Electricity is one of the most important parts of our lives. In today's constant and rapidly changing world we cannot imagine our life without it.
Electrical appliances are an integral part of our lives today. And various types of appliances surround us.
All these appliances make it easy for us to live our daily lives. Just imagine how difficult would it be to get rid of this heat, get in touch with our loved ones or collaboratively work in a huge enterprise if we didn't have electric appliances like fans, charges, phones, laptops, etc.
Each of these appliances has a purpose to serve. Today, in this article I am going to talk about one such appliance which holds a lot of importance i.e. power strips; different ways it is useful to us and its hazards.
What is a power strip?
It is a collection of electrical sockets which are put together to give us some flexibility. Using this, we can attach multiple appliances in a single strip without restricting us to walls and single sockets.
It is highly useful at the places where there is a high demand for more than one wall socket. Many times electricians can find these power strip in the old houses as there are chances of them not having permanent sockets.
But, it is necessary to make people aware of the proper use of these electric appliances to avoid electrical hazards.
Power strips are plastic-coated and are encased in large metal boxes. They come with the LED switches that indicate when the units are on. Some of them have a push button which automatically trips if the power strip becomes very hot. It helps to avoid any big hazards. You can use premium quality power stips like PDU power stips to avoid any such accidents as well.
The electricians often come to check that all appliances are working properly or not. Here, I will be listing the things these electricians check for different defective conditions:
Daisy Chaining:
Here the power strip plugging is into the other strips and/or extension cords. The supply of these electrical outlets is insufficient in some old buildings. This encourages some of the homeowners to interconnect these extension cords.
In such scenarios, it is very likely for these inspectors to guide you. Such type of arrangement is not acceptable by the National Electric Code (NEC) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations.
These regulation boards do not allow it because the strip or the wall socket will overload and this, in turn, results in the fire or the failure of the power strip.
Structuring of power strips:
They are permanently secure to build structures, tables, workbenches or other similar structures. You cannot route the strips through walls, ceilings, floors or any other opening structure.
Overloading:
If your usage of extension cords is overloading it then there are chances of you paying a fine in terms of a hazardous event.
The overloading of these power strips can cause many dangerous situations and heavy damage. Let's see some of the unsafe conditions which can cause some bad events:
- One wall socket serving multiple high power strips
- If the power strip is serving a lot of appliances at the same time
- If it is serving high voltage items like refrigerators, microwaves, etc.
Catching Heat:
While you are using the extension cord, there are chances of it getting hot. It can be because of overloading. But, you need to make sure that it is not getting hot. In such scenarios, you need to make sure that you are not touching the extension cord with your hands.
Another reason for overheating is if it is in a place where air circulation is low like behind any furniture or beneath the carpet.
So, make sure that your extension cord is in the proper air-conditioned room or place while you are using it.
Final Words:
Power strips are a very useful part of our lives that helps us to connect multiple appliances to power so we can use them. These various types of strips like PDU power strip or even the normal power strips you need to make sure that you are using them with proper responsibility and not just as a replacement to the wall socket.
If the inspectors are advising you to use them properly then make sure you are following the instructions. Because their guidance will help you to avoid potential accidents and fire hazards.
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