How to check, is your home safe?
Most of us are more than happy to say goodbye to 2020, a year where most of us spent more time than usual at home and in the company of our immediate families and housemates. While 2021 is set to allow us to be out and about a little more, now is a great time to reflect on just how safe your home really is.
Hornsby Electric’s owner and licensed electrician David Masters has flagged three important issues that are often overlooked by homeowners but are crucial in ensuring a home free of unnecessary electrical hazards and risks.
Check your smoke alarms
David says a lot of homes in the area don’t have a working smoke alarm. “Most have now expired as they have a life of ten years”. In fact, most house fires could have been prevented by working smoke alarms, and the technology used for them is so much better than it was ten years ago. If you can’t remember the last time yours was replaced, it’s definitely worth getting it checked out.
Check your safety switchboard
Many homes don’t have safety switches. Electrical faults and appliances are a common cause of house fires in NSW every year but they don’t need to be. These fires could have been prevented by the simple installation of safety switches on all circuits. Safety switches detect earth-leakage faults thereby preventing the most common cause of electric shocks and electrocution. Safety switches are designed to isolate your power supply in just 30 milliseconds if an earth leakage fault is detected. If you have switches in your switchboard that do not have a test button then you don’t have the protection that safety switches afford for you and your family.
Check the state of your home’s wiring
David says “Many homes in the area are at least 50 years old and haven’t been rewired; and they still have their original electrical switchboards in place, which typically contain asbestos and are deteriorating, making them hazardous”. Australian Standards for electrical wiring have changed a lot in 100 years, as has our energy consumption so wiring and switchboards that haven’t been updated for at least twenty years could well be putting way too much demand on your electrical installation (at best) and putting lives at risk (at worst)”.
Making sure your home is inspected by a good local electrician to ensure it’s a safe haven for your family is a great way to start off the year. We offer free safety inspections for all new customers.