Sponsored by Square D
One important safety upgrade area is the home’s electrical system. Until recently, home circuit protection hasn’t fundamentally changed in 100 years. Potentially life-saving new technologies like arc fault circuit interrupters (AFCIs) are now available to make homes safer. AFCIs actually prevent fires from occurring by shutting off the electrical circuit before an actual fire results. The U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) estimates that AFCIs could prevent more than 50 percent of electrical fires.
Each year electrical fires claim approximately 485 lives, injure almost 2,300 more individuals and cause $868 million in property damage. A national survey of more than 75 million Americans found that one out of four home owners never checks for electrical hazards such as overheated cords, overloaded outlets / circuits or other potentially dangerous conditions. These findings stress the importance of prioritizing the enhancement of a home’s electrical safety in the building and remodeling process.
For one-fifth of one percent of the national average cost of a 2,500 sq. ft. home, homeowners can protect their investment from fire hazards and potentially save the lives of their loved ones as well as their own. Assuming AFCIs are used on an average of 12 circuits, the cost to the homeowner is approximately $372 - $396. Given the benefits, the investment in electrical safety is quite reasonable, especially compared to the hundreds of millions of dollars spent each year on non-safety related upgrades.
AFCIs can also be retrofitted to existing homes at a reasonable cost, and this step should be strongly considered as homeowners remodel their current electrical system.
Home owners may not ask for electrical safety upgrades because they don’t know about the new technologies that can help prevent home electrical fires. A key step in the upgrade process is for builders, electrical contractors, and anyone involved in residential construction to educate the home buyer on safety upgrades and potential life-saving devices such as AFCIs.
To read the entire article “UPGRADING THE HOME: LUXURY vs. SAFETY” on the NEMA AFCI website, visit: http://www.afcisafety.org/files/Luxury-vs-Safety-Upgrades.pdf
Comments