Don't Overload Your Plugs

12/4/2021 (Permalink)

Christmas time is here and trees and lights are going up. But how many lights are too many? Well that depends on if you are using LED lights or incandescent. Chances are good that you could plug all of your LED lights into a single plug. But incandescent lights draw more power and if they twinkle then the wattage could vary some. Reading on the internet says that you should only use 80% of the amp capacity of the circuit breaker.  To find the amp rating check the breaker for a molded number of 15 or 20. This means it is 15 or 20 amp rated.

The formula is wattage divided by volts equal’s amps. So, depending if you have a 15 or 20 amp breaker you do not want exceed 80% of that. But how do you know what the wattage is that each string uses?  Most people don’t keep the box their Christmas lights come in.  We found this handy chart and information. Two take aways are, one don’t overload a circuit and two it’s safer and more cost efficient to use LED’s

We brought this up because overloaded circuits account for 5300 fires annually in the US (according to Consumer Product Safety Commission) We hope that you have a safe and happy holiday season that is fire free. But should you need smoke or fire damage restoration services SERVPRO of West Forsyth will make “Like it never even happened.” It is best to call us directly 336-946-1131