Importance of testing safety device

THE latest electrocution incident involving a water heater could have been avoided if the users had bought a safety-certified equipment and conducted frequent testing of the unit’s residual current circuit breaker (RCCB).

During the incident, which was reported on March 10, a husband and wife were killed in their flat unit at Taman Puncak Tringkap, Brinchang, Pahang.

Preliminary investigations found burnt marks on the palm of the 35-year-old woman, who is believed to have been electrocuted when she went to help her 46-year-old husband, who was showering with a water heater that most probably had a defective RCCB.

RCCB is a device that senses electricity and disconnects any low voltage (unbalanced current) circuit whenever a fault occurs. This protects humans from shocks and prevents death caused by shocks.

It prevents accidents by disconnecting the main circuit within a fraction of seconds.

RCCB must be tested regularly to ensure it is always in good working condition and able to trip and isolate the circuit once a leakage of current is detected. Faulty or defective RCCBs in the distribution board have been identified as among the causes of electrocution involving water heaters in homes in Malaysia.

The suitability and sensitivity of the RCCB is critical for safety. The sensitivity of the RCCB used for electric water heaters should be rated 10mA to prevent electrocution. Electrical works and replacements of RCCBs must only be carried out by competent electricians, wiremen, and chargemen who are registered with the Energy Commission of Malaysia.

Consumers must also make sure that the electrical products they buy carry the SIRIM-ST label, which certifies that they have been approved by the Energy Commission for safety and household use. For electrical water heaters, using a hose and conductive inlet stop valve made from metallic materials is not recommended because these conduct electricity. The right size of cable to be used for electric water heaters should be 4mm2 instead of 2.5mm2

Using 13A or 15A plug and switch sockets for electric water heaters is also dangerous. Only fixed and permanent connection is allowed between the water heaters and designated 20A or 30A switches (with two poles and normally with neon lights). Should there be a connection in between, only approved connectors and connection boxes must be used.

The Electrical and Electronics Association of Malaysia (TEEAM), the representative body of the electrical and electronics industries in the country, had conducted campaigns nationwide to raise awareness of domestic electrical safety and promote periodic self-testing of the RCCB at home in 2014. TEEAM plans to restart this RCCB self-test campaign in the near future especially with updated information and self-testing besides creating awareness on the use of 10mA RCCB for electric water heaters given the repeated cases of water heater electrocutions in the country.

For further information, contact the TEEAM Secretariat at 03-9221 4417, 016-283 9023 or check out our website www.teeam.org.my, and follow us on social media (Facebook: teeam.org/my, Instagram: @teeam_my, Twitter: @teeam_my and Linkedin: teeam my).

ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONICS ASSOCIATION OF MALAYSIA