Outlets are wired into your home to make it convenient to plug in anything from an appliance to a lamp. However, an electrical fault can occur endangering your home. It’s not a good idea to have 19 different appliances plugged into a single outlet. This can cause a short; not to mention the maze of cords running through the room aren’t safe for family and pets.

Sometimes electrical faults in your system can cause a ceiling light or fan to stop working. After identifying that a bad bulb is not the culprit, you should turn off the power and inspect the light fixture itself. Check the cable and flex connections and make sure the terminal screws are tight. Use a continuity tester to make sure the flex hasn’t gone bad requiring a replacement.

Lights, fans, and other fixtures can also stop working because a residual current device has tripped. You can reset the device but if it trips again it’s best to call in a certified electrician.

If you are still experiencing problems after doing these simple troubleshooting tasks, it’s always best to call in a trained electrician. Outlets or lights that are malfunctioning could be caused by exposed wires somewhere in your electrical system. If your circuit breaker continually trips, it means the current in your home is not cycling as it’s intended. Either way, it’s much safer to have these issues repaired by a good electrician.

Image via DollarStoreCrafts.com

2. Ghosts in the yard.

If you have handy lights lining a path or driveway at your house, this idea will take no time at all. You just need to collect a bunch of old plastic milk jugs with the tops cut off or white paper bags (I suggest making the decision after you get the weather report for All Hallows’ Eve). Simply draw eyes on the jugs/bags with a black marker, and slip them one by one over each Image via MarthaStewart.com

Here’s an ultra affordable Halloween lighting project, if your preferred poison is the frightening beyond of unexplained extraterrestrial phenomena. Just fill your house (or yard) full of anchored helium balloons containing green glow sticks. Add faces with traditional alien eyes or something even more creative! If you really want to play it up, you and your family could dress up like extraterrestrials and pretend the real you has been abducted.

4. Mini mummies.

If you prefer cute décor over the more macabre, a quick project to make mini mummy candles holders only requires a jar or glass cup, some white gauze, and some googly eyes. Simply scrunch up the gauze around the jar to look like the mummy’s linen wrappings. Add the eyes, and ta-da, you’ve got a precious little mummy come back to life with candlelight. They’re a crowd pleaser, trust me.

Thinking back to the Big Freeze in February might make you shiver.  Many of Dallas’ residents were stuck indoors for days on end, unable to even get out of their driveways.  But perhaps the worst parts of the early February freeze were the rolling blackouts that some residents suffered.

According to Oncor, the power delivery company in North Texas, 1.3 million residents were affected by these blackouts.  Luminant, the biggest power provider in the state, lost 11 coal and natural gas generators on February 2.  This trickled all the way down to North Texas residents, and even fire stations and police stations were stuck without power.

Losing power during a cold snap can be quite an an inconvenience.  If you’re without power for an extended period of time, you might have to incur extra costs, or even face the danger of driving on icy roads by going out to eat, or even be driven out of your home to a hotel room to stay warm for the night.  In the office, or even at home, a sudden power outage can cause you to lose precious data on your computer as well.  So what can you do to prevent these things from affecting you in the future?  Install an emergency power system.

An uninterruptable power supply (or UPS) provides emergency power to your home in the event of a power outage.  Designed to provide instant backup power, a UPS uses batteries or diesel generators to keep you up and running.  There are a variety of types of uninterruptable power supplies, and a Dallas Electrician can help find the one that will fit your home or office, and can install it safely for you.

So, before you’re left in the dark or cold again, talk to a local electrician in Dallas about the different emergency power systems available for you, and which one will best fit your needs.  They will be able to assess your situation and make sure your power system is safely installed.  Then, the next time North Texas suffers from rolling blackouts, you’ll be able to rest easy knowing your family and home is safe from the heat or cold.