In our previous blog, the professionals at Electrical Gurus gave out some ways tips for increasing the safety of holiday decorations throughout the holiday season. Today, we’ll share even more ways to safely and effectively decorate your home this holiday season.

Even if the lights are unplugged when you’re hanging them (which is advised), be sure to never use nails, screws, or tacks to hang your Christmas lights; instead, opt for clips for interior and exterior applications. This will keep your wires from accidentally becoming nicked or frayed during or after the hanging process, which can get dangerous quickly.

Never use extension cords that don’t feature ground or are not rated for outdoor usage outdoors to avoid electrocution risk. Furthermore, it is especially advisable to only plug lights into GFCI outlets, especially if they are plugged into the exterior of your home. These outlets will essentially shut themselves off in the event of a short, which is crucial to avoiding safety concerns.

Always use timers for decorations and lights to prevent yourself from forgetting to turn them on or off. Lights should never be left on when nobody is home, which is why it is advisable to turn them off during daytime hours when the family is out-and-about. Timers keep your home safe by preventing power from flowing through the lights during the day, automatically activating them in the evening hours.

Large decorations, cords, and lights should all be kept well away from tripping hazards. Of special note is extension cords, which should never be allowed to cross walkways without proper coverage. Ideally, extension cords shouldn’t be run along open space in any way. If someone trips over one decoration, then odds are all attached decorations are at risk for getting dislodged or damaged.

If your home has the proper circuit breakers, there is little risk of a fire starting from overloading an outlet; that doesn’t mean it is wise to plug in numerous strands of lights into a single outlet. Spread the burden of lights and decorations across numerous breakers whenever possible to avoid taxing your electrical panel too much in certain areas. If your home is not equipped with a circuit breaker and still uses outdated fuses, please give us a call right away to talk about upgrading your panel.

We hope you’re safe this holiday season, but if you happen to overload your circuit breakers or have a concern about the lighting of your holiday decorations, be sure to give us a call right away. The electricians at Electrical Gurus want to help to keep every Des Moines family happy and healthy throughout the holiday season.

Twilight Designs in Las Vegas, flush mount (recessed) step lights are often the fixture of choice when used indoors. He credits this to how easy it is to cut into and run wiring through drywall, especially when installing step lights after construction is completed. “While planning ahead is helpful,” says Bilik, “there are many products available for running wires post-construction.” He recommends 110v wiring to fish through walls and attics or low voltage wiring when 110v is not an option.

For less penetrable surfaces like concrete and stone, surface mounted fixtures are ideal because they mount directly to a wall or flat surface. These step lights commonly have a profile of as little as 3/4-inch up to 3-inches and a trajectory that directs light at the wall or at the surface below.

Regardless of whether you are using a flush or surface mounted step light, you must consider the type of cover (or faceplate) the fixture has. Bilik says that in his experience, most covers will fall in one of three categories, each with its own series of benefits:

This Father’s Day, get out of the tie and money clip routine with 15 bright gift ideas that shine a light on Dad’s favorite past times. Is your dad a grill master, an adventurer, an artist or a hardcore movie buff? Or is he one of those guys that has his own personal style that can’t be nailed down to just one? Whatever the case, chances are good that we’ve got a lighting gift to match his style:

LED sign lighting provides years of illumination and low energy costs. sign modules that consume 50mA of power each. Required materials differ depending on sign size, module size, length of wire between modules, current draw, and lumen output.

Materials:

1. First, measure your sign. Although we recommend spacing module rows 3 inches apart, it’s ultimately up to you. If you want a brighter sign, place them closer together and vice versa for a dimmer sign. With the recommended 3-inch spacing, a 4-foot square sign would need 150 modules (15 rows of 10). Again, the quantity of modules needed  is based on many factors and can differ.

These LED sign modules are available in custom lengths of up to 20 modules per strand. Order 60 feet (4 feet x 15 rows) of stranded modules, and cut the strand after every 10 modules. Each strand can be cut to make two rows.

2. Next you’ll need to order a power supply that’s rated for the combined wattage of all sign modules. To ensure that you don’t overwork the power supply, confirm that the total wattage of your modules is at least 20 percent less than the power supply’s rated wattage.

An easy way to calculate this is to multiply the total wattage of your combined lighting by 1.2. In the 4-foot sign diagram, there are 150 modules with a current draw of 50 milliamps (mA) each. Since current draw is given in milliamps, multiply that number by voltage and move the decimal 3 places to the left to get wattage. This module consumes 50 mA and has 12 VDC operation, so it consumes 0.6 watts (50 x 12 = 600). Next, multiply 0.6 by 150 to get a combined wattage of 90 and multiply that number by 1.2 (90 x 1.2 = 108) to determine which power supply you’ll need. Since the result was 108, you will need at least a 120-watt power supply.

3. Next on the list is wire to connect all your sign module stands to the power supply. For a 4-foot sign, you’ll need 4 feet of 18-gauge two-conductor wire to serve as your main line plus enough to cover the distance between your power supply and where it will be wired into an electrical system. You’ll also need dual-channel T-tap wire splice connectors for an easy connection to your main line.

Before you begin working on your sign, turn off power to the area.

4. If there isn’t one already, drill a hole in the back of your sign as an exit point for your wire.

5. Use a tape measure or ruler to plot your row spacing. Leave space on one side of the sign for your module-to-main-line connections. Mount the sign modules using their double-sided adhesive and/or screw holes.

6. Insert the end wires of each sign module row into the T-tap splice connector, and clamp the other end of the connector onto the main line. The splice connectors eliminate the need to strip wire insulation.

7. Use double-sided foam tape to secure each T-tap splice connector to the inside of your sign.

8. Reattach your sign’s front cover.

9. Connect the main line to your power supply, wire the supply into your electrical system, and restore power to the area.

For technical questions, don’t hesitate to call us toll free at 866-590-3533. Our customer service and technical support teams are available from 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. CDT Monday-Thursday and 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. CDT on Friday.