Emergency electrician in Romford and Havering

Homes built or rewired in the 1950s and 60s were wired during the change from rubber insulated cable to modern PVC. Electrical Safety First says black rubber cable was phased out in the 1960s. Where it survives, the rubber goes hard and crumbles, especially at light fittings where it gets warm. Signs include old round pin sockets, light switches on the skirting or in brown bakelite, and cable that looks black and cracked where it enters a ceiling rose. Our guide to rubber wiring in London homes shows what to look for. If you are not sure, an EICR records the cable types found and gives each problem a code, so you know what is urgent and what can wait.

If the power trips when the kettle, oven or immersion heater comes on, the appliance is the most likely cause. Heating elements develop small leaks to earth as they age, and an RCD picks this up. Unplug the suspect and see if the trip stops. Immersion heaters in post war airing cupboards are often decades old and a common culprit. Our advice on an oven, kettle or immersion heater tripping the electrics explains how to check.

If more than one appliance seems to trip it, the cause can be several small leaks adding up on one RCD. An electrician can measure the leakage on each circuit and move loads between RCDs, or recommend RCBO protection so one fault only affects one circuit.

Havering's bungalows are often lived in by older residents, and some still have the fuse box from their last rewire, with no RCD protection. If someone at home relies on powered medical equipment, the Priority Services Register with UK Power Networks is worth joining. A new consumer unit is notifiable under Part P.

For a power cut affecting the street, call 105 or check the UK Power Networks map. For a fault inside your home, an electrician. Notifiable work, such as a new consumer unit or circuit, is self certified by a registered competent person or notified to the London Borough of Havering's building control. If an older relative lives alone in a bungalow with an old fuse box, a check of the electrics and a working smoke alarm are worth sorting before winter.