Precautions to Be Taken Against Electric Shocks in Homes

In recent days, the public has witnessed the unfortunate incident experienced by Manisa Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Mr. Ferdi Zeyrek, and once again the safety of electrical installations has come to the forefront. In fact, even if such unfortunate incidents do not make it to the media, many similar events occur in daily life across our country. In Türkiye in 2025, we must definitely take the necessary steps to prevent electric shock accidents. While it may not be possible to prevent such shocks entirely in extremely extraordinary situations, we must certainly prevent simple accidents by taking the most basic precautions. Electricity is present in every aspect of our lives and has an extremely lethal characteristic. The risk of people losing their lives due to electric shock above the 50-volt threshold is extremely high. Step voltage and touch voltage are among the primary issues that must be addressed with preventive measures. Residual Current Devices, which must be present in every home, and having them inspected regularly every year are indispensable. While this issue is handled more sensitively in industrial facilities, unfortunately it is not taken seriously enough in smaller businesses and homes. We have even witnessed many times that residual current devices are disabled. Disabling residual current devices or failing to select the correct ones—an act equivalent to gambling with human life—is considered a serious offense by judicial authorities in the event of a possible negative incident. For this reason, we must be absolutely sure that the residual current device systems in our homes are operating correctly.

HOW SHOULD RESIDUAL CURRENT DEVICES BE CHECKED?

Residual current devices (RCDs), which must be present in every home, have a test button on them. This button allows the product (in devices that are not corroded and are functioning correctly) to perform a self-test. By pressing this button once a month or at certain intervals, you can see whether the device is working (whether it trips or not). This process is very simple and SAVES YOUR LIFE! Perhaps none of you have done this simple precaution until today, and as a first step, you can perform the most basic check by pressing the RCD test button.

However, residual current devices that have not been tested for a long time—especially if they are located in humid and damp places such as pool rooms or basements—and if they have never been tested since the day you purchased the house, may lose their test function and even their leakage detection capability. These products have mechanical components and may rust. Although it varies by brand, construction companies often use the cheapest products that merely meet minimum requirements instead of the best and most durable ones, which can cause the product to become inoperative over time due to corrosion. Periodically testing the product helps it maintain its operational function. This is an extremely important detail. A product that never operates may become completely disabled.

In addition, this simple test precaution protects you only to a certain extent. It is essential that both the electrical installation and residual current devices are also checked with test equipment by professional teams. There are many authorized engineering companies that perform periodic inspections in this field. Yılkomer also provides these services. We strongly emphasize that you should have your home or small business undergo a detailed electrical inspection once a year, just like factories. Here, it will be checked whether the product trips within the opening values defined by standards. If a 30 mA residual current device does not trip within the required time and current, the situation is quite serious. It means the relay is not performing its function.

Grounding and protection devices should be considered as a whole. Protection devices will not work in a system without grounding or with broken grounding. For this reason, grounding inspections must also be carried out within the scope of periodic controls.

Residual current devices are sometimes disabled due to claims of nuisance tripping. In such cases, incorrect product selection causes this problem. Type AC relays are designed for 50 Hz, and in stormy weather with lightning, this frequency value can increase significantly. Therefore, using relays resistant up to 2000 Hz, such as Type F relays, or using harmonic-filtered relays in facilities with harmonic problems eliminates nuisance tripping issues caused by lightning or harmonics.

In addition, low-voltage surge protective devices must be present in every system against sudden overvoltages and lightning impulses. With a staged protection system in main and sub-distribution panels, you can also eliminate potential device damage and fire risks.

In summary, we can prevent electric shock accidents through proper PROTECTION ENGINEERING. Do not risk your life with these simple precautions. We recommend everyone to personally perform and have these simple yet valid checks carried out.

Remember, Yılkomer ‘Protects Your Values!’