Tuesday 26 July 2016

Safety switch installation to keep you and your family safe

Installing an RCD Safety Switch in your meter box and testing it regularly is a small investment which will provide long term protection for you, your family and pets against serious injury and death.  Every day activities which may seem harmless such as screwing a picture into a wall or using an electrical appliance can result in electrocution without the protection of a RCD Safety Switch. Master Electricians Australia report that more than 300 are hospitalised each year due to avoidable electric shock and this can be prevented by simply taking steps to ensure electrical safety. 

On a recent trip to Sydney, Sydney Local Electricians was contacted by Peter from Penrith who wanted to enquire about installing safety switches into his home to protect not only himself, but his recent newborn son.  Upon reaching his Coombes Drive home, we were able to take him through everything he needed to know before making the final decision to have a Penrith Electrician install that safety switch in his home.

What is a Safety Switch?
Safety Switches or RCD’s (Residual Current Devices) provide a fast power cut- off in problem situations. Electrical hazards and faults are extremely difficult to identify (even for us professionals), such as a small hole in an extension lead or a damaged power board.



How do Safety Switches work?
An RCD Safety Switch works by monitoring the current flowing in the Active and Neutral wires supplying a circuit or an individual item of equipment. Under normal circumstances, the current flowing in the two wires is equal. If an earth leakage occurs due to a fault in the circuit or an accident with the equipment, an imbalance occurs and this is detected by the RCD, which automatically cuts off the power disconnecting in under 20 milliseconds of detecting a leakage current. Most importantly, the break in electrical current stops the flow of electricity through someone’s body to earth. RCDs also protect against fire caused by faults in appliances, tools and wiring.

Does your home have Safety Switches installed?
Since 2000, it has been compulsory for all new homes to have a minimum of two Safety Switches installed to protect the power and lighting circuits as part of the electrical installation. However, homes built before 2000 were not required to have two RCDs fitted and from 1992 to 1999, only one RCD was fitted, which will not ensure complete protection. One RCD is likely to protect only the power circuits and leaves the lighting circuits unprotected.

Testing your Safety Switches
To ensure that the Safety Switches fitted to your home perform correctly, they must be tested every three months, or if using a portable RCD, a push button test should be performed before each use by the operator.

Prior to testing your Safety Switches, ensure that all electrical appliances such as computers and televisions are turned off.  To test your Safety Switch, press the ‘test’ button on the front of the device and then release it. The button will only test the Safety Switch if an electricity supply is connected.  Pressing the test button will simulate an earth leakage fault and indicates whether the device is operating correctly. When an RCD Safety Switch operates, all power is lost to the equipment, power point or circuit protected by the RCD.  

If for any reason, the switch does not work correctly or it is not able to be switched back on, Sydney Local Electricians will be able to check these for you.  Give us a call on 0415 11 66 22 is you need a Penrith Electrician.

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