should pay for it. Try to get more details from them. That's the way the REC I used to work at operated.