you can run a cord for short term just don't go cheap. Heavy gauge wire costs more per foot with a better outdoor cover. I recommend a 10/3 (10 gauge wire) 15A I use this to supply power to my shed since I am too cheap and lazy to trench out a real line. I use a compressor and see no dimming (power draw) in my old flourecent lights. The outer coating is UV resistant and I am on year 15 with it. Awesome for power outages since our neighborhood has thevens on one transformer and the odds on the other. After more than a few hurricanes that baby has snaked across the street to borrow/give power. The orange cords are good for LED christmas lightsWhen I needed to add an electrical run to the new greenhouse in my back yard a few years ago the electrician I hired drilled a hole in the side wall of my stucco house and tapped into the electrical outlet in one of the bedrooms to run the line. It only cost me about $150 (I dug the trench). It's been working well for a couple years now, not popping any breakers, etc.