Case Study: Doing Everything in our Power to Get the Power Back On
On Saturday in May, homeowners Tianna and Evan heard a popping sound from their breaker, followed by all of their electricity going out. Lights, appliances, heating/cooling, and all outlets were unusable. Tianna & Evan called the Butler Electric Service team and quickly found themselves on a video call with our Master Electrician Bryan Butler. On the call, Bryan was able to look at the breaker box and connections but couldn’t see any visible disturbance.
Butler Electric recommended our clients call their utility provider. A representative from the utility company made a house visit, but refused to look very closely at the problem and told the homeowners to call an electrician again. So, our team headed out to the property and found that the voltage coming into the electrical service was incorrect. The voltage appeared alright with no load, but when the branch circuits were turned on the voltage spiked to 240V between leg A and the neutral wire, and leg B went to zero volts. We determined the utility power was not correct.
Upon visual inspection of the utility wires for the house, our team identified damage in two spots to the aluminum triplex overhead cable between the pole on the street and the house. Our team then communicated with the utility provider directly on behalf of the client, prompting them to return to the house that evening.
Butler Electric showed their findings to the service technician, who agreed that the problem was likely that the overhead line was damaged. They replaced the entire aluminum triplex overhead cable to resolve the issue.
The home electrical service was then tested by our team and found to be working correctly; however, the furnace, water heater, microwave, and several lights were no longer working even with the correct power supply. We determined the appliances and lights had been damaged by the utility power supply voltage surge. The furnace and water heater were both severely damaged from electrical fire. Furthermore, we found it very likely that the homeowners’ recent furnace repairs and lighting issues were also the result of the same utility power supply voltage surge. Butler Electric ended up running new power for appliances, replacing lights, adding a surge protector, replacing the main breaker, and replacing several outlets in order to correct the electrical issues within the house.
“We’re thankful Bryan was willing to come out on a Saturday night,” said Tianna, one of the homeowners. “He didn’t actually leave our house until close after midnight… Bryan is thorough, experienced, and patient. We’ve used him multiple times and I don’t use someone twice unless they do something right.”
If you ever need assistance with your electrical, Butler Electric Services will do everything in our power to make it right. Contact us today to let us know of any services you may need, because we are wired to serve.
(Left: Tree limb that grew around the cable and caused the problem, Middle: A new whole house surge protector, Right: a new basement mechanical room light.)
