Eltham SE9 has a mix of older family houses, purpose-built flats and converted maisonettes — all with their own common electrical faults. Here is what we see most often, and what you should do about it.
This is one of the most common call-outs we get from Eltham homeowners and tenants. An RCD (Residual Current Device) is a life-saving safety device that cuts the power when it detects a fault — but if it keeps tripping, something in the circuit needs investigating.
Common causes include a faulty appliance plugged into the circuit, a wiring fault caused by age or moisture ingress, or a failing RCD that has reached end of life. In Eltham's older housing stock — particularly inter-war and post-war properties around Mottingham and New Eltham — wiring degradation is a frequent culprit.
If your RCD keeps tripping, unplug everything on the affected circuit and reset. If it holds, plug appliances back in one by one to identify the faulty device. If it still trips with nothing plugged in, you have a wiring fault — call us.
Occasional dimming when a large appliance starts (like a washing machine or fridge compressor) is usually normal. But persistent flickering or dimming that happens unpredictably is a warning sign.
In Eltham flats and maisonettes, we frequently find loose connections at the light fitting or in the consumer unit, failing light fittings, or overloaded circuits where too many high-demand devices share a single circuit. Left untreated, loose connections create heat and become a fire hazard.
A large proportion of Eltham's housing was built between the 1930s and 1970s. Many of these properties still have original or near-original fuse boards — with rewirable fuses, no RCD protection, and no way to meet today's safety standards.
Signs you need a consumer unit replacement include: the board has ceramic fuse carriers rather than modern MCBs, there is no RCD switch, you keep blowing fuses rather than tripping MCBs, or your EICR has flagged the board as a C2 or C1 issue.
We replace consumer units throughout Eltham SE9, supplying and fitting a fully compliant metal-clad unit with RCD protection across all circuits. Work is typically completed in a day.
If one or more sockets stop working but the rest of the house is fine, you likely have a tripped MCB, a blown fuse on a radial circuit, or a wiring fault in that section. Check your consumer unit first — if an MCB has tripped, switch it fully off then back on.
If the MCB keeps tripping or won't reset, there is a fault on the circuit. This requires a qualified electrician to trace and repair. In Eltham's older properties, we often find sockets that were added later using sub-standard connections that eventually fail.
This is invisible to the naked eye but extremely dangerous. In Eltham properties built before the 1960s, the earthing arrangements may have never been updated. Some older properties relied on the metal water or gas pipes for earthing — a practice that is no longer permissible now that plastic pipes are widespread.
We regularly pick up inadequate earthing and missing supplementary bonding during EICR inspections across SE9. These are typically coded C2 or C1, requiring immediate attention. If your property has never had a condition report, now is the time to book one.
A burning smell from a socket, switch or fitting, or any signs of heat discolouration (brown or black marks around a socket face), means there is arcing or overheating happening inside. This is a fire risk. Stop using the outlet immediately and call an electrician.
This is particularly common in Eltham and New Eltham properties where sockets were installed decades ago and have never been inspected or replaced. The terminals inside deteriorate, connections loosen over time, and eventually the heat builds up. Do not ignore it.
Electrical Problem in Your Eltham Property?
We cover Eltham SE9, New Eltham, Mottingham, Kidbrooke, Lee, Sidcup, Woolwich and Greenwich. Same-day fault finding and repairs available.