ELECTRICAL SAFETY

AT HOME

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Contents
I. INTRODUCTION..............................................................................................................................3
II. OBJECTIVES....................................................................................................................................4
III. METHODOLOGY..........................................................................................................................4
IV.RESULTS AND DISCUSSION...........................................................................................................5
V. CONCLUSION...........................................................................................................................................6
VI. RECOMMENDATIONS (Action Plan)........................................................................................................6
VII. ANNEXES...............................................................................................................................................7

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 I. INTRODUCTION.
Each year many people are injured in and around their homes especially fire incidents
because of unsafe conditions of circuits and damage insulations as well as misuse of extension
cords and electrical products. These mistakes can create electrical hazards or results in
electrocutions. An electrical hazard can be defined as a dangerous condition where a worker or
any person could make electrical contact with energized equipment or a conductor, and from
which the person may sustain an injury from shock; and/or, there is potential for the worker or
the person to receive an arc flash burn, thermal burn, or blast injury. We rely on electricity, but
sometimes underestimate its capability of causing injury. Even household current (120 volts)
can stop your heart. That is why we need to be aware of the hazard’s electricity poses, such as
shock, fire and explosion, and either eliminate or control those hazards. To make sure that we
are free from electrical hazard consider this safety model

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 II. OBJECTIVES
The purpose of this activity is for us to be aware and gain knowledge about our home’s
electrical system and the proper use of the electrical products that we use every day. By being
aware and having knowledge about this, we can prevent Electrically-related home fires and
incidents that will result in hundreds of deaths, thousands of injuries and more than a billion
dollars in property damage each year. A healthy respect for electricity and a basic knowledge of
electrical safety practices can help keep your home and family safe from electrical hazards all
year long.

III. METHODOLOGY
We can evaluate our electrical safety at home by using The Home Electrical Safety
Challenge Worksheet. This provides a simple exercise to help us give our home an electrical
safety “check-up.” Making a few easy changes to improve safety can also lead to increased
energy efficiency and savings on our utility bills.

The following are the steps that I follow to evaluate how safe our house from electrical
hazards.

1. Recognize and identify the electrical hazards in your household using the given
questionnaire (Annex A).
2. Evaluate the identified hazards in your households (Refer to Annex B).
3. After evaluating the identified hazards, make an action plan to eliminate it from your
households (Annex C). Start from the most priority to the least priority. Include in your
action plan, necessary safety protocol or practices that should be observed in your
households. Present your action plan to your family to get their feedback. Incorporate
the feedbacks in your reports.

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IV.RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Base on the questionnaire that I answered, I got a score of 40, which means our house,
generally, is in good condition and safe from electric hazard but there are few areas that needs
to be fixed. I still have to focus on the areas that I got wrong especially in our cooking area
where combustibles, such as towels, napkins, and pot holders are just near our stove/oven. So,
I just learned that these things should not be around our cooking utensils because of the high
chances that it can easily catch a fire. Then I should have knowledge about the capacity of the
circuit to which your power strip is connected and the power requirements of the equipment
being plugged in, this is the part that I got wrong in the worksheet. So, I should have more
knowledge about these because I frequently use extensions and power strips in our house and I
just realized that not knowing its capacity and power requirement can be dangerous, so this
matter should be fixed. Another area that should be fixed is our fire alarm, I tested our fire alarm
last month and it is not working anymore. So, I should fix our fire alarm since it is important to
keep us safe from fire. And lastly, there is an extension in our house that its plug is not snugly
fit. Its plug is a little bit loose so sometimes when I plug my charger it makes a sound especially
when it is not properly plugged, so I should take action about this since I just realized that this
socket is not safe and can cause electrical hazard.
So, those are the areas that is needed to be fixed. I listed these electrical hazards from most
priority to least priority to be fixed. The electrical hazard that should be fixed first is the
extension where its plug is not snugly fixed because I use it every day when I am plugging my
devices, watching tv, and other electrical appliances. The second is to keep away our towels,
napkins, and pot holders from our cooking appliances especially the stoves, oven and rice
cooker this is my second priority because we cook every day and we didn’t take notice that this
matter can result in hazard. The third priority in my list is having knowledge about the capacity in
the circuit and power requirement of the equipment. It is my third priority since it is not that hard
to learn about these kinds of things. The last priority is to fixed our fire alarm, this is least priority
in our list because it cost larger amount of money compared to rest of our lists and it is not that
very important because as long as our electrical appliances are in good condition, our house is
safe from fire and electrical hazard there will be no fire incident and nothing can cause the alarm
to make a sound.

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 V. CONCLUSION

Electrical hazards are common in our houses. It cost many lives and injured many people. It
causes fire and burned lots of houses every year. These things happened because of our lack
of awareness and little knowledge about electrical system and how our electrical appliances
work. So, to sum up, it is very important to check and evaluate how safe our house from
electrical hazards and to plan what should be done to keep our electrical appliances in good
condition and make our house safe from hazards. It also important to have knowledge and be
aware how to use things that involves electricity and how to handle these appliances properly.
We make time to research or ask someone who knows about how electrical system works.
Always keep in mind, to recognize hazard, evaluate hazard and control hazard. By doing these
things and practicing proper protocols we can prevent fire incidents and make our house free
from electrical hazards.

VI. RECOMMENDATIONS (Action Plan)

First thing that I am going to do to make my house safe from electrical hazard is to focus on
the areas that need to be fixed. first to be fixed is my extension. I will buy new extension and I
will make sure that its socket is snugly fit. Then I will keep my towels, napkins and pot holders
away from my stove, oven and rice cooker. I will make a stall for my towels, napkins and pot
holders.

