What happens in some houses so that the power goes out and the leads do not jump?

It is a classic scene that has happened to almost all of us at some point, you are at home preparing dinner, you take the opportunity to put on a washing machine and, suddenly, the house goes completely dark. You go to the electrical panel expecting to find the classic switch down, but to your surprise, they are all perfectly up. This is a more common situation than it seems and one that generates deep confusion in homes. Far from being a paranormal phenomenon or a serious breakdown, the answer to this modern enigma is hidden in the technology of our meters.

The answer to this everyday mystery has been popularized by Juanjo, an electrician known on the social network TikTok as @juanjo_grounding. According to this professional, when the power goes out but no protection on the house panel goes off, “it is because the meter’s ICP has gone off.” The reason is as simple as it is direct: you have exceeded the power you have contracted for your home.

The technology behind the “jump”. To understand it, we must first clarify that electrical power It is measured in kilowatts (kW) and corresponds to the energy that is being demanded at a specific moment. The Power Control Switch (ICP) works as a security mechanism It is fundamental that it cuts off the electricity supply if the power consumed exceeds that power that you have contracted.

The key detail is that, since 2009 and with the gradual arrival of smart digital meters, many homes They no longer have a physical ICP (a switch) in your electrical wall panel, but this control function is integrated directly into the digital counter itself. Therefore, when you connect too many powerful devices at the same time, the remotely managed meter detects the excess and cuts off the electricity to avoid overloading the installation. In fact, if you look at your meter at that moment, it is very likely that you will see a solid red light, which indicates that the contracted power has been exceeded and the ICP has intervened.

So what needs to be done to get the light back? Recovering power is a very quick process what you can do yourself. First, you should unplug some of the high-consuming devices you had on to reduce power demand. Then, go to your main box, lower the main circuit breaker, wait a few seconds (between 5 and 10) and raise it again. With this simple gesture, the internal ICP of the meter is reset and will close automatically, returning the light to you.

To prevent this from constantly happening again, you have two alternatives:

• The free solution (change of habits): Carry out conscious management of your consumption. It is simply based on not connecting all your high-consumption appliances at the same time.
• The payment solution (increase the power): If the outages are very frequent despite normal and rational use, it is advisable to contact the electricity company and request an increase in the contracted power. You must bear in mind that increasing the power implies paying the connection, extension and access rights, which has an approximate cost of €50 for each kW you increase.

The savings angle. This is where your pocketbook comes into play. In Spain, the average electrical power of homes is between 3.45 kW and 4.6 kW. Often, the fear of “leads jumping” leads us to make the mistake of hiring above our needs, paying every month for power that we are not really using. Keep in mind that each kilowatt you contract represents a fixed cost of about €60 per year on your electricity bill.

Jorge Morales de Labra, expert in the energy sector, issues a very revealing warning in the magazine The Furniture: “If you haven’t blown your leads twice in a year, you have more power than you need.” A report from the National Markets and Competition Commission (CNMC) supports this ideapointing out that if you avoid turning on all the devices at the same time and adjust your contract, you can save between €190 and €260 annually.

If you have questions about whether you can lower your power, the answer is in your receipts. Marketing companies have the legal obligation to include on the invoice the maximum powers that you have demanded during the last year.

The power of information. In short, that sudden blackout in which the electrical panel seems to mock you with all its switches on high is not a phantom failure, but rather your smart meter protecting your home. Understanding how the ICP works and auditing our consumption habits gives us control over our bill. In the end, understanding the electricity in our home is the first step to stop giving away money at the end of the month and turn on the savings light.

Image | freepik

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