Brits warned NOT to run appliances overnight due to fire risk | The Sun

FIRE safety campaigners are warning Brits not to leave appliances running overnight.

The advice follows the news that households could be paid to put their appliances on at off-peak hours to prevent winter blackouts.

Putting your appliances on as you go to bed could slash your energy bills this winter – but it comes with a major risk.

Several suppliers already offer cheaper nighttime Economy 7 and 10 tariffs which promote energy usage during the evening.

And now suppliers are pushing new schemes to encourage households to use their appliances during off-peak hours.

But fire safety experts have warned this could pose a danger to your family.

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The charity Electrical Safety First has said that it's essential households mitigate the risk of fire if they choose to leave their appliances on at night.

This is because if you do run your appliances at night, you are less likely to notice if something goes wrong – particularly if they catch fire.

There were 27,019 house fires reported between 2020/21 of which 1,330 were caused by faulty appliances, according to the Home Office.

Over 225 deaths from fires were reported in the same period.

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Martyn Allen, technical director of Electrical Safety First said: "Households must ensure their appliances are not subject to a recall, that cables are not damaged and that filters are regularly cleaned to reduce a build-up of lint.

"It is also important to ensure that households have a working smoke alarm on every floor in your house, as it could save your life."

You can find a useful list of recalled products on the UK government's product recall web page.

The London Fire Brigade suggests that households turn off as many appliances as they can, apart from those which need to stay on such as fridges before you go to bed.

The London Fire Brigade recommends that households do the following before they go to bed:

• Close all doors as this can help to prevent fire and smoke from spreading.
• Switch off and unplug electrical items such as TVs.
• Avoid charging devices like mobile phones when you sleep.
• Make sure any candles are out before you go to bed.
• Check your cooker and heaters are turned off.

But if you must use your appliances in the evening, households should have working smoke alarms in their living room, bedroom, landing and hallways as well as a heat alarm in the kitchen.

According to the London Fire Brigade, heat alarms are beneficial because they detect an increase in temperature caused by fire but will not be set off by cooking fumes.

Which appliances should you avoid running at night?

According to Electrical Safety First, anything that’s mains operated in theory presents a level of risk but what’s important is that households do what they practically can to reduce that risk.

Households considering running anything at night should ensure their appliances are registered with the manufacturer, checked to ensure they are not subject to a recall, filters cleared and that their home has working smoke alarms on every floor.

In the event that a fire does occur at night – a person’s response time is likely to be severely impacted and delayed – which is why it’s so important to ensure you have a working smoke alarm on every floor of your house.

And if you think there might be a problem with your appliance, unplug it and contact the retailer, manufacturer or a qualified repair technician, as appropriate.

Other ways to cut energy bills

Some energy suppliers offer tariffs that will pay you if you generate your own renewable energy and it goes back to the grid.

One man already proved he could make a difference to his power bill by using a clever trick.

The electric car owner shared how he cut his energy bill to almost zero by selling power back to the National Grid.

Running appliances including dishwashers, washing machines and tumble dryers on economy mode will help slash your bills by up to £100 a year.

Households could save up to £100 a year by reducing their boiler flow temperatures.

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And upgrading your thermostat to a smart version could save you as much as £164 a year – it'll connect your heating system to the internet so you can turn down temperatures on your smartphone while you're out and about.

Making sure your home is insulated too is important.

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