Then will research about electrical systems and about the electrical appliances that I use every
day. In that way I can have more knowledge on how to handle these appliances properly. And
lastly is to fixed our fire alarm. I will continue to recognize, evaluate, and control hazard in order
to keep my family safe from any possible hazards especially the electrical and fire hazards.

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VII. ANNEXES
Put a check mark
accordingly.
COOKING UP SAFETY IN THE KITCHEN YES NO
1. Are the range, oven, and exhaust hood clean and
free of debris?
2. Is the cooking area around the range/oven clear of
combustibles, such as towels, napkins, and pot
holders?
3. Is there enough room to allow for air circulation
behind the refrigerator?

4. Are the refrigerator coils free of dirt buildup that

reduces efficiency and creates a fire hazard?

5. Are there electrical appliances placed near the

sink?

6. Have you tested your ground fault circuit

interrupters (GFCIs) this month?

7. Do you plug all of your counter top appliances into

GFCI-protected outlets?

8. Are all electrical cords in good condition with no

signs of fraying, cracking, or other damage?

9. Are there any appliance cords placed close to a hot

surface like the toaster, oven or range?
10. Do you have appliance cords that are dangling
from counters or tables where they could be pulled
on or tripped over?
11. Do you leave your toaster, coffee maker, and other
counter top appliances plugged in when you are
not using them?
PLUG INTO SAFETY IN THE FAMILY ROOM
12. Is your home equipped with tamper resistant
receptacles (TRRs) to reduce the risk of electric
shock injuries to children?
13. Are all of your light switch plates or outlet cover
plates hot to touch?

14. Are all of your light switch and outlet cover plates in
good condition and not cracked or broken?
15. Is furniture arranged so that outlets are available
for all of your lamps, entertainment equipment, and
appliances without the use of extension cords?

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 16. Are you using an extension cord as a permanent
power solution?
17. Do you check extension cords before each use to
ensure they are in good working order with no
signs of fraying, cracking, or other damage?
18. Are you using power strips because you have too
few outlets to meet your needs?
19. Do you know the capacity of the circuit to which
your power strip is connected and the power
requirements of the equipment being plugged in?
20. Is your computer and other electronic equipment
protected from power surges by a surge protector?
21. Does your surge protector have cable and phone
jacks to provide protection for your phone, fax,
modem, cable receiver, and television?
22. Is your surge protector plugged directly into a
three-prong grounded outlet?
23. Do your entertainment center and computer
equipment have plenty of space around them for
ventilation?
24. Are liquids, including drinks, kept away from
electrical items like televisions and computers?
WAKE UP TO SAFETY IN THE BEDROOM
25. Do you have working smoke alarms in each
bedroom, outside each sleeping area, and on every
level of your home?

26. Have you tested your smoke alarms this month?

27. Are combustibles like paper or fabric located near

your lamps or light bulbs?

28. Do you know the recommended bulb wattages for

your light fixtures?

29. Are you using bulbs with the correct wattage?

30. Are all light bulbs screwed securely into the

sockets?

31. Is your portable air conditioner plugged into its own

dedicated circuit?

32. Have you cleaned your portable air conditioners in

preparation for the summer season?

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 33. Does your ceiling fan have a wobble?

34. Have you dusted/cleaned your ceiling fan recently?

35. Do you leave portable electronic devices and/or

their battery chargers plugged in even after they
are fully charged?
BUILD A FOUNDATION OF SAFETY AT YOUR HOME
36. Does your circuit breaker box have a label to
indicate when your last electrical system inspection
took place?
37. Are all of your circuit breakers labeled to indicate
their correct amperage and which
outlets/circuits/rooms they service?
38. Have you ever received even a slight shock from
one of your large appliances?

39. Do your washing machine and/or dryer move or

vibrate excessively when operating?

40. Is the area around your dryer clean and free of

clutter?

41. Are all switches and outlets working properly?

42. Are any outlets or switches discolored?

43. Do any switches or outlets make crackling,

buzzling, or sizzling sounds?

44. Do plugs fit snugly into all outlets?

45. Do you have recurring tripped circuit breakers or

blown fuses?

Add up the total correct answers at the bottom to find out how safe your household from
electrical appliances.
Kitchen Correct Answers : 10
Family Room Correct Answers: 12
Bedroom Correct Answers : 9
Build a Foundation of Safety: 9
TOTAL: 40

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Annex B
Household Electrical Safety Evaluation Report
Electrical Hazards Priority Rank Location Possible Risks Pictures (if
possible)
Extensions with 1 Living room Can cause the
a little bit loose socket to
plug explode
Towels, 2 Kitchen Can cause to
napkins, fire incident
potholders are
placed near the
stove/ oven/
rice cooker
Lack of 3 Can cause the
knowledge appliances to
about electrical explode orcan
systems cause
electrocution
Broken fire 4 Living room Can make fire
Alarm unnoticeable

Annex C
Electrical Hazards Elimination Action Plan

Electrical Interventions/ Time Resources Constraints Who are

Hazards Elimination Strategy Frame Needed involved?
Extensions Buy new extension money family
with a little
bit loose
plug
Towels, Place in another location family
napkins, that is far from cooking
potholders area
are placed
near the
stove/
oven/ rice
cooker
Lack of Research about internet family
knowledge electrical systems

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about
electrical
systems
Broken fire Fix the fire alarm February money family
Alarm

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