The Importance of Electrical Safety at Christmas

The festive season is almost upon us! This wonderful time of year where people all around the world decorate their houses, from the classic Christmas trees to extravagant full house displays. However, you choose to celebrate this Christmas, you need to be aware of the electrical dangers that become apparent at this time of year. Take a few minutes to read our Christmas safety tips to help ensure preventable accident doesn’t take the fun out of your celebrations especially this year as we will all be making up for lost family Christmas’ s due to COVID.

Precautions Whilst Putting Up Your Christmas Decorations

Most people will only use their Christmas lights once a year; therefore, it’s extremely important they are tested prior to being put up again, additionally, if your old Christmas lights have been stored in cold damp conditions such as the garage, lofts, sheds etc all year, it’s even more important to check them for damage. The golden rule is if they are damaged, might be damaged or if you are unsure the best advice is to replace them with new energy efficient LED ones. These will both save you money on your electric bill and help reduce your carbon footprint and help slow down global warming.

Here are a few simple precautionary checks to carry out when fitting your Christmas lights

• Always read the instructions and retain them for future use.
• Check that your Christmas lights are not damaged before fitting them, if any of the lights have failed or are damaged replace with the lights.
• Ensure all your outdoor lighting is connected to an RCD protected socket, this reduces the risk of electric shock and fires. Also, make sure any electrics outside are plugged into weatherproof IP rated sockets. (Only use electrical items that are designed and rated for outdoor use).
• Never overload power sockets, this can lead to overheating and fires.
• Ensure you turn your lights off when you are asleep or out of the house, alternatively, put them on a timer to make sure you don’t forget.

The electrical safety council now recommend the use of LED lights over traditional filament or lantern lights, this is because:

• They operate at extra low voltage, this significantly reduced the risk of electric shock
• They use 80-90% less electricity to run, this not only reduces the risk of overheating considerably, also reducing the amount of electricity used.
• They are made of more durable material because there is no filament, reducing the chance of breakage.

Help Preventing Christmas Tree Fires

The majority of fires started by Christmas trees are caused by electrical problems, here are a few things you can do to ensure a fire doesn’t start in your home:

• If you do opt for an artificial Christmas tree, choose one that is fire resistant.
• Ensure all your smoke alarms are working (you should test it once a month regardless of the time of year). If you don’t have any please buy some and get them installed.
• Water your tree daily to prevent it drying out, dry trees are more likely to catch alight.
• Check your Christmas tree lights for damaged and replace if any are damaged is found.
• Switch your Christmas tree lights off before leaving the house or going to bed.
• Keep your tree a safe distance away from any heat source especially any open fires.
• If you have pets or young children, don’t leave them unsupervised near your tree.