Lights for Older and Disabled People in a Power Cut

When the lights go out, the danger is not spread evenly across a household. Older adults, babies and young children, and people with long-term health problems are the groups most likely to become ill if they get too cold during a power cut¹. Falls are already a common problem and, as we get older, we become more likely to fall², and the risk of falling rises when it is dark³. So for an older person, or anyone with limited mobility, sight loss or a disability, a power cut is first and foremost a falls and warmth problem, and only secondarily an inconvenience.

The good news is that most of the risk can be removed in advance. A torch that lives in the same place by the bed, lighting that comes on by itself, a clear floor and a place on the Priority Services Register together do most of the work. This page sets out what to prepare, what never to do, and where the help is, for the person themselves and for anyone checking on an older relative or neighbour.

Why the dark is more dangerous for older and disabled people

Two things go wrong at once when the power fails in a household that includes someone older or disabled. The first is movement. Falls are a common problem and the likelihood of falling increases with age², and the risk of falling increases when it is dark³. NHS falls prevention advice is blunt about the part lighting plays: make sure you have enough lighting to move safely from one place to another, especially on stairways and in hallways⁹. A power cut removes exactly that lighting, at the moment when someone may need to get to the toilet, find medication or answer the door.

The second is heat. If the home's heating runs on electricity, a cut takes that away too, and the groups most likely to become ill from cold are older adults, babies and young children, and people with long-term health problems¹. UK Health Security Agency guidance for health and social care staff identifies people aged 65 and over as at risk from cold weather¹⁰, and notes that older people are at greater risk of falls during adverse cold weather, especially when it comes with snowfall or ice¹¹. A dark house and a cooling house are therefore the same event, and preparing for one means preparing for both.

There is a third layer that is easy to miss: fire. London Fire Brigade sets out four main reasons why older people, people with disabilities, and people with visual and hearing impairments need extra consideration in a fire. They may not be able to respond to a fire as quickly, they may not be able to escape a fire, they may be more at risk due to lifestyle factors, and they may use healthcare equipment such as oxygen or emollient creams that are flammable¹². A power cut pushes households towards candles and other naked flames, which is precisely the wrong direction for people in these groups.

Preventing falls when the lights go out

The core principle is that light should arrive before the person moves. That means lights that switch on without fumbling, and lights that are always in the same place. Wiltshire and Swindon Prepared's advice for households with elderly relatives is to check they know where they could find their torch or wind-up lantern so they can move around safely¹³. That is worth saying plainly: the question is not whether a torch exists in the house, but whether the person who needs it in the dark could put their hand on it.

Practical steps, drawn from official falls and fire safety advice:

• Fix a home for each light. A torch by the bed, one by the favourite chair, one near the fuse box if it can be reached safely from the floor. Consistency matters more than quantity.
• Light the routes, not just the rooms. Stairways and hallways are where the NHS says lighting must be enough to move safely from one place to another⁹.
• Clear the floor before winter, not during the cut. The Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service's falls prevention advice is to remove clutter, trailing wires and frayed carpets, use non-slip mats especially in the bathroom, and consider an additional handrail at stairs or steps¹⁴.
• Keep mobility aids within reach. London Fire Brigade's easy-read guidance says to keep all walking frames, crutches, wheelchairs and walking sticks near to the person who uses them, and to keep hallways, landings and stairs clear of anything that might block or slow down an escape¹⁵.
• Practise the route in advance. Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service advises people with sight loss to practise an escape so they feel confident doing it with different levels of light, such as at night⁶.

For choosing the lights themselves, the household's circumstances matter more than any specification. Someone with weak grip or limited hand movement will find a large single switch easier than a small rubber button, and a lantern that stands on a table easier than a hand-held torch. Someone who uses a walking frame needs both hands free, which points towards a head torch or a lantern rather than a torch. Plug-in lights that switch on automatically when the mains fails, and rechargeable emergency bulbs that come on in a cut, suit a person who may not be able to find a switch in the dark at all. Our pages on torches, head torches, lanterns and power failure lights and rechargeable emergency bulbs set these options out side by side, and where to keep torchches so you can find them in the dark covers the placement question in detail.

Never stand on a chair, and never light a candle

Two things must be said firmly, because both are common reactions to a dark house and both cause injuries and fires.

