As much as electricity has been one of the greatest discovery of our time, short circuits are one of the most common causes for fires in homes, commercial buildings and offices. We often take having electricity for granted and forget how dangerous it is to have it constantly flowing throughout our entire house until it’s too late.

Your electrical wiring and circuits are not exempted from normal wear and tear and it’s worth taking the time to do these few precautionary steps around the house to avoid short circuits that can lead to fatal electricity leaks or property damage:

1. Avoid Using Multiple Plug Sockets

If possible, don’t use multiple plug sockets. Overloading a single socket point with too many voltages from your kettle, iron, steamer, toaster and cooker and cause a short circuit to happen from overheating. In worse case scenarios, this can lead to a fire breakout.

Use one appliance at a time, and turn off the other switches when not in use. Watch out for these few signs of a circuit overload – dimmed or flickering lights, poor quality pictures on monitors or an electrical equipments overheating.

2. Ensure That Your Circuit Protection Is Up-to-Date

When moving into a new home, get an electrician to do a thorough check if the circuit protection system in the fuse box or supply-distribution box is in working order and up-to-date. Fuse boxes in old houses can be infested with insects which can damage the wiring and also cause short circuits to happen.

Homes today would normally have one of these type of circuit protection – circuit breakers, Arc Fault Circiut Interruptors (AFCI) or Ground Fault Circuit Interruptors (GFCI).

If too much current is drawn to your circuit breaker, it will cut of the circuit to protect your home from overheating wires that can cause fires.

Source: hubpages.com

3. Check Condition of Your Wires & Cables

The rubber casing around your electrical wires and cables from appliances and electronic equipment can get brittle over time or even be victims of rats nibibles and children playing with them.

Check and double check that the entire length of your wiring and cables are not exposed or damaged.

4. Study The “Load Profile” Of Your Appliances & Electrical System

Different appliances and equipment require different volume of electricity to make them work. Large appliances like freezers and ovens must be properly attached to socket outlets that can take the electrical load of such heavy appliances.

Avoid sharing sockets between electrical appliances if they both have heavy load profiles.

5. Proper Earthing A Must

Once again, this is a job for the professional – get a certified electrician to check if the earthing in your house is safe. Earthing is important to effectively channel electrical surges down into the ground and it can save your electrical appliances from being short-circuited.

Source: bls.gov

6. Watch Your Height

Avoid installing television antennas too high up. The higher it is, the higher the chances of it acting as a lightning rod during lightning storms.

7. Watch What’s Around Your House

Look out for trees growing around your house. When you see that a branch is getting too close to your main electrical power line, get a contractor to prune or cut the overgrown branches. If the tree is outside your house and for instance, is beside the public road, contact your local council or Majlis Pembandaran and inform them of the situation.

Source: unison.co.nz

Give your house a good check to make sure that your electrical wiring is safe from leaks and potential short circuits. Kaodim can provide you with qualified electricians in Malaysia covering areas in Klang Valley, Kuala Lumpur, Petaling Jaya, Puchong, Subang Jaya, Penang, Johor and many more.

Compare quotes for electrical repairs, electrical wiring installation and if you need someone to do an electrical inspectation on your home.

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