Everyone gets excited about Christmas! It’s a magical time of year after all and that is why so many people like yourself take the time to decorate their homes. While some people will simply put up a tree and a few smaller decorations, there is nothing wrong with going all out and making your home rival the North Pole!
However, you must be careful when you are hanging all your lights, so you don’t bring down the power to the entire city. Hey, you know that your neighbors are not going to like you any more than they already do if you make them live without power for a few hours, or days!
Thankfully, there are a few things that you can do to make sure that your Christmas lights don’t bring down the power to the entire city.
1. Only Use Certified Lights
You may see boxes of lights for a steal somewhere, but if those lights are not certified, you could have a major problem on your hands. You should only use lights that have a UL listing, because those will not cause power outages, fires, and other horrible tragedies.
2. Use Indoor Lights Inside but Never Outside
It is always so tempting to grab those leftover indoor lights and use them to begin decorating your exterior. Hey, it’s better than going to the store, right? Wrong! Those indoor lights do not offer the same protection from the elements, which means you could have a power failure when something goes wrong.
3. Don’t Overload Each Outlet
There is a specific amount of amps that each one of your outlets can handle, so you must be careful of how many strands of lights you plug into it. In fact, you should never plug more than two or three strands of lights together, for fear that it will not only overload your outlet, but also cause a fire from the electricity flowing through.
4. Use LED to Save Energy
If you know that you are putting up a ton of lights, then be smart and use the newer LED lights. The newer lights only use 4.8 watts of energy compared to 40 watts that the older lights used. The LED lights may be more costly to purchase, but you will save that money ten times over after you buy them. After all, your energy bills will not be as high, and the LED lights will last for many more years than the regular incandescent bulbs do.
When you follow these four tips, you can easily enjoy a Griswold family Christmas lighting without leaving your neighbors, and the rest of the city, in the dark!
And if you’re looking for specific lighting ideas check out our outdoor lighting collection. So don’t focus only on traditional string lights because you today there are so many creative options out there!
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