The main causes of electric shock in everyday life

Since 1879, the safety of people working with electricity has been a hot topic. It was then that the first case of human death from exposure to electric current was registered.

Since then, the number of victims has been increasing all the time. Based on sad statistics, security rules have been created, each item in which is based on someone else's tragedy.

Electricians of various professions have been trained for several years by schools, technical schools, institutes, and specialized courses. After that, graduates of institutions go on an internship at energy enterprises, pass numerous exams and tests. Only after that they are allowed to work independently.

However, even electricians with high fifth safety group due to errors and carelessness, sometimes they get serious electrical injuries.

Unfortunately, a simple person does not have such theoretical training and practice in working with electricity. And he does not need to know all the intricacies of our profession. But, to observe elementary rules, which, by the way, are told to everyone from the school bench and kindergarten, is simply necessary.

I would like readers of articles on this site to become active preachers of safe handling of electrical installations, not only in production, but also in everyday life, among their loved ones. The word of a specialist, supported by facts of life, is always well imprinted in memory and is perceived with greater confidence than ordinary text. It can never be "superfluous."

Human psychology quickly adapts to everything familiar: electricity surrounds us everywhere, making life easier, and malfunctions in it rarely occur, and usually do little harm. But, until a certain time ...

Therefore, tell your surroundings once again the main causes of electric shock in people at home. Be sure: your words will protect loved ones from accident.

What is forbidden to do with electrical appliances in the home

Damaged appliances

Any power receiver has an insulation layer. It covers the most critical places of the wire with even several layers in order to exclude contact of human skin with the potential of the power supply network. But, careless handling of electrical wiring, mechanical impact on it, overheating from improper loads or loose contacts violate its dielectric properties.

Do not touch exposed metal on live wires or use switches, sockets, or plugs with broken enclosures. This is a direct prerequisite for electrical injury.

To exclude such cases, conduct periodic inspections of the status of all devices and electrical wiring. Better yet, check the state of its insulation with measurements. But this is a rather dangerous event and can only be entrusted to specialists.

Repair work

All faulty electrical equipment must be taken out of service to eliminate damage. And only a trained person can do it. Otherwise, the consequences of unskilled repairs can be unpredictable.

Careful handling of equipment

Do not disassemble electrical appliances connected to the network. Handle the power cord especially carefully. It is unacceptable to pull on it in order to move the stove, iron or pull the plug out of the socket.

This way you can easily arrange a short circuit. Power cords are often subjected to twisting, bending, and pulling. heat up. Breaks and cliffs may occur inside them. They are able to disrupt good contact, cause arcing leading to fire.

It is necessary to carefully operate your electrical appliances.

Replacement of bulbs in lamps

Every adult, not to mention children, should know that it is forbidden to repair electrical equipment under voltage. Any action with electrical receivers must be performed when the power is off.

Often people get injured when they screw / turn ordinary incandescent bulbs. The light switch must always be turned off.

The metal thread of the cap can jam in the cartridge, and its fastening with the bulb can be loosened. As a result, the glass part will turn, the internal threads of the voltage supply, made of open metal, will touch each other, creating a short circuit.

Contact with the body of devices connected to voltage

In a two-wire network (phase, zero) operated by TN-C system, during the breakdown of insulation on the case, a life-threatening potential appears. If a person touches such an appliance with one part of the body (the dishwasher is shown in the figure), and the other - with the building structure elements connected to the ground (in the picture - a pipeline), then current will flow through his body along this path.

To prevent such injuries, protections that respond to leakage currents are used. Residual Current Device (RCD) in such electrical wiring it will reduce the damaging effect of current, and in a circuit equipped with a protective PE conductor for TN-S or TN-C-S systems, it will prevent an accident.

Correct connection to the ground loop of all housings of household appliances, the use of a potential equalization system is the key to preventing electric shock to residents.

Long operation of electrical appliances

Modern refrigerators, freezers and some household appliances are designed to perform a continuous technological cycle. They are equipped for this with automatic control systems.

Even such devices can break down and require periodic monitoring by the owner. Burnt electric motors, flooded floors or cases of flooding of neighbors from below are vivid confirmations of this.

For operating machinery and electrical equipment, inspection by a person is still necessary.

Homemade

We love to craft something with our own hands. Now it’s very easy to find a lot of tips on how to make a home-made machine, heating, welding ... But are we qualified enough to do all this not only working, but also safe for operation? Surely not always.

The designs of many home-made heaters are not only fire hazardous, but also capable of creating electrical injury.

In any case, before putting homemade electrical appliances into operation, it is important not only to measure the electrical insulation resistance, but also to test it. This is done by specialized electrical laboratories.

Maintaining Wiring Protections

In all residential premises, when commissioning the electrical circuit, introductory shields are installed. They, as a rule, are equipped with an electric meter and circuit breakers or fuses.

They must be maintained in good condition. This requirement is especially relevant for old houses in rural areas, where you can still find working, but obsolete electrical panels with an induction meter and two cork fuses. In them, instead of industrial fusible inserts, the owners install homemade "bugs" - pieces of randomly selected wires.

Often their values ​​are too high: so as not to change once again during burnout. It is for this reason that they do not always quickly disconnect the short circuit that has arisen, and in some cases do not work at all.

The same requirement applies to the settings of circuit breakers. Their selection, configuration and performance testing is an important element of electrical safety.

Children

They are always inquisitive, agile, actively climb into all accessible and even forbidden places. In this way they learn the world around them, master it. But can an adult always keep track of a baby’s behavior and protect it from being exposed to current? How to avoid accidents?

Parents need to consider the age of the child and his development. Children under three years of age need to exclude access to electrical appliances with furniture elements, partitions, fences. Be sure to indicate the restricted areas and suggest that they should not be included there.

All contacts of electrical outlets must be closed with dielectric plugs. After all, kids can stick a nail, pin or other piece of metal there.

Children of all ages need to persistently explain the rules for the safe handling of electricity in the home and on the street. For this purpose, a lot of books have been written for them and many educational cartoons have been shot. For example, "Aunt Owl's Tips."

Such video lessons were created by specialists taking into account the specifics of child psychology. They are informative, well remembered. Especially when the parents give explanations along the way, and after sharing, share comments and ask leading questions.

In conclusion of the article, I would like to turn once again to electricians: for sure, based on your own experience, you also know the causes of electric shock in everyday life. Share them with your loved ones! Your advice will always be welcomed. They will help protect a person from getting electrical injuries.

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