A Seasonal Reminder from Google Alerts

I use the Google Alerts notification system in order to track information about our customers, products and vendors.  It’s a great time saver and turns up a lot of unexpected information.

One of my alerts is set to the search phrase “extension cord“.  Unfortunately, all too often this time of year these alerts also include the word “fire“.

Somehow, it seems that Christmas decorating and overloaded extension cords regularly make headline news.  While it’s easy to understand how this can happen, it’s also easy to prevent.

All electrical devices (including lights and powered decorations) are required to be tagged with information relating to how much power they consume.  This information is usually listed along with the term “watts”.  When you plug multiple lights or electrical decorations into an extension cord, it is necessary to add the total number of watts (also known as “current draw”) to determine what size of extension cord is called for.

If this simple arithmetic is a little daunting, there is an easier way to figure out if there is a problem.

Plug everything in, turn all the decorations on, and hold the extension cord in your hand for three or four minutes.  If the cord becomes warm to the touch, then it is overloaded.  Remove one or more of the items plugged into it and try again.

If you can’t reduce the current draw, then you need to increase the size (known as the “gauge” of the cable).  This can be a little confusing, as the smaller the gauge number, the higher the current carrying capacity of the extension cord.  That is, a 14 gauge cord has a lower current carrying capacity than a 12 gauge cord.

Finally, even if you don’t have an overloaded extension cord, running it under a rug or behind a wall can still create a fire hazard if air can’t circulate and remove any heat build up.  It should be left out in the open.

Take a minute to plan before you begin holiday decorating.  I don’t want to be reading about you in Google Alerts.

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