Many electrical devices are manufactured to make sure people in the house have adequate protection from electrical shock and other hazardous consequences. All homes are used to manually switching off electricity when there is a fault. This may come too late sometimes because some damage might have occurred.
Before now, fuses are the predominant devices for protection against electrical faults. You have to change a damaged fuse after a fault has been corrected.
Protection from electricity problems today is not as challenging as before due to the availability of devices that offer sufficient protection against electrical faults. For home safety, these electrical devices can be of help to keep safe:
Circuit-Breakers
Majority of homes today have circuit breakers installed at the consumer unit. These are more like the traditional fuses. They switch off when a fault or higher voltage is detected in electricity supply.
This prevents electrical fires that could have resulted from sparks or melting of the wire after much heat. A circuit breaker can be compared to fuses but are more efficient.
All you need to get a circuit-breaker to working again after tripping off is to reset the unit again after the correction has been made.
Residual Current Device (RCD)/Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter (GFCI)
A residual current device otherwise referred to as ground fault circuit interrupter in some regions is a device that is designed to save humans from electrocution and other electrical hazards. RCDs are today’s safety switches. The device gives a high level of protection that other devices like circuit-breakers or fuses are not capable of. It works by cutting off supply to a circuit immediately an abnormal electric flow is detected.
For instance, if you mistakenly step on a current carrying wire that is connected to an RCD, it immediately cuts off current flow to prevent serious electric shock or electrocution.
A Residual circuit current device works by constantly monitoring the flow of electricity within the circuits connected to it. If a sudden change of electric flow down an unknown path is detected, it immediately cuts off the supply. This is the life-saving potential of a residual current device.
RCDs can be fixed RCDs that are installed in the fuse box or the consumer unit of the house. You can also have the outlet RCDs which you can use on the sockets or outlets.
Surge Protection Device
Surge protection devices (SPDs) are designed to protect electrical appliances from very high voltages resulting from spikes. This is caused most times by lightning or thunderstorm. Surge protection devices are grouped into three types.
These are Type 1, Type 2 and Type 3 surge protection devices.
Type 2 surge protectors are installed for whole house protection while Type 1 is the most durable and often installed by the electricity company.
Type 3 surge protectors are receptacle or outlet surge protectors that you can have in a unit of the house. They’re installed close to the appliances.
Know that while they may all appear to be doing the same thing, they are targeted at some specifics. Safety Switches, such as RCDs, target the safety of humans while surge protectors and circuit breakers are directed at keeping appliances and electrical networks safe.
Smoke Alarms
These devices may not be seen as important but they are. Smoke alarms automatically trigger on in the event of an electrical fire resulting from a spark.
