Outdoor Electrical Safety Tips for Holiday Decorations

Decorating your home for the holidays is exciting. But safety should always be a priority. Adding festive decorations to your home for the holidays can bring joy, but with electrical elements involved, following some guidelines is essential. In this article, we bring you outdoor electrical safety tips for holiday decorations.

As you may well know, these decorations can pose risks if they’re not installed and maintained with care. From tangled cords to overloaded circuits, holiday decorations come with their own set of electrical hazards.

Read our outdoor electrical safety tips for holiday decorations to keep yourself and your family safe from electrical hazards during the holiday season.

Choose Holiday Decorations: Know What’s Safe for Outdoor Use

When you buy or install holiday lighting and decorations, ensure they’re rated for outdoor use. Decorations marked for outdoor use have been tested to handle elements like rain, snow, and cold temperatures.

On the other hand, indoor-only products lack the durability needed for outdoor conditions and can become a fire hazard. So, look for a certification mark from an accredited certification agency to ensure the electrical decorations are safe to use. We know that it’s tempting to use indoor decorations for their look, but they risk equipment failure when exposed to harsh weather.

On a similar note, check the packaging for phrases like “outdoor holiday decor” or “outdoor electrical.” In any case, always follow these tips to stay safe while decorating your home:

Don’t run extension cords under carpets
Avoid placing light stands near flammable materials

Likewise, proper outdoor decorations are designed for year-round use and can withstand exposure. In contrast, indoor decorations deteriorate over time if used outside.

So, reading the package instructions before plugging in holiday decorations is a smart way to avoid hazards.

With that in mind, let’s go through a few more outdoor electrical safety tips for holiday decorations.

Check for Damaged or Frayed Cords Before Decorating

Before you hang up holiday lights and decorations, inspect all electrical cords for any signs of fraying or damage. For example, damaged electrical cords can lead to electrical shocks, fire hazards, and other safety concerns.

To be on the safe side, check light stands and extension cords to ensure they’re free from any frays, broken bulbs, or exposed wires. The reason is that these can deteriorate over time, especially if left outdoors year-round, increasing the risk of electrical shock or fire.

Equally important, don’t forget to inspect inflatables, too. While they may seem harmless, their cords can suffer wear and tear. Also, never touch supply cords if they appear damaged — and don’t attempt DIY fixes with tape or glue.

But if you find any damage, replace the cords immediately to avoid electrical and fire hazards. As you may well know, proper inspection before use is essential to keep you and your family safe during the holiday season.

Avoid Overloading Electrical Outlets & Circuits

Overloaded circuits can overheat and start a fire — and you don’t want that, obviously. So, it’s essential to be mindful of how much power you’re drawing from your outlets.

As a remedy, avoid plugging too many decorations into a single outlet. In fact, each circuit has a limit and exceeding the recommended wattage can be dangerous. So, use multiple outlets around your home instead of relying on just one. Extension cords and light strings are helpful, but please use them cautiously.

Power strips might seem like an easy fix — yet they don’t increase the power capacity of your outlets. That’s why overloaded circuits can overheat and start fires.

Equally important, follow the safety guidelines the manufacturer recommends and consult an electrician if you’re unsure about your electrical system’s capacity. Sure, overloading may bring festive brightness to your holiday decor, but it could result in a dark outcome.

Now that we cleared that up, let’s discuss a few more outdoor electrical safety tips for holiday decorations.

Place Decorations Safely Away from Power Lines & Water Sources

Positioning decorations safely away from power lines is essential for keeping your family safe from electrical hazards. That’s why you should install outdoor lights far from overhead power lines, as these pose a high risk of electrical shock.

So, use the proper clips for securing lights and decorations instead of nails or staples, which could damage electrical cords. This reduces the risk of electrical hazards when the decorations are near power lines.

For a different kind of advice, keep electrical decorations away from water sources like:

Ponds
Fountains
Sprinklers

As expected, water and electricity are a dangerous mix, so make sure all extension cords and plugs remain dry. For maximum safety, only use outdoor outlets covered and protected from the elements. If possible, use ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) outlets, which will cut power in case of an electrical fault, reducing the risk of fire or shock.

As you’ve seen, a few careful placements will make your holiday safety a breeze. Now, let’s move on to the last two outdoor electrical safety tips for holiday decorations.

Don’t Remove the Third Prong on Plugs

Many outdoor holiday decorations require three-pronged plugs, which are grounded for added safety. On that note, never remove the third prong on plugs to fit them into two-pronged outlets, as this grounding prong protects against electrical shock.

As you may have expected, removing the third prong can compromise the safety of the electrical system, especially when you use it for outdoor lights and decorations. For illustration, this prong directs excess electricity away, reducing the risk of equipment failure and electrical hazards.

In case you don’t have three-pronged outlets outdoors, consider contacting an electrical contractor to install them. In fact, grounded outlets make outdoor electrical setups much safer and can prevent potential shock or fire. Sure, it may seem like a minor step. Yet, it’s essential that you keep the third prong intact to ensure holiday safety.

Turn Off Holiday Lights & Decorations When Unattended

To wrap up our list of outdoor electrical safety tips for holiday decorations, let’s discuss when you need to turn off your lights.

When you leave the house or go to bed, please make sure your holiday lights and decorations are turned off.

Leaving electrical decorations unattended can increase the risk of fire, especially if they’re connected to overloaded circuits. Interestingly, many lights come with timers, which make it easy to set on/off schedules, ensuring your decorations don’t stay on all night. In fact, timers are a convenient option to prevent overheating and save energy.