• Leaf blower: Choose a 14-gauge medium-duty cord for a higher amp.
• Table lamp: An 18-gauge, light-duty, two-prong, light-duty extension cord. It can handle up to 7 amps up to 25 feet power.
• Laptop computer: A 14-gauge, medium-duty, three-prong like c13 power cord is an ideal choice.
• Treadmill: Go with a cord made specifically for treadmills like the 9-foot Tread cord.
• Circular saw: Choose a 12-gauge heavy-duty cord, which will cover up to 100 feet from the outlet.
• Indoor/outdoor vacuum: 16-gauge cord for indoor and 12-gauge for outdoor.
• Holiday lights: Use a 16-gauge cord for 25 feet, or 14-gauge for more than 25 feet.
• Bug zapper: All you need is a 16-gauge extension cord to keep the lamp cooking.
• Portable compressor: A 10-gauge heavy-duty extension cord to let you put air in a tire up to 100 feet away from an outlet.
• Workshop: Choose a 14-gauge c13 power cord, which powers most tools. While buying, make sure the model comes with multiple outlets so you can plug in more than one tool.

Looking to buy a suitable power cord? Here is all you need to know.

https://create.piktochart.com/output/41010277-everything-you-should-know-about-power-cords-infographic

Battery technology is getting better, but it is nowhere close to perfect. At the end of each day - if not at mid-day - we have to plug in our devices to be able to use them again. The devices that we have to plug in are only increasing every day, from our phones and laptops to our cars! Even the much-hyped wireless charging devices are not exactly wireless. Not yet anyway. This takes me to say that the most essential gadget of all time is a power cable!

Every little thing requires a power cable to transfer electricity to the device. More often than not, the supplied power cord is too short or you have more devices to charge than power sockets available. This is where power extension cords come in.

Extension cords come in various shapes and sizes, offering outlets from one to more than five in compact sizes. You can plug in a number of low voltage items in it, from mobile phones and laptops to televisions and toasters.

If you look at one household’s devices, each member has their mobile phones; there may be one or two tablets, and one or more laptops or desktop computers. Then there is a television, an internet router, and perhaps a smart speaker. All of these make up close to 10 gadgets, some of which need to be plugged in at all times. This requires the use of one or more than one extension cord. As with everything, they come in multiple levels of quality.

With this, comes the issue of too many appliances plugged into one electrical outlet by extension (pun intended!)

However, since you are still going to need power extension cords, let’s look at some of the factors you should keep in mind before buying one:

• Grounding:

Since this extension cord will have increased electricity flowing through it, you must make sure that it has an earthing prong. This protects both you and your devices from occasional fluctuations in electric current.

• Outlet design:

Since this is a multipurpose tool, it is beneficial to have grounding port for each outlet, so that you have the flexibility to put in a two-prong plug or a three-pronged plug. The outlets should also be far apart to accommodate several types of plug designs.

• International compatibility:

Make sure that your power extension cord is travel proof. European regions have double the voltage than North America does. So you want to make sure to get an extension that you can safely use on your travels.

• Surge protection:

The extension cord needs to be able to handle occasional electricity surges so that all of your plugged-in devices are not affected by it. There are a lot of negative consequences of access electricity to your devices. They could catch fire or explode, which could cause you both physical and financial harm.

Extensions can come in handy not only when you need to charge devices in a hurry, but also in other situations when you want to establish permanent setups in and around your house.

• Connected home:

The most basic requirement of a house is the internet connection. If you have a mesh network, then you have to plug in the main hub right next to it. You can also plug in your television and streaming device into this power strip.

• Workstation:

Your workstation has everything that you need for work. This can have your computer, an external monitor if you require, speakers, a lamp, a charging setup for your tablet, laptop, mobile, and Bluetooth headphones.

• Kitchen appliances:

Kitchens have many appliances that depend on electricity, and for convenience, a permanent setup is a way to go. You can use one extension power cord to plug in a toaster, blender, coffee machine, and mixer. With these gadgets in place, you can handle cooking and baking with ease and efficiency.

The devices you will use are only going to increase, and so will the power cables. Start buying smart power management tools and learn the art of cable management because cables are definitely here to stay!

Wireless charging can be the focus of all ads, but we all know that that charger requires a cable. Read here to know how all of your charging solutions lie in the power extension cord.

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Two Prong Vs Three Prong Plugs

• 16 AWG

Mostly known as the orange extension cord, you can find them in your garage or basement or similar establishments. It has a maximum output of 10 to 13 amps depending on the length of the cord. It is ideal to handle power tools, electric trimmers, and other household devices. Although there will be a noticeable drop in power at lengths exceeding 50 ft because of its thin wire gauge.

