Had a power outage - but only half power came back?

Question

We had a pretty nasty storm last night that struck the power out in most of the town I live in - including my house.

It came back on last night after a few hours - but only certain appliances came back on...

One side of the kitchen where my stove and dishwasher is - no power - but the frig on the other side has power - laundry room is fine - bathroom lights work but the plugins dont

living room is fine except for one plugin - bedrooms are fine - but the entire office (3rd bedroom) is out.

BUT - it gets stranger - when I activate the central air system - the entire power comes on in the house - but once it goes off - half of it goes back out...

Could it be possibly that full power hasn't been restored yet? This was a pretty nasty storm that knocked out about 156,000 people in my state.

Answer 1

The electric to your house is 230 volts. Which is 2 - 115 volt legs.  You lost one of the 115 volt legs to your house. Either you have a main fuse that is blown or it dropped out at your service.  The reason all your power comes on when you turn on the a/c is that you are sending the 115 volts you do have backwards thru the a/c unit and feeding the missing 115 volts.

If you have fuses in your main try changing the fuses if you have a main breaker try shutting it off and turniing it back on. If this doesn't work call your power company.  And don't turn on the a/c till its repaired or your going to burn out the compressor.

Answer 2

Call your power company first, before you spend money on an electrician.  It's possible that you only have 120 volts coming into your house after the storm.  It could be an "open" leg on your incoming service, and that would be the power company's responsibility.  They will check that, and advise you if you need to contact an electrician.  

Your incoming service is 120/240 volts, which means there are 3 wires, a 120, a neutral, and another 120.  You get 120 volts between the neutral and either of the 120's, and you get 240 volts between the two 120's.  Half of your 120 volt outlets will be on each of the 120 legs, and any 240 appliances will be powered from both 120's.  The full power comes on when you activate the central air because it is feeding the dead leg from the other, through its own wiring.  (You are actually getting less than the full 120 volts on that side, but it may not be noticeable.)

The bottom line is, you have a problem either with the incoming service, up to and including the meter socket, which is the power company's problem, or in your service entrance panel (circuit breakers - most likely main breaker), which is your responsibility.  Good luck.

Answer 3

Full power has nothing to do with it. It sounds like you might have taken a hit your electrical service. I would call an electrician ASAP.