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...
We recently went away for a week and fretted about this happening ten
minutes after driving away and all the food in the fridge spoiling, so
we unplugged everything and switched everything off except the fridge,
the DVD recorder and one or two other essentials. When we got back
everything was fine, no power outages (as the Merkins have it), and
gradually we plugged things back in and switched things back on as and
when required. And it all seemed fine for a few days, and then
suddenly they all went off again and the whole merry cycle began anew.

The only appliances that are running 24/7 are fridge, cookers (well,
the clocks anyhow), alarm clocks and whatever controls the boiler.
Plenty of other appliances are plugged in, and on at the wall, but not
in use (washing machine, dishwasher, TV (never left on standby) etc.
etc).

I don't have the correct terms for all the bits and bobs of the
consumer unit, but it's divided into two rows of eight trips (what
would, I suppose, have been fuses in the old days, what I think are
now called MCBs) with each row having a master "trip" (an RCD?) and an
over-arching master "trip" (a super RCD?) for the whole shooting
match.

It's the lower master "trip" that trips - the one controlling the
second row of individual trips. These trips are labelled "Hob",
"Sockets - kitchen", "Sockets - Upstairs", "Sockets - Garage",
"Sockets - Extension", "Immersion Heater", "Cooker", "Hall/Lounge
sockets downstairs".


The system designer (your electrician?) hasn't done you any favours if he
didn't ask if you ask if you wanted your freezer on a dedicated circuit,
ditto your boiler, though where that is connected is not clear. For little
extra cost you could have had a RCBO for each socket ring, the garage on non
sockets RCD but RCD'd in the garage. Can't undrerstand the Immersion Heater
being on a sockets RCD either. Ditto cooker and hob unless there is a
control unit socket. Find out why the electrician did it this way and
maybe think about a different electrician.

Jim A