Battery Storage in Homes Saves the National Grid 📈

- Coming up on this week's news, an army of home batteries helps the grid cope with peak demand for the first time. An electrician is interrupted installing a cooker circuit to be told that he's won the lottery. And a spate of fires across the south of England is blamed on faulty electrical circuitry. Welcome to "Electrical News Weekly," in association with the Electric Heating Company. Whether you're listening in the van, onsite or down at the wholesale counter, I'm Joe Robinson and I've been through the best of the electrical industry news to save you the trouble. And as always, if you think you've spotted the two words that I've been challenged to slip into this week's show, comment with them below for the chance to win a prize. An army of home batteries has helped the grid cope with peak demand. It's the first time that the electricity network has taken power automatically from the power units. The trial, which took place last winter but has only been revealed now, was judged a big success. On average, each battery contributed 2.7 kilowatt hours. The homeowners didn't have to do anything as it happened autonomously. They were also paid for their juice. One made 100 pounds over the six periods in the trial when the power bosses drew current from his house. The maker of the technology, Solar Edge reckons that when it's fully up and running, owners of home batteries can make over 300 pounds a year from selling electricity when the nation needs it. In other news, Devon Electrician, Luke Silver was wiring up a cooker circuit for a resident in Plymouth when he was given the news that he'd won a share of the weekly 1 million pound jackpot in the People's Postcode Lottery. Silver punched the air when he learned that he and his neighbours would receive a hundred thousand pounds each, but he didn't forget his customer. He returned to the house, finished the installation and told the lady that the work was free of charge. He explained that he wanted to pay it forward. A spate of fires this week is being blamed on poor electrical installations. A blaze, which gutted the popular Platform Tavern in Southampton City Centre is thought to be caused by a circuit fault. Hampshire and the Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service said no one was inside the pub at the time and there were no injuries. In Dorset, an igniting electrical bug started a fire that left a golf club badly damaged. Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service sent nine crews and took two hours to tackle a fire at Christchurch Golf Club on Monday. Nobody was hurt in the fire and the club has now reopened. When I first read that I initially thought they were talking about an individual golf club had been damaged. That's a slightly more serious story. In Essex, a house fire in a bungalow was started by an overheating plug socket used for a gaming device. A 14-year-old girl called the fire brigade after she heard the smoke alarms going off upstairs. Firefighters from Chelmsford and Brentwood used breathing apparatus to tackle the flames. Watch manager, Andy Edwards warned householders to be wary of hot plugs or sockets, scorch marks, fuses that often blow or flickering lights, which are all signs of loose wiring or other electrical problems. In product news, EVEC has unveiled a 7.4 kilowatt dual EV charger. The EDC01 PowerPair gives full power to one vehicle but splits it for two. The wall-mounted unit has a universal port and a type two cable and connector. It retails at 700 pounds. MK has introduced a Logic Plus double socket with both USB type A and type C ports. The move anticipates the December, 2024 deadline when USBC will become the universal standard for mobile phone chargers in the European Union. It also looks set to be the dominant version in the UK. MK says the 30 watt unit can charge a mobile phone to 50% in just 30 minutes. Also, reacting to legislation change is Chinese lighting brand, MEGAMAN, which this week launched a T8 LED tube to replace the banned fluorescent lamp. It's a straight replacement with no need for any rewiring. Tube sizes go from two to six feet and power ratings from 9 to 25 watts. There's an optional shatterproof coating for installation in schools, hospitals, and other public buildings. Another possibility is a microwave sensor version in which the lamp extinguishes if no one is around. In August, all fluorescent tube lamps were banned from sale in the UK in line with a similar European prohibition, a move that left some of our viewers saltier than a pickled anchovy. Tall news now and C.K has developed a range of screwdrivers, which it says is specially designed for terminal screws in switchgear. The Dextro VDE Modular Slim family of tools was developed in collaboration with a panel of electricians and covers all screw types commonly used in circuit breakers, contactors, relays, terminal blocks, and RCBOs. The backbone of the series is a slotted Pozi and slotted Phillips slim-type tip in size one and two. Life's getting so much easier for