or humid environments
such as the bathroom
and kitchen. Protect yourself, make sure appliances
are grounded!
Tips
• Ask a qualified installer to inspect or install your electrical system installation also includes the connection of
appliances.
• Be careful with moisture. Do not place drinks or a vase
with flowers on, or next to, electrical appliances.
• Preferably use appliances with grounded plug and con
nect it only to grounded electrical outlets.
• Note: Grounded plugs and outlets are required in
humid rooms such as bathroom and kitchen.
Prevent damage by thunderstorms
Good grounding of your electrical installation is also
important in case of thunderstorms. Your electrical
appliances may malfunction when lightning strikes.
Have your electrical installation grounded and have an
earth leakage circuit breaker installed in your meter box.
If lightning strikes, the earth leakage switch will turnover
and the electricity will be disabled. This prevents damage!
Tips
Tips
• Buy childproof electrical outlets. These are provided
with plates that cover the openings of the electrical
outlet. The plates only move if you push the plug with
equal pressure on both openings. For you this is only a
trick, for a child it is very difficult.
• You can cover your existing electrical outlets with
special loose cover plates. Please note: they are different
for grounded and ungrounded electrical outlets.
You stick or pinch the cover in the electrical outlet.
A spring mechanism makes the openings of the electrical
outlet invisible when not in use.
• After use of your appliances remove the plugs from the
electrical outlets so that the cover plates are in the safe
position.
• Regularly check the insulation of cords and plugs.
A child does not know what bad insulation is and will just
grab the cord. The child may get an electrical shock.
• Move the electrical cords as much as possible out of
sight. Your child could trip over a cord or get tangled in it.
Place cords alongside walls and behind furniture.
• Preferably use a cable duct. Another option is to secure
cords on the baseboards with cable clips.
• Make sure hanging cords are not in reach of children.
The child might take this as an invitation to play with
the cord.
If your electrical installation is not grounded, take the
following measures during thunderstorms:
• Unplug your appliances from the electrical outlets.
This prevents the voltage from the lightning reaching
your appliances.
• Disconnect your telephone, television and computer.
Think about the children
Children are curious and love to move around.
That makes safe electricity even more important.
You must take measures to prevent accidents and dangerous situations: make electrical outlets childproof,
make sure you have well insulated cords and plugs,
move cords out of sight or make sure they are correctly
secured. Think about the children!
SAFETY
WE ARE PLEASED TO BE OF SERVICE!
Water- en Energiebedrijf Bonaire N.V.
WEB-gebouw, Kaya Gresia z/n
P.O. Box 381 • Kralendijk, Bonaire CN
T +599 715 8244 • F +599 717 8756
Breakdown service (24/7) T 9215
E [email protected] • www.webbonaire.com
Tips for safe use
of electricity
SAFETY
As your electricity supplier WEB holds
the responsibility for safe use of electricity up to the meter box. Starting from
the meter box are you as occupant,
owner or lessor responsible for
the safe use of electricity.
This is why we gladly
offer you a few tips
and advices.
IMPORTANT!
Always make sure that your
installation is checked by an authorized installer. The authorized installer is
a specialist that assesses the work done by an electrician,
or yourself, according to established standards.
A list of qualified installers can be found on our website
www.webbonaire.com.
Know what you buy
Electrical appliances are basically manufactured as safe as
possible. They have to measure up to various international standards. But, it’s still possible that inferior products
enter the market. Know what you buy!
Tips
• When purchasing, check the quality label: they guarantee that the safety has been checked by an independent
institute.
• If possible buy appliances with a grounded plug.
This type of plug has notches embedded with metal
strips (European system), or has three pins (American
system).
• It is even better to buy double insulated appliances.
Due to an extra insulated casing they do not discharge
electricity in case of defects. These appliances
can be recognized by an icon of two intertwined squares.
Know what you do
Even if you bought the best
appliances, cords, plugs and
electrical outlets: careless use leads
to unsafe situations. The two most
well-known and, unfortunately, still often occurring are
overload and short-circuiting. Know what you are doing!
Overload and short-circuiting
Overloading of electric circuit happens because too
many electronic al appliances are used simultaneously.
The current circulating in the circuit becomes more than
the capacity of components in the circuit to withstand.
The electrical wires then overheat and the insulation melts,
which causes short-circuiting.
Short-circuiting can also occur when an appliance or a
cord is damaged. The copper kernels of the cords can
come into contact with each other. This results in a very
high electrical current which can cause overheating and
melting of the wiring. Consequently the fuse will blow or
the group switch or ground-fault circuit interrupter will
change. This can cause partial or full power failure until
the problem of short-circuiting is resolved.
Tips
• Do not simultaneously use too many appliances that
consume a lot of electricity. This involves ‘electricity
guzzlers’ like washing machine, air conditioner, refrigerator, electric dryer, dishwasher or vacuum cleaner.
• Do not connect too many appliances to a single electrical
outlet and connect no more than 1200 Watts per single
group in your meter box. On the identification plate or
in the manual of your appliances you can see how many
Watts it uses. When in doubt, check with a qualified
installer.
• Always follow the operating instructions of electrical
appliances.
• Check the insulation of electrical cords. A common place
where the cord gets damaged is near the plug. Make sure
the plug is fastened again, or replace the appliance.
• Always hold the plug when removing it from the
electrical outlet. Do not pull the cord, as this may
damage the insulation.
• Do not shut in cords, for example under a door or
carpet. Also make sure that cords are always fully rolled
out and do not get tangled in themselves or with other
cords. This prevents overheating and wear and tear,
which cause short circuit.
• Never use nails or staples to attach electrical cords.
There are special cable clips to safely mount cords.
• Do not use electrical cords to hang anything from.
• Do not use more than one extension cord between a
device and the electrical outlet. The more cords you use,
the greater the chance that they get tangled. Also by
combining extension cords you can unconsciously
connect too many appliances.
Provide grounding
Grounding is especially important for appliances with
metal casing, like washing machines. If the connection
cord makes contact with the metal, for instance through
wear and tear or loose insulation, the device gets electrified. An extra wire (‘ground wire’) in the connection cord
prevents this. The electricity will then be discharged via
the earth. This 3rd cord is called a ground fault.
The electricity in your meter box will be disabled when
an ‘earth fault’ occurs. An ‘earth fault’ happens when a
fuse melts, or the earth leakage switch turns over.
Your appliances will keep working normally if the ground
wire is loose or missing. Unfortunately the only way to
detect a faulty grounding is often when things go wrong.
i.e.: the power is not discharged but electrifies the device.
This can cause fire or electrocute
the user. It can also be lifethreatening. Because moisture
is an excellent conductor of
electricity, it is advised to be
especially careful in wet