Electrical Safety and Conservation: Electricity is an important phenomenon in our modern lives. We are surrounded by appliances, technologies that all require electricity to run. From our mobile phone to fans, motors, bulbs, computers, ovens, everything requires electricity to run. But electricity can also be fatal for the appliance and the humans if not handled properly. There are various risks associated with electricity like electrocution, short circuits, fire due to short circuits, lightning etc. Let’s study these risks and their preventive measures.

Electricity

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Electricity is produced when the electric charges, the electrons move in a conductor due to some potential difference. The direction of the electric current is in the direction opposite to the motion of electrons. In a conductor, the electrons are only the charged entity that is to move. When an electron moves from one atom to the other, it creates a hole or a positive charge which appears to move in the opposite direction of the motion of the electrons. Electric current moves from high potential to low potential.

Different Appliances Working on Electricity

In our daily lives, we are surrounded by electric appliances. From the toaster that is used to make bread toast to the heater, to the air conditioners, the computer we use, to the fans and bulbs. Almost everything we use runs on electricity. Our mobile phones, the internet, everything runs on electricity. But we should know that the electricity that we get from the connection in our house and the electricity that runs our mobile phones are different in nature.

We can categories the electric current into two main categories.
1. Alternating current or AC: Alternating current is a type of current in which the value of the instantaneous current varies sinusoidally with some frequency.
2. Direct current or DC: Direct current is a type of current that is constantly moving in the same direction.

Domestic Electric Connections and Risks

In our homes, we have different switches for different appliances and switching on or off any appliance doesn’t affect other appliances. Therefore we can conclude that we have a parallel connection in our homes for different appliances, and therefore all the appliances have the same voltage across them.

There are many risks involved with electricity. A few common risks and hazards are as follows:

1. Current Leakage
2. Short Circuit
3. Electric Fire
4. Electrocution
5. Electric Burns
6. Lightning

Current Leakage

Many appliances are made up of metals, and when they are connected to an electric circuit, there is a possibility that the current leakage can happen, and the body of the appliance can be at some potential, and this increases the risk of getting electric shocks. Electric shocks can prove to be fatal and sometimes even lethal to humans.

We have observed that the plug of many of the appliances has three pins. We know that two pins are for the two-terminal, but what does the third pin do?

The answer is that it is the connection for the earthing.

Earthing is a conductor (generally copper) buried deep underground to dissipate any additional or excess current or dissipate any current leakage safely to the earth and protect any person from getting electric shocks. The electric current is inversely proportional to the resistance. Therefore in the case of current leakage, the current prefers to use the earthing connection to go to the ground instead of the person touching the appliance and thus protecting the person from electric shocks.

Short Circuit

A short circuit is a phenomenon in which a huge amount of current passes through the circuit. This huge amount of current can damage the electrical appliances permanently and can cause a lot of damage. This huge amount of current can also generate a lot of heat which can damage the wires or even cause them to melt.

The electric appliances have a fuse that protects them in case of any short circuit. The fuse is generally a metal wire that melts preferentially when the current in the circuit becomes more than a certain limit, thus breaking the circuit and protecting the appliance from getting damaged.

Traditional fuse wires have now been replaced by modern-day MCBs or miniature circuit breakers. The MCB sense any hazardous current and trips the circuit, and we can manually switch on the MCB to reconnect the circuit.

Electric Fire

During a short circuit, a huge amount of current passes in the circuit and this current can produce a lot of heat in the wire and sometimes, the wires in our homes can catch fire due to this and can result in a fire that can be very dangerous as any traditional attempts to put out the fire using water can become even more hazardous can cause electric shocks.

In case of fires due to an electric short circuit, we should use precaution and use sand or a fire extinguisher to put out the fire, and we should cut the power supply as soon as possible.

We can also use high quality, non-flammable wires for our household connection to reduce any chances of an electric fire in case of a short circuit.

