Decorating for Halloween inside and outside your home is a great way to get in the spirit of spooky season. The right decor will delight all the trick-or-treaters who stop by. Electric lights and decor, however, can bring safety hazards, potentially leading to fire, shock, or electrocution risks. We recommend you follow these basic safety tips to ensure your decorations are safe to use for a happier, healthier Halloween season.
Make Sure You’re Not Overloading Your Electrical Circuits
If you’re using any type of lighted Halloween decorations inside or outside, you need to be extra careful that you’re not trying to run too many things off of a single electrical circuit. While the breaker should trip if you overload a circuit, overloads still create a risk of an electrical fire starting. This is one reason electrical fires occur much more frequently during the winter holidays: People have far more lights and decorations plugged in. When a circuit is overloaded and trying to supply more power than it’s rated for, it can cause the electrical wiring to overheat. In some cases, the wires can almost instantly get so hot that they start to melt or cause nearby items like wall insulation to catch fire.
Every circuit that supplies power to the outlets inside or outside your house has 120-volt power and is either 15 or 20 amps. You can tell whether a circuit is 15 or 20 amps by reading the breaker. A 120-volt, 15-amp circuit can supply a maximum of 1,800 watts of power at a time, while a 20-amp circuit can supply a maximum of 2,400 amps. However, you should never try to exceed 80% of a circuit’s maximum wattage or else you could cause the breaker to trip or create a fire hazard. The maximum you can safely run on a 15-amp circuit is 1,440 watts, and the most you should run on a 20-amp circuit is 1,920 watts.
Any lights and decorations you need to plug in should have a label on the cord near the plug that states how many watts it uses. You can then use this information to ensure you don’t plug too many things into a single circuit and risk overloading it. However, most circuits also provide power to some of your lights so you also need to take the wattage of your lighting into account. The one exception is if your home has a dedicated circuit outside that only supplies power to certain outdoor outlets used for plugging in holiday decorations.
Only Use GFCI Outlets or Extension Cords Outside
The National Electric Code requires that all outdoor outlets be protected by GFCI (Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter) outlets. The reason that GFCI outlets are required is that they greatly reduce the risk of fires and electrocution that can occur if an outlet or anything plugged into it is exposed to water or has any damaged wires or electrical components. Either of these issues can lead to a ground fault, which occurs when the electrical current suddenly flows out of the outlet or electrical device and takes an unintended path to the ground that allows it to flow with less resistance. GFCIs work by measuring the current flowing through the live and neutral wires, which enables them to detect when the current leaks out. If a ground fault ever occurs, the internal circuit breaker in the outlet will instantly trip so that the power shuts off.
Even though GFCI outlets have been required outdoors for all new homes since 1971, homes built before this often have standard outlets outdoors. If you have any outdoor outlets that aren’t GFCIs, we highly recommend replacing them to ensure you can use power outdoors safely with almost no risk of a ground fault causing a fire or electrocuting anyone. The other option is to just make sure that any extension cords you use are GFCI protected, but this won’t make a difference for anything you have plugged directly into an outdoor outlet. GFCIs should also be installed in any outlets close to water sources, such as those in your kitchen, utility room, bathroom, and garage.
Inspect All Cords Before Plugging Them In
Before plugging in any decorations or extension cords, thoroughly inspect the cord for signs of damage. Your main focus should be checking the shielding on the extension cord or power cord is fully intact and has no cracks. If you can see any insulation through the shielding or where the wires attach to the plugs, the decoration or extension cord isn’t safe to use and should be thrown away. The reason is that any damage such as this can lead to the live wire touching the neutral or ground wire, which can cause a short circuit and create a serious fire hazard. You’d also end up getting a nasty shock or possibly even fatally electrocuted if you happened to touch a bare wire.
Another thing to check when plugging anything in is that the plug fits securely in the outlet and isn’t loose. If you have a plug that doesn’t fit tightly into an outlet, you can try plugging it into a different outlet. This way you can easily determine if the issue is with the plug or that outlet. If the problem is the plug, you should throw that cord or decoration away. If the issue lies with a particular outlet, you should avoid using it until you can have an electrician replace it. If a plug isn’t secure, it can lead to the current arcing, which again creates an extreme risk of a fire or electrocution. An arc fault also has the potential to cause major damage to your home’s wiring and destroy whatever the plug connects to.
Make Sure Your Extension Cords and Decorations Are Rated for Outdoor Use
Finally, when plugging in any extension cords and decorations outside, check that they are rated for outdoor use. The information label on any cords and decorations will clearly state if they are intended for indoor use only or are for indoor/outdoor use. Outdoor extension cords and decorations are much better insulated and designed specifically to withstand sun and moisture without any issues. The plug on anything rated for outdoor use is also grounded to reduce the risk of electrocution or fire, which isn’t always the case with things only rated for indoor use. If you have anything with only a two-prong plug, it isn’t grounded and should never be used outdoors.
With nearly 50 years of experience, Christian Brothers Air Conditioning Plumbing Electrical is ready to expertly handle all your electrical, plumbing, and HVAC needs. Our licensed electricians specialize in all installation and repair services and can help if you need a new outdoor circuit installed, your outdoor outlets upgraded, or an electrical safety inspection. If you have any questions about ensuring your electrical system can handle your Halloween decorations or need to schedule any other service, contact us today.
