Loadshedding can happen seemingly within a minutes notice and, besides offline systems at Home Affairs, is one of South Africa's biggest irritations. It annoyingly leaves many people in the dark but at the same time, also wreaks havoc on many household appliances due to an abnormal surge in electrical current.
Besides loadshedding, power outages can also be caused by damaged infrastructure in the area and in order to be repaired, requires a temporary shutdown.
Should unexpected electrical surges happen, Gumtree lists ways in which you can protect the life and longevity of your home appliances:
Disconnect appliances
Losing power is not the problem, it is when the power comes back on and the abnormal surge that you have to worry about. Manually disconnecting most of the appliances in the home is the longer way of doing things but is also full proof. Appliances like fridges, microwaves and televisions are especially susceptible to surge breakage.
Use surge protector plugs
Even though they might ne on the pricey side, investing in these bad boys is definitely worth it. Surge protector plugs are usually red in colour, while some have a regulator switch. Basically what a surge protector plug does is, if the voltage happens to rise above the acceptable level, the protector will divert the extra electricity into the outlets grounding wire.
Purchase a Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS)
This is another item worth investing. These UPS units act as mini generators for your items like routers and computers that kick in when there is no electricity being supplied to the home. UPS systems come in various capacities and make use of rechargeable batteries, which have to be replaced regularly to ensure a longer lifespan.
Now that you’ve got the knowledge, it’s time to shop! Head to gumtree.co.za or your Gumtree app (click for Apple & Android) and don’t forget to use your location settings to find local automotive car and bakkie information close to home.
Besides loadshedding, power outages can also be caused by damaged infrastructure in the area and in order to be repaired, requires a temporary shutdown.
Should unexpected electrical surges happen, Gumtree lists ways in which you can protect the life and longevity of your home appliances:
Disconnect appliances
Losing power is not the problem, it is when the power comes back on and the abnormal surge that you have to worry about. Manually disconnecting most of the appliances in the home is the longer way of doing things but is also full proof. Appliances like fridges, microwaves and televisions are especially susceptible to surge breakage.
Use surge protector plugs
Even though they might ne on the pricey side, investing in these bad boys is definitely worth it. Surge protector plugs are usually red in colour, while some have a regulator switch. Basically what a surge protector plug does is, if the voltage happens to rise above the acceptable level, the protector will divert the extra electricity into the outlets grounding wire.
Purchase a Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS)
This is another item worth investing. These UPS units act as mini generators for your items like routers and computers that kick in when there is no electricity being supplied to the home. UPS systems come in various capacities and make use of rechargeable batteries, which have to be replaced regularly to ensure a longer lifespan.
Now that you’ve got the knowledge, it’s time to shop! Head to gumtree.co.za or your Gumtree app (click for Apple & Android) and don’t forget to use your location settings to find local automotive car and bakkie information close to home.