Electrocution

When an electric shock results in the death of a living being, then it is known as electrocution. The resistance of a human body is \(1000\,\Omega \). A current of value \(0.1\,\text {A}\) for \(2\) seconds or more can easily cause death for a human. We can now understand that even a small magnitude of the current can be lethal for human life; therefore, it is important to take all the precautions while working with electricity and have good quality electrical appliances in our homes.

We often see birds sitting on live wires, and still, they don’t get electric shocks. This is because the resistance offered by the part of the wire between the contact point of the two legs is very small as compared to the body of the bird, and therefore the electric current preferentially passes through the conductor and not through the bird and thus the bird doesn’t get an electric shock.

Lightning

Lightning is an electric current that flows from the clouds to the ground. We know that the air is an insulator of the electric current. Still, in the case of lightning, the potential difference between the cloud and the ground becomes so high that it ionizes the air. When the charge carriers are available after ionization, the current flows from the cloud to the ground.

Lightning carries a huge amount of current that can be very dangerous for the electricity grid and living being. It is almost impossible to survive a bolt of direct lightning hit. The heat generated when electricity passes through the air raise the temperature to thousands of degrees that is even greater than the surface of the sun.

Lightning tends to hit at the local highest point.

In a thunderstorm, we should avoid taking shelter under trees as they can be more prone to lightning. We should always lie low and stay away from any tall structure to avoid any danger from lightning.

In tall buildings, generally, we have a lightning rod installed at the highest point of the building, which intercepts any lightning strikes and safely dissipates the current to the ground and protects the building and the electric circuit from any damage from the lightning.

The electric transmission wires that carry electric current from one place to another have a protective wire running at the top of the pole that protects the grid from lightning and ensures the smooth functioning of the grid.

Conservation of Electricity

Electricity is an important resource for the nation, and also it consumes a lot of natural resources to generate electricity; therefore, we should use it judiciously.

Following are the various measures which we can take to conserve electricity:

1. We should switch off the appliances when we are not using them.
2. We must use energy-efficient appliances.
3. We must use an appliance only when it is needed.
4. We can install solar power systems for the house to use renewable sources for electricity.
5. Government should opt for renewable resources or highly efficient sources like nuclear power plants instead of traditional coal or natural gas.

Summary

Electricity is a form of energy. It has become inseparable in the current modern-day life. Everything around us requires electricity. There are many risks and dangers associated with electricity if not handled properly. Electric shocks can prove lethal to living beings, and they can even cause deaths. It is very important to have high quality and certified equipment, wirings and switches. Proper safety measures like proper earthing, good quality MCBs should be installed.

Electricity is an important resource for the country; therefore, it is important to use it judiciously. Therefore we must buy energy-efficient equipment. We should use the appliance only when necessary and switch off the lights and the fans when not needed.

FAQs on Electrical Safety and Conservation

Q.1. What is electricity?
Ans: The flowing charge is known as electricity. It flows from the high potential to the low potential.

Q.2. Can electric shock cause death?
Ans: Electric shocks can be lethal to living beings. They can cause burns and even death.

Q.3. How can we protect ourselves in a thunderstorm?
Ans: During a thunderstorm, we should avoid taking shelter under the tall structure as they are more likely to be hit by a bolt of lightning. We should lie as low as possible.

Q.4. What are renewable resources?
Ans: Renewable resources are resources that can last to an infinite amount of time or replenish themselves in a short amount of time, for example, sunlight, wind energy, etc.

Q.5. What are some measures we can take to save electricity?
Ans: Following are the various measures which we can take to conserve electricity:
a. We should switch off the appliances when we are not using them.
b. We must use energy-efficient appliances.
c. We must use an appliance only when it is needed.
d. We can install solar power systems for the house to use renewable sources for electricity.
e. Government should opt for renewable resources or highly efficient sources like nuclear power plants instead of traditional coal or natural gas.

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