Electrical Safety In The Home | 5 Tips To Protect Your Home
Electrical safety tips to keep your home safe
In this modern day, almost every single household is dependent on electricity and electrical appliances within their home in order to live. Could you imagine a world without electricity? I imagine we would all be pretty lost!
However with all the benefits that electricity brings, it also has some certain dangers and although the majority of homes will operate safely it is important that you play your part to ensure the electrical safety of your home for yourself, your family and anyone else nearby.
Throughout this article, we will provide you with five comprehensive electrical safety tips to help bring peace of mind and safety to your home when it comes to electrical appliances. This guide will provide you with helpful advice which will enable your electrical systems and appliances to adhere to the rules and regulations so that are as safe as possible for you and your family.
By all means, it goes without saying that if you are currently experiencing some electrical safety issues or something doesn’t seem quite right with any of your electrical systems or appliances, please get in contact with a qualified, professional electrician who will be able to diagnose and fix your problem without putting you or your family in danger.
Five tips to protect your home from potential electrical hazards
The five ways you can look to protect your property from potential electrical hazards and ensure the safety of your home are by completing the following electrical safety checks:
- Registering your electrical appliances
- Avoiding electric shocks
- Performing an electrical safety check
- Installing an RCD
- Choosing LED Lights
Registering Your Electrical Appliances
Most people who purchase new electrical appliances and electrical items take a quick glance at the registration documents and shove them in a drawer to look at later. However, later never comes around and you end up with unregistered electrical appliances all across your home.
In the UK alone there are over 260 million unregistered electrical products with many people thinking it is a waste of time to register your appliance online or call up the manufacturer to register it however there is a reason for it and it is to ensure your own safety at home!
Registering your new electrical appliance is a necessary safety precaution that allows the manufacturers to track and trace customers so they can let them know if there is a fault with their product. When registering your new electrical appliance, you provide the manufacturer with all your contact details so if there was ever an issue with your range of models, they can contact you and tell you to discontinue using it as it is not safe.
Therefore it is pivotal that all your electrical appliances are registered with the manufacturer in the future as it can help save lives and provide you with peace of mind that your home is that little bit more protected.
Avoiding Electric Shocks
Many of us underestimate the powers of electricity and the risks associated with it. An electric shock can be fatal with only needing a small amount of electricity to do so. Many people are unaware that their household appliances could be posing a legitimate real-life danger to themselves and the people around them.
Therefore you should keep your eyes open for any obvious signs that an electrical appliance is faulty and potentially dangerous to yourself and the loved ones around you. If you notice something that does not look right, please get in contact with a qualified electrician immediately to ensure that you, your loved ones and your property are safe and protected.
Some of the most common and obvious signs that an electrical appliance is faulty include:
- Appliances are overly hot.
- Appliances glowing.
- Sparks coming from the appliance.
- Exposed or worn wires.
- Circuit breakers are regularly tripped.
If you notice any one of these electrical faults or anything else that doesn’t seem right, please get in contact with a qualified electrician immediately and they will be able to advise you on the next steps to take.
Electrical Saftey Check
Electrical safety checks should be carried out every five to ten years depending on the age of your wiring and property type. They should be carried out by a qualified electrician who will test your appliances, power sockets, lighting and other electrical fixing to check if they are safe to use. An electrical safety check is pivotal to ensuring that your property is safe because as previously mentioned, unsafe wiring and electrical appliances can be life-threatening.
Installing an RCD
An RCD known as a residual current device, is a life-saving device that is designed to prevent people within your household from receiving a fatal electric shock if you touch something that is live such as a bare wire. It shuts down electricity automatically if there is a fault. It can also provide protection against electrical fires and offer a level of personal protection that ordinary fuses and circuit breakers cannot provide. It is pivotal that you ensure that you have installed an RCD into your home’s electrical system. This is a device that can save lives, reducing the chance of death and injury by tenfold and is a necessary component of electrical safety within the home.
Choosing LED Lights
Modern LED lights are the safest alternative to the traditional bulb, with LED lights being made without the harmful chemical mercury. Mercury can be a health and safety hazard because when a traditional bulb breaks it can lead to mercury exposure. It is recommended that you replace as many of these bulbs as possible with LED options. Furthermore, LED bulbs can save you a lot of money on your energy bills not only being the safest type of bulb but also the most cost-effective. For example, if you run a 500-watt halogen outside light it will cost you 15p per hour to run. These are often left on all night at some properties. If this was replaced and changed to an LED 10-watt bulb it would cost 0.3p (one-third of a penny) per hour to run, therefore saving you a lot of money if you left these lights on every night for years upon end. So if you are looking for a bulb that is one of the safest plus one of the most energy-efficient, choose an LED light for your home.
Conclusion
In conclusion, electrical safety in the home is of paramount importance. By adhering to simple practices such as using quality electrical appliances and registering them, identifying electrical appliances that can cause issues and performing regular safety checks you can minimise the risk of electrical hazards and accidents.
By prioritizing safety and staying informed about potential hazards, you can create a secure environment for yourselves and your loved ones reducing the likelihood of electrical-related incidents and promoting a safer and more comfortable home.
If you require any electrical services within the Bristol area, why not consider P J Bryer, the leading qualified electrician in Bristol? We have a team of fully qualified electricians, who will not only meet your expectations for your required electrical service but exceed them. With decades of experience between each of our electrical contractors, our team are capable of being called out to your location to fix any fault or issue you have.
Call us now on 01454 314980 to book your electrician services in Bristol.
