As the weather cools off and we progress into December, you may be thinking of decorating the inside and outside of your home with holiday lights. One very important factor to keep in mind, though, is that the wiring in most homes—particularly older homes—is not properly equipped to handle the increased electrical demand placed on it by holiday lighting. Wires and connections can become corroded or loose over the years, only adding to the problem.

When more amperage passes through an electrical circuit or wire than it is intended to handle, the overloading can occur. Essentially, when you try to draw power for too many lights or appliances from a single outlet, this is what happens.

Though, even if you use different outlets, you still need to consider the overall capacity of your home’s electrical system. Your electrical wiring needs to be able to handle the total load of all the lights, in addition to the appliances and lighting that already depend on it.

There are a few warning signs to watch out for that indicate your electrical system is overloaded. These include:

Many people may read the above information and decide not to install holiday lights, but that’s not necessary! To prevent overloads, before you install your lights simply call one of our professional electricians to inspect your electrical system. We’ll look for hidden hazards such as faulty or old wiring, and recommend upgrading your wiring or electrical panel if necessary.

An added benefit of upgrading your electrical panel for holiday lighting is that you won’t need to worry about adding additional appliances and home automation upgrades as well. You’ll be fully equipped to handle the increasing electrical demands that are placed on many homes throughout the country today.

A variety of ways exist to quickly and efficiently complete an electrical installation. One method involves using pre-made and pre-fabricated conduits, cables, panels, and devices. Pre-fab strategies cut down on repetitive labor costs and scrap material waste.

Furthermore, pre-fabricated components are assembled in quality-controlled factories by highly trained technicians. This ensures that every device and termination is in working order and properly connected. These technicians work faster and cost less per hour than a journeyman electrician, therefore saving the contractor time and money.

Another option to increase efficiency involves using pre-wired devices. They can be used for repetitive tasks like receptacles, switches, light fixtures, data ports, or fire alarms. They save time by eliminating the need to terminate each device individually. Instead, boxes are made to order and ready to install. The desired length of cable is attached and ready to run to the nearest junction point. Simply attach the box, route the cable, and connect to the supply wires. Most suppliers prepare a custom quote, further reducing time spent by the foreman planning and ordering parts individually.

Pre-wired panels are possibly the simplest way to save money, as they require no special tools. Wiring up a panel at the shop before heading to the job site allows you to function test it before installation. This ensures proper functionality. In addition, it keeps the interior of the panel away from weather and other possible sources of job-site damage. For larger or more complex panels, suppliers can be arranged and have the work performed by specialized technicians. Panels can even be ordered with pre-cut and pre-terminated lengths of cable or cord.

Most electricians have used pre-formed conduit, especially PVC which requires specialized tools to bend. However, entire runs of pipe can be custom ordered and pre-shaped. Especially useful in underground conduit networks or when complicated bends are required, these pre-made conduits drop in place and fit perfectly to the engineer’s prints. They also ensure that conduits are not damaged or kinked during the bending process and that no sharp edges or rough spots are left to damage wires or cables.

If the project demands it, entire buildings can be pre-made and pre-wired in a factory setting by trained technicians who specialize in quickly and efficiently preparing custom ordered buildings. Especially useful in industrial settings, these buildings come complete with all interior and exterior lights, switches, receptacles, and control wiring.

Often, motor control centers (MCCs) for large industrial installations are constructed this way. Therefore, on-site electricians are free to begin immediately running cables to motors and devices, with simple termination points inside a completed building. In addition to using fewer electrician hours, they also reduce required hours from other tradespeople such as welders or cladding installers.

Finally, pre-fab strategies are a great solution for reducing material waste, worker hours, and downtime while making deadlines a snap. Projects run smoother with fewer errors.

These systems are still expensive compared to the conventional electric generating plants such as hydro. And since they only generate power during the day, batteries or other storage systems are required to ensure power availability during the night or times when the conversion is low. This means spending more on batteries, which are currently the most popular storage devices.

Another limitation is the intermittent nature of light, making the energy unsuitable for some applications.

Space limitations may influence the maximum power that a consumer can generate. The cheaper panels have a lower conversion rate and require larger areas. However, customers may overcome this by using the more expensive but higher efficiency panels which require less space.

Improved photovoltaic technology, mass production and lower installation costs have seen the cost of photovoltaic systems and components such as batteries fall rapidly. Incentives such as financing, rebates, and wide acceptance by homeowners have influenced the use of the photovoltaic cells.