Cities We Serve
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Power Restoration
Not Every Outage Is the Grid’s Fault
Central Texas has had enough grid trouble that the first assumption when the lights go out is that it is everyone. Look outside. If the street is lit and your house is dark, or if half your house works and the other half does not, the problem is on your side of the meter, and the utility is not coming to fix it. That is the call Radiant’s electricians take, at any hour, across Austin and the surrounding cities.
The causes are a short list and we work through it in order. A main breaker that tripped and will not reset. A failed breaker or a burned connection inside the panel. One leg of the 240-volt service lost at the panel, the meter base or the connection at the weatherhead. A service mast pulled loose by a storm or a fallen limb, which in most cases is the homeowner’s to repair, not the utility’s. Water in an outdoor panel or junction box after a heavy rain. Rodent damage in the attic. Occasionally, a whole-house problem that turns out to be a single failed GFCI feeding far more than it should.
We diagnose it with a meter, tell you what failed and what it takes to fix it, and give you a written price before the repair starts. When the fault is on the utility side, we tell you that too and help you make the call. If you lost power because a storm tore the mast off the house, we repair the service entrance and coordinate the reconnect. Every repair is backed by the Home Comfort Guarantee. For homes that cannot afford to go dark again, see standby generators; for a panel that keeps failing, see panel replacement.
- Around the clock Outages do not keep hours. Neither do we. Same pricing at 2 a.m. on a Sunday as at 2 p.m. on a Tuesday.
- Meter to main breaker We test the whole service path so the fix is the actual fault, not the first thing that looked wrong.
- Price agreed first A written quote before the repair begins, honored for 72 hours, with no hidden fees.
Your House or the Grid?
Signs the Outage Is on Your Side of the Meter
If any of these fit, the utility is not the answer. We are.
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The neighbors have power
The simplest test there is. Lights on next door and dark at yours means the fault is between the pole and your panel.
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Half the house is dead
Some rooms work, some do not, and the dryer or AC will not run. A lost leg of the 240-volt service. Turn the big appliances off.
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The main breaker will not reset
It trips again instantly, or the handle feels loose. A fault downstream or a failed main. Do not force it.
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Lights brighten and dim on their own
The classic sign of a loose or lost neutral. It can push unsafe voltage to electronics. Call the same day.
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The mast is bent or the wires are hanging
A storm or a limb pulled the service entrance. Stay well clear, call the utility about the drop, and call us about the mast.
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Power came back and things are broken
A surge on restoration took out the router, the garage opener or the AC control board. Surge protection prevents the next one.
What We Do
Power Restoration Services
Everything on the homeowner’s side of the meter, and honest advice about the rest.
- Main breaker and panel faults Failed mains, burned bus bars, loose lugs and the branch-circuit fault that keeps tripping the whole house.
- Lost leg and lost neutral Finding where one side of the service or the neutral has failed, at the panel, the meter base or the weatherhead.
- Service mast and weatherhead repair Straightening or replacing a pulled mast, re-securing the drop attachment and coordinating the utility reconnect.
- Storm and water damage Flooded outdoor panels, wet junction boxes and corroded connections after the kind of rain Central Texas gets all at once.
- Whole-home surge protection Installed at the panel after an outage so the next restoration surge does not cost you a second round of electronics.
- Backup power planning Transfer switches, generator interlocks and standby generators for homes that have decided once was enough.
How It Works
How We Get the Lights Back On
A short checklist on the phone, then a methodical search on site.
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A few questions first
Are the neighbors out? Is it the whole house or part? Anything hot, buzzing or hanging? It tells us what to bring and what to tell you to switch off.
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Test from the meter in
Voltage at the meter, at the main, at the bus and out to the circuits. The fault is wherever the readings stop making sense.
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Written price, your call
What failed, what it takes and what it costs. If it is the utility’s side, we say so and help you reach them.
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Repair, reconnect, verify
Many faults can be repaired on the first visit. We bring the house up circuit by circuit and check for anything the outage damaged.
Current Specials
Save on the work your home needs most.
Dark House, Lit Street?
A licensed electrician is available now, with the price agreed before the repair starts.
What Our Customers Say
Don't just take our word for it — hear from our satisfied customers
★★★★★
Had a massive undetectable leak in a new home I just moved into... I was losing 1000+ gallons a day and was so worried about what was going to be the outcome. Then Radiant/ DAVID FARMER my saving grace, best plumber I've ever had, came to my rescue. It was a large job with doing all the leak detection and solving each problem but David was kind enough to teach me everything he was doing/what to look out for in the future to avoid issues later. It was an awful stressful situation that he made easy and fixed quickly. I think they are fairly priced and will work with budget constraints if needed. All I know is I know who my plumber is for life and I really appreciated all that Radiant and David did! UPDATE: used radiant for a AC repair and again they didn’t disappoint! April was my technician and she was AWESOME! So patient and kind and I learned a lot about my system that she showed me! Kudos again Radiant!!
