The most dangerous time of the year for electrical fires in Des Moines is undoubtedly during the holiday season. Christmas decorations, in particular, lead to a dizzying amount of house fires each year. On average, over 200 homes burn down each year directly because of Christmas Trees and other decorations, and this figure doesn’t include the small, contained fires and those caused by candles. Needless to say, safety should be a major priority when planning out and putting up your holiday decorations.

Many electrical problems are caused by outdated technology and old incandescent Christmas lights; when you start digging out your decorations, ask yourself if it is time for an upgrade. While more expensive, modern LED Christmas lights use far less power, generate less heat, almost never require bulb replacements, and last far longer than their incandescent ancestors and inexpensive alternatives. In terms of cost alone, the new lights will likely pay for themselves in energy savings after only one, maybe two, holiday season(s).

For instance, running 1,000 incandescent Christmas lights for a month in Iowa will likely cost about $122, whereas the same amount in LED bulbs (which shine brighter, by the way) will cost less than $1.50. That extra $120 can go a long way towards buying a few better presents or do some real good in the community. By upgrading your lights this holiday season, you’re ensuring that you don’t have to hike up your energy bill to decorate the house each year while keeping the family much safer than they would be with your old lights.

For any strand you choose to not upgrade this year, be sure to thoroughly check each strand for frayed wires or cracked bulbs. Incandescent bulbs can easily create a completed electrical circuit with a Christmas Tree, gutter, or just about anything else it may be hung upon, creating a very real fire hazard.

If you decide to get out the extra-tall ladder that you seem to only use to decorate and un-decorate the house each year, take special care to avoid power lines. One of the easiest ways to get injured when using a tall ladder isn’t actually from falling, but from electrocution while moving the ladder. Take the time to locate all power lines before beginning work and always get down and collapse the ladder before moving anywhere around power lines.

No carpeting, drapes, curtains, or other fabrics should ever come into contact with your lights. Furthermore, be sure to never wrap cloth-like decorations around your lights. The mesh commonly found at holiday stores is made for wreathing and often contains metallic elements for a shimmering effect, making it especially potent at conducting electricity and starting fires in the event of a short.

We hope you’re safe this holiday season, but if you happen to overload your circuit breakers or have a concern about the lighting of your holiday decorations, be sure to give us a call right away. The electricians at Electrical Gurus want to help to keep every Des Moines family happy and healthy throughout the holiday season.

The term “arc flash” is used to describe low impedance connections in an electrical system, which allows movement of unwanted electric discharge through the air from one voltage phase to another, or to ground. This leads to a rapid rise in temperature and pressure in the air between electrical conductors, causing an explosion known as an arc blast.

Arc blasts and the resulting heat can lead to fires, pressure waves and flying shrapnel that result in serious damage to life and property. These explosions typically occur without any warning, destroy electrical equipment completely and lead to severe injury or death of personnel present within the boundary of the arc flash.

What Are the Main Causes of Arc Flash?

Arc flash occurs when several electrical conductors are placed close to each other, with significant fault currents flowing through them. In this situation, ionization of the air can take place as a result of various factors – such as differences in potential – which leads to a low resistance path and allows current to flow through the air gap between conductors.

Many people assume that low voltage equipment is safe from arc flash, but arc flash hazard levels may be higher at low voltages, due to the high fault currents. Most incidents that occur in low voltage systems are caused by human error, e.g. a tool slipping while a technician works on electrical equipment.

Arc flash can also be caused due to:

Having access to a 24/7 emergency electrical service is a necessity, not a luxury. There’s no telling when something in your house’s electrical system might malfunction, and a quick response is crucial. At the same time, you might feel tempted to try your hand at fixing the problem yourself to save time and cut back on expenses. This is a big mistake, one that can jeopardize your safety while also costing you more money and time than you were hoping to save in the first place. Getting help from the professionals is by far the best way to handle electrical problems safely and effectively.

Of all the reasons you shouldn’t try to perform electrical repairs yourself, the most important is the very real risk of hurting yourself. Electrical work can be dangerous, which is why experts go through so much training to do their job. Remember that every electrical system packs a huge punch of power, and a shock could be enough to injure or kill.

Even if you think you’re knowledgeable enough to do the job yourself, there is always a chance of running into complications that only a professional can handle. Calling for 24/7 emergency electrical service is the right choice — your safety is too important to gamble with for the sake of saving money.

If you’ve fallen victim to a serious electrical issue, trying to get the problem resolved quickly can backfire if it ends up being more serious than you suspected. A minor repair that seems to help the problem at first could be covering up a more critical issue, which could become a costly problem later on.