Safer Socket plugs into home safety

A Delray Beach, Florida company that makes an electrical outlet adapter says its product – the Safer Socket -- fits perfectly into the national home safety discussion.

The company, Twin-Star International, described electrical house fires as serious and expensive threats.

Electrical house fires in the United States caused more than 400 deaths, 1,500 injuries and $1.4 billion in direct property damage, according to a report from the National Fire Protection Association.

Furthermore, more than 30% of America's homes -- about 30 million houses -- are 50 or more years old. Homes built in the 1960s and early 1970s often have aluminum wiring, which oxidizes and corrodes more easily than copper, and has been linked by the Consumer Products Safety Commission to electrical fires. Because Safer Socket helps prevent old and corroded wiring from overheating -- it helps to protect against arc faults, a leading cause of electrical fires, the company said.

"Outlet overheating is always a concern with electrical products," said Tyler Nemes, product director and developer of the Safer Socket. "Two years ago we developed our Safer Plug technology that we incorporated into Twin-Star products which prevents our plugs from overheating. We developed the Safer Socket to allow our Safer Plug technology to be used with existing standard outlets."

Safer Socket plugs into any existing outlet. The patent-pending technology within this device prevents electrical outlets and appliances plugged into them from overheating, according to the company. The device requires no special wiring or professional installation.

Safer Socket continually monitors the temperature of the plug with its five tiny thermostats housed inside the unit. It automatically shuts off the plugged-in appliance if it detects an unsafe rise in temperature that could lead to an electrical fire.

Safer Socket's LED lights glow green when the unit is plugged in and energized. The red light will illuminate when overheating has taken place and the electrical appliance has been shut off. To reset, wait 10 minutes for the outlet to cool, unplug and then re-plug Safer Socket into the wall outlet. The green light will illuminate signaling that the device has been reset. If the overheating problem persists, a qualified electrician should examine the faulty outlet or appliance.