You strung your whole house with twinkling holiday lights and couldn’t wait to turn them on. However, once you turned them on, they quickly faded to darkness. What happened?

If you experienced electrical trouble with your holiday lights, we’ll tell you the possible issues and how Fusion Electric can fix them!

Check the Breakers

Sometimes, an electrical problem is as simple as a tripped circuit! It’s so elementary, but many times we don’t think to check the most obvious things first. If you reset the breaker and the problem occurs again, it might be a good idea to call the professionals to have a separate circuit added for extras like holiday lights.

Adding this feature will make turning your holiday lights on and off very convenient and easy because your electrician can add a specific switch dedicated to your holiday lights, or certain parts of your home, if you wish! Another solution may be to switch to LED holiday lights because they require less energy and may be less likely to trip a circuit.

Related Read: Are Electric Space Heaters Dangerous?

Decorate with Safety in Mind

The important thing to keep in mind when using outdoor holiday lights to decorate is the fact that they’re outside. That means that the lights themselves, and the extension cords, are exposed to the elements — namely water, in the form of rain, sleet, and snow. Since it’s a well-known fact that water and electricity don’t mix well, make sure you’re taking the proper precautions, including:

• Using GFCI protected outlets to prevent electrical shocks.
• Equipping your GFCI protected outlets with a cover or bubble protector to keep moisture out.
• Inspecting extension cords that are meant for outdoor use for cracks, splits or frayed wires.

Again, skipping these steps could be a real safety hazard both in terms of moisture problems, electrical shocks, and the risk of a short leading to a fire.

Related Read: Whole House What Protector?

Be Extra Safe & Add Surge Protection

Most of us think of surges as being caused by lightning, but the truth is, 80% of surges are short, intense bursts, caused by us and all of our electrical demands!

A whole-house surge protector is another great safety measure for homes with lots of electronics in use during the holiday season. In fact, this protection is valuable throughout the year for families with many computers, cell phones, and other smart devices. Homes today are in more need of surge protection than ever before with all of the everyday devices these days that are equipped with circuit boards (washers, dryers, appliances, computers, etc.).

Related Read: Will Unplugging These Common Household Appliances Reduce Your Electric Bill?

Need help with an electrical issue? Contact Fusion Electric online or give us a call at (913) 563-7975. We’d be happy to answer your questions!