Safety Guidelines for Electricity

Electricity is one of the greatest inventions, which has dramatically changed our life style. It is our best friend and always at our command. But at the same time it has to be handled carefully. It can also be dangerous to life and can cause injuries or property damage or both. Hence it is essential to take all precautions in proper use of electrical equipment. You are requested to : Treat all circuits as LIVE until they are confirmed to be DEAD, after testing. Use fuse wire of the correct size and capacity without a joint. Place a main switch that is easily accessible for turning off the supply in case of an emergency. Ensure that fuses are installed only on the phase wires. Use E.L.C.B. (Earth Leakage Circuit Breaker) with the main switch for added personal safety. Allow only qualified persons / licensed electricians to carry out electrical repairs. Preferably use ISI marked / certified electrical appliances / equipment / materials. Use electrical cables and equipment of adequate capacity and proper insulation. Ensure that all appliances / equipment are provided with a 3-pin plug and socket. Ensure outer metal parts of the appliances / equipment are effectively earthed. Always use only an insulated wire for Neutral. Always use a separate wire for Earthing. Pull out the supply end first while removing a fuse and put in the supply end in the last while inserting it. Before replacing a lamp ensure that the supply is turned off. Ensure that earthing to electrical installations be done with a copper wire / plate / rod and make sure there are no paint or insulating materials on the earthing terminal. Use an adequate capacity extension box for plugging in more than one equipment. Use only one plug in a socket. Turn off the supply immediately in case of a short circuit / fire in or near electrical appliances. Use only CO2 or Dry Chemical Powder extinguishers for dousing electrical fire. Always wear dry rubber footwear / gloves while handling electrical appliances. Also stand on a rubber mat / dry wooden plank. Turn off the supply immediately in case of an electrical accident. Insulate yourself on a dry board / insulating material before removing the person in contact with the live part. Immediately call for a doctor and continue to give artificial respiration till medical assistance arrives. Educate children on the dangers of mishandling electrical connections, equipment and appliances. Cover the holes of sockets which are not in use, easily reachable by children.

Electricity is one of the greatest inventions, which has dramatically changed our life style. It is our best friend and always at our command. But at the same time it has to be handled carefully. It can also be dangerous to life and can cause injuries or property damage or both. Hence it is essential to take all precautions in proper use of electrical equipment. You are requested not to: Make any temporary joints in the wiring, especially without proper insulation. Insert wires directly into the plug socket without a matching plug pin, even if only on a temporary basis. Use any appliances without proper earthing. Install a fuse on the neutral circuit. Overload the wires by using multiple appliances from a single plug socket. Replace a fuse unless the fault is detected and rectified. Provide a higher size fuse wire than the prescribed size. Touch a bare wire, i.e. without insulation. It may be LIVE. Allow water to enter your electrical appliances while cleaning them. Pull on the wire to remove a plug from the socket. Use wet hands to turn ON or turn OFF a switch. Plug in any appliances when the switch is ON. Touch a person who is in contact with a live circuit. Turn ON a switch unless the plug is completely inserted. Use water for extinguishing fires caused due to electricity or in the vicinity of electrical equipment. Allow children to play with sockets, plugs, wires and other electrical appliances.

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Energy Efficient Lighting

Take advantage of daylight by using light-colored, loose-weave curtains on your windows to allow daylight to penetrate the room while preserving privacy. Also, decorate with lighter colors that reflect daylight.

Use task lighting; instead of brightly lighting an entire room, focus the light where you need it. For example, use fluorescent under-cabinet lighting for kitchen sinks and counter-tops under cabinets.

Use dimmers, motion sensors, or occupancy sensors to automatically turn on or off lighting as needed and prevent energy waste.

Use compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) in place of comparable incandescent bulbs to save about 50% on your lighting costs. CFLs use only one-fourth the energy and last up to 10 times longer.

Turn your lights off when you leave a room. Standard, incandescent light bulbs should be turned off whenever they are not needed. Fluorescent lights should be turned off whenever you'll be away for 15 minutes or more.

