When the outside temperature starts to drop, many of us start to think about the holiday season. One of the biggest activities that most people participate in is putting up holiday lighting at their homes. To ensure that you stay safe this winter season, be sure to follow these electrical safety tips.
Always Look Up
One of the most important things to keep in mind is that power lines coming into your home are extremely dangerous. You should stay at least 10 feet away from those lines to ensure your utmost safety. It can be highly beneficial to invest in a wood or fiberglass ladder. Neither of these materials conduct electricity, making them ideal if you accidentally move your ladder into a power line. Shy away from using any metal ladders as they conduct electricity and can be highly dangerous when they encounter live power lines.
Use GFCI Outlets Outside
Whenever you’re putting up lights on the exterior of your home, it’s crucial that you rely on an outdoor outlet to power those lights. You should never be running an extension cord from the inside of your home to power your outdoor lights. This would create multiple issues. All your outdoor outlets should be GFCI outlets, which are easy to spot if they have test and reset buttons. Keep in mind that not all outdoor GFCI outlets will have the test and reset button if they are built into your breaker panel. If you don’t have GFCI outlets on the exterior of your home, it’s best to have an electrician install them for you. You don’t want to rely on regular outlets outside, as they can be highly dangerous when it comes to precipitation. Not only could they become damaged and require electrical repairs, but they can become a safety hazard.
Be Mindful of Extension Cord Usage
Unfortunately, it’s not uncommon for outdoor decorations to come with relatively short cords that simply aren’t long enough to reach your outlets. Extension cords can be a great option when used correctly. You want to ensure that you’re choosing an electrical cord that is of the appropriate length to run from your decoration to the outlet. You never want to use an extension cord that is too long, as this can be a tripping hazard.
Furthermore, you want to check the amperage rating on your extension cord as well as the decoration. Your extension cord should be able to match or exceed the amperage rating on your decoration. If you try to use a decoration that has a higher amperage than the extension cord is meant to handle, you can cause it to overheat and potentially light on fire.
Indoor vs. Outdoor Rated Items
Whether you’re using lights, extension cords, or other decorations, it’s important that you read the label to determine whether it’s for indoor or outdoor use. While it’s possible to use outdoor items inside your home, the opposite is not true. If you try to use indoor items outside, you can run into a slew of problems as they are not meant to deal with outdoor precipitation.
Inspect All Cords Before Use
When you’re pulling out each one of your decorations and electrical items, it’s important to check over all the cords to ensure that they’re in good working condition. If you notice any slicing, exposed wires, or severe kinking, it’s a cause for concern. You should never use these defective items until you have an electrician fix them for you or you invest in something new. Exposed wiring can be extremely dangerous as it can electrocute those who encounter it.
Staple Down Cords
When dealing with outdoor decorations, you need to keep in mind that the weather is going to play a role in their overall condition. When strong wind gusts blow through your area, it’s important to have all the electrical cords and decorations tethered safely so that they do not blow away. When using electrical staples, be careful not to put them in too far. You want them far enough to secure the cord from going anywhere, but you don’t want the cord encountering the staple. If you put the staple in too tight, the staple can push down on the cord and cause overheating in that location, which could eventually lead to an electrical fire.
Limit Daisy-Chaining Light Strands
It’s very common when decorating to plug multiple light strands into one another. This is referred to as daisy-chaining and can be relatively safe to do when you follow the manufacturer’s recommendation for how many can go into one another. For older incandescent light strands, the limit is usually three. When it comes to newer LED light strands, you can typically plug in anywhere from 6 to 10 light strands, depending on what the manufacturer recommends. Be sure to look for an official recommendation on the box for your lights so you can avoid plugging too many together and creating an electrical hazard for your home.
Keep Lights Away From Heat Sources
When decorating the inside of your home, you want to be very mindful of where your heat sources are. If you have a forced-air heating system, you have air vents in your living spaces. If you have a boiler system, you will have radiators or baseboards. Be very mindful to not place any light strands or decorations near these heat sources. Doing so could cause the lights themselves to overheat and create an electrical fire. Additionally, be sure to walk around your home after installing all your indoor lights and make sure that you don’t have any tripping hazards. You should never have anyone walking over extension cords, as this can be extremely dangerous.
Consider Going LED
Many older Christmas decorations use incandescent lighting. This lighting not only uses an excessive amount of energy, but the bulbs can get extremely hot. It is important that you be very mindful of what they meet. Newer LED lighting is 75% more energy efficient and doesn’t create any heat. These lights can last up to 25 times longer than the traditional incandescent lights. If you haven’t yet, you may want to consider upgrading all your holiday lighting to LED versions.
Have Safety Items Ready
When you have more electrical devices plugged in at your home, there’s always a slight increase in your risk of an electrical fire. It can be helpful to do your part to ensure that you’re safely prepared if one breaks out. Start by checking your fire extinguisher to ensure that it’s not expired. Additionally, you’ll want to check the smoke detectors in your home to ensure that they’re all in good operation. Replace any old batteries and test each device. You’ll want to ensure that you have a smoke detector on every level of your home and outside every bedroom for the utmost safety.
Reliable Outdoor Lighting Service
Potts Electric offers reliable residential electrical services including outdoor lighting service for the Overland Park, KS, area. We can also help with all your electrical repair, car charger, generator, smart home, new construction, wiring, surge protection, aluminum wiring, commercial, and electrical panel needs.
Simply call our office to book an appointment with one of our electricians today.
