A safety switch is the single cheapest piece of electrical gear that will save a life in your house. Plenty of Gladstone homes still have one, or none. Here is what it does and why the rules push so hard on it.
What it does
A safety switch, or RCD (residual current device), watches the current going out on the active wire and coming back on the neutral. If they do not match, current is leaking somewhere it should not be, which is what happens when a person is getting a shock. The switch cuts the power in about 30 milliseconds. That is faster than a heartbeat and fast enough to stop a fatal shock.
Safety switch vs circuit breaker
They look similar in the board but do different jobs.
- A circuit breaker protects the wiring. It trips on overload or a short circuit so the cable does not overheat and start a fire.
- A safety switch protects people. It trips on leakage to earth.
You need both. Modern boards often use RCBOs, which combine the two in one unit per circuit.
How many do you need?
The minimum in Queensland for rentals and sales is safety switch protection on power circuits. Best practice, and what Kelly fits on a switchboard upgrade, is one per circuit. That way a fault on the oven does not take out the lights, the fridge and the fish tank with it.
Old boards with a single safety switch across everything are the ones where the whole house goes dark at 2am because a heater element in the hot water has failed.
The rules in Queensland
- Every new or altered circuit must have a safety switch.
- Landlords must have safety switches on power circuits and confirm it in the lease.
- Homes being sold must have safety switches on power circuits.
- The rest is up to you, until you touch the board.
Why it keeps tripping
- A faulty appliance. Unplug things one at a time. Toasters, kettles, old fridges and hot water elements are the usual suspects.
- Moisture in an outdoor power point or light fitting, especially after rain.
- A damaged cable in the roof or wall.
- A safety switch that has itself worn out. They do.
If it trips with nothing plugged in, leave it off and call. Kelly finds the circuit fault rather than just fitting a new switch. Read fault finding for how that works.
Test it every three months
Press the T button. Everything on that circuit should go off instantly. Reset it. If it does not trip, stop using the circuit and book a test.
What customers said
“Our safety switch decided to fail on a Sunday morning. Did a google search and found Electrikell. Made a phone call and spoke to Kelly. He agreed to come out and arrived within an hour. Had the problem fixed within 2 hours of making call to him.” Tanya Marxsen, Google review.
Next step
Adding safety switches to an existing board is a small job. A board with no room for them is a switchboard upgrade. Either way, start on the contact page or call 0421 644 207. Full detail on the safety switches page.
Related service: Safety Switches (RCDs) · Service area · Contact Kelly