Electrical safety is everyone’s responsibility. Electrical safety should be observed every time you even think about touching something connected to an electrical circuit. With the invention of electrical testers, circuits are easy to test and with circuit breakers and fuses, circuits can be shut off to avoid contact with electricity all together. Electrical safety often comes into play when bad weather strikes. Tornadoes, hurricanes, flooding, and ice storms bring a vast array of dangerous conditions. In this informative piece, you’ll find some great tips to keep you safe when working with electricity.
Weather-Related Electrical Safety:
The weather plays havoc on your electrical system, its components, and everything that is connected to them. Thunderstorms bring wild weather with lightning that can send a jolt to you electrical service. This can damage the electrical system itself and everything connected to it. Flooding rains can get into your house, cause electrocution hazards, damage electrical connections, and leave the devices it touched unsafe. Hurricanes and ice storms can take down power lines and leave electrocution hazards laying around everywhere. This informative article addresses the real concern for electrical safety in and around your home.
Electrical Safety In and Around The Home:
Everywhere you look in and around your home, electricity is connected to something. It may be the service line feeding your home, outlets feeding devices, or switches that control the lighting. But there are dangers when is exposed to the human body. These safety tips are designed to make you stop and think safety every time you think about something that is connected to electricity. safety first!
Six Ways of Preventing Electrical Shock by Electricians San Francisco:
This is a sensible look at preventing electrical shock. These tips will help keep you safe.
1. Be Safety Conscious
Working with electrical circuits can be dangerous if you don’t take certain safety precautions. Electrical shock can not only injure you but also kill you. Practice safety when working on any circuit and slow down! When you hurry through a project, there is a greater chance for an accident to occur.
2. Shut the Power Off
Always shut off the power to a circuit or device that you will be working on. This is the first thing you should do before working on any electrical circuit. I don’t know anyone who has been shocked by a circuit that is not energized.
3. Test the Circuit
After turning a circuit off, it’s a good idea to check it with a tester to be sure that, indeed, it is off. Never assume that the circuit is off!
4. Ladders
Ladders are necessary to accomplish some electrical jobs. Never use an aluminum ladder on any electrical project. Always use an insulated fiberglass ladder to keep you safe.
5. Wet Locations
Avoid wet areas when working with or on anything electrical. If there is a reason that you have to be in that situation, wear rubber boots and gloves to lesson your chance of getting shocked. Tools and appliances should be plugged into a GFCI outlet or GFCI extension cord.
Don’t forget to dry your hands before grabbing any cord to plug it in or unplug it. Wet hands and a frayed cord don’t mix. You reach down to grab the cord and just like that, you’ve been shocked! Believe it or not, it happens.
6. Warning Labels
Finally, if you are working on the service panel or a circuit, be sure to place a warning label on the face of the panel. This will warn someone not to turn on the circuit that you are working on. There’s nothing worse than turning off the power, checking that it’s off and starting to work on the circuit, only to have someone come behind you and turn the circuit back on. Always think and ask questions before turning on a breaker that is shut off. Maybe someone is working on the other end.