111–120 of 137 posts
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Even better, there is a way to avoid every risk and save water...
Let me tell you about the flesh-eating bacteria living in your sponge. You better microwave it beforehand.
This is cool I never really contemplated how frequently there are strikes across the globe. Is there / Could there be a random number generator based on lighting strikes?
Source: https://api.random.org/features
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You could improve the grounding instead of spending time making such a light.
That is easier said than done, especially in an old house.
I mean it literally, one example out of endless sea - a peer making some VR game about collecting virtual balls by vacuuming over them in pacman style, across whole apartment, so kids do the work. Instead of learning children to accept the suck a bit since life will bring you millions more such situations, man up and just do it, without additional external motivation and hand holding. But he wanted to play around with tech primarily, not thinking much about potential consequences (kids outright refusing activities that aren't fun and strengthening this mindset). Of course that vacuuming is also pretty crappy at the end, instead of thinking 'there is corner / weird place that I should cover too', they just run quickly through all virtual balls, missing the core reason for vacuuming.
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What other automations do you have? This one seems so specific I am curious what else you have going on!
A similar one changes my LED-filled floor lamp (running WLED) to a pattern that matches the current weather conditions. Falling rain, lightning, heat "rising". Sort of an ambient notification system. Another warns my wife if her commute time home is expected to be longer than usual, so she can opt to get a bit more work done if it means a quicker drive with a similar arrival time. My favorite is the laundry notificat…
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Install this, instead of a light in the bathroom: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightning_rod
In a lightning strike, electricity doesn't exclusively follow the lightning rod. That's the problem. The major part of the current will flow through the rod, but a small remainder can and will cross into the house - TV/radio/sat antennae and overhead electric/phone wires are the main culprits here, but belowground cables and water/gas/metal sewer pipes can also serve as a point of ingress. Normally you're supposed to…
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Yes, especially in older homes or homes with poor grounding. Lightning can discharge through water supply lines[0]. There are even cases of toilets exploding due to lightning strikes[1]. (Google for more) Sure, it's exceedingly rare. But it's also exceedingly easy to avoid. I've taught my kids that some decisions are easier when defined as binary rules; judgment calls in cases like this just don't offer any tangible…
But is there any risk to you being in the path of least resistance? All your pipes are connected (to the ground) so why would the electricity not take the readily available metal path?
And since the water and sewage systems are plumbing systems and not electrical systems, its highly likely they'd be at different electrical potentials in a strike.
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Wait, why would showering in a lightning storm not be safe? Do you expect the lightning to discharge in the pipes of your house? How? Or is it that your children would be scared if the power goes out when they're showering? That I understand.
Yes, especially in older homes or homes with poor grounding. Lightning can discharge through water supply lines[0]. There are even cases of toilets exploding due to lightning strikes[1]. (Google for more) Sure, it's exceedingly rare. But it's also exceedingly easy to avoid. I've taught my kids that some decisions are easier when defined as binary rules; judgment calls in cases like this just don't offer any tangible…
- "We can't take a bath / shower right now. There's a big lightning storm outside." - "Why not?" - "The lightning hits the ground and it can spread through the water. It's not safe." - "OK"
Is it really worth teaching kids to check this signal every day, instead of having this conversation like twice a year?
If the kids had to check multiple things before showering, this light would simplify the decision making process, but by the sound of it, it's redundant.
If it's unsafe enough not to shower, you'll probably hear the thunder too. There's your signal not to shower.
Though maybe it's not like that and the kids enjoy it.
I tend to use https://www.lightningmaps.org because it is less visually noisy but I believe it is ultimately sourced from Blitzortung. I unplug my computer whenever there is lightning nearby.