Christmas is just around the corner. With all of the joy that comes with decorating and preparing for the holiday season, it can be easy to forget about some of the safety standards. At East-West Electric, we always want our clients to have a safe and happy holiday season in the company of their families and friends. Please, follow these tips for a safe Holiday!
Holiday Electrical Safety Tips And Reminders
The holiday season provides elements that affect electrical safety, from Christmas lights to the need for heat. There are a variety of different things that should be remembered throughout the holiday season that will help to keep your home safe. Some of the areas to focus on include:
Christmas Decorations
The holiday decorations are beautiful, but when they’re not handled properly they can be a major safety hazard. For example:
Christmas Trees
If you are using a real tree, make sure that it stays water, as a dry tree can be very flammable. If you have a fake tree, make sure that it is non-flammable. Most importantly, keep your tree away from heaters, fireplaces, and candles. Check for each strand of your string lights for broken bulbs or frayed cords before you put them on the tree. This will prevent an electrical fire. Make sure you keep an extinguisher near your tree just in case.
String lights can generate heat, so don’t leave them on if you’re not home. LED lights, on the other hand, can greatly improve the electrical efficiency of the string lights and reduce the risk of a fire.
Outdoor Lights
If you have Christmas lights set up outside on your rooftop or trees, make sure you have enough outlets. Make sure you don’t overload them and only use ground fault ones. In other words, this will help to keep your home safe,. Additionally, make sure your extension cords are not a tripping hazard.
Make sure you don’t use nails or staple string lights because you can penetrate the wires. If you do this, having exposed wires can lead to an electrical fire. Moreover, the heat from the wires can heat up surrounding material and moisture exposure can cause sparks.
Also, if you’re hanging lights outside, make sure they are actually meant for outdoor use. Some string lights are more delicate than others and are meant for indoor use only.
Winter Heating
Since the weather gets colder, it is essential to have home heating. But you need to have proper care with heaters so maximize safety. Space heaters are a great way to heat targeted areas of a home. That is to say, they need to be used with caution. You should never leave it unattended. You should make sure that your heater is pointed away from walls and furniture. Likewise, it is not near any sources of water. Similarly, if you use a radiator to heat your home, keep your decorations at a reasonable distance.
Learn how the weather can affect power consumption here.
Parties and Entertainment
Whether you are taking extra time at home over the holidays, it is important to remember to not overload your home’s electrical circuits. Using a lot of appliances and entertainment systems will put extra strain on the circuit board. In conclusion, make sure you are aware of what systems are running and which circuits those systems run on.
Holiday Electrical Safety Tips From East-West Electric
If you want to know more about how you can make sure your holidays are safe from electrical fires or want to know more about our services, please contact East-West Electric at (727) 771-9403. From all of us at East-West Electric, we would like to wish everyone a safe and Merry Christmas.
