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Homeowner’s Guide to Electrical Safety

Electrical Safety Guide for Homeowner
August 2, 2021

Faulty electrical wiring in the home is responsible for 40% of all house fires. Worse, electrocution causes injuries and death. Every year, about 15 people are killed, and 300 are hospitalized in Australia. Please make no mistake about it: electricity is highly hazardous.

Electrical safety in the house is something that everyone should be aware of. Please go through the article to know more about electrical safety.

Guide to Electrical Safety for Homeowners

In this blog, we have enlisted a list of things that a homeowner must know regarding electrical safety in the house. They are:

  1. Fuses
  2. Safety Switches
  3. Licensed Electrician
  4. Extension Chords
  5. Plugs
  6. Surge Protectors

Fuses

A hundred bucks saved on a repair call is never worth the danger of a fire resulting from improper wiring. Furthermore, most insurance policies will not cover damage caused by a house fire caused by improper wiring.

Fuses prevent this by forcing electricity in a circuit to flow through a silver element rated to melt at a specific amperage. This number is somewhat more remarkable than the circuit's sustained current rating, so it won't explode following a sudden power surge caused by plugging in a significant appliance.

For decades, fuses were the only safety device in many homes' electrical wiring. They had to be replaced when they blew out. Frugal residents have been known to replace missing fuses with a cent, which has resulted in hundreds of house fires.

Many homes constructed before the 1960s have fuse boxes, and many modern appliances still have tiny replaceable fuses. In a power surge, replacing a 50¢ fuse is less expensive than replacing a $2000 television.

Safety Switches

The 1st step in protecting yourself and your family is to make sure your switchboard includes safety switches. Safety switches, circuit breakers, and fuses are the three types of cutoff devices used in switchboards. If your switchboard has fuses, it is out of date and has to be changed immediately for safety reasons.

At the absolute least, you should have circuit breakers as switches. When a problem, such as an overload, is identified, a circuit breaker shuts down the electricity. They're made to keep fires at bay.

Safety switches, on the other hand, are intended to avoid electrocution. When the electricity starts to flow outside of the circuit, they cut the power in a fraction of a second, which means it stops instantaneously when it starts to flow through you. The most crucial thing you need to do to increase electrical safety at home is installing safety switches.

Licensed Electrician

DIY activity is one of the leading causes of electrical mishaps in the home. According to government websites, you should "not perform any electrical repair other than changing a light globe." Switch wiring, ceiling fan installation, and powerpoint installation are all tasks that should be left to a qualified electrician.

Doing electrical work yourself not only puts individuals in danger of injury or death, but it may also cause electrical fires and burn your house down. It also has the potential to invalidate your insurance coverage. There are several compelling reasons to use a qualified electrician for any residential electrical repair.

Extension Chords

Extension cables are one of the things to be cautious about. If you're working outside, you should use an extension cable with an outdoor rating. The extension cord must be completely unwound and free of kinks.

Extending extension cables beneath carpets or across high-traffic areas is likewise not a brilliant idea. This isn't just because it's a tripping danger; it's also because walking on the extension cable damages it.

Extension cords get banged about, so check to verify whether it's in good shape before using it. Any exposed wire near the plug is a possible threat, and a cord in this condition should be discarded.

Plugs

Check for frayed cables where the cord meets the plug while using electrical equipment. Have you ever marvelled why the tops of the pins on your electrical appliance's plug have plastic sheaths? It's a precautionary measure.

Thin metallic things, such as the slat from a Venetian blind, have electrocuted people when they slide behind a plug that isn't snug in the socket. So having what is known as insulated plugs is a good idea.

Surge Protectors

Surge protectors are essential for safeguarding pricey devices. An electrical surge occurs when the potential energy (volts) flowing through a circuit suddenly increases. Many people connect these with lightning strikes, although a lightning-strike wave is uncommon to modern power delivery's insulation and safeguards.

The restoration of electricity after wires fall in a storm causes the most devastating surges. Minor power surges can also be caused by heavy equipment such as elevator motors and air conditioners.

A surge may raise the voltage in the lines (usually 0v to 169v) to 25,000 volts. Surge-exposed solid-state electronics would be quickly destroyed, and even the most robust electro-mechanical motors and relays may have their windings burnt out.

Home Electrical Safety Tips

It's understandable to take electricity for granted in the home because it's such a common occurrence. However, the following suggestions should be followed:

  • Pull the plug, not the cable, at all times.
  • Before cleaning, turn off and disconnect any electrical appliances.
  • Any switches that aren't in use should be turned off.
  • When toddlers are around, use child safety plugs on disused outlets.
  • Turn off the light switch while changing light bulbs.
  • Adaptors should not be "piggybacked."
  • Electrical equipment should not be overloaded on powerboards.
  • When you are not present, never leave heaters or dryers on.
  • When you have damp hands, don't switch anything on.

Conclusion

Electricity can be a lot of fun, a lot of power, and a lot of risks. It's beneficial to have a basic grasp of your home's electrical system. Self-diagnosing a tripped circuit breaker or replacing a light fixture may save you thousands of dollars throughout your home's lifetime.

Before beginning any wiring installation, even something as easy as installing a ceiling fan or new track lighting, remember to cut off the electricity at the main service panel.

There are a variety of situations in which an electrician is required. Any substantial rewiring, as well as problems with your main service panel, sparking, or broken wires, should be handled by a qualified expert.

A hundred dollars saved on a repair visit is never worth the risk to your family's life if faulty wiring causes a fire. In addition, most of your insurance plans will not cover damage caused by illegal wiring that results in a house fire.

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