With Thanksgiving looming, the holiday season is just around the corner. In neighborhoods in Yuma and all around the state, trees soon will be decorated, lights strewn and front-yard displays assembled to celebrate the holiday season.
As we prepare to mark this time of celebration, it also should be a time to keep safety and energy efficiency in mind.
According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, each year more than 12,000 people are treated in the emergency room for holiday-related incidents, including electrical contact involving lights and decorations.
At APS, we believe these accidents should not appear on the list of annual traditions. We want our customers to enjoy themselves this season, but we also urge extreme caution when dealing with electricity.
Contact with an electric current can result in serious injury or even death. In addition to potential electrical contact or electrical fires indoors, with Arizona trees being so susceptible, the risk of fire is always present outdoors as well.
With that, here are some tips to help reduce the risk of electrical contact and electrical fires:
• Turn off holiday lights before going to sleep or leaving the house unattended.
• When stringing lights outside, use a dry, wooden or fiberglass ladder and be sure to stay away from overhead power lines.
• For outdoor lighting, use only strings of outdoor lights, spotlights, sockets and extension cords approved by the Underwriters Laboratories (UL).
• Do not use frayed cords. In addition, extension cords should only be used on a temporary basis and are not intended as permanent household wiring.
• Keep the bulbs from touching Christmas tree needles, branches and decorative items.
• Before putting up lights, check wires, plugs and sockets for wear or damage.
• Use more than one circuit to avoid overloading household wiring.
• Do not use candles near flammable materials or where they can be knocked over or reached by small children or family pets.
• Unplug lights from electrical outlets before changing bulbs.
• Do not hang lights on a metallic tree. The danger of shock is great. Instead, use a spotlight to illuminate metallic trees.
• There should be a smoke detector on every level of the house and outside each sleeping area. It also is important to have detectors installed properly and tested to ensure they are in working condition.
• You should have at least one class ABC extinguisher, placed in an easily accessible area. An extinguisher with an ABC classification puts out all three types of fires: combustible-liquid fires; fires from burning wood, paper and cloth; and electrical fires. Know how to properly use the extinguisher.
• To reduce the risk of shock, make sure that GFCI (ground fault circuit interrupters) protection is provided for outlets at outdoor receptacles and test the GFCI monthly to make sure it is working properly. If GFCI receptacles are not available, portable GFCI equipment may be used.
Heading into the light-hanging season, APS also wants to remind everyone it isn’t too late to replace incandescent holiday lights with energy-saving light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs, which are 90 percent more efficient than traditional lights.
LED lights will reduce energy usage and provide other great benefits, including:
• Safety — LED lights produce less heat and stay cool to the touch. You can safely connect many strands of lights without overloading your circuits.
• Durability — LED lights consist of solid-state construction, making them sturdier and more resistant to damage than conventional lights. And, unlike most traditional bulbs, when one light goes out on a string, the others stay lit.
• Long life — LED lights have been found to have a useful life of about 35,000 hours.
With these safety and energy efficiency tips, APS wishes you a wonderful start to the holiday season!
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