Firefighters warn. Your habit of overnight phone charging poses an increasing fire risk
Many have grown accustomed to charging their phones overnight. Undeniably, it offers convenience. It seems like a perfect opportunity to charge your battery fully because you won't use your phone for the next six or seven hours while you sleep. This logic isn't flawed. However, many are unacquainted with the risks associated with this habit. If you insist on charging your phone while you sleep, you must know these dangers.
5:32 PM EST, January 11, 2024
Charging your phone overnight - Firefighters warn of danger
Most assume that charging a phone overnight is completely safe, but firefighters' experiences and raw data suggest otherwise. Fires ignited by phones charging overnight are growing increasingly more common. While these instances are still outnumbered by fires triggered by electrical short circuits in other devices, such as electric kettles, it's a concerning trend on the rise.
So, how can a phone plugged in overnight cause a fire? Theoretically, an electrical short circuit can happen in any device connected to a power source. In the case of phones, however, there's an additional risk factor referred to by phone manufacturers as phone stress. If plugged in overnight, your phone achieves a 100% battery charge, it disconnects charging and stops drawing power. Yet, if the phone remains on, the charge level will shortly fall beneath 100%, triggering the charging process again. The phone then repeatedly charges, disconnects, and recharges, sometimes for hours. In such scenarios, it becomes more likely for a short circuit to occur and ignite the device, something worth bearing in mind.
