Power Surges in on Home Circuit

I’m sorry to hear that. According to 1, power outages in a single room are usually caused by a tripped circuit breaker, a faulty ground fault circuit interloper (GFCI) switch, or a new appliance you recently installed. To fix this, begin by unplugging all electronics, finding your breaker box, and resetting the breaker. A power outage that is restricted to one room is most often caused by a circuit breaker being tripped by an overloaded or damaged circuit. This could be caused by a defective appliance or cord, plugging in too many amps to one circuit, or it could even be from an unknown power surge. If the problem persists, it’s best to consult an electrician.
 
She said power surge not outage. I look at that as two different things.

Debodun did your power actually go off or did your lights get brighter for a few seconds? Explain what happened.
 
It could be your service feeding your house, I go to these all the time. Call your utility company first, most come out and test their end for free thus potentially saving you money calling an electrician. One leg of your service could be failing as described.
 
Also, I'd recommend getting a battery backup (an Uninterruptible Power Supply, or UPS) for your computer.

A UPS is a type of battery for your computer that will give you minutes (or so) of electricity so that, if the power goes out, you have time to turn off your computer properly, rather than having the interruption of power crash your hard drive ... which can damage the hard drive.

You plug the UPS into your electric socket, then plug the computer into the UPS.

I've had power outages where the lights went off, but my computer didn't because it's plugged into a UPS.

I hope that was intelligible!
 
I had a similar thing happen at my former residence. The electricity was on in some rooms and off in others. I called the power company and they refused to come out saying that if I had electricity in some circuits, it wasn't their problem and to call an electrician . This was on a Sunday. I tried a few and they either didn't answer or I got a voice message.

A while later my next door neighbor came home and in a few minutes he came over and asked if I had electricity. I told him in some and not in others. He said the same thing was happening in his house. I told him to call the electric company - if two houses were effected, they'd have to send someone. About 2 hours later a service van came and the technician determined that a tree branch had rubbed through a line and caused the outage in one circuit and it only effected our two houses.
 
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The electric company said they are no outages in my area. I said it wasn't an outage, it was like a surge and it happened twice within 30 seconds of each other, the power went off and came right back on. Again, like before...not their problem.
 
debodun said:
The electric company said they are no outages in my area. I said it wasn't an outage, it was like a surge and it happened twice within 30 seconds of each other, the power went off and came right back on. Again, like before...not their problem.
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Okay. A good UPS will also have a surge resistor. Even if you don't get a UPS, I would recommend that you get a stand-alone surge resistor, since you have surges.

Added: and replace it every now and then, as surge resisters get worn out (from all the surges).
 
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Sometimes it's the Power Company, they reroute. Most likely it's caused by your Frig starting up or the furnace motor.
Most likely a starting Capacitor is going out. Have a handy home warranty guy check them if it continues to occur...
With 240 volts the feeds come into the power box Y's to the left and right. Thus 1/2 the circuit breakers can be tripped.
or dead. The Top main circuit breaker handles the input. Windy Stormy days bring about fallen limbs on power lines.
The Power Company reroutes automatically in those instances unless the Line Fuse blows at the pole. U usually hear those.
They will light up the night sky. A car taking on a Pole is often the case.
 
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debodun said:
The electric company said they are no outages in my area. I said it wasn't an outage, it was like a surge and it happened twice within 30 seconds of each other, the power went off and came right back on. Again, like before...not their problem.
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It may not be their problem but, it could be. I’ve responded to hundreds of similar issues over the years, usually 50/50 whether home owner or utility issue. Unless the serviceman from your utility employs a Beast of Burden (testing device) at your meter base nobody knows for sure. We test for free, each company is different.
 
debodun said:
The electric company said they are no outages in my area. I said it wasn't an outage, it was like a surge and it happened twice within 30 seconds of each other, the power went off and came right back on. Again, like before...not their problem.
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Sometimes your local fire department will check that out for you. Wouldn't hurt to give them a call.
 
It only happens now and then. It's probably been almost 6 months since it did it last. First the desk-side lamp bulb flickers, but the power doesn't go off. A minute later, my computer makes a snapping sound and re-starts. About another 30 seconds and the surge is repeated. After that it's good for a long time. I can't figure it out. We've had storms and heavy rain and freezing cold and it isn't affected. No special weather conditions today and it did it twice.
 
debodun said:
It only happens now and then. It's probably been almost 6 months since it did it last. First the desk-side lamp bulb flickers, but the power doesn't go off. A minute later, my computer makes a snapping sound and re-starts. About another 30 seconds and the surge is repeated. After that it's good for a long time. I can't figure it out. We've had storms and heavy rain and freezing cold and it isn't affected. No special weather conditions today and it did it twice.
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Something chewing on wires?
 
A poor neutral connection can do exactly as you describe. This can be in your panel, the circuit itself or the connections/service outside. I urge you to once again call your utility to test their service. I know what I speak of.
 
debodun said:
The electric company said they are no outages in my area. I said it wasn't an outage, it was like a surge and it happened twice within 30 seconds of each other, the power went off and came right back on. Again, like before...not their problem.
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A few months ago, I had flickering lights in several rooms of my house. Then the downstairs lights kept turning off on me, even after I switched the breaker back on. I called the power company and they came but said it wasn't coming from them. Then I called th electrician and he said my electric panel was old and I needed a new electric panel. When he installed the new one he also put in a surge protector so if there were any surges from the power company, it would not affect my house. The flickering lights went away and I feel more protected now.
 
The most common household service is what we call a 120/240 service. This has 3 wires. 2 “hot legs” that are 120 volts each. A third conductor is the “neutral” wire, an equally important (perhaps more so) part of your AC service. Testing the utility end takes about 5 minutes, a short outage is required. Good luck.
 

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