Electrical Safety Tips at Home

Electrical Safety Tips at Home During Severe Weather – What to do to stay safe and minimise your risk at your Brisbane home.

When you ask a Queenslander why they love Queensland, you might get some pretty mixed responses…from “The Beer”, “The Footy” to “the Beaches”. But if you speak to a Queenslander long enough you’ll inevitably find out a common theme “The Weather”

Queensland weather is arguably the best in Australia, who doesn’t love a long hot day followed by a refreshing rain in the ‘arvo to cool things down!

However, we all know how quickly a light refreshing shower can turn into a severe storm. Here we share some of our Voltfix electricians electrical safety tips to enforce at your Queensland home when this happens.

Preparation is always better than cure. Ample and a well-planned preparation before a storm will minimise risks during and after severe weather.

• Make sure to trim trees and cut off thin branches that could break during summer storm weather conditions and in cases that the branches are near a powerline, have a professional do it. Inspecting the power lines near your house for trees and other structures that are quite near a powerline helps too.
• Prepare the essentials supplies you may use during the storm such as: flashlights with spare batteries, a radio, bottled water, food and refreshments, and blankets.
• Clean your gutters, make sure any there are no leaks in your ceiling.
• Make sure to turn off electricity, gas, and water the moment an emergency arises.
• Store unused electrical equipment properly in a safe place and unplug all (especially the exposed ones) electrical equipment before the event strikes.
• It is recommended for anyone with solar panels to turn off their systems in accordance with the safe isolation procedure and after the event, refrain from using the unit until it is checked by a professional.
• Having a surge protector installed in your electricity switchboard could protect your appliances and other electrical items in the event of a power surge.

During the event, always hope for the best but plan for the worst. Remember to stay indoors during this severe weather eve to prevent any electrical storms and keep warm and dry as much as possible.

• Make sure to keep the radio on during the event, that way you can stay updated with the recent happenings in your area.
• If floodwaters managed to reach your property, move all electrical equipment to higher levels.
• If you’re still on the road, stay away from watercourses, powerlines, trees, find a safe place to shelter you from the rain where you can safely stay in your car. Always stay away from fallen power lines and be vigilant for concealed power lines, like those under fallen trees.

After the storm surge, assess damage and look for safety issues. Home safety should always be the top priority after a severe weather event.

• Stay connected by keeping the radio on so you can stay up to date with any further warnings.
• The condition may have calmed a little, but it is still best to avoid all power lines and assume they’re live, moist and small amounts of water that remains paired with electricity could still cause a lot of damage.
• Make sure everything is dry and without open wires before touching any cables, or conducive materials.
• If you have a flooding in your homes’ lower level, refrain from coming in contact with the water unless you know it’s safe as water conducts electricity and could give you electric shock.
• Never attempt to do your own electrical repairs, always make sure to have safety tips from a licensed electrician.

Severe weather events are disruptive and dangerous for everyone, planning ahead to reduce the risk of electrical shock and being wary of potential electrical dangers during and after the event is vital.  Remaining alert and keeping yourself connected, can guarantee the best chance of avoiding dangerous electrical accidents.

If you need assistance in storm planning, or any other electrical related enquiries, please don’t hesitate to contact us at Voltfix Electrical.

Servicing: Brisbane South, Logan and Redlands (including but not limited to beenleigh, browns plains, mount gravatt, loganholme, algester, calamvale, runcorn, shailer park, acacia ridge, springwood, marsden, bethania, loganlea, waterford, sunnybank, tanah merah, cornubia, kingston, meadowbrook, slacks creek, daisy hill, crestmead, heritage park, regents park, stretton, rochedale, sunnybank hills, rochedale south, kuraby, eight mile plains)