|
All for ensuring better safety at home
|
Tips on use of electrical equipment
 Much of the world considers 220V-240V to be safe enough for standard residential lighting and other purposes. Within the Indian community the mains voltage is currently 230V (50Hz). When this amount of voltage is sent across the human body it could give rise to a fatal electric shock. Therefore, you must not simultaneously touch both (negative and positive)terminals under any circumstances. High voltage can result in damage of electrical equipment too.
The following measures can ensure better safety: |
Earthing
This enables a fault current to flow safely and directly to the earth. But ensure low level of resistance. (Electrical resistance is a measure of the degree to which an object opposes the passage of an electric current. The SI unit of electrical resistance is the ohm. Its reciprocal quantity is electrical conductance, measured in siemens). When this level is low even a little fault in current is enough to make it trigger the device that disconnects the circuit. This will ensure safety.
Protection against failure of earthing: Today, many electrical appliances allow a small amount of current to "leak". This leaked current is, for each individual device, quite small. But when there are many equipment, the total current so leaked is potentially dangerous. To avoid this, one may think of installing a device known as residual current device.
Electrical circuits are designed to carry a particular quantity of load. They are fitted with a protective device, i.e. a fuse or a circuit breaker. When the demand for current exceeds the limit of the protective device, the line trips and the circuit is disconnected automatically. |
Correct sizing of wires
Inadequate size of mental wires (or conductors) in cables can cause overheating. Wires laid some 25 or 30 years ago, when electricity demand was lower, are usually inadequate today. Following are the other measures that can make your home safe:
- Use weather - proof equipmented and cables.
- Consistently use 3-pin plugs (grounded plugs).
- Avoid unnecessarily long cables. They have large resistance and cause more voltage loss and slow down protection fuse operation.
- Unwind the cable completely before using a extension chord (to avoid cable overheating).
- Use local residual current devices for protection against failure of earthing.
- Avoid electricity points on exterior walls as it increases the risk of electric shocks or electric burns.
- All Systems should be installed as suggested by the manufacturer.
- Since most of the resistance of the body is in the skin, one should not handle electrical apparatus with wet or damp hands.
- Ensure that the wire sizes of extensions cords are capable of handling the load without heating.
- When using extension cords, ensure that they are fully extended, not covered by mats, and not placed where there is a tripping hazard.
- If extension cord is coiled or covered with mat, its current carying capacity and safety can be seriously reduced.
- Ensure that all extension cords are in good condition before they are used.
- Avoid excessive bending, stretching and kinking of electrical supply cords.
- Patient treatment areas such as medical and dental surgery have particular requirements on electrical safety and the standards prescribed have to be adhered to.
- Electrical heating appliances are a common cause of fire.
- Wherever possible, appliances should have thermostat control and thermal overload protection.
- Multi - outlet power boards/cords can be unsafe because of the potential for overloading, and inadequate protection of circuits.
|
|
