Keeping Safety in Mind when Hanging Outdoor Christmas Lights

Outdoor Christmas lights can add festivity to your holiday home. And with the large selection of holiday lights available, your options are only limited by your imagination - and your budget!

Safety should always be your top priority when decorating the outside of your home with Christmas lights. With that in mind, the following tips will ensure that your holiday will be merry, bright, and most of all safe!

• Cords fray and wear out over time. Check your outdoor Christmas lights every year and discard them if there are any signs of wear. In fact, it may be best to purchase new, outdoor holiday lights every few years as a general precaution. Signs of worn lights include cracked and/or broken sockets, frayed or bare wires or loose connections.
• Plug your outdoor Christmas lights only into a GFCI outlet. Use the services of a qualified electrician to install one if you don’t have one already. You can also purchase portable GFCI units for outdoor use, but a permanent GFCI outlet is your best bet.
• Only use Christmas lights which have been tested by a reputable laboratory, such as UL or ETL. This will be clearly marked on the package.
• Only use lights which are marked as suitable for outdoor use.
• Only use lights which have fuses built into the plugs.
• Choose cooler-burning lights, such as mini-lights. Mini-lights are much cooler to the touch than traditional, large bulbs.
• Immediately replace burned-out bulbs with new bulbs of the same voltage.
• Use only extension cords which are suited for outdoor use. A good, general rule of thumb is to only purchase outdoor extension cords. This ensures that all of your extension cords are suitable for outdoor use should they become grouped together.
• Do not overload extension cords. Pay close attention to the manufacturer’s recommendations and don’t exceed them. Extension cords can quickly become overheated if they are overloaded.
• Turn off your outdoor lights when you go to bed or leave the house.
• Keep your wire connections away from standing water, such as puddles and snow. Point the socket downward when making connections to eliminate a build-up of moisture on the socket.
• Don’t string a tree with outdoor Christmas lights if the tree comes in contact with power lines.
• Unplug a string of outdoor holiday lights before replacing a bulb.
• Consider the use of LED lights. LED lights, which use semiconductors to brighten up the bulb, have become a popular choice for holiday lights over the past few years. They are far more energy efficient than traditional bulbs and stay cool to the touch.
• Like traditional bulbs, LED bulbs come in many shapes, including mini, round and large pointed. Although they are more expensive than traditional holiday lights, most homeowners agree that they recoup their investment just after one holiday season, as LED lights can often use as much as 90 percent less electricity that standard bulbs.

Enjoying your home during the holidays becomes such a great delight with the right lighting.  Feel free to express your personality through your Christmas lights, which is made easy with the rainbow of colors made available through traditional and LED lights.  Happy holidays!

See how to properly hang your christmas lights>>