We offer these electrical safety tips to help keep you and your family safe from electrical hazards when you decorate inside and outside your home, all year round!
Decorate Safely Outdoors |
- Look up and around you to locate power lines, before hanging outdoor lights.
- Never hang lights or decorations on trees that are located near power lines.
- Keep ladders, poles, lights and yourself three (3) metres away from power lines.
- Use lights, cords and decorations that are rated and approved by the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) for outdoor use or wet locations.
- Plug into a ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) to avoid an electrical shock.
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Decorate Safely Indoors |
- Make sure smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors are in good working order, located on each level of your home.
- Inspect decorations for cracks or loose sockets and frayed or bare wires that could cause a serious shock or fire hazard.
- Don't overload your electrical outlets and circuits which can overheat and start a fire.
- Don't connect LED strings of lights to conventional, non-LED lights.
- Turn off your holiday lights before going to bed or when you are not home.
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The Electrical Safety Authority (ESA) offers additional tips to help keep you and your family safe from electrical hazards when buying and installing holiday lighting and decorations.