If you are doing some work in your yard spaces over the weekend, you need various electrical tools and appliances to carry out these tasks efficiently and in a stress-free manner. Today, most people prefer buying pressure washers, pruning equipment, and mowers etc. that operate on electricity.

If you are using any of these electricity-powered tools you also need to make sure that you have sufficient electrical coverage around your property to easily plug them in. When you have power points in outdoor spaces, it’s a good idea to get GFCIs installed there too.

A GFCI outlet, acts as a protective layer for your appliances and equipment. In case there is any surge of electricity in the wiring, the GFCIs ensure that this surge won’t reach and affect your expensive equipment. Here are some useful tips for getting outdoor GFCI outlets installed in the outdoor areas of your home :

Most homes have a few standard outdoor electrical outlets; but sometimes this isn’t sufficient and can restrict your movement while carrying out any outdoor tasks such as mowing, shrub pruning or pressure-washing etc. This is because the cables of these pieces of equipment don’t reach right around the side of your home’s exterior walls or to the extreme ends of your yard.

When preparing to get outdoor GFCI outlets installed, carefully measure the length of the cables and the maximum distance you would need to go. You can create the radius of the coverage you will need & identify where the outlets should be located.

If you don’t choose the right location you may end up installing far more outlets than you need; this also means you will have to unplug and plug in the appliances during tasks which can be very inconvenient. Planning the placement of the GFCIs with care will eliminate these problems.

A GFCI (ground fault circuit interrupter) can detect if there are any problems in that circuit such as contact with either a person or water, which will shut-off the circuit. This is crucial in outdoor spaces as these outlets are exposed to the elements and they can come into contact with water from car-washing, sprinklers, pressure hoses; sometimes even kids or pets may accidently touch them too. It is also a smart decision to get outdoor switch covers installed over the GFCIs; these provide an added layer of protection to the electrical points. You would have to manually open up these covers in order to plug in the device or appliance being used.

The recommendation is that you should double check that the existing wiring installation and circuits have the capacity to handle these additional outlets. The equipment & tools that are plugged into these outlets can use a lot of power. If you install these new GFCIs on circuits that are already loaded, that can pose a danger of constant trips or even a fire hazard in your home.

GFCI installation isn’t a DIY job and you need to hire the services of a licensed and experienced electrician for the job. When you hire us for this work, our skilled electrician will identify which circuits these GFCI outlets can be installed on.