★★★★★
We had another incredible experience with Radiant Plumbing & Air Conditioning that left us very impressed. Back in 2013, we hired this exact company to replace our old water heater, and the entire experience was absolutely outstanding. So, as soon as we realised it was time to replace our 2013 water heater, we didn’t hesitate to contact Radiant once more. Once more, Radiant and Christian, the technician, exceeded all expectations with their efforts. Christian is a true professional. We appreciated how Christian clearly explained all the different choices and worked hard to keep us near our budget limits. Our sincere thanks go to Christian and Radiant for their genuine support in helping us remain as close as possible within our financial limits. Christian was not only kind but also very respectful during his time at our house, and he did an outstanding job. Christian and the gentlemen who accompanied him performed their tasks excellently, demonstrating friendliness, kindness, and deep knowledge of their craft, which clearly marks them as true professionals. I want to express my gratitude to Radiant and also to Christian, thank you both!!
★★★★★
If you're in need of a new HVAC system because the one you got from the new home builder has broken down or is not working right, especially in this heat wave, Radiant can get you setup with a new and energy efficient system that keeps you cool and comfortable no matter the extreme temperature outside.
I highly recommend Radiant for cooling and heating. They are very friendly, knowledgeable and professional.
Their technician (Nathan B.) was outstanding and Breana the customer support manager provided stellar service and support.
They even have an annual warranty service program where they come out twice a year ahead of the winter months for heating system checkup along with system maintenance and then again in springtime to check the cooling ahead of the summer months for cooling system check and and any necessary maintenance to keep your system running efficiently and smoothly.
There warranty service is much cheaper than American HomeShield and does not require a copay or deductible. It's quite a bargain and it provides peace of mind.
Give Radiant a try and your heating and cooling worries will disappear. I absolutely recommend them with the highest rating available.
I highly recommend Radiant for cooling and heating. They are very friendly, knowledgeable and professional.
Their technician (Nathan B.) was outstanding and Breana the customer support manager provided stellar service and support.
They even have an annual warranty service program where they come out twice a year ahead of the winter months for heating system checkup along with system maintenance and then again in springtime to check the cooling ahead of the summer months for cooling system check and and any necessary maintenance to keep your system running efficiently and smoothly.
There warranty service is much cheaper than American HomeShield and does not require a copay or deductible. It's quite a bargain and it provides peace of mind.
Give Radiant a try and your heating and cooling worries will disappear. I absolutely recommend them with the highest rating available.
Maintenance Membership
Join the Care Club
Home maintenance for $9.99 a month.
Care Club members get two HVAC tune-ups and a plumbing safety inspection every year, priority scheduling, no dispatch fees — ever — and 5% off every repair.
- Priority scheduling
- Seasonal HVAC tune-ups
- Annual safety inspection
- Exclusive member discounts
- Free dispatch on repairs
- No long-term contracts
Power Restoration Questions
How do I tell whether the outage is my house or the utility?
Look at the neighbors first. If the whole street is dark, it is the utility, and your provider’s outage map or line is the right call. If your house is the only dark one, or only part of it is out, the fault is almost certainly on your side. Check the main breaker in the panel: if it is tripped, reset it once and see whether it holds. Check every GFCI reset button, because one can feed more than you expect. If the main trips again, will not reset, or the panel is warm or buzzing, stop there and call us. Do not open the meter base or touch anything on the mast; that is where the utility’s power comes in unfused.
The main breaker tripped and will not reset. What should I do?
Leave it off. A main that trips as soon as you reset it is protecting the house from a real fault, either a short on a branch circuit that its own breaker did not catch, or a problem inside the panel itself. Sometimes turning every branch breaker off, resetting the main, and then turning branches on one at a time will find the circuit at fault, and that is a reasonable thing to try if the panel is cool and quiet. If the main will not hold even with every branch off, or the handle feels loose and dead, the main breaker or the panel has failed and needs a licensed electrician. Unplug sensitive electronics while you wait.
Why did some of my appliances stop working after the power came back on?
Power restoration is rarely clean. When the grid re-energizes, voltage can spike briefly, and motors across the neighborhood all starting at once make it worse. Electronics take the hit first: routers, garage door opener boards, the control board in the air conditioner or furnace, the water heater’s electronics, and anything with a power supply. A whole-home surge protective device at the panel clamps those spikes before they reach your circuits and is the fix for next time. For what already failed, we can test circuits and devices to sort out what is dead and what just needs a reset. Some of the HVAC repairs after an outage are our heating and air team’s work, and we hand those off cleanly.
A storm pulled the service wires off my house. Who fixes that?
Usually both of you. The overhead drop from the pole to your house belongs to the utility, and they will reconnect it. The mast, the weatherhead, the attachment point on the house and the meter base are typically the homeowner’s responsibility, and the utility will not reconnect to a damaged mast. So the order is: stay well away from any downed or hanging wire, report it to your utility, and call us to repair the service entrance. We straighten or replace the mast, re-secure the attachment, check the meter base and the panel for damage, and coordinate the reconnect so it happens once, not twice.
Can you add a whole-home surge protector after an outage?
Yes, and right after an outage is when most people ask. The device mounts at or beside the main panel and connects to a breaker, and it diverts voltage spikes to ground before they travel down your circuits. It protects the equipment you cannot plug into a power strip, which is most of the expensive equipment in a house. Installation is a short visit for a panel with an open slot or two. It pairs well with a panel evaluation, and if you are already considering a standby generator for the next long outage, both can be planned in the same quote.
*Offers cannot be combined with other promotions or applied to dispatch fees. No cash value. Must present offer at time of service. Call for details.