During winter, open curtains on your south-facing windows during the day to allow sunlight to naturally heat your home and close them at night to help keep the heat in.

Energy Efficient Home Appliances And Electronics

Appliances account for about 20% of household energy use. Appliances and electronics really add up on your energy bill. When shopping for new appliances and electronics look for energy efficiency labels.

Air dry dishes instead of using your dishwasher's drying cycle.

Clean the lint filter in the dryer after every load.

Consider air-drying clothes on clothes lines or drying racks.

Consider buying a laptop for your next computer upgrade; they use much less energy than desktop computers.

Don't over-dry your clothes. If your machine has a moisture sensor, use it.

Dry towels and heavier cottons in a separate load from lighter-weight clothes.

Make sure power management is activated on your computer.

In the average home, 75% of the electricity used to power home electronics is consumed while the products are turned off. Plug home electronics into power strips and turn the power strips off when the equipment is not in use.

Wash your clothes in cold water using cold-water detergents whenever possible.

Unplug battery chargers when the batteries are fully charged or the chargers are not in use. Many chargers draw power continuously, even when the device is not plugged into the charger.

Turn off your computer and monitor when not in use.

Use the cool-down cycle to allow the clothes to finish drying with the residual heat in the dryer.

Wash and dry full loads. If you are washing a small load, use the appropriate water-level setting.

When shopping for a new clothes dryer, look for one with a moisture sensor that automatically shuts off the machine when your clothes are dry.

Make your house energy efficient with insulation

Save up to 20% of the energy you use to heat and cool your house. Seal up holes to the outside by weatherstripping doors and sealing windows.

Adding insulation to attics, basements, and crawl spaces provides tremendous energy savings.

Efficient windows can lower the energy used for heating and cooling by up to 30%. If your home has only single pane windows, consider replacing them with energy efficient windows.

For people who live in mobile homes siding skirts insulate against winds in the winter and heat in the summer. The air conditioning ducts are often under the home so the skirts will also help to insulate the ducts.

Free and Low Cost Ways To Save Energy

Turn off everything not in use: lights, TVs, computers, etc.

Check your furnace or air conditioner filter each month. Dirty filters block air flow through your heating and cooling systems, increasing energy use.

During hot months, keep window coverings closed on the south, east, and west windows if you are in Northern Hemisphere (north, east, and west windows if you are in the Southern Hemisphere). In winter, let the sun in.

Activate "sleep" features on computers and office equipment that power down when not in use for a while. Turn off equipment during longer periods of non-use.

Dress appropriately for the weather, and set your thermostat to the lowest possible comfortable setting. On winter nights, put an extra blanket on the bed and turn down your thermostat.

In summer, use fans whenever possible instead of air conditioning . Using fans to supplement air conditioning allows you to raise the thermostat temperature, using less energy. Fans use less energy than air conditioning.

About 15% of an average home energy bill goes to heating water. To save hot water, take five-minute showers instead of baths. Do only full loads when using the clothes washer or dishwasher. Lower the temperature on your water heater so that you are not having to add cold water to shower.

Switch to cold water washing of laundry. Use detergent formulated for cold water to get clothes just as clean.

Only heat or cool the rooms you need. Close vents and doors of unused rooms.

Install low flow showerheads and sink aerators to reduce hot water use.

Seal and weatherstrip your windows and doors to ensure that you're not wasting energy on heat or air conditioning that escapes through leaks to the outdoors.

Insulation your hot water tank to keep the heat from escaping.

Look for energy efficiency labels when buying new products such as TVs, furnaces, cell phones, refrigerators and air conditioners.

Replace your five most used light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs. These light bulbs use two-thirds less energy and last up to 10 times longer.

Recycle minor things e.g. reuse empty soda bottles.

Take your own reusable bags to do grocery shopping to save the unnecessary production of plastic bags.

Only use air conditioning to achieve neutral temperatures (24-25 degrees). Lower temperatures use significantly more energy.