During the winter, home energy bills naturally rise as people spend more time indoors, the sun sets sooner, and lights stay on longer. The addition of holiday decorations and increased electronics usage makes it important for homeowners to know how to protect their electrical panel functioning well this time of year.

Here are five tips to keep your electrical panel operational so you always have reliable power.

Distribute Power Consumption Across Lines

It’s not a good idea to overwhelm a circuit, as this can lead to frequent tripping and power losses. The best way to prevent overloading your breakers is to know how your home is hardwired to provide electricity. Just reading your panel will likely tell you where each breaker leads. You want to avoid running too many power-hungry appliances from the same outlet at once.

For example, if you’re already running a space heater in the bedroom, you don’t want to plug in another appliance on the same line. Keeping your power dispersed evenly across breakers can prevent sudden trips and breakdowns.

Unplug Anything You Aren’t Using

Did you know that devices and appliances can still draw power when they’re switched off? It’s called a phantom load, and it’s one of the leading reasons homeowners can notice their power bills increase during the winter. Keep kitchen appliances and electronics unplugged when you aren’t using them to reduce consumption, lower costs, and free power for things you actually want to use, like holiday lights or decorations.

Use a High-Quality Space Heater

Avoid purchasing cheap space heaters online that don’t come from a well-known and reputable brand. These devices tend to consume far more power than necessary, and they have a much higher risk of sudden explosions. If you use a space heater, only buy from a top-rated brand. You should also avoid leaving the space heater plugged in for hours on end with no break, as this can heat the cord and internal components too much and lead to a risk of electrical problems.

Spread Out Your Holiday Decorations

Use multiple power strips to space out your outdoor lights and decorations. This prevents you from overloading your electric panel and reduces the risk of sudden outages. For larger displays, installing additional outlets or using a separate power generator could help prevent tripped breakers or system overload.

Keep a Standby Generator

Have a backup generator at home to rely on in case of widespread power outages or an electrical panel emergency. These generators can be lifesavers. However, you should only have them installed by a professional who can calculate the appropriate load for your property and perform a safe installation.

For expert electrical panel services in Lincoln, NE, please contact the pro team at Ambition Electric today!