It’s impossible to overestimate the value of home safety, but assuring your home is as secure as possible may not always be a top priority. These easy projects will assure you that you’ve eliminated some of the most common causes of safety disruptions at home.
Electrical
- Periodically, go through your home to look for overloaded power strips or surge protectors. It’s easy to fill these up with electronic devices, and if the sum of their wattage exceeds the capacity of the power strip, it poses a fire hazard.
- Never plug a toaster, hair dryer, or portable heater into an extension cord. These small appliances use large amounts of power that could exceed the cord’s rating. It’s better to have an electrician add an outlet than risk overloading a cord.
- Stop using an appliance or device immediately that smells like burning rubber.
- If a circuit breaker frequently turns off, ask an electrician to inspect it for you. There may be an underlying electrical problem.
HVAC Safety
Although heating and cooling systems run dependably and safely for years, it’s a good idea to have them serviced by an HVAC pro at least once a year. They’ll run more efficiently when they’re cleaned and adjusted. Heating and cooling systems contain any number of electrical parts that can overheat if they’re neglected. Dirt and corrosion build on them, which slows the transmission of electricity that can cause an electrical fire.
Lighting
Verify that the lights by your exterior doors are working. Adding motion detectors to your front and backyard also increases home safety because the lights act as a deterrent to would-be intruders.
Fire and Smoke Safety
Stick to a schedule for checking the batteries in carbon monoxide (CO) and smoke detectors. Unless the CO detector instructions say differently, check the battery monthly. It uses more energy than a smoke detector and is only defense against this deadly gas.
The effort it takes to ensure home safety is time and money well spent. To learn more, contact Energy 1 Heating & Air Conditioning, providing trusted HVAC services for Lorain area homeowners.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Lorain, Ohio about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about home safety tasks and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Guide or call us at 440-201-2959.
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Energy 1 Heating & Air Conditioning
1 (440) 246-5440
Serving the Lorain, OH Area