Extension cords are essential in providing power to places in your house that don’t have access to sockets. Read on to find out more about these useful tools.
What Is an Extension Cord?
An extension cord is a cord that contains a socket end and a plug end. The plug is connected to a wall socket and effectively extends the range of the socket by bringing the power to the socket end. Extension cords can have one or more sockets as well as other ports such as USB ports.
Why Should You Use Extension Cords?
You can bring power to places without an outlet
They’re called extension cords for a reason. Extension cords provide access to power in places that don’t have sockets. Take, for example, a single room. The room has a socket on the north end of the room, but that’s also where your bed is. Meanwhile, you want to install a computer on the south side of the room. It’s impossible to plug in the computer directly to the wall socket as the monitor and PC power cables are usually too short to reach an entire room in length.
The solution for this is simple - plug in an extension cord, run it to the south side of the room, and plug in your computer through there. This effectively allows you to place your computer anywhere you’d like, allowing you to rearrange your room in the future if you wish to do so.
You can plug in multiple appliances at once
We mentioned earlier that more and more appliances require electricity to function. And this is the case when it comes to complex systems such as desktop computer setups and server rooms. Most homes just don’t have enough wall sockets to support one or two monitors, a PC, a pair of speakers, and other devices all in one room.
With extension cords, you can plug everything into effectively just one socket. The socket distributes the electricity across all the connected devices, allowing you to run multiple devices with just one wire. Do note, however, that you’ll need some fairly heavy-duty extension cords if you want to plug in demanding devices together.
Tips to Remember When Using an Extension Cord
Extension cords are actually pretty dangerous if not set up properly, and you’ll need to remember a few things when plugging everything in.
Don’t plug in extension cords on extension cords
If you’re running out of sockets in a given room, it can be tempting to plug in an extension cord or power strip on one of the outlets of an existing power strip or extension cord. However, this is actually very dangerous. “Daisy chaining”, as it’s sometimes called, can lead to some pretty dire consequences.
Technically, plugging in extension cords together is possible, but the risks far outweigh the rewards. You need the extension cords to be plugged directly into the socket, not into another cord. If you need more sockets in a given room, the best alternative is to simply buy a power strip with more open sockets to use.
Plug in as few intensive appliances as possible
Power strips and extension cords are designed to handle a lot of electricity without surging or short-circuiting. But that doesn’t mean the possibility is zero, and you want to make sure you minimize the risk of your devices getting damaged or you getting harmed. A simple way to do this is by limiting the number of demanding and power-hungry appliances plugged into a power strip.
Examples of power-hungry appliances include portable heaters, flood lights, large speakers, that sort of thing. Unlike chargers or simple appliances such as a hairdryer, these devices require a lot of power to run, so to make sure your power strip isn’t overburdened, try limiting such appliances from being plugged into the power strip.
Extension Cord Price Range
Extension cords can vary in price depending on the number of sockets provided as well as the inclusion of other features such as USB ports. You can buy a simple, one-socket extension cord for just over $10, or a larger power strip for $20 or more.
Extension Cord FAQ
Q: Are extension cords safe?
A: As long as they’re properly and safely set up, extension cords can be very safe to use.
Q: Can I chain extension cords together?
A: While it is technically possible, many experts recommend against doing so for safety reasons.
Q: Why do I need an extension cord?
A: Extension cords are useful because of two reasons. For one, they can provide power to areas where sockets aren’t present. Secondly, they often increase the number of sockets available, allowing you to plug in more devices to the system at once.