 The Shock Doctors Progressive Electrical Services Ltd
ECRA/ESA #7001377 |
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2011
Ontario Electrical Safety Awards
recognizing outstanding contributors in advancing electrical safety.
Congratulations to Mike Holmes and Make it RightŪ who achieved the top award in the category of Consumer and Home Electrical Safety.
Mike won this award despite stiff competition from The Shock Doctors and we salute his contribution to advancing public electrical safety. |
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What does it mean when an electrician asks "Are YOU grounded?"
- It doesn't mean "confined to home"; commonly used as teen punishment. - I think it's more punishment for the parent than the teen.
- It doesn't mean "a down-to-earth approach to life" - Sounds like common sense to me & there's not enough of that these days.
- It doesn't mean "the sense of personal wellness achieved from practices of yoga or tai chi". I can't even touch my toes...
- Stranger still, it doesn't mean "the new age practice of connecting yourself with electrodes to the earth to transfer energy from the earth to you" (matching pet beds available) ??? Please refer back to my common sense observations.
If you are wondering if YOU are grounded, you need look no further than the electrical system of your home. This month, let me shed a bit of light on this process for you.
Terry Carman RME
Chief of Staff |
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| What is grounding? | |
Grounding a house is a procedure designed to provide the electrical system with a method of getting rid of electricity that tries to escape from its circuits. The electrical term for this is a fault. Examples of a fault would be cutting a wire during renovations, squirrel chewing through a wire (last month's newsletter) or dropping a running appliance into water.
Without a grounding system, you are not protected from electricity that escapes when a fault occurs. For whatever reason the electricity leaves the circuit, it will immediately search for the easiest and most direct route to flow back to the earth. Alarmingly, the "trip-planner" route is often through the nearest person! |
| Components of a properly grounded home | | |
When a home is first built, it is the responsibility of the electrician to ground the electrical system. A properly grounded house has three components:
- Branch wiring: Each receptacle, switch and light fixture must be hooked up correctly so that a ground wire is properly connected from the device back to the main ground on the electrical panel. Checking your receptacles is easy: You can use a common circuit tester from any hardware store to see if your outlets have been installed properly to provide ground protection. Switches and light fixtures are not as easily verified. Caution: These will still provide light even when wired incorrectly.
- Bonding: A connection must be established between metal plumbing pipes and gas pipes and the main ground at the electrical panel . You should be able to see the copper ground wire running from your electrical panel securely clamped to your cold water line and gas pipe. It requires special knowledge to ensure the bond has been properly achieved.
- The MAIN GROUND is usually comprised of a metal plate or a pair of metal rods buried beside the foundation of the house. These are connected by a copper wire to the electrical panel. The most vital component of the entire system is the main ground. It requires special knowledge and equipment to assess this critical piece of equipment.
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| When good grounds go bad... | |
A main ground can be compromised by a number of unseen reasons:
- the wire to the ground rods or plate can be broken by damage caused by digging
- the connection from the wire to the ground rods can come loose or corrode and disintegrate over time
- A lightning strike
- Very rarely, investigation reveals that the ground rods or plates have inadvertently been OMITTED during the wiring process.
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| Ground assessment | |
Comprehensive assessment of your home's grounding is not a task easily undertaken by the home owner. On top of the testing equipment required, there have been no less than eight revisions to grounding requirements since the initial publication of the Electrical Safety Code in 1927, with each revision improving the overall level of ground protection.
The age of your home dictates which version of grounding regulations were originally followed. If your home is older, and your electrical system has not had routine maintenance, your grounding system is likely out of date. |
| Do you have a question for the Doctor? | |
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 Get "Down To Earth" with Double Deal SAVINGS
During Fire Safety Month, until October 31st , we will check your grounding system, head to toe and include a great DOUBLE DEAL.
Have a complete ground system assessment performed- regular price $396
AND protect your sensitive electronics from surges.This month only, when The Shock Doctors check your ground system head to toe, they will install a breaker-panel surge protection unit at no extra charge (regular price $396). This includes breaker, surge protector, electrical permit and installation. | | | |
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In closing, this month is Fire Safety Month, and this year's theme is "Protect your family from fire".
Ted Wieclawek, our Ontario Fire Marshal sends this message. "Fires can be prevented. Given the limited amount of time you have to escape a fire, Ontarians need to take responsibility for fire safety in their homes. I strongly urge Ontarians to stay in the kitchen while they are cooking, install smoke alarms on every storey and outside all sleeping areas and practise their home fire escape plans. Fire safety is everyone's responsibility."
Please take the time this month to maintain your smoke detectors; vacuum them out, change the batteries, and replace every smoke detector older than 10 years old.
It is the law that every home in Ontario must have a working smoke alarm on every level and outside all sleeping areas and fines range from $235 to $50,000.
Yours for a safe home, Cheri
 | | ECRA/ESA
# 7001377 |
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