The holiday season is fast approaching, and with it comes the excitement of home decorations. Some people start with a spooky haunted house in October and update their décor through each festive month until the new year begins. Others opt for smart light displays, changing colours to match each holiday, from Halloween to New Year’s Eve.
No matter how you choose to decorate, we at Astley Electrical are here to make sure you do it safely. Let’s explore the best electrical safety tips for your holiday lighting, from Halloween’s haunting thrills to the midnight celebrations of January 1st, and every festive moment in between.
Whether you’re decorating indoors or outdoors, the numerous lights that inspire festive celebration should be strung with electrical safety in mind. With just a little careful planning, you can ensure that you, your guests, and home are all safe from electrical mishaps during this season of fun displays and extension cords.
When choosing your holiday lights, favour LEDs over old-fashioned filament bulbs. LEDs are cool to the touch and come in a vibrant range of colours. They require less electricity and burn out with less frequency. In other words, they are not only safer, they are also overall better quality holiday lights.
Protect your home and your stunning light displays by using surge-protected power strips. These strips ensure that power flows safely between each outlet, safeguarding your decorations from electrical surges and maintaining the safety of your split-out strings of lights and other powered displays.
Minimise the practice of stringing multiple extension cords together. Instead, consider investing in longer extension cords and neatly bundling any excess length. This approach not only reduces clutter but also helps distribute your use of outlets more effectively, ensuring a safer and more organised setup for your holiday decorations.
When cables run across the floor or yard, it’s important to cover them with durable mats or cable-channel raceways to prevent tripping hazards and accidental damage. These coverings not only make the area safer for walking but also provide added protection for your cables, ensuring they stay intact and free from wear and tear.
Be careful about your outdoor power outlets. If you plan to go all-out with your holiday lights, know that one outlet can only provide 120 volts and only 15-20 amps. Plan for access to a separate circuit if you will need more power than this for all your decorations.
If you need to power decorations that are far from an outlet, consider using portable power banks or even solar panels instead of running long extension cords from the house. These alternatives provide a safer and more energy-efficient way to power your decorations, eliminating the risks associated with overloading circuits or creating tripping hazards with cables.
Our team would like to wish homeowners a safe and cautious decorating routine. We know better than anyone just how important ladder safety is for people handling outdoor decorations. Let us share a few parting tips on staying safe as you complete your holiday decorations while keeping things grounded.
Make sure your ladder always has secure footing. We know that you’re probably inching all the way around to hang your lights, and you can’t always put your ladder directly on the sidewalk. But always clear a space and place the ladder securely on flat ground before climbing. If you do not have secure footing, move the ladder until you do and pull the light string tight to compensate for a space without clips.
If you need to use a ladder for your decorations, have a responsible person nearby to assist. This spotter should help by providing tools and checking that the ladder remains stable while you’re working. Ensure clear communication with your spotter to make sure that everything remains safe and secure during your decorating process.
When it comes to stringing lights, make sure your light string (or extension cord) reaches the nearest outlet before you start securing lights to your eaves. The last thing you want is a dangling power plug with nowhere to plug it after the rest of the lights are perfectly placed. Measuring from the outlet is the best way to ensure safe and well-spaced plugging.
Do not nail your light strings to the eves. Instead, use safe plastic clips or plastic zip-ties. These will not risk damaging your roofing or gutters when attached, are strong enough to withstand changing weather, and will still be safe and easy to remove when the New Year rolls around and it’s time to take down the lights.
Not sure if your outlets can handle your vision of an amazing decoration scheme? Want to know why a single string of lights flipped the breaker? Astley Electrical is here to help you decorate with style and electrical safety this year. Contact us with questions or book an electrical inspection to keep you, and your family, guests, and home safe this brightly lit holiday season.