As the head of your household, keeping your home—and your loved ones who live there—as safe as possible should always be a top priority. The danger of electricity is a real and important factor to consider.
One way you can assure everyone’s safety is to be aware of the most critical electrical dangers that could be lurking around your home, as well as how to go about addressing them.
Critical Home Electrical Hazards
Read on and arm yourself with important information regarding electronic hazards around the house.
- A top electric hazard to be on the lookout for is faulty wiring. When done properly, wiring can last and work efficiently for many years.
- However, wiring that is incompatible with certain appliances and devices is susceptible to danger and damage within your home. Faulty wiring is the #1 cause of household fires.
- Have a professional electrician assess your home’s current wiring configuration annually, particularly if you live in an older home. Doing so can help assure you that your wiring is safe, as well as spotting and fixing any issues that may need to be remedied in a timely fashion.
- Replace broken or flickering bulbs. LED bulbs are a great choice for long-lasting illumination in your home.
- These bulbs are also more energy-efficient, so you’re saving time, money, and helping the environment in the long run.
- Be sure you’re using the correct lightbulb wattage in your lights and lamps to play it safe.
- Unplug unused appliances and devices. Not only will this savvy practice save you money on your power bill, but it also affords you peace of mind.
- Unplugging computers, lamps, and other less frequently used devices when possible minimizes the risk of electrically related problems.
- Be careful to not overload outlets and power strips.
- If you suspect (or just want to test it out) that a power strip or outlet may be working in overdrive, put your hand just over the top of the power strip—it should feel completely cool/room-temperature to the touch. Warm or especially hot cords/strips signals that it is overloaded, which means it and all of the devices or appliances plugged into it are in danger of short-circuiting or catching fire.
- Spread out or disperse these items further apart, and be sure to dispose of any damaged cords—fraying, bent, corroded, or otherwise broken cords are a fire hazard as well, and not worth the risk.
- Keep outlets protected. If you have small children in your home, you definitely want to make sure your outlets are properly covered for maximum protection.
- There are many different outlet plugs and covers on the market that are safe and effective when it comes to keeping danger at bay.
- Kids are naturally curious, and sticking objects or trying to plug things in that don’t belong is a real risk to consider and take steps to prevent.
- In addition to covering or safeguarding outlets with covers or plugs, be sure to communicate clearly with your child that those areas are “no-go” zones.
- Store and care for cords with care.
- In addition to discarding damaged cords and wires, the way you store them is also pertinent to maintaining electrical safety in the home.
- Neatly and carefully wrap cords when they are not in use, and store them in containers or locations where critters or small children cannot get to them—this prevents chewing and damaging the cords.
- Be mindful not to store them near sources of water or high heat.
- When unplugging or removing cords, don’t yank on them from the end or middle—pull them out gently by the actual plug. This is another way to minimize damage and keep your cords in good shape.
- Don’t overextend your extension cords.
- Extension cords are great—they allow you to properly deliver power to appliances or outlets with more space.
- However, they also pose some electrical risks. One thing to remember is that any cords, wires, or strips extending across an area that experiences a good bit of foot traffic presents a trip or fall risk. Take precautions when running, placing, or draping extension cords in these spots.
- All extension cords are not created equally—different cords are designed to handle different amounts of power loads. Be sure you’re using an extension cord that can handle the power load you need.
- Smoke alarms are devices that should not be neglected. In fact, research shows that over 66% of homes that experienced fires did not have properly functioning fire alarms at the time of the incident. These devices simply cannot protect you if they aren’t working!
- Hardwired alarms need to be checked once a month. Any issues? Call a professional to remedy the problem.
- Battery-operated alarms need to be tested monthly as well, in addition to making sure you change the batteries out once a year.
- Make a note on your personal calendar to ensure that these potentially life-saving checks are performed regularly.
Still, fretting over electrical issues? Consider prepaid electricity from Ampra Energy. Prepaid electricity differs from the more commonly-known postpaid energy plans in that prepaid electricity allows you to pay upfront for power.
That’s right—with prepaid energy, consumers can set a predetermined amount that they want to spend on their monthly power consumption—before it is even used. Additionally, prepaid customers can quickly and easily add funds to their accounts if needed before the billing cycle ends.
Prepaid energy plans also allow consumers to track their household’s energy usage in real-time, thanks to digital devices called Smart Meters. Smart Meters also work to help both customers and the power company spot and address potential electrical problems expediently.
Ampra Energy has something for everyone—with prepaid, postpaid, and small business plans tailored to meet all of their customers’ wishes.
Sitting around worrying about the light bill? Stop now! Call, email, or fill up the inquiry form to learn more about the reliable, affordable power plans offered by Ampra Energy.
Ampra Energy, the #1 retail energy provider in the state of Texas, has an array of prepaid, postpaid, and small business energy plans guaranteed to suit your needs—all with NO credit check, NO deposit, and NO SSN or ID requirement to stop you from enrolling today.
