Holiday Lights: Avoid Electric Overload with Help from an Electrician

No other types of lights can be as versatile, charming, and cost-efficient as string lights. Available in a range of color combinations, designs, and lighting effects (e.g. steady single color, blinking with different colors), string lights are often used as unique decorations and for mood lighting. When creatively arranged, string lights can significantly enhance the festive mood in special occasions, such as weddings, outdoor parties, and Holiday celebrations.

Know the Limits of Your Breakers

Before hanging up those boxes of lights, however, it would be a great idea to determine the electrical capacity of your home and ensure its safety with the help of an experienced electrician. An electrician can determine the limits of your breakers or your home’s total wattage capacity and let you know the best kind of lights to put up without creating a fire hazard. Although most homes have a capacity of 200 amps electrical power and an overload is unlikely to happen with string lights, you should still know how many lights you can plug in a single circuit.

Check the Lights

Regardless if your lights are used or brand new, take time to make sure that they’re in good condition and are functioning properly. Throw out lights with frayed, open, or damaged wires. Check the wattage or amp rating of bulbs so you won’t exceed the total load capacity of a circuit. See to it that your lights have a UL label and are used accordingly, wherein indoor lights should be kept indoors and not used as outside decor. Moreover, keep an eye on your extension cords to prevent overheating. When they’re too hot, unplug them and try to keep connector pieces off the ground.

Use Low Wattage LED Lights

Low wattage LED lights reduces the risk of circuit overloads and allows for more energy savings. Unlike ordinary lights, LED lights have a more subdued glow and generate less heat. Since they consume only 20 percent the amount of electricity that regular incandescent lights use, LED lights minimize the load on each electrical outlet.

Source:

Christmas Lights, Without Tripping Breakers, Networx.com

2 Main Reasons Why Outlets Stop Working, According to Electricians

A malfunctioning outlet can be a source of frustration. When one of your outlets suddenly stops working, it is easy to give up on it and delay the inspection and repair until you need the outlet again. A malfunctioning outlet, however, could be indicative of a more serious problem with your home’s electrical system, so it is best to have it checked ASAP.

There are two usual reasons behind a malfunctioning outlet: a tripped circuit breaker or a faulty or burned-out outlet.

Tripped breakers

If you suspect that an outlet stopped working due a tripped breaker, check the electrical panel and reset any breakers that shut off. You will see that once a circuit breaker trips, the knob may not flip to the opposite side. It’s also possible that other plugs have been affected, especially if the circuit was overloaded.

The problem might also be caused by a GFCI outlet, especially if the outlet in question is in your bathroom or kitchen. These outlets are designed to shut down by themselves once they detect a short or overheat. Should this be the case, try resetting all GFCI outlets in the room.

 

Faulty outlets

At times, the problem lies with the outlet itself. Its contacts might be loose, or perhaps it wasn’t properly installed in the first place. You can easily check if a faulty outlet is the real cause of your electrical woes by plugging a different appliance into the outlet.

In some extreme cases, however, electrical outlets may literally burn out and start a fire. For this reason, a broken outlet must be replaced immediately to avoid the risk of electrical fires. Jobs of this nature are best left to the hands of professionals to best ensure your home’s safety. Make sure to call a licensed electrician who can help you with other electrical problems as well.

Sources:

Why Is My Electrical Outlet Not Working?, Angie’s List

What Would Cause a Wall Outlet to Not Work?, SFGate

Three Heating Options an Electrician Can Install in Home Additions

Heating new home additions can be tricky. There’s always the question of whether one should modify and extend the existing heating system, or design a separate one. Luckily, electrical appliances provide a midway solution. Additions will be wired by the electrician for electrical, anyway – so why not make use of it to heat them? Here are three options for electrical heaters.

Wall heaters

Wall heaters are great space-servers, and can be easily drawn up while plans for additions are being made. Compact and discreet, they can be a boon to addition design as well as heating. These heaters – and heating appliances in general – are classified as either radiant or convection-based.

Fans are the best example of convection-based heaters, which blow warm air into a room and ensure it circulates. Convection heaters are great for keeping a whole wide room warm for long periods, but not recommended for people allergic to dust.

Radiant heaters emit heat into a room without needing blowers. The closer a person stays in their direct path, the warmer that person feels. Radiant heaters are best for additions – like dens or bedrooms – where people could likely just sit in path of the appliance.

Electric fireplaces

An electric fireplace is one kind of radiant heater – which can provide the added bonus of projecting an image of flames burning wood and charcoal. Homeowners can plan to mount one to a wall, or simply place a freestanding version anywhere in an addition.

This appliance is popular because installing it is as easy as unpacking it from a box and plugging it in. Unlike with a traditional fireplace or even traditional fans where soot and dust collect, maintaining an electric fireplace is also easy. It also helps save on resources like gas – not to mention the costs associated with remodeling or building for a traditional fireplace.

Ceiling fan heaters

Not all heaters, however, need to be mounted on walls. Combining the ingenuity of overhead fans and convection heaters, ceiling fan heaters are a way of making sure warm air circulates evenly across a room. These may be the best option for additions like sunrooms, which typically come designed with ceiling fans for ventilation in warm months.

Sources:

How to Heat a Home Addition: What is the Best Solution for Heating a Home Addition? Home Addition Plus.

Convection vs Radiant Heaters: What’s the Difference? Apartment Therapy.

Is an Electric Fireplace Worth the Money? Angie’s List. December 10, 2015.