Half Your House Has No Power? What It Means in an Auckland Home and What to Check Before You Call
If exactly half your house has power and the other half doesn't — lights working in one room, dead in the next — that's almost never a whole-of-network outage. It's one of a small number of specific faults: a tripped RCD or circuit breaker covering just that area, a loose or corroded neutral connection, or occasionally a fault on one leg of the supply itself. Here's what to check and when to stop and call.
Lights dim or flickering across the affected half, not just off? Call 021 889 770 now — that pattern can mean a loose neutral, which is a fire and appliance-damage risk. Don't keep resetting anything.
Check these first
Look at your switchboard — is one RCD or breaker in the off position while others are on? If so, try resetting it once. If it trips straight back, stop and call.
Check whether the affected area follows a pattern — one side of the house, upstairs versus downstairs, or a specific set of rooms — which usually maps to one circuit or one RCD group
Notice if lights are dim, flickering or unusually bright rather than simply off — that pattern points to a neutral fault, not a tripped device, and is the one that needs prompt attention
Check a neighbour — if they have power and you don't at all, it's your installation, not a network outage; see our power cut guide if the whole street is out
Why this happens
New Zealand homes run on a multiple earthed neutral (MEN) system, where circuits are grouped and protected together. A tripped RCD or breaker covering one group is the most common and least serious cause — an appliance fault or nuisance trip took out everything downstream of it. A loose or high-resistance neutral connection, either at the switchboard or further back, is more serious: it can cause uneven voltage across circuits, visible as dim or flickering lights on the affected side, and it carries a real fire risk if left. The least common cause is a fault on the supply itself, which is Vector's responsibility rather than the house wiring.
Frequently asked questions
Is this dangerous, or just inconvenient?
A simple tripped breaker is inconvenient. Dim, flickering or unusually bright lights across the affected half are the sign to treat it as urgent — that pattern can mean a neutral fault, which risks appliance damage and fire.
Can I fix a tripped RCD myself?
Resetting it once is fine. If it trips again immediately, there's an active fault and repeatedly resetting it isn't a fix — call us and we'll find what's actually wrong.
How is this different from a general power cut?
A general outage affects your whole property and usually your neighbours too, and is Vector's to fix. Half a house losing power while the other half stays on, or while neighbours are unaffected, points to your own installation — that's an electrician's job.
Get it sorted properly
📞 Call 021 889 770 — describe the pattern, we'll advise
📷 Text a photo of your switchboard to 021 889 770
Registered electricians on current EWRB practising licences · Certificate of Compliance and Electrical Safety Certificate issued within the statutory 20 days · Based in Remuera, working Auckland-wide