According to statistics from the NCBI, approximately a thousand people lose their lives as a result of electrical injuries in the United States every year. Also, there are at least 30,000 non-fatal shock incidents every year. Around 20% of all electrical injuries occur in children. These statistics are a clear indication that electrical safety should be the leading priority in every household.
Thankfully, there are numerous electrical upgrades you can make to your home to make it safer for your family and your pets. Here are just a few of them.
Tamper-Resistant Outlets
Instead of fitting removable outlet covers on all your home’s electrical outlets, a more permanent and safer solution is replacing them with tamper-resistant outlets. Tamper-resistant outlets have built-in shutters that keep most foreign objects out. These are much safer than removable caps which are easy to misplace and can potentially turn into a choking hazard for your toddler or pets. Moreover, unlike removable covers, tamper-resistant outlets don’t need to be replaced when the outlet is no longer in use.
Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter Outlets (GFCIs)
It’s important to install GFCIs wherever outlets are located in damp locations or near water. These include outlets located outdoors, in the bathrooms, and near the kitchen sink. For instance, if a blow dryer accidentally falls into a tub full of water and there’s a baby in it, or if a blender tips over into the kitchen sink, the GFCI will immediately disconnect the power, preventing potential injuries that would have been caused by the resulting shock.
Carbon Monoxide Detectors
A tasteless, odorless, and colorless gas, carbon monoxide is one of the most prevalent causes of accidental poisoning fatalities in the United States. In fact, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, accidental carbon monoxide poisoning claims the lives of more than 400 people in the United States every year.
Installing carbon monoxide detectors around your home is an excellent way of protecting your family from this invisible killer. As a matter of fact, in many states, it’s mandated by the law to have these installed in bedrooms and living areas of the home.
If your child sleeps in another room, carbon monoxide detection systems can be interconnected so that the occurrence of gas in one area of the house triggers all the alarms in the system.
If you want a quote for any of these electrical upgrades, get in touch with our experts today. One of the leading residential electrical contractors in the Bay Area, TD West provides a comprehensive range of electrical services.
