By now we’ve all heard the phrase “Safety switches save lives!”
It’s true – and, as a master electrician I love the campaigns and rules on safety switches – especially when I hear of serious electrical incidents that involve the absence of it.
I also reckon that too much emphasis is placed on having them and not enough emphasis on understanding them.
Every switchboard is different, so how do we know if our safety switches are good enough, and what are some simple steps we can all take without having to call in the specialists? I hope my thoughts below can help!
Many times, in my career, I’ve recommended for owners to add more safety switches in their homes, and their reply usually goes something like this: “but I got my home inspected by professionals before I bought it and they said we already have one. I don’t need any more”
Well, that’s definitely NOT CORRECT even though it may be true that you already have one,
One is not good enough to ensure safety in your home!
These days they are put on every single electrical circuit in your home, but before 2000 most only had them put on PowerPoints!
I repeat, most homes pre 2000 only had safety switches put on power points! There were none put on the lights, the ceiling fans, the ovens or cook tops, the hot water systems or air conditioners, and in many cases even the fridge (an electrical appliance that is touched by all family members hundreds of times a day). Because of this, there is potentially a major safety risk in them.
So, let’s discuss how they work and how to test their functionality once they have been safely and correctly installed.
STEP 1:
Go out to your switchboard or box, look for circuit breakers / switches that have a small button (they range in colour / size/ shape so look closely) that has an inscription “T” which stands for test.
STEP 2:
Press the button. You are now testing your safety switches and you will soon KNOW THAT IT IS GOOD or malfunctioning.
STEP 3:
See what happens. Did the switch trip and go to the “off” position? If so, it’s working! Or did the switch do nothing? This would indicate a malfunctioning switch.
And that’s it!
You now know your safety switches better.
Here are some important things to know:
⚡️ Each of the Safety Switches that you just tested are infinitely more times sensitive than a circuit breaker or rewireable fuse.
⚡️ Some circuit breakers wouldn’t even trip if you get electrocuted. They would just respond as though you were cooking something in the oven… but tragically it could be YOU OR A LOVED ONE cooking and the circuit breaker would do nothing but stay on.
⚡️ A safety switch will actually sense an imbalance (ie electricity flowing through a person and not where it’s meant to flow) and instantly STOP THE ELECTRIC SHOCK WITHIN ONLY A FRACTION OF A SECOND – quick enough to prevent your heart from fibrillating.
I recently learned a new name for a safety switch, which I LOVE and you should know:
⚡️ELECTROCUTION PROTECTION DEVICES⚡️🙌🏻
This name really tells the whole story and helps a homeowner to truly understand the importance of them. With that name attached, why wouldn’t you want an ELECTROCUTION PROTECTION DEVICE on your lights, fans, ovens, cooktops, hot water systems, air conditioners, fridges and so on.
We can help you protect you and your family to safely and efficiently install “Electrocution Protection Devices” in your home and business.
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Josh Atkinson (Owner / Director at Connected Electricians and Cablers Pty Ltd)