Electricity and light

It is tenant’s responsibility to replace the burned-out bulbs in apartment. It is also the tenant’s responsibility to inspect the fuses and, if necessary, replace a blown fuse.

Some Hoas tenancy agreements include electricity. These are usually for shared apartments, though there are exceptions. If your apartment doesn’t have its own electricity meter, electricity is included in the rent regardless of the apartment type. You can check your rental agreement to see if electricity is included in your rent.

🍀 Did you know that all the electricity purchased by Hoas is generated from renewable energy sources? This includes all property electricity, such as lighting in common areas, heating saunas, and powering laundry rooms. You can further enhance sustainable living by choosing renewable energy for your own apartment, such as electricity generated from solar or wind power.

The purpose of a fuse is to protect you from hazards potentially caused by faulty appliances. A fuse may also blow if you overload it. Overloading the system can cause the electrical wiring to heat up, which could lead to a fire. Electricity can also be restricted, if your home-away switch is in the wrong position, or if the bathroom circuit breaker has tripped.

Replacing the fuse and setting it back to working state is the tenant’s responsibility. If you repeatedly blow a fuse, disconnect all appliances and lights from their power sockets and try adding them back one by one. If the problem is not caused by any individual appliance, reconnect all appliances and check if your fuses are too small for the number of devices connected. If you cannot identify the reason why your fuses blow repeatedly, please send a fault report to Hoas.

If you have a fuse box in your apartment, it’s a good idea to check the fuses before any of them blow, so you can buy a few fuses ahead of time.

First, check which fuse has blown. Often the indicator on the end of the fuse will fall off when the fuse blows. The indicator is normally red. Sometimes, the indicator will not fall off, and you have to find the blown fuse by testing them.

The fuses are usually labelled to show which space or appliance they are for. Sometimes, especially in older properties, the labels may not be correct. Therefore, even if the blown fuse is not for the area where power is off, it’s still worth trying a new fuse.

If an automatic fuse blows, the fuse box switch will change position. Power will be restored when you set the switch back to the “I” position, and the fuse will be operational again. A fuse in the “0” position has blown.

If the automatic fuse blew due to overload, the fuse may not work right away. You should let the fuse device cool down for a moment before setting it back on.

When no one is living in the apartment or the tenants are away for a long time, for example travelling, you can limit the electricity and energy used in the apartment with the Home/away switch. If you move into a new apartment and there is no power, you should check this switch.

If your apartment does have a home/away switch, you should also check it when the power doesn’t seem to be fully on, even though the fuses and the RCD are working. The home/away switch usually looks like a light switch.

A residual-current device (RCD) is a safety device that may be installed in your apartment in addition to fuses. Often the RCD will be installed in your bathroom power socket.

If for example your washing machine isn’t powering up, it maybe be because the RCD has tripped. Therefore, in addition to checking the fuses, you should also check the RCD. If the RCD trips again, check which device is causing the problem, just as you would with fuses.

You should test the RCD regularly, for example quarterly. There is a test button on the power socket. Pressing it should trip the switch. When you have tested the socket, set the RCD back to the “I” position.

In older apartments, the connection box usually comes with a terminal block. A connection box with a terminal block normally does not have a socket, but rather a hook and a terminal block for connecting the light. Before you connect a lamp, please ensure that the connection box power is turned off. The lamp should be hung on the hook. The two wires from the lamp need to be inserted into the holes in the terminal block and fixed into place with the screws in the terminal block.

The connection box in the apartment may be a light socket, which means there is a hook and a power socket for the light. The lamp can simply be hung on the hook and plugged into the socket.

Hoas recommends that tenants do not dismantle or alter the connection box found in the apartment, but instead use a light that fits the box. If tenants still make changes, it is their responsibility to ensure that the connection box is properly and safely reconnected by an electrician when you move out. If the connection box is faulty or modified after tenant moves out Hoas can invoice the tenant for the cost of fixing the connection box. If you have just moved in and the connection boxes are faulty, please submit a fault report to Hoas as soon as possible.

Changing fluorescent lights is the tenant’s responsibility.

If a fluorescent light stops working, detach the plastic cover and then the fluorescent tube by turning it and pulling it away from the fitting. When you replace the tube, you should also replace the starter. A faulty starter can cause the light to flicker or to not light up at all. The starter is located in the body of the light fitting. The starter can be detached by pressing it lightly and twisting it.

The fluorescent tube can be replaced by positioning the end of the tube in the gaps on the fitting and turning it by 90 degrees. If the gaps are not aligned, you can try to move them carefully. They do present a danger of electric shock, so you should not touch them carelessly. If you turn the tube too much or too little, it may not work. So if the lamp does not light up after you have replaced it, try rotating it a little. When finished, put the cover back on.

Do not put fluorescent light tubes in mixed waste bins. They must be taken to shops selling SE devices, or to SER collection points or hazardous waste collection points.

It is the tenant’s responsibility to replace the burned-out bulbs into their own lamps and also to the lamps that are part of the apartment’s equipment. The oven and refrigerator lamps must also be replaced by the tenant.

New and recently renovated buildings may have LED lamps in the apartments, that cannot be replaced by tenants themselves. If the LED lamp in your apartment needs to be replaced, fill in a fault report to Hoas.