With the Holiday season approaching, many people will be decorating our houses and putting up lights. Decorative outdoor and indoor lighting has come a long way over the years, from C-7 type bulbs to mini incandescent bulbs and all the different LED bulbs on the market today.
Although the heat released by these light sources has diminished considerably over time… the fire hazards associated with the use of these types of decoration remain.
Among other things, numerous recalls of decorative strings of Christmas lights are issued year after year, involving hundreds of thousands of products sold by well-known megastores. Many of these recalls are for products at risk of overheating, which can lead to fire.
In some cases, the risk of overheating was associated with the conductor gauge being undersized compared to the current flowing through it, causing the cord to overheat. On the other hand, compliant strings of lights can also become a fire hazard when the user gets fairly “carried away” by connecting a multitude of strings of lights. This can result in too much current flowing to power all the lights.
Many manufacturers have a set recommendation for the maximum number of cords that can be connected.
In other cases, you may find that some users use more or less secure techniques to fix their strings of lights, such as driving a pin into the insulating sheath, thus risking a short circuit.
In addition to the risks associated with light decorations, moving objects around to set up the Christmas tree can create a new fire hazard that did not exist before.
Obstructing a baseboard heater with combustible objects or placing combustible decorations near the hearth of a fireplace are both perfect examples.
To complete the picture, imagine how quickly a fire can spread when a natural fir has only been lightly watered in recent weeks.
Far be it from us to frighten you with the presence of these risks, but the aim is more to present them to you as a preventive measure. We hope you enjoy the holiday season with friends and family!
For any additional information, we invite you to contact us.
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