Households who are turning to portable heaters to tackle the high cost of living could be exposed to dangerous devices that pose risks of electric shocks and fires, according to safety experts.
Research conducted by Electrical Safety First has uncovered at least three heater advertisements that are selling modern appliances that may be unsafe. All three online ads have used the ever rising energy bills as a prospect to attract buyers to their products.
Consumers are being urged to shop for these heaters with caution, especially if buying online. Those looking to make a purchase should ensure that it states the safety standards in the product description, which should also specify any features such as trip switches or temperature sensors which can prevent overheating.
The organisation decided to test out the three heaters to determine if they met UK safety standards. The charity purchased each one through the linked web pages after it was bombarded with adverts for the devices.
Testing revealed that all three heaters had main plugs that do not meet UK safety standards, with two featuring badly made prongs that risk breaking off when placed into a socket. As reported by Wales Online, this poor construction makes the electric appliance more prone to emitting shocks to users.
In a strength test, the two heaters plugs' snapped off when placed under slight pressure, which should never happen to a safety compliant plug. Not only do faulty plugs create a fire risk, they can also damage household sockets, as both of these devices have plugs that do not meet the dimensional guidelines for UK outlets.
This means they did not fit into a socket-outlet correctly and risked causing damage to the socket-outlet over time. A third heater featured no UK plug whatsoever, instead being fitted with an EU mains plug and a highly dangerous, substandard UK travel adaptor.
This arrangement is unsuitable for use in UK sockets, as there is no fuse in the plug, creating a fire risk with no safety mechanism to protect the cable or to cut power to the heater in the event of a fault.
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