Are you sitting in the dark?
Here are three ways to protect your electronics when load shedding strikes!
Load shedding has hit our country again, and now it’s at an all time high! Our days are filled with refreshing the Eskom schedule, rearranging plans that need electricity, finding hobbies that don’t need electricity, and most importantly – asking the question of how load shedding is going to affect the festive season.
With an ever changing schedule, and the recent implementation of stage 6, frustrations and stress are at its peak. One way to ease the fear of load shedding is by taking measures to protect your appliances when the lights go out. These measures can cost money, but we have compiled three simple things you can do to protect your electronics- and your pockets.
Here are three simple ways to ensure your electronics survive load shedding:
1. Turn off at the source
A power surge is an abnormal increase in voltage that lasts for a short period of time. When the electricity comes back on, it comes back at full force. Due to the immense amount of volts coming back to your home at once, this could damage any electronics plugged into the wall sockets.
The easiest way to ensure everything is off in your home, is to turn the main switch at your DB board off. This way, you are able to switch off everything that is in any plug throughout the house – this protects your fridge, TV, and any other big appliance that would break due to the power surges.
Just don’t forget to switch it back on after your scheduled load shedding!
2. Unplug everything
Before leaving your house, make sure everything is unplugged! Not only is this a safety measure, but it ensures all your electronics are safe. Just because you’re not home, doesn’t mean load shedding doesn’t happen.
Develop the habit of switching off and unplugging an appliance once you are finished using it. It is also important to not overload your plugs with too many things plugged in as this creates a high risk of damage to appliances and your home.
3. Don’t be too eager
We know that it’s hard to not race back to the TV when the electricity is back on, but we would suggest waiting 5 minutes before plugging everything back in and turning it on. This allows for the electronics to cool down before operating again. This includes your wifi router! Give the equipment some time to regain it’s connection again.
As we readjust to life in the dark again, it is important to not let it affect us emotionally. Fill those power-less hours with conversations with family and friends, taking a walk outside, or developing a new hobby!