Have you got an RCD? If not why not!

A recent survey showed that many people confuse RCD's with circuit breakers, however an RCD offers a lot more protection and can even save your life!

What does an RCD do exactly?

RCD is an abbreviation for residual current device. Should danger arise when using electrical equipment, such as a toaster or a lawn mower, this little device turns the electricity off so that no harm comes to the person using it, such as an electric shock.

Is home really the safest place?

1 in 8 of us are still getting electric shocks in the home and every week someone dies of an electrical accident in the home. Now we all know that electricity kills but we all seem to think that our homes are the exception and that things like an electric shock wont happen to us, but we face electrical dangers everyday unless we protect ourselves correctly. An RCD can protect our family from electrical fires and electric shocks in the home.

What RCD option is best for me?

There are two different types of RCD's that can be installed into your home:

RCD on your fuse box:
A registered electrician or electrical services company like Fulcher Edwards can install a new fuse box for you with RCD's fitted. This option provides you with the highest level of protection as it covers all wiring, sockets and appliances on the circuit.

Plug-in RCD:
This can be plugged into any socket in your home or garden and will protect you should there be a problem with the particular appliance you are using and have used the RCD plug-in device at the time.

Fulcher Edwards would always advise our customers on having an RCD on your fuse box as the level of protection is so much higher than the plug-in RCD as its unlikely you will use these for every appliance in your home. This option would not protect your family all of the time unlike the fuse box option.

To make people more aware of the importance of having an RCD fitted in your home the Electrical Safety Council have launched a campaign called Plug into Safety. Their website in general offers lots of advice on how to make your home safe so we would definitely recommend a read when you have some time.

An RCD can save a life so surely this little device is worth a consideration in your home?