2008-03-25
The Electrical Safety Council is calling on Housing Associations and Local Authorities to ensure that hot water systems are checked by a registered electrician as well as a qualified plumber, following the inquest into the death of ten-month-old Rhianna Hardie.
The cause of the accident was an electrical fault – the thermostat on the immersion heater failed to switch itself off and the hot water fed back into the plastic cold water tank which collapsed as a result of the heat it was subjected to. The coroner at the inquest, Michael Rose, claimed that up to 3˝ million homes in the UK could be at risk from a similar fault.
“It’s vitally important that adequate safety checks are put in place to ensure that we don’t see a recurrence of this type of tragic accident,” says Phil Buckle, Director of Charitable Affairs at the Electrical Safety Council. “A simple upgrade of the existing immersion heater or the replacement of the thermostat is all that is needed in most cases. Modern types of immersion heaters and thermostats have a safety cut-out to stop continuous reheating of the water in the event of the thermostat failing. If the property relies on an immersion heater as the primary source of hot water it is also sensible to ensure that a timer is fitted – both as an additional safety measure and because it is more cost-effective.”
The Electrical Safety Council also recommends that, as a matter of routine, electrical periodic inspections should be carried out on all homes at least every ten years and the electrician should be asked to ensure that the immersion heater and thermostat are both included in this check. In addition the Electrical Safety Council advises that every electrical installation is inspected and tested on change of occupancy.
An overheating immersion cylinder will normally show obvious signs such as excessive noise, a very hot cylinder or airing cupboard, or hot water coming from the cold taps. Residents should be made aware of these and asked to alert their landlord at the first sign of any of these symptoms.
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Telephone: 0870 040 0561
Fax: 0870 040 0560 |
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Source: ESC Website |
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