electricians soon. All they'll be left to do is relax on an Indian beach in a sarong. In our eFIXX roundup, we're going to be down at the Solar & Storage Show on Tuesday the 17th of October. We're joining ENW premium partners, Sunsynk on their stand. And on Thursday the 19th, we'll be supporting Give Energy. So please get yourself registered for the show and come down to meet the team. We'd love to see you there. Forming a delicious livestream sandwich between those days we've got two very special guests on eFIXX TV this week, in the form of the managing director of Lewden Palazzoli, the Italian Stallion that is Giovanni Baccini. And he'll be presenting the Residential Installer of the Year Award to Karl Mather of KDM Electrical, the man who creates the neatest first fix installations you'll ever see so make sure you set a reminder for Wednesday evening at around 8:00 or 8:05, depending on how big the meal was at Mastab's. And just before we get to our final story, a reminder that every Friday we post a question of the week to our social media platforms. There's one sitting there now for you to have a go at, but the previous week's was,"Which of the following is not a disease typically associated with asbestos?" The options were mesothelioma, melanoma, lung cancer, and asbestosis. And on the YouTube community tab, 85% of people got it right while on LinkedIn our followers just beat them to the punch with 87% getting it right. Of course, the answer was melanoma. This question features in our latest free training package we've created to help you with your CPD supported by the Luceco Group. It's all about health and safety on construction sites featuring information on asbestos, working at heights, mental health, and much more. There's a link in the show notes so check it out and stay safe on site. And finally, electricians have been getting lyrical this week in a bid to show that van drivers have feelings too. They've contributed to the launch of the world's first poetry book written exclusively by White Van Man. The project is designed to challenge stereotypes. Entries for the "Poetry in Motion" book have been chosen from a nationwide search for the UK's most poetic trades person. The BBC's George The Poet says,"That reading many of the poems in the book made him emotional." He says, "The verses really speak to who we are beyond our job titles." And now in an ENW first, I'm going to finish on a poem. This one is from Southampton-based electrician, Dave Howeth and is a heartfelt ode to van life. I'm just gonna slow it down a bit here and set the tone. For here lies the laughter. Here lies the life where there's no bigger tool than your mates. I've learned it's less about what takes the ride, more about who is inside. For it don't so much matter about the man in the van. More it's the van in the man. I've posted a link where you can download a free copy of the book. Now, just before we get to your favourite bit of the show where I reveal last week's challenge words and winners, we want to thank our premium partners. We couldn't make the news without you. First up, they're the people who've created the Swiss Army Knife of solar inverters, along with all-weather batteries. Very much the Boy Scouts of the solar industry, it's Sunsynk. Up next, for all your circuit protection needs, they're like having an Italian star striker in your Premiership team, it's Lewden Palazzoli. And for the ultimate experience in wireless sound and home cinema with the most powerful portable speaker yet, it's the home of the Rome, Sonos. The best thing to come out of Yorkshire since stainless steel, it's Doncaster Cables, the home of EV Ultra and other groundbreaking and quality cables, celebrating their hundredth anniversary of literally creating connections in the electrical industry this year. Rising from the flames like some kind of mythological avian, it's Phoenix Contact. And finally celebrating their 60th anniversary this year with an incredible range of equipment from EV charge points through industrial sockets and switches to kit for explosive areas, plus, they supplied gear for a Campari factory so they'll always have a place in my heart, it's Scame. Big thanks to you all. We really appreciate your ongoing support for the news. If you think you know the words that I've smuggled into this week's show, pop your guess into the comments and we'll dig out a goodie bag prize to the first to get the right answers. Last week's words were scarecrow and siamese. And the first person to get both right was rogerbrookfield9232. Indeed, Roger was the only person to get them both. But then again, I did throw a couple of curve balls in there, which clearly worked. So well done, Roger. Click the Get Involved link in the description to claim your prize. Thanks for listening to this episode of "Electrical News Weekly" in association with the Electric Heating Company. Make sure you subscribe to receive the next update. Thanks for listening, and until next time, have a great week. Stay safe out there. And remember, there's no such thing as a talk calibrated on.