FROM THE LOFT
Look before you plug in
Electrical Safety First says lights can become unsafe after a year packed away. Check for damage and loose wires, and replace a faulty set rather than repairing it.
Check your setWHAT THE SAFETY GUIDANCE SAYS
Lights on,
risks off.
The box from the loft has been through a year of knocks.
SWITCH OFF at bedtime
10 of 12 Low-cost sets that failed UK rules
- Check before you plug in
- Buy to the standard
- Unplug at night
- Three habits, a safer season
Fairy lights are one of the cheeriest parts of December and one of its fire risks. UK electrical and fire safety guidance comes down to a few checks before you plug in and one habit at bedtime.
THE SHORT ANSWER
Check, buy right,
switch off.
Most of the guidance is about three moments:
unpacking, buying and going to bed.
OUTDOORS
Outdoor lights, RCD socket
Only use lights made for outdoor use, connect them through a 30mA RCD protected socket, and keep plugs and transformers indoors.
Set them up
BEDTIME
Off and unplugged
Fire safety campaigns repeat one habit: switch off and unplug fairy lights before you go to bed or leave the house.
See the numbersA QUICK LIGHTS CHECK
What are you
about to do?
Pick a moment to see what the guidance says. The bar shows how much care that moment calls for.
Based on Electrical Safety First's Christmas lights checklist and the government's Fire Kills campaign advice. General safety information, not professional electrical advice.
FOUR STEPS BEFORE YOU SWITCH ON
A safe glow,
start to finish.
None of these needs tools or an electrician. They follow Electrical Safety First's always-and-never list and the Fire Kills campaign tips.
Read the instructions
Follow the maker's instructions, and never plug lights in while they are still in the packaging.
Check the chain
Look for damage and loose wires, and never remove or insert bulbs while the chain is connected.
One plug per socket
Avoid overloading sockets and do not join different lighting sets together.
Keep a working smoke alarm
Fire Kills advises a working smoke alarm on every level of the home, tested weekly.
TWO NUMBERS WORTH KNOWING
Cheap can cost,
LEDs save.
One figure on what testing found online,
one on how LEDs compare.
10 of 12
Low-cost sets that failed UK rules
Which? tested Christmas lights costing £15 or under from online marketplaces in November 2022. Ten of the 12 sets failed the Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations and could not legally be sold in the UK.
ONLINE SETS · WHICH? 2022
80–90% less
Electricity saved compared with filament
Electrical Safety First estimates LED Christmas lights use 80-90% less electricity than filament lamps and typically last up to 60 times longer.
LED LIGHTS · ELECTRICAL SAFETY FIRST
In a 2023 product safety report, the Office for Product Safety and Standards found a fairy light control box that broke in impact tests and circuit board gaps of 1.4mm, below the 1.5mm minimum, and required the product's withdrawal.
WHY IT MATTERS
Decorations are
extra fuel.
Government fire safety campaigns point out that dry trees, decorations and wrapped presents can all help a fire spread, and name unsafe electrical decorations and overloaded plugs among the causes.
The advice is to keep decorations, cards and wrapping paper away from candles, fires, lights and heaters, and to check that tree lights conform to a British or European standard.
Questions
Questions people ask
Should I leave fairy lights on overnight?
No. Electrical Safety First and the government's Fire Kills campaign both say to switch lights off and unplug them before you go to bed or leave the house.
Are LED Christmas lights safer than old filament ones?
Electrical Safety First recommends LEDs: they work at extra-low voltage, which reduces the risk of electric shock, and generate little heat, which reduces the risk of fire and burns.
Can I use indoor lights outside?
No. Use lights outdoors only if they are designed for it, connect them through a 30mA RCD protected socket, and keep plugs and transformers indoors even when the lights themselves are outdoor rated.
Can I fix a broken set of lights?
The guidance says not to try to repair faulty lights but to replace them, and never to use lights that are damaged or faulty.
How do I know if lights I bought are safe?
Look for instructions and markings such as electrical ratings, and check they conform to the British Standard. The government publishes product safety alerts, reports and recalls on GOV.UK.
Where the facts come from
Updated
- Electrical Safety First: Are your Christmas lights safe? (published by EA Health Well)
- GOV.UK: It only takes a minute for Christmas to go up in smoke (Fire Kills, 2010)
- GOV.UK: Chief Fire Adviser urges fire safe behaviour over the festive period (2011)
- Which?: Illegal Christmas lights sold on online marketplaces (December 2022)
- GOV.UK / OPSS: Product safety report on LED fairy string lights (2208-0283)
- GOV.UK: Product safety alerts, reports and recalls