“Oh, I know this one,” Joyce excitedly yelled at the TV, as she seated herself on the edge of her settee. “It’s ‘As Time Goes By’ from Casablanca.”
The quiz show host confirmed her answer. “And the bonus question…,” he continued, “is… what was the pianists name?” - “Sam, it was Sam,” Joyce answered.
Joyce rarely had the answers on the tip of her tongue these days, but this was her favourite film. She snuggled back into her seat and relished the opportunity to recount the details of her most-loved movie.
It’s as easy as that. A moment of distraction can turn into half an hour of watching a teatime quiz show. A phone call or a knock at the door can quickly go from “Hello, how are you,” to a lengthy conversation about the meaning of life. Sometimes it’s lovely to be distracted, but sometimes, not so much!
In Joyce’s case, she was preparing her dinner. She had just popped some oil in a pan to fry some sausage and eggs. But while she was reminiscing about the steamy scenes in the hot, sultry Moroccan city, the temperature was also rising in her kitchen.
“Beep, Beep, Beep”’ …and that’s all we have time for today,” the game-show host concluded. Joyce switched off the television and sat for a moment longer, lost in her memories.
But the ‘Beep, Beep, Beeping,’ continued. She leapt to her feet and raced to the kitchen. Before opening the door, she could smell hot oil, and in that instant, she dreaded what she may face.
The BEEPING became more intense. Turning to the cooker she saw a red-light flashing… There was a click - the red glow of the cooking ring dimmed, the bubbling oil began to settle. Although the beeping continued for a short while longer, Joyce felt her immediate panic subside.
She caught her breath and thanked her lucky stars that James, her son, had recommended fitting a power-off device to her hob.
HobSensus makes sure that hobs cannot be left on when people preparing food are distracted or leave the kitchen. The timer will switch the hob off when the pre-set period elapses or, the heat sensor will cut the power before temperatures on the cooking surface reach dangerous levels. Either way, HobSensus makes kitchens safer.
The unique feature of HobSensus is the 64-zone sensor that ‘watches’ the cooking surface. If temperatures approach dangerous levels the LEDs start to flash amber, and a beeping sound is emitted. If no action is taken, the beeping becomes more intense and the LEDs flash red before cutting the electricity supply to the hob.
Easy to install and even simpler to operate, HobSensus is a cost-effective way of reducing the risk of fires in kitchens where a hob has been left unattended.
For any electricians working on houses of multi-occupancy, student accommodation or homes where vulnerable adults are living, the recommendation to install a ‘power-off device’ for the hob could be a real life-saver.
