To survive at home during electricity load management, make sure of these two things
1. Make Sure Your Home is Safe
Safety in the home is really important for you to survive the load shedding so make sure that you are well prepared. With the on and off that will be going on with the power grid-power surges will be inevitable.
Power surges can take a huge toll on modern day appliances, destroying sensitive and expensive equipment without a moment’s warning. So unplug everything because the best possible protection against power surges is to unplug your appliances whenever there is an outage. And if they are not in use- you will be conserving energy as well as staying safe.
Check for broken plugs and wires and if you find any get them looked at by an electrician. Avoid connecting devices that are faulty or made with substandard materials, because they will draw a lot of power when they are turned on and will cause power surges.
Also be smart about where you plug-don’t let electronic devices, like computers, share their power strip or plug-in with things like air-conditioners or printers. Appliances with large electronic loads put your sensitive devices at risk because, as they can cause their own mini-surges.
Do not put too many plugs into a socket because if you put too many plugs in one socket this can start a fire. Also, by all means avoid plugging heaters into an extension cord because they do draw in a lot of power and can cause the cord to overheat and maybe even catch fire.
This extension cord advice also goes for any high powered appliances like microwaves, fridges, washing machines and air conditioners.
More Tips to Stay Safe
• When you are cooking stay in the kitchen especially if you are cooking with fat as it can set on fire easily.
• If you are using a candle put it in a holder and keep candles away from things that may burn like curtains and papers. NEVER leave candles alone!
• As a lot of fires start after people have gone to bed at night you should do some checks before you go to bed. Check the cooker is off, turn off heaters and put keys where you and other family members can quickly find them.
2. Make Sure Your Home is Secure
With or without load shedding under the cover of darkness many a mischievous things may happen so make sure your living spaces are secure so that your possessions and you are safe from any sort of threats.
Your front door is your main entrance and exit so make sure that it is a good solid door to prevent intruders from opening it with a crow bar or simply kicking it in. Have a good solid hardwood or steel front door and avoid the lightweight hollow (flush) door. If your door is not as solid as you would like it to be make sure that you reinforce and fortify the door’s weak spots.
Do not forget the windows and sliding doors if you have them; because intruders can easily open some older windows and they can slide glass doors off of their tracks. Make sure that intruders won’t be able prize open, cut security bars or to slide windows or doors open!
Invest or ask the homeowner to invest a little money to make sure that your home is secure and your doors and windows are updated.
More Tips to Keep Out Intruders
• Put a “beware of dog” sign at the gate and get an actual dog and a quick way is to get a rescue dog from your local veterinary services.
• Even if you do not have the whole property covered print and stick a warning sign at your premises saying “You are Being Watched”. Then install a working security camera above your gate in full view off potential burglars.
• Pay a monthly fee for a phone-in alarm service to a home security company and put the security company sticker on your fence or gate.
