5 September 2017
One safety switch is not enough
The safety switch message is not a new one. Government legislation made it compulsory for new homes to have safety switches installed on the power point circuit 23 years ago. Since then any older homes up for sale or any rental properties needed to be fitted also. This has meant most homes in Queensland have a safety switch which, without a doubt, has saved countless lives.
Which electrical systems does your safety switch cover?
The problem with this is that it doesn’t fully protect residents from potentially deadly electrical shocks in the home. If the faulty, damaged or tampered with appliance or fitting is not plugged into a power point connected to the safety switch you can still get an electric shock. Surprisingly, there are many parts of your home’s electrical system which this applies to, for instance, the:
- hot water system
- lights
- air conditioning unit
- electric oven
- electric cooktop
- pool filter equipment
- spa or hot tub
The Electrical Safety Office has recently launched a campaign to encourage the fitting of safety switches to each and every circuit in your home. A move that will protect residents from electrical accidents occurring with home appliances like the ones listed above, as well as any wiring faults.
A quick switchboard inspection
The easiest way to check if you have more than one safety switch fitted in your home is to do a quick switchboard inspection. Modern switchboards can vary greatly in how they look but basically, there will be a group of, yep you guessed it, switches in there. Not all the switches you can see will be safety switches. There seems to be a lot of confusion in the general public as to which is a circuit breaker, fuse or safety switch. To find out which is which, watch this video from Work Safe Queensland.
Protecting yourself and your family from electrical hazards is a serious business. Just like putting good tyres on the car to prevent accidents on the road, if the safety switch only flicks once a year, the one life it saves could be yours.
The next step to safety
Fallon Solutions master electricians are committed to providing electrical safety and highly recommend the installation of a safety switch on each circuit of your home. To keep costs as low as possible request all circuits to be fitted with a safety switch in one visit and take advantage of our FREE home safety inspection while our electrician is at your home.
For more information on safety switches and how they work take a look at our Electrical Safety Switch page or visit worksafe.qld.gov.au.
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