If you’ve ever seen “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation,” you’ll know that Clark Griswold’s perception of Christmas decorating is a bit extreme.  Although that movie is comical, in reality electrical safety is no laughing matter, and an electrical fire can ruin your holidays instantly.  Here are a few holiday decorating safety tips.

The holidays are meant to be enjoyed with friends and loved ones, and by following these few safety tips, you can help to make sure you’re not a victim of a “Clark Griswold” Christmas.  If you want to learn more about your home’s current electrical state, contact the best electrician Plano has to offer.

Happy Holidays!

If you’ve ever watched the show “Holmes on Homes” on HGTV, you’ve likely seen the problems associated with old or faulty wiring.  Mike Holmes tends to get very agitated by safety issues, and for good reason.  Each year, over 40,000 homes suffer fire damage due to home electrical problems.  These electrical fires account for hundreds of deaths and thousands of injuries.  And what’s the main culprit?  Old wiring!

If you live in a classic home built before 1940, chances are you have old wiring in the house.  You may have knob-and-tube or Romex wiring, both of which can become brittle over time.  The insulation dries out and starts to crumble, causing the inner wire to become exposed. The cloth insulation around the wire deteriorates with age and eventually becomes unsafe.

But perhaps one of the biggest threats of Romex and knob-and-tube wiring is that these types of wires aren’t grounded.  That means if one of your appliances shorts out, you could become the path to the ground for the electricity.

Even if your home is only 20 or 30 years old, you could still experience electrical problems at home due to a lack of capacity.  Most homes built more than 10 years ago are not designed to handle the amount of electronics we use today.  Think about it:  if your house was built in 1980, it was built before home PCs and laptops and HDTVs and surround sound and all of the other toys and gadgets we use today.  These appliances can draw a lot of power, and your current electrical wiring may not be up to the task.

If you own one of the one million houses in the DFW area that’s more than 20 years old, it’s a good idea to have a licensed electrician come out and take a look at the wiring.  He or she can make sure that your house will be safe and productive for many years.

What does CAN Bus mean?

CAN Bus means Controller Area Network Bus. This system monitors your vehicle and reports operating conditions. CAN Bus systems are commonly found in European vehicles such as BMW, Audi, Mercedes, Volkswagen, Porsche, and in many American vehicles. While most late model American vehicles have CAN Bus systems, it is always good to check with your vehicle dealer to see which system your vehicle has before purchasing electrical products.

Will CAN Bus LED Bulbs Prevent “Bulb-Out” Indication?

Each vehicle has different requirements that the CAN Bus system is looking for, but in most cases CAN Bus LED bulbs should prevent a “bulb out” indication in areas such as tail, brake, and running lights. If you use a standard LED bulb that is not a CAN Bus application, you would consistently get a “bulb out” dashboard indicator because your system can’t communicate with a standard LED bulb.

Will CAN Bus LED Bulbs Prevent Hyper-Flashing?

CAN Bus bulbs will not prevent hyper-flashing of turn signals. These bulbs are communicating with the CAN Bus system, but the relay still needs an appropriate amount of load to operate correctly. Your electrical system could require load resistors or an electronic flashing relay to stop hyper-flashing. The factory relay causes the hyper-flash when it thinks there is not a bulb working. For more information, see our blog post here.