Use energy safely this winter
Spending more time inside, heating your home, and even using holiday lighting means keeping your eye on safety. Get the information on electric and natural gas safety for winter.
Gas Safety
- Have gas appliances such as the furnace and water heater checked at least once a year by a licensed heating or plumbing contractor or SDG&E.
- Periodically check your gas appliances by making sure pilot lights and burner flames are a clear blue, (small flecks of orange are normal). However, a pilot light with a soft yellow burner flame can be a sign of carbon monoxide.
- Check for significant build up of soot in the appliance, another sign of incomplete combustion. If your heater has a yellow pilot light flame and/or significant build up of soot in an appliance, shut off the appliance and call a licensed heating or plumbing contractor, or call us at 1-800-411-7343.
- When using your gas fireplace, make sure the damper is open.
- Never use your gas oven for space heating.
Electric Safety
- Portable heaters, electric blankets and other heat-producing products shouldn’t be used with extension cords. Plug them directly into the wall and unplug them before leaving the house. Extension cords can be overloaded by these types of devices and possibly cause electrical fires.
- Keep the heater at a safe distance from furniture, blankets, draperies and other objects that could catch fire. Never hang clothes to dry on or near your heater or heating vent.
- Don’t overload your circuits. Use only power strips and surge protectors approved by a nationally recognized testing laboratory. You can reduce the risk of fire by using low-wattage appliances and by not plugging more than two appliances into any outlet.
- Keep insulation away from all heat source, furnaces, water heaters, recessed light fixtures, fan motors, doorbell transformers, chimney, flues and vents.
- If you use holiday lighting, purchase only lights with the certification mark of a nationally recognized testing laboratory, such as the Underwriters Laboratory (UL) mark.
