Adding Electrical Outlets for Holiday Lights is a Simple Upgrade for Safety and Convenience!
The holidays can be an exciting time of year for you and your family. They can also put your electrical system through more stress than usual. In particular, elaborate displays of holiday lights can be too demanding for your home outlets and circuits. Installing multiple strings of lights around your house and yard may be setting you up for short circuits, injuries and an electrical fires. According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), an average of 150 homes are burned, with 8 people killed and 14 people injured every year due to incorrect use of holiday lights. Don’t let this happen to your home and family—before you deck the halls, the windows, the trees and the bushes with tons of lights, consider adding new outlets for holiday lights, even if your decorating plans are modest, but particularly if you have more ambitious plans!
Do I really need more outlets for my holiday lights?
Since adding more outlets takes time and work, most homeowners opt for what seems like a much easier solution—stringing light strands together and leading them a single outlet (and circuit) to wherever they need to be hung. If you’re the type who just puts up a strand or two on the eaves of your home, that’s probably fine. But, if you have something more substantial planned, you’ll need to start thinking about the amps for each light string or fixture you’re adding. You can find the amperage rating of your lights on either the box or the tag.
First, understand the circuitry in your home so that you understand what your outlets can and cannot handle. The average receptacle circuits in your home can handle between 15-20 amps. You never want to go over 20 amps, obviously, but the safest rule of thumb is never to cross the 80% threshold, meaning that 16 amps is where you want to stop. The question you need to answer, however, is whether or not you have wiring capable of handling 15 OR 20 amps. Because if you try to put 16 amps over a wire that can only handle 15, you’re going to run into trouble. The wires and the breaker may start to overheat and cause a fire. Fortunately, the circuit breaker in your electrical panel will cut the power in the event of a short circuit—if it’s functioning properly.
If your holiday lighting plans require more amperage than you have available you will need to have additional outlets installed by a professional licensed electrician like Wired For Success LLC!
If you’re really opposed to adding outlets, be sure to buy LED Christmas lights. LEDs use far less energy than most other types of lights, which means you can string more of them from a single circuit. However, they’re also available in far less colors and styles, which might interfere with your grand designs for your home’s Christmas decor. If you’re planning on making your home visible from space—figuratively speaking, of course—no amount of LEDs can make up for the fact that you’re going to need to split the power load across multiple circuits and multiple outlets.
How Outlet Installation Works
When the Wired For Success electrician, Robert, comes to install a new outlet, he'll handle all the work for you. To begin the installation, he'll turn off the power and then pull the existing outlet from the wall. Once it is out of the wall, he'll strip the current wiring to prepare it for the new outlet. After removing the existing outlet, he'll put the new one in place. To do this, Robert connect the wires in the new outlet to the wires in the wall. After tying them together, he'll attach pigtail wires to keep everything organized. Finally, he new outlet will be put into place and screwed back into the wall. After that, power will be turned back on and the outlet will be tested.
If you're planning to upgrade your outlet, a circuit upgrade can help you maximize its efficiency.
Make Your Holidays Bright with New Outlets from Wired For Success!
If you have plans to dazzle the neighborhood with your extravagant lighting display, or just want to save some money on your electric bills, some new outlets may be just what you need.
At Wired For Success, our expert electrician Robert has the knowledge needed to quickly install a brand new outlet in your home. He can even install modern outlets with USB charger ports and other specialty models.
Call Robert the Wired For Success Electrician direct today at (216) 217-0448 or schedule a free estimate to see how a new outlet can help make your holidays brighter and safer!
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