• 14 AWG

These power cords have the ability to supply maximum of 15 amps from a household outlet up to 50ft. These cords are usually perfect to power devices that tend to draw higher amounts of power such as dehumidifiers, power equipment, and other devices. Just because of their length versatility, they are ideal for household devices.

• 12 AWG

The 12-gauge extension cords are most suitable for contractors and other related settings. Specially designed for power tools and other devices, they enable easy data flow. Its thicker wire gauge provides them with the 100ft usage. And that too without any drop in power. When accessibility to outlets is minimal, they can extend to long lengths.

• 10 AWG

The 10 AWG power cords are not for the standard household systems. They are excellent for powering an RV, boat, fridge, electric vehicle, and so on from a standard household outlet. The thick 10-gauge wire would make sure to render maximum power to the devices with lengths up to 100ft. away.

We Use The Wrong Gauge Extension Cord

Outer Jacket

• S - Service Grade (Also extra hard service when not followed by J, V, or P)
• J - Hard Service
• E - Thermoplastic elastomer (Only UL/NEC designation)
• O - Oil Resistant
• W - Outdoors which includes sunlight resistant jacket and wet location rated conductors

• Make sure to unplug the cord when not in use. They should be only in use as a temporary electric solution.
• It is important to use the correct extension cord. Do not make it a mistake by using outdoor-rated cords indoors.
• Never overload or plug one extension cord into another.
• Make sure to store these extension cords indoors in a cool, dry place.
• Do not place carpet or rugs over an extension cord.
• When you connect it, make sure it is fully into the socket. Also, never force extension into a socket where it does not fit.

As a consumer who uses a computer for basic tasks like managing a small to medium work database, or some light content editing that is mostly text, you can simply use the new all-in-one type of laptops in the market. One that folds into tablet mode for touch screen web scrolling, and has a full keyboard to type out long emails, or make content strategies. But if you have ever tried to edit video or stream games on one of those laptops, you know that we are slightly far from eliminating a full size, customizable desktop setup.

A customizable desktop setup gives you the freedom to use whatever monitor you want, a keyboard you are comfortable with, a mouse that doesn’t make you hate scrolling and speakers that actually sound like they are trying to put in some work. The processor, RAM, and storage should cater to your requirements too.

The most important thing about a customizable setup is that you can switch out anything you want, whenever! No need to compromise on anything.

A crucial part of this setup is your monitor. You can have one that has widescreen, or you can have a setup with more than one monitor or even a wide curved monitor. The choice is all yours. We are here to talk about the various things that you might want to connect to these monitors.

These monitors can be additional screens sometimes, not necessarily connected to any input devices, but simply as an output device, because of various reasons.

USB-C cables power them, or standard c14 power cords depending on what your requirement is. USB-C powered monitors are still new, and they can transfer both power as well as video through the same cable. However, since not everything that you might want to connect to a monitor uses USB-C yet, you need to have a monitor that has dedicated power input and more than one type of input ports.

Let’s take a look at some of the things you can connect to a monitor and how you can connect them:

CPU:

If you want to connect a CPU to a monitor, you will have a display cable that connects it, according to what ports your CPU and monitor have. They vary from old VGA ports to new USB-C ports, with DIV, and HDMI in between. The great thing about this is that you are not limited to using a particular CPU. You can connect any CPU you like.

Camera:

You cannot view or edit pictures on the small screen of a camera. So you will have to connect it to a monitor. Most cameras come equipped with HDMI mini, USB-B or USB-C ports now, so you would need to connect it to the monitor via a display cable that has compatible connectors.

Tablet:

A monitor can act as either an extended screen of a tablet or an additional screen. In both cases, it connects to the monitor via a video connector with a compatible cable. As tablets get more and better features in terms of the processor or touch display, they still have a smaller screen, which is not always enough to show off its computational power. So an external monitor is how you can see the output of all that power. This is a great option if you are editing a video clip or putting together a presentation.

Another monitor:

Very long video or audio files are much easier to edit when you can see them in detail. So you can add a second monitor to your setup using computer monitor cables, which can act as an extension. It gives you a much better idea when you are editing and helps keep things less cluttered. It is also easier to work if you are someone who needs to have multiple windows open and need to be able to view all of them at once. It increases your screen real estate.

There are plenty of reasons that you will need a monitor, but with monitor comes a whole lot of other computer monitor cables that you need to keep at hand to connect it to anything you may require. If you need to input plenty of different devices into a monitor then it only makes sense to buy one that has a dedicated power input from c14 power cord, because while a single port monitor is new and that’s where the future might be going, it is not practical right now, because not everything is USB-C yet.

This Article is Originally posted here; How to Use an External Monitor for a Better Working Experience

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