Summarizing Electrical Safety

Summary

• Electrical safety systems and devices are employed to prevent thermal and shock hazards.
• Circuit breakers and fuses interrupt excessive currents to prevent thermal hazards.
• The three-wire system guards against thermal and shock hazards, utilizing live/hot, neutral, and earth/ground wires, and grounding the neutral wire and case of the appliance.
• A ground fault interrupter (GFI) prevents shock by detecting the loss of current to unintentional paths.
• An isolation transformer insulates the device being powered from the original source, also to prevent shock.
• Many of these devices use induction to perform their basic function.

Glossary

thermal hazard

the term for electrical hazards due to overheating

shock hazard

the term for electrical hazards due to current passing through a human

three-wire system

the wiring system used at present for safety reasons, with live, neutral, and ground wires