As I was sending an extension cord out of the bathroom window to get a fan to reach into the yard this weekend, it occured to me: There's probably a set of guidelines for the proper use of extension cords, and this is almost definitely against the rules.
I was right, of course. On both counts. The National Electrical Code (NEC) publishes rules for using extension cords.
According to the NEC, extension cords and cables should NOT be used:
• As a substitute for the fixed wiring of a device or structure. If the extension cord is a permanent fixture in your home theater or office setup, you should look to other options. (In the case of surge protectors, it's OK if you're using it as a device to protect equipment from unexpected surges in voltage and not to merely extend the reach of a cord.)
• When run through holes in walls, ceilings, or floors, or concealed behind walls, ceilings, or floors.
• Where run through doorways, windows, or similar openings.
• Where attached to walls or buildings' surfaces (like snaked around the top of a doorway to avoid the rule right above this one).
It might not seem like a big deal to run a small cable through an open doorway, but extension cord safety should be a concern to everyone for two big reasons: safe use of cords can reduce harm to people from electrocution or fire, and also prevent damage to your devices.
There's probably no safety inspector coming around your apartment checking to see if you're wired up safely (unless you live in a dorm), but these rules are written out for a reason: stick to these guielines to keep your home, tech, and family members safe. To avoid fires or other electrical hazards, make sure you're using the right extension cord for each of your devices and that you're using it the right way.
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This is tough for me, because while i KNOW i am misusing extension cords it is a necessity in my apartment. The entire electrical system with the exception of two or three plugs are old fashion 2 prong outlet. That means my entire upstairs is unusable for an office (which is all it is used for and there is no other space int he place for it). I've asked the landlord to update the electrical but they will not. So, while i know this is wrong, until i OWN the house i'm stuck using heavy duty extension cords. I usually read this kind of thing and change my ways immediately. It's kind of a bummer- i feel like im letting you down AT!
Can I share that I have also seen on some design sites that people advocate dying their extension cords with Rite Dye products to color match them to their interiors? i can't tell you how stupid this sounds. Submerging extension cords in water and using them afterwards is dangerous, then you add in the fact that you are actively allowing something to impact the covering of the cord.
Don't use indoor cords for outdoor use, only use outdoor/ weather rated cords outdoors and use them properly and for goodness sakes, if you have one that has been submerged in water...just buy a new one. It isn't worth the risk.
I'm amused that people people actually think about this stuff.
@CK8GO What about using a three prong adapter?
I was *just* thinking about this as I searched DregsList for an apartment that doesn't suck. It's amazing to see fridges plugged into extension cords which are then wrapped around walls and plugged in behind THE STOVE. Even if you don't misuse extension cords in your own apartment, your neighbors may. Scary.
BTW, CK8GO makes a great point. Don't tenants have rights to electrical upgrades?
I've seen shockingly bad advice about cords in decorating columns. Please don't hide cords under carpets. Maybe you could have an "Ask the Electrician" column for lighting/electrical issues.
This issue is so important. In Maryland, two children recently died in a house fire caused by an improperly used extension cord (connected to an A/C window unit that shouldn't have been used with an extension cord). So on top of all the points above, make sure you read your appliances' manuals! Some things simply must be plugged directly into an outlet.
Contact your city code office if an apartment has obvious problems with electrical system. Let them explain to the landlord that an electrical upgrade is much cheaper than fires and lawsuits.
On the other hand, it's important to not be too paranoid! Running an outdoor-approved extension cord through a window for a one-time use shouldn't be a problem. If the window frame is some sort of unusual extremely heavy metallic one with a sharp edge such that a person who decides to slam it as hard as possible MIGHT damage the cord in doing so, then simply put a block in the opening to prevent that!
And @CK8GO, I've been told that in older homes/businesses which don't have proper grounding (the "3rd prong,") for all outlets, there's normally not a problem - grounding is most important only for some large appliances like your refrigerator. Just buy some of those inexpensive adapters (2-prong to 3-prong.)
Chances are, even the 3-prong outlets in your downstairs aren't actually grounded, so running a cord from them all the way upstairs won't help you at all. For an entire building to be grounded, the wiring used (in the walls) has to be 3-wire, and the grounding wire connected at every single outlet/switch along the entire circuit. Older wiring had only 2 wires, (no ground wire), so installing a 3-prong outlet is only a convenience to allow you to plug in the newer-style plugs; it doesn't actually ground anything. If your landlord thinks you're asking for the entire circuitry to be updated, he's right in saying it's too expensive for too little value. If he's too cheap to simply switch out the 2-prong for 3-prong outlets, then just get some adapters.
This post omits the number one mistake people make when using an extension cord: not selecting a cord with the right gauge for the job.
Gauge is relative to both the power consumption of an appliance and the distance the current has to travel. So a lamp can be plugged into an outlet a few feet away with a #12 extension cord, but you'd want a #10 (or even bigger) to plug it in a few hundred feet away, depending on the voltage drop. A microwave or AC would need a #10 cord for a short distance and a #8 for a greater distance, again, depending on the voltage drop.
