Electrical Safety Month

May is National Electrical Safety Month!

Avoid Overloading Your Home’s Electrical System:

An overload simply means that you have too many things running on one or more electrical circuits or pathways in your home and there is more demand than supply. When this happens, it can cause a minor inconvenience like damage to an appliance or a major one like a power outage or a fire.

To prevent overloading circuits, consider the following tips:

1. Although tempting, don’t plug too many things in by using extension cords, power strips and mulit-outlet converters. Overdoing it can overload and overhead a circuit.
2. Be on the lookout for loose connections or damaged or corroded wires, which can also cause an overload for fire.
3. If you continually upgrade your home with more lighting, applianaces, and electronics, your home’s ciruits may not be able to handle the increased load.
4. Do not plug in multiple devices or appliances to an outlet at the same time, exceeding the outlet’s capacity. Do not use extension cords with major appliances.

Consult an electrician if you notice the following:

• Warm or discolored outlets or outlet cover plates
• Flickering, dimming or blinking lights or any other strange lighting behavior
• Items in your home frequently cause a mild shock
• Fuses that blow or trip frequently

For more information about electrical safety, visit SafeElectricity.org.