We could never conceive living without a constant supply of electricity, such is our reliance on it. Electricity has become an integral component of our daily lives, from supplying lighting, cooling, and heating to powering all of our electronic equipment. However, it is important to remember that if it is utilized inappropriately, it can cause harm or even put human lives in jeopardy.
Indoors
Food, light, entertainment, heating, and cooling are all provided by electric energy in our houses. A lot of electrical accidents happen in houses, and the main areas of concern are listed here.
Appliances made of electricity
Our houses are crammed with electrical gadgets, ranging from microwaves and toasters to refrigerators and television sets, but there are precautions to take to avoid electrocution.
Ensure that heat-producing items, such as computer displays and television sets, have enough clearance all around for proper air circulation.
Avoid putting anything into a toaster or other similar equipment.
Switch off and disconnect appliances before cleaning them.
While leaving your home, turn off equipment such as ovens, air conditioners, and heaters.
Never touch an electrical equipment with moist hands.
Because the wires may split or bend if you fold an electric blanket to store it, don’t fold it.
Check the appliances for defective or broken plugs, cords, and switches at regular intervals and replace or repair them as soon as possible.
If you do decide to trash them, make sure they can’t be used by anyone else.
Lights
Despite the fact that lights appear to be mild, they are capable of causing electrocution. To stay safe when working with lights of any kind, observe these guidelines:
Always use a light bulb with the proper wattage to avoid overheating.
Always turn off the light before changing a light bulb.
When changing a light bulb or touching a light switch, avoid using moist hands.
If tiling is being done around the light fittings or switches, have the plates removed by a trained electrician.
When painting a ceiling, don’t remove the plate around the light; instead, cover it.
Cords
We attach appliances to the power supply via cords, which must be handled with caution. The following are some electrical cord safety tips:
To minimize overheating, completely untie the cords before using.
Pull a cord from the wall at the plug at all times since pulling on the cord itself is dangerous.
When utilizing extension cables outside, make sure they are rated for outdoor use and that the connectors are weatherproofed.
Yes, extension cords should only be used as a temporary solution and should be positioned around the walls to avoid tripping, not beneath rugs or carpets.
Wet Areas
Because electricity and water do not mix, extra attention should be exercised in moist environments, which includes the following:
Wear rubber-soled footwear when working in wet places like the laundry.
When not in use, disconnect and safely store electric shavers and hair dryers in the bathroom.
Avoid using portable electric heaters in the bathroom.
Extension cables should not be used in moist places unless they are specifically intended for that purpose.
Keep stereos away from swimming pools and spas to avoid splashing.
Power Boards & Adapters
In our daily lives, we use so many gadgets that a single power outlet is frequently insufficient; however, caution should be exercised while utilising twin power boards or adapters.
It’s not a good idea to piggyback a double adapter because it could cause an electrical fire.
Ensure that the power board is capable of supporting the appliances that are plugged in; nevertheless, never overload a power board with too many gadgets.
It is usually recommended to utilise power boards with built-in safety features such as overload switches.
Inspect power boards for symptoms of discoloration or scorching at regular intervals, and replace immediately if any are found.
Ensure that power boards have adequate airflow to prevent overheating.
If the power boards are not in use for an extended period of time, it is recommended that they be switched off from the wall outlet.
Outdoors
Outside the home, electricity can be dangerous, and caution should be exercised. The primary areas of concern are listed below.
Wires that are hidden or concealed
Wires that are invisible to the naked eye are more dangerous than overhead electricity lines. The following guidelines should be followed in such cases.
Before excavating any form of trench or ditch in your backyard, phone 1100 to be sure there are no underground electrical lines.
Before drilling into the walls, try to locate the electrical lines, especially near power outlets and light switches.
Power lines
Because overhead electricity lines carry such high voltages, more caution must be exercised when approaching them. Follow the safety precautions listed below when working near electrical lines.
Before constructing an antenna, raising a ladder, or erecting a boat mast, make sure there are no overhead electrical lines in the area.
Professional tree trimming should be done in the area surrounding powerlines, and low-growing vegetation should be planted if possible.
Ensure that your youngsters do not climb trees or fly kites near overhead power wires.
If you must be on your roof for any reason, keep your distance from the power lines that connect your house to the grid.
Prevention
The old adage says, “Prevention is better than cure!” Follow these easy principles to protect yourself from any potential electrical mishaps:
It is usually advisable to engage the services of a licensed emergency electricians london
Do-it-yourself electrical work is not only unlawful, but it can also result in electrocution or fires.
All obsolete ceramic wire-type fuses should be replaced with switch-type circuit breakers.
Hire a professional electrician to conduct an electrical safety assessment of your home or company to identify potential hazards.
Install RCDs or safety switches (Residual Current Devices). During an emergency, they will cut power flow in a thousandth of a second, which helps to prevent damage.
Test safety switches every three months to ensure they are in good working order.
Despite the fact that electricity has the ability to kill, we can live safely with it if we use common sense and encourage our children to do the same. Electricity has the potential to be a valuable ally at all phases of our life.
Even though the modern electric utility industry didn’t start until the late 1800s, electricity has captivated us since our forefathers first saw lightning. Rubbing amber produces an electric charge, which the ancient Greeks discovered. Electricity is a fundamental component of nature and one of our most extensively used energy sources. It is a secondary energy source obtained by converting main energy sources such as natural gas, oil, coal, and nuclear power. Many villages and towns were constructed next to waterfalls that powered water wheels. Before the invention of electricity, dwellings were illuminated by kerosene lamps, food was kept cold in iceboxes, and rooms were heated by stoves. Today’s “necessities,” such as light bulbs, fans, air conditioners, and freezers, are the result of the ideas of inventors who lived more than a century ago. Many of us are familiar with Benjamin Franklin’s famous kite experiment and Thomas Edison’s electric light bulb, but there was a slew of other inventors who made significant contributions to our modern use of electricity. Some of these inventors just wanted to improve on existing concepts, while others spotted a need and experimented until they created something new. Each new invention prepared the path for the one before it.
