Don't Hang Outdoor Christmas Lights Till You’ve Read these 10 Safety Tips

“On the first day of Christmas Metropolitan gave to me, 10 safety tips for protecting the home and my family.”

Jokes aside, we’re serious about electrical safety and want to share some general advice for safely hanging outdoor Christmas lights that limit the risks of fire or electrical faults. Some of these tips are common sense. Others may be things you simply overlook or bear consequences that you don’t consider until it’s too late. This is especially true if it’s the first time you’ve decorated the exterior of your home for Christmas.

So, here are 10 essential tips for safely hanging outdoor Christmas lights.

1. Test Your Fairy Lights

Each year before hanging fairy lights, check them over for frayed wiring. If they appear to be in good condition, test them in an accessible powerpoint. You want to be certain they’ve not deteriorated after several years of use or are faulty straight out of the box.

It’s not uncommon to uncurl a set of fairy lights only to discover they no longer work. These lights are often cheaply made and designed around a closed circuit where the entire set stops working if one light fails.

You can test the lights using a handheld tool called a Multimeter. You may already have one in the shed. If not, they can be purchased from hardware and electronic stores for around $50. Use this handheld tool to discover which light is not working and replace it with a spare.

2. Buy Australian Compliant Fairy Lights

All Christmas lights sold in stores, including indoor Christmas lights, must comply with Australian standards. However, if you purchase cheap fairy lights online from overseas, you may find they don’t meet local safety standards. Sure, they will often work just as well. But if something went wrong and the lights caused a fire, home insurance may not cover the costs of damages.

So, for your family’s general safety and peace of mind, always purchase Australian-compliant Christmas lights.

3. Only Use Christmas Lights Rated for Outdoors

When you’re at the shop selecting outdoor Christmas lights, be sure they are rated for outdoor use. Don’t simply take the description at face value. Carefully read the Christmas light packaging and look for the IP Rating.

IP stands for Ingress Protection and describes a product’s resistance to moisture, dust and other foreign bodies. Indoor Christmas lights won’t have this rating. Use them outdoors and, if it starts raining or the air is humid, they could blow a fuse, start a fire or create an electrical hazard.

In Australia, outdoor equipment must have a rating of least IP23, but the higher, the better.

4. Don’t Overload the Power Supply

Connecting too many sets of lights or appliances to just one powerpoint can overload your power supply. This will most likely trip the safety switch in your meter box, but there’s also the potential for a plug or appliance to overheat and start a fire.

Most outdoor Christmas light displays are low voltage, which is expressed on the packaging. The rule of thumb is not to load a circuit over 80% capacity. This would require many lights, but if other appliances share the same powerpoint, it’s certainly possible to hit this percentage.

By checking the box that the lights came in, you’ll be able to learn the volts or watts of the set and use this to calculate the total amperage. With power boards, look for models with a built-in safety switch for an extra layer of security.

5. Use Waterproof Leads and Connectors

Your outdoor Christmas lights are only as protected from the rain as the leads that connect them. You’ll need waterproof extension leads that are suitably IP-rated for outdoor use, so pick up ones that comply with Australian standards.

You can also purchase weatherproof connectors; these are plastic casings used for protecting the connection between lights and extension leads. These covers are only a few dollars each at the shop and we find them well worth it for protection through wet weather.

6. Use Gutter Hooks for Fairy Lights

And while you’re at the shop picking up some weatherproof connectors, save yourself some serious hassle by also purchasing a packet of gutter hooks to hang your outdoor Christmas lights. These simple plastic clips are affordable, come in a range of sizes and save you the grief of potentially damaging your home.

Using gutter hooks, there’s no need to drill any surfaces, which could break bricks, crack concrete, and rust gutters. Especially when a packet of 100 or more of these hooks costs $6.50 at Bunnings. Instead, take the easy, safer way out as the festivities only last a few weeks each year.

7. Properly Secure and Elevate Lights

A little common sense goes a long way when hanging Christmas lights. Secure them to walls, trees or fences to ensure they don’t receive damage during high winds and storms. Rope and cable ties are cheap options, and tent pegs work well to attach larger lawn decorations.

When and where possible, always keep your Christmas lights elevated and don’t let them cross paths or driveways. This will help to avoid the risks of injury or damage to the decorations.

8. Ladder Safety

According to Brain Injuries Australia, ladder falls are the most common DIY injury. One in 10 incidents can result in a concussion or other intracranial injury. So, avoid becoming a statistic while hanging up your Christmas light displays.

Start by wearing non-slip footwear and work within your arm’s reach. Avoid leaning out and always maintain three points of contact with the ladder at all times. Use two hands when climbing, and never climb higher than the second step from the top of an A-frame ladder and the third step of an extension ladder. Follow the instructions accompanying the ladder and do not use a metal ladder near live wires.

Let’s have no ladder-related injuries this year, yeah?

9. Switch Off Outdoor Lights Before Bed

Switching off Christmas lights before bed is an easy way to keep the family safe from electrical faults and potential fires. With the family asleep, there’s no one alert to act fast if something does go wrong. Plus, you’re paying for electricity to show lights that no one will see late at night. So switch them off before bed.

Better yet, place the lights on a timer so they power off at a designated time even if you do forget.

10. Safe Storage for Next Christmas

One of the main factors in defective fairy lights is improper storage. Tangled lights can damage the fragile bulbs, so safe storage will help ensure the lights survive until the following Christmas.

However, fairy lights rarely come packaged in anything other than a cardboard box or plastic tub, so you may need to get creative.

Carefully wrapping lights around an old spool works well. So does an item with a cylindrical shape like the core from a roll of Christmas paper. Sturdy cardboard with a small section cut out of each side is another suitable alternative. You can also purchase specially made light holders for the best protection.

Safe storage reduces the likelihood of damage and tangles, so your outdoor Christmas lights are ready to go next holiday season.

Keep This Convenient Checklist Handy!

If you’ve not yet put up your Christmas lights outside and want these tips in handy checklist form, you’re in luck! Click here to download, print it off and place it somewhere nearby.

Contact the Electrical Safety Specialists

If you need an outdoor powerpoint installed or your switchboard upgraded for higher electrical capacity, call Metropolitan Electrical Contractors. Our team of electricians are on call 24/7 to upgrade your home for safer Christmas lights, and we can be at your door in no time at all.

We may not come bearing gifts like the three wise men, but you can rest assured that we’ll come ready to get your home electrical systems in tip-top shape.

Please note: This information is provided for advice purposes only. Regulations differ from state to state, so please consult your local authorities or an industry professional before proceeding with any work. See our Terms & Conditions here.