Fall Electrical Safety Checklist
As seasons begin to change and the weather starts to cool, we trade our weekends at the cottage and time spent outdoors for more time spent relaxing at home. This leads to increased usage and reliance on your home electrical system. With the use of heaters, adding holiday lights and an increased chance of large scale storms there is much more strain on your electrical system. With this increased usage it is imperative to ensure that your electrical system is in full working order. A great way to do this is to implement a fall electrical safety checklist. This is a simple proactive step to take to ensure that you won’t have any unexpected surprises during the winter.
Why Electrical Safety Matters in the Fall
Fall is a particularly important time to take a look at your electrical system, with increased usage leading into the winter months it is very important to make sure that everything is in working order. Electrical fires are more common in winter months due to increased usage of high-demand appliances like electric heaters and holiday lights. If you happen to also have outdated wiring or faulty outlets, this increased usage can lead to a large safety hazard. You never want to be surprised by these things in the middle of winter, this is why it’s important to focus on prevention rather than reaction. Making sure that your electrical system is safe leading into the winter months can save you a massive headache.
General Electrical Safety Inspection
There are a handful of things that you can check for yourself prior to having a professional electrician come out to do a full electrical safety inspection in your home. Checking all extensions cords and power strips is a good start, looking for any wear and ensuring that there is no daisy-chaining. An example of Daisy-chaining would be using an extension cord plugged into the wall to hook up a power strip on the other side of the room. This can overload the circuit and pose a fire risk. Checking all of our outlets and switches for overheating is another important step. Checking for the following; warm to the touch, buzzing, or any discoloration. You should also be regularly testing any GFCIs and AFCIs to ensure that they are in working order.
When completing this simple inspection on your own, if you identify any issues you should immediately make a call to a licensed electrician to come out to do a proper home inspection to ensure that everything in your home is safe.
Seasonal Preparation Indoors
There are some other steps that you can take with devices around your home to prepare yourself for the changing of the seasons;
Space heaters – Make sure that they are plugged directly into the wall, keep the space around them clear, and do not use them near water.
Furnaces and heating systems – Make sure that they are inspected and serviced annually.
Smoke and CO detectors – Making sure that older units are replaced and the batteries are changed regularly.
Electric Blankets – Inspect cords, avoid folding, and follow manufacturer guidelines.
Outdoor & Yard Electrical Safety
There are also steps that you should be taking to prepare your outdoor spaces for the winter months;
Storing summer tools – Things like electric lawnmowers, leaf blowers etc. won’t be seeing much use in the winter months, so make sure to clean them and store them safely to prevent any cord damage over the winter.
Outdoor Lighting – Ensure weatherproofing, and check for any cracked casings.
Leaf cleanup – Make sure to keep debris away from outlets, cords, and HVAC units.
Holiday Lighting Prep – Only use outdoor-rated cords/lights, and avoid any wet ground contact.
Storm & Backup Power Safety
With the potential for snow and ice storms in the winter months it is more common to see large scale power outages in the colder months. It is important to prepare your home so you and your family will be ready if anything goes wrong. Having a generator system set up for your home can ease the pain of one of these outages. Whether that be a standby generator to keep essential things like HVAC going, or just a portable generator to keep a few devices running it is important to test these generators ahead of time and to follow safe ventilation practices. This will ensure that your generator is ready to go should you need it.
Power outages can increase the risk of surges that can damage devices that are plugged in. An easy way to take away this risk is to safeguard your electronics using surge protectors. Installing a whole home surge protector will divert excess electricity caused by power surges away from your home’s electrical system and into the ground.
Another important thing to keep in mind is that your family members should know how to shut off the power in your home directly at the breaker panel in the case of any emergencies.
Full Checklist
𝤿 – Inspect all extension cords and power strips
𝤿 – Remove any “Daisy-chained” power strips or extension cords
𝤿 – Check all outlets and switches for warmth, buzzing, and discoloration
𝤿 – Test all GFCI outlets
𝤿 – Test AFCI breakers if present
𝤿 – Plug space heaters directly into wall outlets (Never extension cords)
𝤿 – Move heaters away from flammable materials and water sources
𝤿 – Schedule annual furnace/heating system inspection
𝤿 – Replace smoke and CO detectors older than 10 years
𝤿 – Test and replace batteries in detectors
𝤿 – Inspect electric blankets for cord damage, avoid folding when in use
𝤿 – Clean and safely store summer electric tools (lawnmowers, trimmers, blowers.)
𝤿 – Check outdoor lighting fixtures for weatherproof seals and cracked casings
𝤿 – Clear leaves and debris from outlets, cords, and HVAC units
𝤿 – Use only outdoor-rated holiday lights and extension cords
𝤿 – Keep outdoor cords and lights off wet ground and away from standing water.
𝤿 – Test backup generators before winter storms arrive
𝤿 – Review and follow safe ventilation practices for generators
𝤿 – Protect electronics with surge protectors
𝤿 – Consider installing a whole-home surge protector
𝤿 – Make sure all family members know how to shut off power at the breaker panel.
Conclusion
While a lot of these things can be easy to overlook, it is crucially important that you take these steps to ensure safety in your home and prevent costly repairs. The #1 focus here is taking small steps to prevent larger issues, whether that be through inspection or just general safe practices. If you identify any of the issues mentioned above, reach out to us at Penfold Electric to set up an appointment for one of our certified residential technicians to come out and take a look!