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The Energy Blog Electrical safety in the home

A lack of understanding of electrical safety or misuse of electrical appliances can lead to fires and other accidents in the home. This simple guide provides you with everyday do’s and don’ts to help keep you and your family safe around electricity and electrical appliances in the home.

Top tips

  • Avoid using electrical appliances near water and don't use them with wet hands
  • Keep electrical appliances, particularly kitchen items such as cookers and microwaves, clean and free from grease
  • If an electrical appliance works erratically, has a flex or cable showing visible wear and tear, or you can smell burning when the appliance is in use, stop using it immediately
  • Avoid placing anything flammable close to heaters, cookers or fires

Plugs, leads and sockets

  • Modern appliances come with pre-sealed plugs fitted with the correct fuse. If you have any non-sealed plugs, ensure they are wired correctly by a competent person and fit the correctly rated fuse for the appliance
  • Never overload a socket by plugging in too many appliances
  • If you use a fused adapter, keep the output to a maximum of 13 amps per socket
  • Hot plugs and sockets, scorch marks, fuses that blow for no apparent reason and flickering lights are signs that your equipment is faulty. Switch off and unplug until a qualified electrician can test them
  • Don’t operate an appliance with the leads coiled or bent
  • Light bulbs can get very hot so never cover a lamp or light shade

Electrical appliances

  • Don’t buy an electrical appliance without knowing it is safe to use. If it is second-hand, have it checked by a qualified electrician before you use it
  • When buying a new appliance, look for the British Standard (BS) or European (CE) safety mark
  • Switch off and unplug appliances when not in use, especially if you are going away on holiday, unless they are designed to be left on, such as freezers
  • Keep appliances clean. Have them serviced according to the manufacturer’s instructions

Electric blankets

  • Don’t leave an electric blanket on overnight; switch it off and unplug it unless it has thermostatic controls for safe all-night use
  • When not in use, store either flat or rolled up to protect the internal wiring
  • Ensure they are inspected annually. Jersey Electricity, in conjunction with the Fire and Rescue Service offers a free electric blanket testing service every autumn

Electricity and water don’t mix 

  • Always keep electrical appliances, their leads and plugs away from water
  • Keep portable mains-powered electrical equipment out of the bathroom
  • Never touch plugs, switches or electrical equipment if you have wet hands

Children

  • Dry children thoroughly after a bath or shower before they go near electrical equipment such as games consoles
  • Keep liquids away from TVs, DVD players, stereos, computers and games consoles
  • Don’t leave an unconnected appliance cord, such as a mobile phone charger, plugged in and switched on as young children may be tempted to put the end of the cord in their mouths

In the garden

  • If you use electrical appliances in the garden, then always plug them into an RCD, (residual current device). An RCD detects an electrical fault and disconnects the appliance from the supply to prevent electrical shocks
  • Don’t use electrical equipment in the rain
  • Ensure cables have not become frayed or plugs loose
  • If mowing or hedge trimming, keep cables behind you and cut away from them
  • If you plan to dig big holes, know where your incoming electricity supply cables are located. For free information and advice, call our Customer Care Team on 505460 or email us jec@jec.co.uk

Finally

Make sure you know how to turn off the mains electricity supply in case of emergency. The main switch is usually on or near the fuse box.

Our 24-hour emergency number is: 505050

Your Customer Number

Your 5 character Customer Number can be found in the top right and bottom left corners of your bill.

Example electricity bill with the customer number highlighted

Daily Service Charge

The Daily Service Charge covers energy support services such as metering, billing, Customer Care, safety obligations and other energy support services.

Off-peak

Off-peak means not at the most popular time. Some of our tariffs provide discounted rates at off-peak times - for example, during certain periods at night.

Off peak charging times

Our current off peak electric vehicles times are from 00:00 to 06:59.

Dedicated supply circuit

A dedicated supply circuit is an electrical circuit that is set aside for a specific purpose, such as powering a boiler. It will work with a single appliance only.

