Half the house has no power

Unsettling, but often simple: when only part of the house goes dark, the usual cause is a single tripped breaker you can reset in a minute — no tools, no cost.

tuneWhat are you noticing?

Select anything that matches and the checklist below reorders to fit. Not sure? Skip it.

emergency_home

flag

Start here

In Canada, start at the electrical panel. Open the door and look along the row of breakers for one whose handle sits between ON and OFF, or is not pushed fully to ON. That one has tripped. Firmly switch it fully OFF, then back ON. If it holds, you're done — this is the most common fix and it's free.

Ranked from real-world failure data. The order updates as you select what you’re noticing above.

Likely causes, in the order to check them

Showing the typical order

Beginner-friendly Doable, with care Safety-critical Call a pro

visibilityHow to check

Open the panel door (the outer cover with the breaker handles showing — you are not removing any screws or the inner dead-front cover).
Scan the breakers. A tripped one usually sits in a middle position between ON and OFF, or feels loose compared to its neighbours; some have a small orange or red flag showing.
Note which circuit it is and what rooms went dark to confirm they match. If nothing looks tripped, the trouble is likely the main, the neutral, or the utility — see those sections.

buildNo tools schedule5 min

handymanHow to fix it

warning Reset once — never over and overA breaker trips to protect the circuit from an overload or a short. Resetting it once is fine. But if it trips again, do not keep forcing it back on: repeated resets on a real fault can overheat wiring and start a fire. If it won't stay on, leave it OFF and call a licensed electrician. And if the breaker feels warm, smells hot, or is scorched, don't touch it — that's the failing-panel case, not a simple reset.

Fully switch the tripped breaker OFF, then back ON, one time. If it holds, power is restored. If it trips again immediately or won't stay on, stop resetting it and call a licensed electrician — a breaker that keeps tripping is doing its job on a real fault.

Push the tripped breaker firmly to the full OFF position first — this resets its internal mechanism; flipping straight to ON often won't catch.
Now switch it firmly to ON. You should feel it seat solidly.
Check that the affected rooms have power. If the breaker holds, you're done. If it trips again right away, leave it OFF and call a licensed electrician — do not keep resetting it.

schedule5 min savingsusually free

gavel Check your province first AB: homeowner may do this · BC: homeowner may do this · ON: homeowner may do this · PE: homeowner may do this · QC: homeowner may do this
Resetting a tripped breaker is routine homeowner operation of your own equipment and is permitted in every province.

verifiedWhy this one goes to a pro

A loose or lost neutral lets the voltage on your circuits swing far above normal, which can destroy electronics and start a fire, and the connections involved are lethal to touch. Opening the panel to "check" is not a homeowner task under any circumstances. Unplug sensitive electronics, keep the panel closed, and call a licensed electrician. If it makes you nervous, that instinct is correct.

Your notes travel with the request — what you saw, what you ruled out, when it started — so the pro arrives with a head start instead of a mystery.

visibilityHow to check (safely, without touching anything)

Ask whether neighbours have full power. If several homes are affected the same way, the problem is on the utility's side, not yours.
Think back to when it started — right after a storm, a bang, or crews working on the lines points upstream to the service drop or transformer.
Do not open the meter socket or service equipment. If it looks utility-side, call your electricity utility's outage or emergency line and report a lost leg / partial power.

buildNo tools schedule5 min

verifiedWhy this one goes to a pro

The service drop, meter, and transformer belong to and are maintained by your electricity utility. Do not open the meter socket or attempt any work on the incoming service — it stays energized even when your main breaker is off. If the fault is upstream of your panel, call your utility's outage or emergency line and let them restore the leg.

Your notes travel with the request — what you saw, what you ruled out, when it started — so the pro arrives with a head start instead of a mystery.

verifiedWhy this one goes to a pro

The main breaker and bus bars stay energized from the utility side even with the main switched off — there is no way for a homeowner to make them safe to work on. Diagnosing or replacing a failed main or bus means working live or coordinating a utility disconnect. In Canada this is a licensed electrician's job; a technician can confirm and quote it quickly.

gavel Check your province first AB: permit + inspection required · BC: licensed professionals only · ON: permit + inspection required · PE: licensed professionals only · QC: licensed professionals only
Across Canada, panel, service, and neutral work is licensed electrical work — confirm the exact permit vs licence requirement for the province before publishing.

Your notes travel with the request — what you saw, what you ruled out, when it started — so the pro arrives with a head start instead of a mystery.

sort

Why the list is in this order

We don’t sort by likelihood alone. We sort the way a good, honest tradesperson thinks: rule out the free, safe, common causes first. That’s why the cheap checks outrank the expensive repairs — and why anything dangerous gets a hard stop instead of a pep talk. The order exists to save you money, not to sell you anything.