Regarding one cord or two without regard to what you are going to put on it "this show". I never know what I will be putting on any particular controller from one year to the next since I often move items around in my yard to new locations. I think it is safer to put two cords on the controller and then if you have a small load on that controller, for any given show, just put both cords into one of the 3 way connectors that you can buy at any hardware store or Wally World. Now you are prepared no matter which way you want to go. I use mostly LEDs so not only could I use one cord, but I can put multiple controllers on one outlet, but better safe than sorry. We are not talking a lot of money here, especially compared to everything else we have in our inventories.