Make Your Home Festive with Holiday Lighting!

The holidays are just around the corner, and you may have been thinking of decorating your home with holiday lighting, but had some concerns about electrical issues and safety. There are several common issues and tips that will be discussed below, but for the best results and safety, consult with an experienced and licensed electrician before you start stringing up your holiday lighting.

Common Holiday Electrical Issues

During a previous Christmas season, you may have had circuit breakers tripping when you turned on the holiday lighting. It probably indicates you overloaded the circuit. A simple solution is more circuitry. You can add outlets in your home’s eaves. This will help prevent overloading the circuit breakers and eliminate extension cords. Another way to fix tripping breakers is using LED lighting, instead of incandescent lighting that requires a much greater electrical load. 

You may be living in a region that experiences all types of wintry weather, such as rain, snow, and sleet. Since holiday lights are typically used as exterior decorations, they will be exposed to the elements, including moisture. Safety experts recommend that they be plugged into GFCI circuits properly.

Every 15 and 20 amp 120 volt receptacle that is installed outside needs GFCI protection by a breaker or outlet.  Each exterior receptacle that is located in an area that may become wet due to the weather or runoff is required to have a cover that makes it weatherproof in order to protect the outlet when a cord is plugged.

Types of Holiday Lighting

As you may be aware, holiday lighting has greatly evolved from just having bulbs on a string. Various types of lights can magically transform landscaping that looks quite ordinary during daylight. There are now lights in the shapes of icicles, bubbles, snowflakes, etc. Some lights are fiber optic, multicolored, LED, incandescent, white, neon, and more. They can also be put on timers that allow you to create artistic effects.

The myriad of lights and lighting schemes may make it a challenge to choose what will be the best for your home. Thankfully, there are holiday lighting experts that can lend you a hand for deciding the best way to decorate your home for the holidays.

Electrical Peace of Mind

Providing professional electricians since 1988 in Maryland, Cook Electric is the company you can rely on for all your electrical service needs. For knowledgeable, fair, honest, reliable, and conscientious service, call Cook Electric today at (410) 266-9040. We will be very glad to help you.