Has Your St. Albert Home Outgrown Its Outlets?

Aug 10

If you've got a power bar tucked behind your TV or computer desk, don't worry, you're not doing anything unusual. Power bars are just part of everyday life. They let you safely plug several low-power electronics into one spot, which is exactly what an entertainment system or a home office setup usually needs.

The power bar itself usually isn't the issue. The real question is whether your home has enough outlets to support the way you actually live in it today.

A lot of older homes in St. Albert were built long before home offices, multiple TVs, gaming systems, smart home devices and charging stations were the norm. As our technology has changed, our electrical needs have changed right along with it.

Sometimes the answer isn't another power bar. It's adding outlets where you actually need them.

Extension Cords vs. Power Bars: What's the Difference?

people tend to use these terms interchangeably, but they're really built for two different jobs.

Extension cords

Extension cords are meant for temporary use. They're great for outdoor equipment, holiday lights, or plugging in a tool for a weekend project. What they shouldn't do is become a permanent part of your home's electrical setup.

If you've got an extension cord running behind furniture or across a room month after month, that's usually a good sign the space would be safer and more convenient with another outlet.

Power bars

A quality power bar is built to give you more plug-in spots from a single outlet. They're well suited for things like:

TVs
Computers
Monitors
Printers
Phone chargers
Internet equipment

What a power bar doesn't do is increase how much electricity is available on that circuit. It just distributes the power that outlet already has to give. That's why it matters what you're actually plugging into it.

When Power Bars Become a Problem

Used properly, power bars are perfectly fine. Problems tend to show up when they're asked to run equipment that really deserves its own dedicated circuit, or when they get overloaded with high-demand appliances.

A few common culprits:

Space heaters
Portable air conditioners
Microwaves
Toaster ovens
Large workshop tools

These draw a lot more power than your everyday electronics, and running several at once can overload the circuit behind them.

Another habit worth avoiding is plugging one power bar into another, sometimes called daisy chaining. It puts unnecessary strain on the circuit and makes it a lot harder to notice when you're pushing past its limits.

Is Your Surge Protector Still Protecting?

Something a lot of homeowners don't realize is that not every power bar actually includes surge protection. If you're trying to protect expensive electronics like a television, computer or gaming system, it's worth putting your money into a surge-protected power bar specifically.

Even then, surge protection doesn't last forever. Most surge-protected power bars have a small indicator light that shows the protection is still active. If that light goes out, your outlets will probably keep working just fine, but the surge protection has likely worn out and it's time to replace it.

It's a small thing to check every so often, and it goes a long way toward protecting your more valuable electronics from a sudden voltage spike.

Signs Your Home Could Use More Outlets

One power bar behind the entertainment centre usually isn't anything to worry about. But your home might benefit from a few more outlets if you notice yourself:

Regularly using extension cords indoors
Arranging furniture around your outlets instead of what actually makes sense for the room
Running cords across walkways or under rugs
Unplugging one appliance just to plug in another
Relying on multiple power bars scattered around the same room

None of this necessarily means your home is unsafe. Most of the time it just means the electrical system wasn't originally set up with today's lifestyle in mind.

Where We Commonly Add Outlets

At MMi Electrical, we add outlets pretty regularly in spots like:

Home offices
Living rooms with entertainment systems
Kitchens with several countertop appliances
Garages and workshops
Bedrooms with limited outlets
Finished basements

Adding outlets can make a room work a lot better for you, while cutting down on how much you need to lean on extension cords. In some cases, we'll also recommend a dedicated circuit for appliances that draw more power on their own.