Electrical Safety Promotion - Lessons Learned

Pieter Vermeyen, KULeuven - ESAT / Electa
Benoit Dome, Copper Benelux
Jonathan Manson, Gorham & Partners

While standards of safety in most areas of life are constantly improving, the safety of domestic electrical installations is lagging. People expect to be at their safest when in their own homes and tend not to be aware of the risks that face them there.

The majority of incidents resulting from unsafe installations – deaths and injuries from fire and electrical shock – are preventable. As the housing stock ages, the need to introduce regulation to preserve and enhance the safety of an ageing population becomes an increasing priority. The majority of European housing stock (60%) is already over 30 years old. Unless these buildings are properly renovated, their technical installations become progressively less suited to the higher standards of functionality, security and safety required by today’s society. This paper summarises over 50 person-years experience in the field of electrical safety promotion in the home, and proposes a number of ’lessons learned’ for addressing this problem.