Pitfalls on electrical wiring safety and electrical energy savings in the Filipino household

• Main Authors: Manzano, Maria Carla F., Manzano, Enrique M.
• Format: text
• Published: Animo Repository 2007
• Subjects: Electric power—Conservation—Philippines; Electric utilities—Philippines—Costs; Electric power conservation equipment industry—Philippines; Physics
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/faculty_research/8497
• Institution: De La Salle University

This paper is a part of a lecture series in the Teachers-Parent Forum of the DLSU College of Science that is intended to provide the layperson the necessary scientific knowledge to understand and solve typical problems that a common person meets in his everyday life. The Philippines is one of the few countries in the world where the National Electrical Code is not strictly enforced, where local attitudes of "pwede na" and "remedyo" lead to shortcuts in the electrical wiring of a typical Filipino household. These faulty electrical wiring pose dangers to life and property when fire results from electrical overloading, electrical shorts, and degradation of electrical lines due to aging, damage from pests, and exposure to the elements. Faulty grounding or the non-existence of grounding of the electrical appliances in the home result to electrical shock that maybe fatal. The authors would like to expose and expound these problems in a language that is easily understood.As electrical energy becomes more and more expensive, the Philippines having one of the most expensive electrical energy rates in Asia, electrical energy savings becomes a very important issue. Unscrupulous businessmen prey on the lack of understanding of the typical layperson to sell devices that supposedly save on electrical energy and lower one's electrical utility bill. This paper explains in simple terms the physical laws that govern energy, shows why the energy savings device being sold is fake and how energy savings is really accomplished.