What is the necessity of having safety switches in our homes?

Safety switches save lives, if they're not installed in your home, ask your friendly local electrician on The Gold Coast to install them on all your circuits to safeguard your family. They’re a very inexpensive way to safeguard all your family members. A lot of homes have maybe one or two safety switches on their main power outlets. Many homeowners think because of this, they are fully protected, but every circuit needs to be protected with its own safety switch, whether it’s lighting, wall fans, heaters, your air conditioner, wired-in appliances such as electric ranges, furnaces and water heaters, because we never know when a disaster or an accident will strike, making these appliances venerable and dangerous.

What is a safety switch?

An RCD or Residual Current Device, commonly called a safety switch is an electrical device that cuts power off from an electrical circuit as soon as there is any electrical leakage. This happens in 0.03 seconds, so quick that it’s not long enough for the electrical current to cause any danger.

The safety switch stops the flow of electricity as soon as the leak is detected, so quickly that anyone in contact with the circuit doesn’t have time to receive an electric shock. This makes them a vital safety feature of every household’s electric system.

Safety switches can be recognised because they have a test button on the front. Mostly, older homes have circuit breakers which look similar, but they don’t have a test button. Circuit breakers only protect against short circuits and overloads and will not prevent you from getting an electrical shock. If you have these or there is any doubt then you should contact your friendly local electrician on The Gold Coast to have your wiring checked and safety switches installed

Different styles of safety switches

There are four main types of safety switches used in homes

1. Meter Box Mounted Safety Switches

This type of safety switch is mounted inside your meter box or on your distribution board, they are usually mounted next to the circuit breakers

2. Combination circuit breakers and safety switches

Often an older home will have a circuit board or meter box with limited space so the combination safety switch and a circuit breaker is often used. The advantage of these switches is they will protect all your electrical appliances from power surges and short circuits that could happen if the appliance is damaged or wet. They also protect everyone from the possibility of electric shock

3. Portable safety switches

This type of safety switch can be attached to extension leads or remote power boards. Often these are used when using different types of power tools or electrical equipment outdoors when they are not covered with a safety switch on the meter board

4. Power point safety switches

There are many situations in the home where your power outlets could be compromised by water, such as in kitchens, bar areas, workshops, laundries and bathrooms as well as outdoor locations such as exterior lighting, CCTV cameras, pools, pump sheds, saunas, spars, decks and BBQ areas

Accidents happen from putting a nail in a wall to hang a picture and hitting a live wire to children playing with power outlets. These can be prevented by having your local electrician on The Gold Coast install safety switches to protect your family.