Every electrical circuit inside a home has two types of wires – hot and neutral. Hot wires carry electrical currents to a device while neutral wires carry electrical currents away from a device.

When a neutral wire is broken, current is no longer carried away from a device, and neutralisation is not possible without the aid of a ground wire. In most cases, a ground wire is connected to a circuit breaker. When a neutral wire is no longer working, the ground wire will trip the corresponding circuit breaker. Whenever a circuit breaker has been tripped, any electrical current is immediately stopped.

Appliances will usually operate normally without the aid of ground wires. In fact, if a grounded wire is broken or missing, most people will not be able to notice any difference. However if a large amount of high voltage has come in contact with the appliance, a person using that appliance may get an electrical shock. Therefore, it is important that all appliances include a properly grounded wire.

Ground wires are essentially a kind of insurance. When a neutral wire does not function, a grounded wire will ensure that a device does not give off a potentially dangerous electrical shock. In addition to ground wires, all premises should included proper circuit breakers. Circuit breakers and ground wires are easily comparable, as both devices are there to prevent hazardous shocks.

Your Whangarei Electrician is qualified to test and repair any earthing concerns you may have.

Lech Walesa was a tradesman electrician before he was elected President of the Republic of Poland in December 1990 in a general election.

Benjamin Franklin, one of the Founding Fathers and US President was an electrical inventor.

Bobby Charlton was an electrician before he earned fame as an English footballer.

Emanuel Steward who had some success as a boxer himself, he was probably more famous for training Thomas Hearns, Lennox Lewis, Oscar De La Hoya, Mark Breland, Milton McCrory, Jimmy Paul, Duane Thomas and Tony Tucker, among others.  He also was a master electrician.

Sir Joseph W. Swan, an English chemist who invented rayon  in 1910 was also a skilled electrician.

* Never put your finger or anything else (except an electrical plug) into a power point.

* Pull by the plug not the cord when unplugging an appliance.

* Do not use an electrical appliance when you are wet, have wet hands or you are standing in water.

* Limit the number of appliances plugged into each outlet.

* Look out for damaged plugs and cords. Do not touch them! Tell an adult.

* Do not place electric cords so that they run through doorways or under carpets.

* Watch out for other kids and make sure they are careful too.

1. Do you have enough power points in your premises, eliminating any need for overloaded multi-plugs?
2. Are your power points all in good condition? No damage or excessive wear?
3. Are all power points securely attached to the wall?
4. Are all your plugs in good condition?
5. Are all the cords and connections to the plug in good condition?
6. Are all the power points in the kitchen placed in so that you don’t have to reach over toasters, kettles or ovens?
7. Are all your electrical appliances in good order?

Take no risks. An electrician is cheaper than a funeral!

Using an RCD could save your life, or the life of your family members. RCDs are to electrical applications what seat belts are to the motoring world. When using electricity outdoors, you should always use a RCD or an isolating transformer, to protect users against electric shock.

It is a legal requirement for new houses to be fitted with RCD’s, as well as any extensions to existing dwellings. RCDs can easily be fitted to existing homes to provide family safety. They offer very worthwhile protection in damp areas of your home and when working with equipment outdoors.

For the home without installed RCD’s the pictured portable version is an easily obtainable alternative.

These adaptors are unsafe in that they do not offer proper protection from contact with live parts, which exposes users to live 230 volt parts can easily be touched.

The adaptors have been sold through tourist shops and pharmacies and on online auction sites including Trade Me.  One supplier, Melric International Ltd, has already begun a voluntary recall. The adaptors first appeared in late 2007.

Plug adaptors are meant for use by  people traveling overseas with low power personal appliances such as a mobile phone chargers, laptop computers, or battery chargers for camera equipment.

Only the adaptors meeting the description given in the Prohibition Notice issued by Energy Safety are banned.

Check with a Whangarei electrician or view the ban here.

• Wrap the hot water cylinder and pipes. Keep the heat in by wrapping your electric hot water cylinder and insulating your hot water pipes. Cylinder wraps cost from around $60 and pipe insulation is about $5 a metre from hardware shops. For older (pre-1987) cylinders and pipes, you could save as much as $80 each year.
• Fix dripping hot taps. These can waste as much as 200 litres of water every day, and lots of dollars of electricity every year. Replace the washer or fitting – a new washer costs very little.
• Check the shower flow rate. About 80% of domestic hot water is used in showers. If your shower fills a 10 litre bucket in less than a minute at normal showering temperatures, install a more efficient shower head – you’ll still get a good shower and it could save you heaps.  Get a shower head with a flow of 9 litres per minute or better – the shop should be able to give advice.
• Check your hot water temperature setting. It should not be more than 55° Celsius at the tap for safety, and it should be 60° Celsius at the cylinder to prevent the growth of Legionella bacteria. Don’t have the thermostat on your hot water system higher than necessary.

This is required for any new work done and the Electrician must provide you an original copy of the CoC. A carbon copy will also be sent to the Electrical Workers Registration Board.

It is important to keep the CoC in a safe place! You may need it for an insurance claim or when you’re selling your house.

The CoC also provides a standard procedure so that another electrician can know how the original job was completed if they make repairs or do installations at a later date.

(A CoC is not required to be issued for maintenance work such as replacing sockets & light fittings.)