SWITCH BOARD MAINTENANCE

Either you call them main boards, distribution boards or our facility’s electrical switch boards, it doesn’t matter.in fact what really matters is the job they do. The main purpose of distribution boards is to split the incoming main power into small portions called circuits. Well to define them more, they are a home to many small safety devices that protect your appliances such as RCDs and circuit breakers

      WHY IS IT IMPORTANT

A thing to take in notice is that a little fault in your switchboard can make the power supply of your whole house leave you helpless. Hence, it is very important to maintain your distribution board in order to live a peaceful life. Ignoring little faults within your main boards can not only turn your lights and fans of but also cause several other problems like,

Your circuit breakers and RCDs resting inside can start tripping very frequently because of unnecessary shutting of power.It is possible that your circuit breakers stop tripping when the power is high. If they don’t trip there is a high chance that your valuable appliances may get out of order because the circuit breaker couldn’t pause the high supply of current flowing through the appliances. When a high current flows through something it produces more heat, if the heat is large than it can have disastrous effects like fires or in some cases even explosions. Each of these loses can be extremely costly in terms of money as well as lives.ADVANTAGES OF MAINTENANCEA well maintained distribution board can last much longer and have fewer chances of replacement of circuit breakers.There are minimized chances of faults and failures and almost no chances of sudden explosions or fires.By maintaining a switchboard you can prevent yourself from dreadful accidents because you can detect any fault before it shows its destructive effects.HOW TO MAINTAIN YOUR MAIN BOARDS.

Well it’s as easy as an apple pie to maintain your switch boards. A few easy steps and you are done.

Frequently check the current reading on your switch boards, if it is changing rapidly than turn the supply off.If the current is much lower than it is at normal than it means that the current is low and needs to be stopped.If it is higher than circuit breakers will do the work by tripping but make sure to activate the circuit breaker again after it has tripped. If you do not turn it on again the fans, lights and sockets associated with the specific circuit breaker will not work.If the reading remains constant for about 15 minutes it surely means that the current reader is out of order and needs to be replaced really soon in order to keep an eye on the correct current.A great way to confirm that the current reader is in order is to check if the reading on the reader alters by 1 or 2 volts every 2 or 3 seconds.If a fault is detected the best solution will be to call an expert and not try to handle the work yourself because you will only make mess.If a RCD or a circuit breaker needs to be replaced the wisest choice would be to buy a new one of a good brand to ensure good quality and make sure it lasts for months and not days.Make sure the RCDs are in order.an RCD is a life saving device as it automatically switches off if there is a fault.in this way you can prevent yourself from severe shocks even if you touch bare wires. Hence it is very important to make sure that the RCDs are working properly. If you don’t maintain your distribution boards you won’t be able to detect such fault and there is a great chance that you lose your life which is of course precious than a diamond to you and your family.it rather feels unreal but Sir Thomas Fuller was very true when he said that “a stich in time saves nine”.I hope you like what I wrote because I tried my best to make the most out of it by summing the most important things together.