The first is climbing. When a fuse trips or a light needs reaching, the instinct is to stand on a chair. For anyone whose balance or strength is reduced, this is exactly the situation the falls prevention advice is warning about. The safe approach is to keep a torch in a fixed place near the fuse box so the trip switch can be seen and reached from the floor, and to ask a neighbour, a relative or the electricity supplier for help rather than climbing. Falls prevention advice also recommends speaking to your GP if you wish to be referred to the Falls Prevention Team within your local Health Trust¹⁴.

The second is naked flame. North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service's advice on lighting for emergencies is unambiguous:

Some official severe weather advice does still list candles among supplies to keep¹⁶, and nidirect adds that if you must use naked flames, take extra care and make certain they are put out before you go to bed¹⁷. But the fire and rescue services are the bodies responsible for the consequences, and their direction of travel is clear. Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service, advising carers, says to encourage people not to light candles or tea lights of any kind, and that a safer option is LED flameless candles¹⁸. Carmarthenshire County Council adds that night lights and tea lights must always be placed away from soft furnishings and on a non-flammable surface such as a plate or tile, and wherever possible a proper candle or incense holder should be used¹⁹.

There is also an electrical danger that follows storms: never touch damaged electricity equipment, and be extra careful around fallen trees, as they often take electricity poles and wires with them as they fall¹⁶. And in a gas emergency, Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service advises not to use any electrical appliances, including switching your lights on or off, and to open all your windows and doors²⁰.

The Priority Services Register: extra help before and during a cut

The single most useful administrative step an older or disabled household can take is joining the Priority Services Register. Signing up lets your energy supplier know that you need additional support during a power cut⁷. Carmarthenshire County Council's guidance adds who should contact their supplier: people who are visually impaired or have hearing difficulties, people of state pensionable age, and people with other specific requirements²¹.

What to do:

1. Contact your electricity supplier and network operator and ask to be added to the Priority Services Register⁷.
2. Say specifically if anyone in the household is visually impaired, has hearing difficulties, is of state pensionable age, or has other specific requirements²¹.
3. Tell them if the household relies on medical or mobility equipment that needs electricity, so they understand the urgency.
4. Keep the power cut number, 105, somewhere visible, because it is the number to report a cut and get information and advice⁸.

Our power cuts guide covers the register and what suppliers must do for registered customers in more detail.

Keeping warm while the power is off

If the heating runs on electricity, a cut removes it along with the lights. The official advice for that situation is consistent across sources: keep warm with blankets and layered clothing, keep the doors of unused rooms closed, and close curtains to keep the heat in¹. Wiltshire and Swindon Prepared makes the same point for households with electric heating: extra layers and blankets are the way to hold warmth on cold evenings¹³.

The temperature to aim for is at least 18°C in the rooms you spend time in, such as the living room or bedroom³. UK Health Security Agency guidance likewise stresses that rooms, particularly living rooms and bedrooms, should be kept warm¹¹. If your heating runs on electricity, keep warm with extra layers and blankets on cold evenings, keep the doors of unused rooms closed and close the curtains to keep the heat in⁵.

Two cautions belong here. Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service warns that during the winter, vulnerable people can be at a higher risk of a fire-related incident when trying to stay warm²², so blankets and layers are safer than any improvised heater or flame. And the advice about opening windows at night belongs to hot weather, when it is safe and the air outside feels cooler²³, not to a cold night in a power cut, when the bedroom window should stay closed⁴.

Checking on an older neighbour or relative

If you are the fit and able one in a family or street, the official advice across all four nations is to make checking on others part of your own emergency plan. Ready Scotland's advice is that once you and your household are safe, check on neighbours and those at greater risk, including older adults, people who need extra assistance to get around, and people who get care at home⁸. The Greater London Authority's winter advice is to check in on older neighbours or relatives to make sure they are safe, warm and well, which is vital if they live alone or have serious illnesses²⁴.

What a check involves, gathered from official advice:

• Ask if they are warm enough in their home, keep in touch, and ask if they need practical help or are feeling unwell³.
• Help them check their smoke alarms are in good working order and that they have clear escape routes and emergency plans²².
• Check they know where their torch or wind-up lantern is, so they can move around safely¹³.
• In advance of storms, look out for elderly neighbours and ensure they are prepared for a possible power cut²⁵.

