Your lights may go out for a number of reasons, most of which have easy solutions once the problem has been identified. Assuming the most common problem has been avoided, the fact that you forgot to pay the power bill on time, there are a few reasons why you may find yourself without functioning lights in your home.
Regional Power Outages
Regional power outages are a simple nuisance that occasionally happen no matter where you may live. Little can be done other than to wait for the power company to correct the problem. It goes without saying that a report needs to be made to the provider of the service so they know there is a problem to be addressed. Once you and your neighbors have reported the problem, the company will typically repair the problem and have your lights back on within a few hours, or provide an explanation as to what the problem is so you can prepare a plan for how to work around the problem until it has been addressed.
Dimming
Dimming of lights can be much more disorienting than a complete power outage. Whether it happens for an easily explained reason such as when an appliance runs or seems to occur randomly, it’s a cause for alarm when the lights simply go dim. The common issue going on is that an overdraw of power is occurring somewhere within the system, draining the power supply away from your lights. It may be a symptom of greater problems having to do with faulty wiring or running more power through a circuit than it was engineered to handle, but it requires the attention of a licensed electrician to assure your home is operating safely and to prevent a potential fie hazard.
Circuit Breakers/ Fuses
Circuit breakers, or fuses as appropriate in an older home, are likely the most common problem leading to energy outages. They do burn out from time to time and simply require a licensed electrician to replace. In other cases, it may not be a problem of circuits being worn out but simply not up to modern standards and therefore necessitating a system rebuild. These issues can best be solved with the advice of an electrician. You can trust that an experienced electrical contractor has seen similar cases before and knows what your home will require for the repair to be completed.