Well the weather in Brisbane is certainly warming up and that can mean only one thing: storm season is upon us! We’ve already seen some impressive storm action so far this summer so we thought we’d share our top 5 electrical storm safety tips to help keep your home, family, pets and businesses safe during severe weather.

1. Install a Safety Switch
   This is by far the greatest electrical safety improvement introduced in the last 20 years. Installing a safety switch and testing it regularly is not only good practice, but most importantly it’s been proven to save lives.
2. Consider Surge Protection
   You might want to consider having lightning protection installed in your switchboard to protect all appliances. A small investment in surge protection could save you thousands of dollars to replace electrical items.
3. Unplug Appliances
   Make sure you pack up any outdoor electrical equipment and store in a dry place, avoid plugging in sensitive appliances such as computers and TVs, and disconnect the telephone and TV antenna before the storm arrives.
4. Avoid Exposed Wires
   Once the storm has passed, avoid touching exposed wires or any electrical equipment that has been obviously damaged in the storm. If wires have been torn down in a black out, most houses will require internal repairs before the power can be reconnected.
5. Call A Professional
   Finally, don’t try and do any repairs yourself if your property suffers storm damage, particularly to your electrical appliances or your property’s electrical system. Call in a qualified electrician to help.

It goes without saying that staying away from fallen power lines is critical and many of these electrical storm safety tips are common sense but you’d be surprised how many people forget to implement the simplest measures.

Both the Brisbane City Council and Energex websites have some general tips for being prepared for storm season but if you need to get your property ready for severe weather, particularly if you don’t have an electrical safety switch installed, please give us a call on 0414 751 299 or contact us here.

And if your property does lose power, keep a note of this Energex website link to find out the status of your power outage.