The West Midlands Ambulance Service notes that neighbours and relatives who are older, very young or have long-term health conditions are at particular risk from the cold³, and nidirect's storm advice is to check on elderly or vulnerable family, neighbours and friends to make sure they are okay¹⁶. The London Resilience Partnership frames it as thinking ahead: if you know people with particular vulnerabilities through age, ill health or disability, consider how you could help them, for example by contacting their loved ones or ensuring they have food and water²⁶. A community emergency group can build this in from the start, checking up on relatives or neighbours who might need help during a power cut²⁷.

Help for people with sight loss or hearing loss

A power cut is a different event again for someone with sight loss, because the lighting most of us take for granted may already be limited, and the remaining cues change. Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service's advice for partially sighted people is to practise an escape so that you feel confident you could do it with different levels of light, such as at night⁶. The same service notes that the charity Sense supports people who are deafblind⁶. For utility matters, people who are visually impaired or have hearing difficulties should contact their supplier, as this is one of the grounds for additional support²¹.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service has worked with the Royal National Institute of Blind People Scotland (RNIB) to create audio versions of its leaflets for people with sight loss, which can be played or downloaded on SoundCloud²⁸. The titles include Electrical Safety, Recipe For Safe Cooking, Winter & Festive Safety, Your Guide To Fire Safety and others²⁸. For people who are deaf or have hearing loss, the same service provides educational videos in British Sign Language²⁹, and it advises that specialist smoke alarms can save lives and alert the user to a fire in the home even if they have removed their hearing aid at night²⁹. The Scottish Government has also produced guidance on the fire alarms standard for deaf and deafblind people²⁸.

One point that matters in an evacuation: the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service notes that firefighters wearing breathing apparatus may be difficult to hear clearly, which prevents lip reading, so pictures are used to show what to do with fire escape hoods if needed³⁰. Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service also advises people using mobility aids to consider alternative means of escape should the electricity supply fail³¹.

If someone falls during a power cut

If a fall happens, the priorities are warmth, light and getting the right help. Do not move the person unnecessarily, and do not leave them in the dark or the cold while you fetch help: older adults are among those most likely to become ill if they get too cold¹, so keep blankets and layers over them where they are.

For the power cut itself, call 105, the number to report a cut and get information and advice⁸. For health, Age UK's guidance distinguishes the two numbers: for non-emergency health advice, call 111, and in an emergency, call 999³². If the fall follows a storm, remember never to touch damaged electricity equipment, and be extra careful around fallen trees, as they often take electricity poles and wires with them as they fall¹⁶.

Afterwards, it is worth asking whether the fall points to something fixable. NHS falls prevention advice lists the household measures that reduce falls: cleaning up spillages, removing clutter, trailing wires and frayed carpets, non-slip mats especially in the bathroom, good lighting, slippers and shoes with a good grip, and an additional handrail at stairs or steps¹⁴. In Northern Ireland, you can speak to your GP to be referred to the Falls Prevention Team within your local Health Trust¹⁴. NHS Highland makes the encouraging point plainly: whilst there are many reasons that make falls more likely as we age, there are also many different things we can do to prevent them².

Where to get help: Age UK, charities and your fire service

The Age UK Advice Line is the main national port of call for older people and their families. Call 0800 169 6565, open 8am to 7pm, every day of the year³². During winter, official guidance also directs people to call 0800 169 6565 and quote WINTER¹¹. In Wales, Advicelink Cymru can be contacted on 0800 702 2020, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm³².

Your local fire and rescue service is the other source of help, and it is free. Fire services across the UK run home fire safety visits and produce resources aimed specifically at older and disabled people. The Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service's Safer Together Project has created a brochure, fire risk awareness videos, a Fire Risk Awareness Form, and leaflets addressing the issue of neighbours not responding to smoke alarms sounding and the main risks of fire for older people³³. Our page on free home fire safety visits explains how to arrange one.

A summary of who to contact:

Finally, watch for the weather that precedes cuts. The UK Health Security Agency issues Cold-Health Alerts at yellow, amber or red levels¹⁰, and older people are at greater risk of falls during adverse cold weather, especially with snowfall or ice¹¹. When an alert is issued, that is the moment to check the torches are where they should be, the blankets are within reach, and the older people in your street know you are nearby.