Keep Your Home and Family Super Safe This Christmas

Buzz Electrical • Dec 05, 2019

It’s one of the exciting Christmas rituals, getting out the decorations and lights. Typically 9 in 10 UK homes are decorated every year and 4 out of 5 Brits admit going ‘over the top’ with this tradition.

However, despite our enthusiasm for adorning our homes – less than a quarter*of us think about the impact this might have on the electrics in our home.

Not surprisingly, the increase in decorative lights requires the use of multiple sockets and extension leads, and very few of us realise that this could be a danger to our family.

“Electrical safety in the home is important at any time of the year, but at Christmas we tend to forget that all the decorative lights we use around the home massively increase the dangers to our family. Just grabbing old lights from the loft and plugging them in isn’t acceptable. Everyone needs to be aware of the dangers and take into account the risks when getting competitive with the neighbours.” explains Tony Cable, Senior Events Engineer for NICEIC and ELECSA.

Further causes for concern include repeatedly using lights year in year out that are not properly checked, lights used for 5 years or more and Brits not understanding the British Safety Kitemark.

Steve Owen, MD of Buzz Electrical explains “With lighting going up in the garden and in the house, the usual issue is over-loading on sockets. Try and avoid this by not using extension leads or splitters where high currents are involved and a great idea is to use external festive lighting which is LED type; this is much lower power consumption which reduces the risk of overloading cables and socket power supplies”

Over-loading can cause fires.”

Dominika Roseclay for Pexels

Brits are advised to think safety first when decorating their home this Christmas. NICEIC and ELECSA have identified the top five tips to ensure your home is electrically safe this Christmas;

Don’t overload sockets – Try to avoid extensive use of extension sockets and adapters. Do not plug multiple extensions into each other.
Do not re-wire your lights – Many homeowners will be tempted, or have already rewired lights to include 2, 3 or sometimes 4 sets of lights into a single plug. This is dangerous and causes a potential fire risk.
Make sure lights you use outside are certified safe for external use - Only use outdoor lights that have been specifically designed to be used outdoors. If you are unsure check the manufacturers’ instructions.
Do not leave lights on for long periods – Many homes will be tempted to keep lights on for 24 hours, overnight or even more concerning, leave them on when they go out. All Christmas lights increase the risk of fire and overloading and should only be switched on whilst you are at home.
Always use Christmas lights that have been certified for use – This can be identified by the European Standards Symbol (represented by a CE) and the British Standards Kitemark. If in doubt, don’t use them. Always buy lights from reputable stores.

If anyone is concerned about the safety of their home electrics, or would like to obtain professional advice about their Christmas lights, they can visit www.niceic.com/safechristmas to find the latest advice and tips.

At Buzz Electrical we’re happy to offer any advice too or for work that requires a registered electrician contact us at info@buzzelectrical.co.uk or call 01386 423600.

*NICEIC and ELECSA Research into Safety in Homes at Christmas 2015