Switchboard Installations and Upgrades

Installing a safety switch is an inexpensive safety measure that protects you, your family and visitors to your property. Contact our team today to book at time to install.

Why you need a safety switch in your home

All homes have circuit breakers or fuses. These are designed to protect the wiring and appliances within your home. Only safety switches are designed to protect people.
Safety switches are designed to prevent injury or death by monitoring the flow of electricity through a circuit. They automatically shut off your electricity supply when current is detected leaking from faulty switches, wiring or electrical appliances in your home. This stops the chance of current flowing to earth, through a person and electrocuting them.
Installing a safety switch is an inexpensive safety measure that protects you, your family and visitors to your property.

More gadgets increases load

Today more than ever we have more electrically powered gadgets in our homes. Most of us have the very latest in labour saving devices like cooking appliances, cleaning appliances, heating/cooling appliances and a range of indoor and outdoor lighting. And then there’s the ever increasing range of entertainment systems. TVs and computers in just about every room of the house!

Can the wiring system in your home cope with all these extra, high tech appliances?
Are you completely sure that your wiring system has not deteriorated and become faulty?
Are all the appliances in your home safe – the old ones and the new?
Before you find out the hard way – through a serious electrical incident – get a safety switch installed on your switchboard.

The legal requirement

In Victoria, it is mandatory for safety switches to be installed on both the power and lighting circuits in new properties – and older properties when extensive renovations are carried out. If it’s important to have safety switches in new homes, then it makes a good deal of sense to install them in older properties too.

Safety switches, surge diverters and circuit breakers

Safety switches are often confused with circuit breakers and surge diverters. Safety switches are not the same as circuit breakers or fuses. Safety switches are designed to prevent injury or death by automatically switching off the electricity supply, within 0.03 of a second, when an electrical fault is detected.

Safety switches are an additional form of protection to be used with circuit breakers and fuses. They may not protect all wiring and electrical appliances and will not prevent all electric shocks. Fuses and circuit breakers protect against short circuits and current overloads.

How to recognise a safety switch

If you’re not sure whether or not you have a safety switch fitted to your switchboard, check by looking at your switchboard for a “test reset” button. That tells you that you have a safety switch installed. When you open your switchboard, you should see something like the above image.

Typical switchboard with the main switch, safety switch with test button, and four circuit breakers.

Electrical Installation and Switchboard Testing

In accordance with the Residential Tenancies Act 1997, Landlords and Agents are obligated to keep rented premises in a state of good repair. This includes ensuring that all electrical appliances provided by the Landlord are properly maintained and in safe working order. Evidence has shown that lack of appropriate maintenance on fixed electrical installations can lead to catastrophic events. Faulty installations present a serious risk of property damage, injury, and loss of life, therefore it is imperative for Landlords and Agents to ensure that potential electrical hazards are identified and rectified in order to minimize any risk and liability.

Canny Electrics can provide Landlords and Agents with an annual inspection test and assessment of the electrical switchboard to ensure its safe and complies with the new safety switch (RCD) requirements stated in the Wiring Rules (AS/NZS 3000:2018) as well as a full test of all switches, fixed electrical appliances and electrical power points.

Surge Protectors

Surge protectors safeguard your appliances and wiring from voltage surges like a lightning strike. Safety switches and surge protectors play entirely different roles. Surge protectors protect electrical appliances, safety switches protect people.

Circuit Breakers

Circuit breakers cut the power off when electrical wiring has too much current flowing through it. Too much current flowing through a circuit will your wiring heat or perhaps one of your electrical appliance’s wires to unsafe levels and potentially cause an electrical fire.
Fuses work in the same way as circuit breakers. Both fuses and circuit breakers do not protect people from electrical shock.

Are Safety Switches Failsafe?

Nothing is failsafe. You should regularly check your safety switch. Just like a smoke detector or other safety device, it cannot protect you if it is not working properly. It is also important to make sure your electrical appliances, wiring, extension leads and all other electrical equipment are regularly checked and kept in good working order.

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Percentage of homes in Australia that don't have safety switches*

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How many million homes are at risk?

Number (Millions) who have only a single RCD installed on their power circuit

Are you a landlord?

In accordance with the Residential Tenancies Act 1997, Landlords and Agents are obligated to keep rented premises in a state of good repair. This includes ensuring that all electrical appliances provided by the Landlord are properly maintained and in safe working order. Evidence has shown that lack of appropriate maintenance on fixed electrical installations can lead to catastrophic events. Faulty installations present a serious risk of property damage, injury, and loss of life, therefore it is imperative for Landlords and Agents to ensure that potential electrical hazards are identified and rectified in order to minimize any risk and liability.