The Festive Season and Your Electrical Safety

The Festive Season is upon us. It’s this time of year that families gather together to decorate the house, put up the tree, and cover their homes in colourful lights and decorations. For many families, a favourite Christmas tradition is driving around their town, marvelling at the Christmas lights that adorn each home.

While The Yuletide is commonly accepted to be the Most Wonderful Time of the Year, it’s worth remembering that electrical faults are one of the top three causes of house fires – and during the Festive Season, the chances of faults can be higher with the increased use of Christmas Lights and Fairy Lights.

The solution to this, of course, is not to avoid hanging lights or decorating your tree. The Festive Season should be bright, colourful, and full of life, so we’ve compiled a few tips to help you stay safe this Christmas Season.

Electrical Tips for Christmas:

1. Don’t use any more than 3 standard sets of lights for one power board

It takes a good amount of power to make those pretty twinkling lights, so a great way to make sure you don’t overload the electrical system in your home and cause a problem is to limit the number of lights plugged into a single power board. Use no more than 3 in each.

2. Turn your lights off before bed

Leaving lights on for long periods of time, such as overnight, can cause them to overheat. This increases your risk of electrical faults and fires. Make sure you turn your lights off before bedtime. You’ll be saving money on your power bill, too!

3. Get Battery Powered or Solar Lights Where Possible

Battery Powered or Solar lights don’t use the home’s electricity, so not only will you be saving money on your power bill, but you’ll be lowering your risk of lights overheating as they are low voltage and give off less heat than traditional electrical lights.

4. LED Lights

If you can’t get solar or battery powered, try LED Lights. They’ll save you money and they don’t get as hot as electrical lights.

5. Use Common Safety Practices

While Christmas is the Season of Giving, it’s important not to give your children the opportunity to get a hold of matches or candles. Remember to keep your tree away from warm areas, like heaters or fireplaces, and keep your lights away from combustible material as much as possible.

One of the most important things to remember this Yuletide Season is to ensure that your Smoke Alarms are in good and working order, so you’re prepared. While these steps can decrease your chances of electrical faults, Smoke Alarms save lives, so reach out to Zehn Electrical today and ask us to get your smoke alarms Christmas-ready.

Resources

http://www.mfb.vic.gov.au/News/Fire-Chiefs-warn-about-dangers-of-Christmas-lights.html