Planning Your Holiday Decorations? Why The Season Should Start With A Visit From Your Electrician

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The holidays are just around the corner. If you plan to decorate your home this year, it's time to schedule an appointment with your electrician. You may not think that you need an electrician right now, especially if you're not experiencing electrical issues, but that's not the case. The fact is that the holiday season is the perfect time for a service call from your electrician, especially if you're going to be plugging in light-up decorations around your house. Here are just four of the ways that an electrician will benefit you this holiday season:

Install New GFCI Outlets

If you're going to be installing long strands of holiday lights, or multiple light-up decorations, you need to make sure that you have plenty of GFCI outlets around the house. You should never plug holiday decorations into non-GFCI outlets. That's because ordinary outlets can't provide the protection you need against shorts and other electrical problems. Before you start plugging in your decorations, have your electrician install GFCI outlets for you. 

Replace Old Circuit Breakers

If it's been a while since you had your circuit breakers replaced, and you plan to install brand new light-up decorations, you need to call your electrician. Your old circuit breakers may not be able to handle the power load that your new decorations will require. If that's the case, you're going to need new circuit breakers before you plug in your decorations. Without the new circuit breakers, you could lose power to your entire house once you plug in the decorations. 

Check the Wiring for Damage

If you live in an older home, or you've recently dealt with a squirrel or raccoon infestation in your attic, now's the time to have your wiring inspected for damage. As the wiring in your home ages, it may begin to crack or fray. Not only that, but if squirrels and raccoons have been living in your attic, they could have chewed through the wiring to make room for their nests. Unfortunately, either wiring problem will increase your risk for electrical fires as soon as you start plugging in your holiday decorations. To reduce that risk, you need to have your wiring inspected before you begin decorating for the holidays. 

Identify Additional Problem Areas

If it's been a few years since you had your electrical system serviced, you should take care of that before the holidays arrive. You may have electrical issues that you're not aware of. The pre-season inspection will give your electrician the time they need to address those problems before you begin to decorate your home.

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