My RV is currently plugged into an outlet 150' away using a series of extension cords. Sound dangerous? Not at all. I use #6 extension cords and monitor the voltage. As long as I'm around the 120V reading the cord doesn't feel hot, all is good.
Also, always fully extend an extension cord; do not use it coiled up.
Useable and safe electrical outlets to run the major appliances provided with your unit is all that the landlord is required to provide. He does not have to upgrade the entire electrical system. It's not a tenant right. If you want to rent in an older building, make note first of the outlets and their availability. You can also ask questions about the last inspection etc. before you move in, to make sure that the space can handle your electronics.
Anyone know WHY it is such a bad idea to put an extension cord to permanent use? We live in an old house and would have some seriously weird lamp placement if it were not for extension cords. We also would not be able to place a fan in our bedroom window without the extension.
I never have more than two lamps per cord and it is rare both would be on at the same time. Lamps with one 75 watt bulb and simple fans don't draw much power. The cords run behind furniture so they don't get stepped on, and they are not covered over with rugs. What is the problem here?
Now, when we moved in the WASHER was set up via extension cord! That we remedied ASAP and didn't use the washer until it could be plugged in properly. We don't have our computer, microwave or toaster on extensions either.
no mention of running one under the carpet, so I guess I am OK ;-)
Oh God. We all do this, don't we?
We live in a condo built in the early 70's, and we have a woefully small number of outlets in each room. People just didn't have as much to plug in back then, so we break all these rules!
Our bedroom only has two outlets, on opposite walls from each other and in the middle of the wall. How do you plug in two bedside lamps and two alarm clocks to an outlet in the middle of the wall behind the headboard of your bed without an extension cord or two? Plus that's where the cable enters our unit, so that's where the cable and phone modems live, each needing power as well!
Our living room is the same, and our giant mess of an entertainment station is all plugged into one outlet via multiple surge bars. It's disgusting, but necessary!
To exacerbate the lack of outlets, we also have too few fuses (yes, fuses!) and so have things like the dishwasher and the a/c unit on the same breaker. Can't run them both at the same time...!
@Sggvt04, That dying project has been retracted from the Rit Dye site and has widely been exposed as a bad idea. Although I have to say I tried it, keeping the ends out of the dye... and the dye never took.
My entire apartment is run on one 15 amp fuse. Seriously. There is one outlet in the bedroom and one outlet in the living room. The kitchen has 2 outlets in an essentially useless location and another behind the fridge. I have no choice but to use extension cords on a permanent basis. I never thought about power in an apartment before I moved into this place. It's now on my "must-check" list for my next apartment.
My apartment was wired so that the switches in each room power a specific outlet that is strangely placed. For instance, the light switch in the bedroom powers not the main outlet (next to my main light), but the bedside outlet (next to my reading lamp, alarm clock, etc.). So I'm stuck using extension cords so that the lights are plugged into the outlets that are connected with the switches, and other appliances (TV, computer, alarm clock) are not. I know it's bad practice, but whoever did the wiring in the apartment obviously didn't consider furniture placement. And since I'm not the homeowner, and the landlord won't change anything -- no cost/benefit to her to do so -- I really have no choice.
The previous owners of my house did 100% of their remodeling using extension cords instead of romex -- or proper conduit, in the case of the 100 ft. non-grounded extension cord they ran underground across the back yard to power an equally bad waterfall.
Everything looked good on the surface, so our inspector signed it off when we bought the house, but the moment we cracked into the wall we realized how horribly they did EVERYTHING.
So it's okay if I use the power strip to protect against surges, but it's not okay if I use the exact same power strip because one of the cords is four inches too short and I need the extra reach? How does my intent factor into an otherwise identical wiring scheme?
@ MSPICKY, landlord-tenant law is typically a combination of local and state ordinance in the US, so it's not necessarily accurate to say all landlords are only required to provide "useable and safe electrical outlets to run the major appliances provided with your unit". That may be true in your location, but in my city, landlords are required to provide a specified number of outlets per room and all the wiring has to be up to the most recent electrical code. And that's in any existing building - the specifications for new buildings are more stringent.
Tenants would do well to actually look up their local laws instead of relying on their landlord's claims, their friend's opinions, or strangers on the internet that may or may not even live in the same country.
Another one of those scare-tactic posts. There's nothing wrong with using extension cords if you use common sense. Like, don't slam windows/doors into into them. Duh. And, as a previous poster says, make sure they're the right gauge. A heavy duty cord (those orange guys) is pretty indestructable unless you take a knife to it.
Lamps use minimum amount of electricity (< 100w), so any cord will do. Same for most laptops. A lamp cord cannot, repeat cannot get hot enough to be a danger even if under a carpet. The stories you hear are almost always either space heaters (1500w) or a/cs (1000w) or kitchen appliances like fryers or toaster-ovens (1750w), all of which use heavy current. Even then, a short heavy duty cord is perfectly safe.
@Travelingrae, or anyone else: How do I know what gauge the cord is? Does it say it on it somewhere? The only number I've ever looked at is the length of the cord. I've got an A/C on a short extension cord right now, and I'd like to check out if I'm safe.
@TravelingRae
This post omits the number one mistake people make when using an extension cord: not selecting a cord with the right gauge for the job.
