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Welcome back to Bill’s Quality Electric, LLC’s Electrical Safety Series on Being Proactive! We’ve been doing a tour of the home, looking out for potential electrical hazards that can lead to electrical fires and electric shock, and what you can do to avoid them. We started in the bathroom in Part I and II, then we moved into the bedroom for Part 3 & 4. For today’s focus with Part 5, we will move into the Living Room, that all essential place where family gathers to talk, play, watch, listen, and relax. The key word here is entertainment, whether it’s watching a movie, listening to some tunes or playing videos games. (Now, if you have a room in your home where this takes place but it’s not the living room, the same cautions apply wherever you happen to be.) With all this FUN going on, we might forget to remember electrical safety and the hazards that may be present if we’re not looking for them. Too busy getting to the next level of your video game or doing karaoke to your favorite song! So, the big question remains: Where is all this stuff we’re playing on plugged in? Whether it’s a DVD/Blue Ray player, video game console, CD player or some other appliance that feeds your fun, how and where you plug it in is essential to safety. Typically, we find the usage of Transient Voltage Surge Suppressors (TVSS for short) with a 3 or 6 foot cord to be commonly used in living rooms. However,
Consider this: The average living room is wired with 14 gauge wire with a 15 amp circuit breaker or 1800 watts. For a circuit loaded over three hours, considered continuous duty, we should only use 80 percent of that 1800 watts, which is 1440 watts, approximately depending on the exact voltage. We don’t want to be deceived into thinking that a power strip is not overloaded if it doesn’t trip the 15 amp circuit breaker. The average living room plug should only have 1.8 amps or 180 watts with approximately 1.5 amps plugged into it. That is how the circuit is designed, not to draw above 1440 watts or more from one location. With that in mind, watch your wattage with any entertaining appliance you plug in and follow these guidelines to help you avoid overload, which can lead to electrical fire. Get back to whatever your fun focus happens to be once you determine the best way to plug in your appliance and stay electrically safe.
Keep the fun going by Being Proactive with your electrical safety! For more electrical safety, shock and fire prevention tips, follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook where we share relevant content to keep you informed. You’re also welcome to subscribe to our YouTube Channel which is Your Electrical Safety Resource! Remember, if you own a business or home in Collin County area of North Texas and are in need of electrical service, repair or installation, give us a call at 214.697.3134 to schedule an appointment with Bill’s Quality Electric, LLC. We look forward to doing business with you! 