It will have its own circuit breaker in your fuse box, and no other device or appliance will be able to draw power from it. A dedicated supply circuit ensures that appliances can draw the current they need without overloading your system, blowing a fuse or tripping an electric circuit.

Invoice Number

This can be found on the top right corner of your bill here

Example electricity bill with invoice number

Premise Number

This can be found on the top right corner and bottom left corner of your bill.

Example electricity bill with premise number highlighted

Payment Slip

This can be found at the bottom of your bill here

Bill payment slip example

Peak Load

Peak load or peak demand is a short period when the demand for electricity is at its highest.

Kilowatt Hours

Electricity consumption is usually measured in kilowatt hours, or kWh for short. Each kWh of electricity equates to 'one unit of electricity' for billing purposes. A 1kW (1,000 Watts) appliance in use for one hour = 1kWh (one unit). The cost per unit used depends on which tariff you are on.

Three phase

Residential homes are usually served by a single-phase power supply, while commercial and industrial facilities usually use a three-phase supply.

One difference between single-phase and three-phase is that a three-phase power supply better accommodates higher loads. Single-phase power supplies are most commonly used when typical loads are lighting or heating, rather than large electric motors.

Another important difference between 3-phase power and single phase power is the consistency of power delivery. Because of the variations in voltage, single-phase power supply does not offer the same consistency as a three-phase power supply. A three-phase power supply delivers power at a steady, constant rate.

kVA

A kVA is simply 1,000 volt-amps. A volt-amp, or ampere, (VA) is the voltage times the current feeding an electrical load.

Embedded generator

Embedded generators like wind turbines and solar panels are connected to your electricity supply and provide electricity for onsite use. They also have the capability to export back to the grid.

Smart Card Number

Your Smart Card Number is the 19-digit number displayed below the barcode on your Smart Card.

The Smart Card Number also contains your six-digit Meter Number that is also displayed on your meter. You need this to top up a Smart Pay As You Go Meter whether at a Payzone outlet or online.

Example of Smart card for meter charging

Smart Card

A Smart Card contains your unique Smart Card Number used when topping up a Smart Pay As You Go Meter.

Example of a smart card for meter charging

F-Credit

F-credit is a Pay As You Go meter display and means Friendly Credit. It is the period between 9pm and 8am. If the credit on your meter runs out during this period, your supply will remain on until 8am.

Decarbonise

The process of reducing carbon by replacing fossil fuels with fuel that is less harmful to the environment such as low-carbon electricity.

Regenerative braking

With conventional braking systems, the kinetic energy that was propelling the vehicle forward gets converted to unwanted and wasted heat by the friction of the brakes.

Regenerative braking recaptures much of the car's kinetic energy and converts it into electricity, so that it can be used to recharge the car's batteries.

In addition to improving the efficiency of a vehicle, regeneration can significantly extend the life of the braking system, as the mechanical parts will not wear out as quickly.

Power factor

Power factor is the ratio of useful power in kilowatts (kW) to apparent power, measured in kilovolt amperes (kVA). A perfect power factor would be 1.0, however in reality this is almost impossible to achieve. Office buildings are usually between 0.98 and 0.92. Bad power factor is anything below 0.85.

Electric flow boiler

Electric flow boilers are simple to install, quiet in operation, 100% efficient and integrate into most existing radiator or underfloor piped systems. Plus, with no flue or storage tank, an electric boiler is a space-saving option that can be installed almost anywhere in your home.

Approved heating system

A heating system, approved by Jersey Electricity, on a dedicated supply for use on one of our discounted heating tariffs.

To learn more about what's required for an approved heating system, view our current approved heating guidelines.

20-digit payment code

The 20-digit payment code is issued with your receipt for a Pay As You Go (PAYG) meter top-up. If your meter did not charge automatically, you can do it manually with the payment code. Press button A on your meter then key in your 20-digit payment confirmation code on the meter keypad, then press button B. Your meter will recognise the amount paid and charge accordingly.

Single phase

Single-phase power supplies are most commonly used when typical loads are lighting or heating, as in a domestic home, rather than large electric motors and higher loads. Single-phase power is a two-wire alternating current (AC) power circuit.