[....]
Also, always fully extend an extension cord; do not use it coiled up.
If extension cords should always be used fully extended and the necessary gauge is dependent on the distance between the device and the outlet, it seems like it would only be possible to pick the wrong gauge because manufacturers are not making extension cords properly. Or that is what I'm getting out of your post.
I don't see anything here about plugging an extension cord into another extension cord to create more length, but I know that is a very unsafe practice. An electrician explained it to me once (didn't understand any of the terms he used) but then demonstrated by plugging a table lamp with a 100W bulb into an extension cord, and then plugged that cord into another extension cord. While they were not hot enough to melt or start a fire, I could feel a definite warmth in the extension cords. Certainly made me remember that warning! And while I agree that this post on AT might seem like overreaction, where my safety and the safety of my family is concerned I am more than willing to observe this type of guideline.
@ lepidoptery - I believe that gauge is related to the thickness of the wire, not to the length of the cord. The gauge of the wire should be on the packaging - gauge is usually abbreviated "G". The higher the number, the thinner the wire.
LOL Dreamydeary. This is one of those, "Someone told me, so it must be true" dealios.
I agree - some fear-mongering here.
When I bought my house, each upstairs room had a single plug. The clever previous owner had run a spiderweb of extension cords along all the baseboards, up over the doorways... and then stapled them down to the trim. This provided the extra delight to me of ripping UP those staples and cords, sending lead dust flakes into the air, and then using soap and water to wash up the grime of 40 years, which the wife had been unable to clean because of the spiderweb. ::SIGH::
What can I say? They were 85, and their house never burned down. I wouldn't repeat their mistakes, but I don't think running an extra couple feet of cord curses you to imminent death.
This, combined with a recent house fire in my neighborhood caused by overheated electrical wires in a crawl space on a hot day, is now giving me totally irrational anxiety about my neighbors burning down our apartment building with my pets inside.
At any rate, some of these seem a bit over the top; I'm sure running a cord out so that you can hang out in your yard with a fan for the afternoon probably won't burn your house down. If you have a baby, or a pet who likes to wander around licking stuff, then yeah you should take the necessary precautions, but it seems like the more serious electrical cord misuse seems like pretty common sense type stuff. Now, if only I felt sure that everyone had common sense...
@midcentfan
I understand that gauge is diameter, but @TravelingRae suggests that the necessary gauge goes up with the length needed, and also that extension cords should be used fully-extended. By that logic, a manufacturer should never make a cord that has an insufficient gauge for its length => a consumer should not be able to buy the wrong gauge (at least, on the lower end...) Probably they meant that a lamp requires less gauge than a refrigerator, and also you need to account for the distance, but they didn't put it out there.
@ck8go That's why we just break off the 3rd prong (grounder). It still works fine. ;)
"(In the case of surge protectors, it's OK if you're using it as a device to protect equipment from unexpected surges in voltage and not to merely extend the reach of a cord.)"
I'm calling BS. what's the difference between extending the reach and protecting your equipment? the outcome is the same.
@ck8go That's why we just break off the 3rd prong (grounder). It still works fine. ;)
POSTED BY CEEDMONSON ON 08.15.12 AT 12:59PM
OMG I was just going to post about that, my sister did that to use a Shop Vac with an extension cord.
What I'm saying about gauge (yes, the diameter of the cable) is that it has to be matched to the current run through the cable. A lamp uses is less power hungry than an AC.
As for cords being used fully extended, if they are coiled, they will heat up and can melt.
As for stringing cords together, no problem as long as you remember that extra length means a drop in voltage. So increase the gauge of the wiring to make up for that voltage drop.
Oh, and in reply to lepidoptery, you can absolutely buy the wrong gauge. Gauge is relative to wattage, which is power consumption. The more power hungry the device, the smaller the gauge/bigger the diameter of the cord.
Go spend some time in the electrical cord department of your nearest box store and read the packaging. You will see light usage cords, probably 12 or 14 gauge for lights and the light; medium usage cords, probably 10 gauge, for power tools, ACs, and microwaves; and heavy usage cords, 8 gauge or smaller, for big equipment.
If you don't want to learn about electricity and figure out how to use a multimeter, then there's the heat test. If your cord heats up when used with an appliance, that cord's gauge is too big/diameter is too small, and you need to move to a heavier cord.
I think something that posters may find confusing, is how gauge is measured. People are saying "You need in INCREASE the gauge", but then get confused by the numbers, because an increase in gauge means the numbers go DOWN.
Smaller gauge number = thicker cord (more capacity)
I know it's counter intuitive at first, you just need to remember that little numbers mean fatter cords. A higher number is a skinnier cord, for lighter use. Short and fat is always safer than long and skinny (but not always needed, just a good rule to remember.)
Hope that helps! (It's OK, it confused the heck out of me at first, too.)
;-)
Thanks, Annie-O, for bringing some sense to this conversation. When weed-eating around my home, I dangle an extension cord out the bathroom window so I can attack weeds around my heat pump. However, I use an outdoor-approved extension cord, and it goes back in the house on its reel as soon as I'm finished.