Otto von Guericke, a German physicist, began experimenting with electricity generation in the mid-1600s. He built the first mechanism to produce huge amounts of electricity in 1670, using a sulphur ball that he revolved while holding his palm against it, charging it with electricity. Others, such as Isaac Newton, later modified the machine by substituting a glass ball for the sulphur, then a cylinder, and finally a glass plate.
Benjamin Franklin began experimenting with electricity in 1747, and he established the concept of positive and negative charge. In 1752, he conducted his famous kite experiment to demonstrate that lightning was a type of electrical discharge. He flew a kite with a stiff wire pointing up attached to the top of the kite and a key fastened to the other end of the string during a rainstorm and let it dangle near a jar. The rain caused the string to become wet, causing sparks to leap from the key into the jar until the jar could no longer handle any more charges.
Alessandro Volta, an Italian academic, devised the voltaic pile, which is now known as an electric cell or battery, in 1800. He created a stack of zinc, acid or salt-soaked paper, and copper discs, and received a jolt when he touched both ends. Volta is the term given to the volt. Michael Faraday was another who, in the early half of the 1800s, made a significant contribution to our contemporary use of electricity. He experimented with electricity and magnetism, leading to modern inventions like the motor, generator, telegraph, and telephone. He experimented with induction in 1831 and discovered a means to generate a large amount of energy all at once. We generate electricity using his electromagnetic induction principle.
The invention of the electric light bulb in the mid-nineteenth century revolutionised everyone’s lives. This technology made it possible for us to have indoor illumination in our houses. Thomas Edison, an American inventor, expanded on a 50-year-old notion and produced the incandescent light bulb. Many inventors had invented electric lights before him, but none of them were suitable for domestic usage. After a year and a half of experimentation, he developed a viable electrical light bulb in 1879 using lower current electricity, a carbonised sewing thread filament, and a better vacuum inside the globeAs he electrically lit the Menlo Park laboratory complex, Edison exhibited his incandescent lighting system to the public. He saw the necessity for an electrical distribution system to provide lighting power, and in 1882 he built the first central commercial incandescent electric generating station in New York City, which offered light and electric power to clients throughout a one-square-mile region. As the industry transitioned from gas to electric carbon-arc commercial and street lighting systems, this was the start of the electric age. By the late 1880s, the demand for electric motors had pushed the industry to operate 24 hours a day, and the demand for energy for transportation and industry had skyrocketed. Because of the transmission inefficiencies of direct current, many U.S. cities now had small central stations, although each was confined to only a few blocks (DC). Edison’s different electric enterprises continued to flourish as electricity expanded over the world, until they merged to establish Edison General Electric in 1889. After a three-year merger with its main competitor Thompson-Houston, Edison General Electric became just General Electric.
George Westinghouse Jr., a pioneer in the electrical business, was one of Thomas Edison’s key competitors. He formed Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company in 1886 to develop alternating current technology (AC). An alternating current power system allowed voltages to be “stepped up” for distribution by a transformer, reducing power losses, and then “stepped down” for consumer use by another transformer. Edison’s low-voltage direct current power network, he believed, was too inefficient to be built out to a big scale.
Westinghouse purchased Lucien Gaulard and John Dixon Gibbs’ power transformers in 1885. Transformers were not a novel concept, but this design was one of the first to manage massive quantities of power while remaining simple to construct. He began experimenting with alternating current networks using these transformers and a Siemens alternating current generator. With the help of William Stanley and Franklin Leonard Pope, Westinghouse perfected the transformer design and built a workable alternating current power network. The first multiple-voltage alternating current power system was installed by Westinghouse and Stanley in 1886. A hydropower generator producing 500 volts powered the network. The voltage was increased to 3,000 volts for distribution before being reduced to 100 volts to power electric lighting. This apparatus allowed for the distribution of electric service over a large region and the availability of alternating current at various voltages, laying the groundwork for contemporary electrical power distribution. 30 additional alternating current lighting systems were installed during the next year, however the method was limited due to the lack of an efficient metering system and an alternating current electric motor. In 1888, Westinghouse and his engineer Oliver Shallenberger developed a power metre that could measure the amount of electricity used.
Nikola Tesla was a key figure in the early development of commercial electricity. He was a former employee of Thomas Edison, and he devised an alternating current transmission method, as opposed to Edison’s direct current system. Tesla set up his own laboratory and revealed his creation of the first workable alternating current induction motor and polyphase power transmission system in 1888, over Edison’s opposition. The polyphase system would allow alternating current electricity to be sent across large distances. Nikola Tesla was invited to join Westinghouse’s electric enterprise, where he continued to develop on the alternating current induction motor and Westinghouse received exclusive rights to Tesla’s polyphase system patent. All of today’s electric motors, such as the one that generates high-frequency signals used in radios and televisions, are based on Tesla’s concepts. He also established the norm for transmission current frequency, 60 hertz, which we still use today.
The distribution of alternating current and direct current power was a point of contention between Westinghouse and Edison. Because Edison believed alternating current was harmful, he exclusively utilised direct current, while Westinghouse believed the hazards could be managed and the benefits outweighed the dangers. Even General Electric went to alternating current in the end. In 1893, the Westinghouse Company was awarded the contract to build an alternating current network to light the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, as well as the first long-range power network, which used three massive alternating current generators to convert Niagara Falls’ energy into electrical energy for distribution 25 miles away.
