It has never been more important to get into the habit of testing your RCD's once every six months and here's why:
RCD's have been at the forefront of providing protection against electric shocks in the home for years and years. Traditional methods of providing protection have been substituted and shelved in favour of installing these devices instead
While this is fine on paper, RCD's are a mechanical device which fail overtime, hence why we test. However, as technology advances and modern appliances contain more DC components (T.V's, electronics etc), these type of technologies CAN POSSIBLY, make a traditional RCD not operate when needed if a DC component becomes faulty
I have never seen this happen and I have tested tens of thousands of RCD's so far in my career, but, the danger is most definitely present and possible
The industry has been aware of this problem for some time and have only now began to act of this. From September, an upgraded type of RCD which protects its integrity to operate has now become the minimum standard for us electrician's to install. However, while this is a step in the right direction, millions of the old style will still be in service as I type this
As your local electrician in Huntingdon, I have been aware of this problem since 2018 and have only installed Type A RCD'S (the new models) and stopped installing Type AC (the traditional models) and while I am stating that Type AC models are leaving the industry and should not be installed moving forward, these models can still protect you from electric shocks, but it is now more important than ever that you get in the habit of pushing the test button once every six months to ensure it operates
If the switch does not trip, then seek advice of an electrician immediately
