Overloaded Circuits

Outside lights will brighten up your house during the holiday season. But make sure not to overload your circuits - otherwise you might light up your house with flames.

Many people make the mistake of plugging outdoor lights into standard household outlets. These outlets are often not powerful enough for the lights, causing an unnecessary and dangerous strain on your electrical system. Consider installing a heavier line with a separate circuit, specifically for the lights.

The fuse is an electrical safety valve. If too much current passes through the fuse, a wire inside melts and stops the flow of current. When a fuse blows, it's a sign of danger. The line has either been overloaded, or there's a break in the wires along the line in an appliance cord, a switch, or inside the wall.

If you are blowing fuses repeatedly, don't just keep replacing them. Call in an electrical contractor to evaluate your system for a dangerous overloading.

Never over-fuse, for example, by replacing a 15-amp fuse with a 30-amp fuse to try to meet an added power demand. Because 20 and 30-amp fuses are more powerful, people assume they are adding more power; however, the wiring is incapable of accommodating the additional demand.

Almost all the fuses in your fuse box should be 15-amp. If there's a 20 or 30-amp fuse already in there, don't automatically replace it with the same amp fuse when it blows. The previous homeowner may have replaced a 15-amp fuse with a 30-amp one way back when, and never corrected the mistake.

A dryer might take a 30-amp fuse and a stove a 40-amp, but these are usually cartridge fuses, not the screw-in types. All others should be 15-amps.

Also, never use a higher wattage light bulb than the fixture can accommodate (the maximum is usually indicated right on the fixture).

Plug appliances - not just a refrigerator or microwave, but a kettle or frying pan directly into the wall, never into an extension cord.

When you're renovating your electrical system, putting up major new lighting, or adding extra appliances to your circuits, don't forget to have your local power company or inspection authority check the work and your circuitry.