Electricians Warned: Big Changes to Emergency Lighting

- Coming up on this week's news, the trade is warned about major changes in the rules for installing emergency lighting. An electrician who lost an arm and most of his face when he was hit by a 7,200-volt cable is given the world's first eye transplant. And is it ever okay for an electrician to ask a customer for a tip? 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. Electrical contractors are being warned this week about major changes in the rules for installing emergency lighting. In the coming months, a slew of changes are set to come into effect that will alter best practice recommendations. The revisions will impact any changes to existing installations, as well as the maintenance practices that are required in buildings across the country. The big change to BS EN 50172 is the introduction of a twice yearly test of emergency lights and external illuminated signs on escape routes. This is in addition to the usual daily, monthly, and annual verification tests. This is to ensure that luminaires are undamaged and that their function is not impaired due to the presence of dirt, dust, or visible material degradation. There's also some changes to BS 1838. It continues to demand that the maintained illuminance of the local area safety lighting should be based on a risk assessment. However, now it says that on escape routes more than two metres wide, the illumination should be at least one Lux throughout. For floor areas greater than 60 square metres, you'll now need 0.5 Lux throughout, apart from the edges of the room. The other big change is that the standards now allow what's called adaptive escape lighting. This is a new generation of intelligent kit, which uses sensors and monitoring devices to detect the location of a fire and direct people out safely by things like changing the direction of the arrows on the signs in real time. I've popped a link to an article about the changes in the show notes. If you're not sure about all the rules about light levels with emergency lighting or if you need a refresher, take a look at an explain a video I made with Lumeno. I look at the different light levels required for escape routes, open area and high risk task areas. The link, as always, is in the show notes. Still on safety standards a major manufacturer has called for MICC cables to be used in high-rise buildings. Wrexham Mineral Cables says human life continues to be put at risk by the use of standard polymer-clad versions. It follows a report written by the company in response to what it calls a growing frustration at the lack of progress made on building safety following the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017. The current regime of testing means both cable types are classed as fire resistant. Wrexham says this creates the impression that the two options are in some way equal, but it argues that MICC cables are proven to perform to higher safety standards in real fire scenarios, I've put a link to the report in the show notes. It makes for very engrossing reading. In other news, British Gas is offering 8,000 miles of free home charging to customers who order a Hive charger and switch to British Gas for electricity. The catch? The customer needs to have a smart metre. British Gas doesn't have to do the installation and customers don't need to sign up to a specific tariff. The charging will be provided at night when demand on the grid is at its lowest. In the United States, in electrician who lost an arm and most of his face when he came into contact with a 7,200 volt cable has been given the world's first eye transplant. Aaron James of Arkansas came close to dying during the incident in 2021, but now a hospital in New York City has performed the world's first eye transplant on him and the patient is said to be doing well. He was also given a face transplant. James says he cannot see through the eye or blink his eyelid, and he's not yet able to move the eye. The hope is that the optic nerve heals enough to permit sight, but James says it feels good to have had his eye replaced. He hopes doctors will learn something from his operation that can help the next person. Now, last week we asked you if you'd made the move into electric vans and how you were getting on. Simon Smith of Fareham-based SA Energy got in touch and we have to say Simon is certainly walking the walk. He's just invested in two of these smart Vauxhall electric vans and he's got a personal electric car at home in the driveway. If you too have an EV, let us know how you're getting on and don't forget to send a pic of yourself and your van. We also want your stories, your recommendations, and your ideas to share with the friendly eFIXX community. Send us some pictures of your installs or let us know if you've come across any new kit that's making your job easier. Before we go, I also want to give any of you solar panel installers out there a heads-up on Gordon's latest video. He looks at how optimizers have revealed some surprising things about a 12-year old PV installation in the Yorkshire Dales. Also just released this week is our brand new free training package to help you with your CPD. Made in association with BG Electrical, part of the Luceco Group, we've taken a dive into electrical design, mapping out the different stages one step at a time. Whether you're just starting out in the industry or you've been in it for a long time and you just need to refresh your knowledge or perhaps you're thinking about a slight change in career direction into the world of design, then that CPD is the one for you. So please click the link in the show notes to check it out. It's completely free. It can be done at a time convenient to yourself, and you'll get a certificate at the end of it to prove that you've taken the course and you can count an hour towards your annual CPD requirement. And speaking of CPDs, in last week's question of the week, we asked in a marina, what is the highest current rating of socket that requires an RCD? The options were 32 amps, 63 amps, 125 amps or no upper limits stated in BS 7671. And the correct answer was no upper limit stated in BS 7671. On YouTube, 66% of people got it right, while over on LinkedIn, only 38% got it right with the majority of people opting for 32 amps. Must try harder, LinkedIn. I recommend you check out the free training package this question was lifted from. It's all about industrial socket outlets and their applications. You'll find a link to it in the show notes. Big thanks to Lewden Palazzoli for helping us to create that in the first place and then helping us to update it fully to reflect the changes in the second amendment of the 18th edition of BS 7671. Very much appreciated. Go and check out that CPD and get yourself a certificate as well. And finally, a debate about tipping has broken out in the trade after an electrical contractor asked for a gratuity from a customer. In the land of the laughing kookaburra, the world's largest kingfisher, an Australian homeowner took to social media to complain about a spark who asked for a tip for his electrical wiring work. The homeowner said that he laughed it off, but went on to question whether the tipping culture is spreading beyond America. His post on Reddit rapidly spread to the UK and elsewhere and was picked up by the newspapers, including the Daily Mail. The publicity led to tradespeople taking sides. One wrote, "It's not a big deal if someone says no and it's a win if they say yes." Another said that often the company may charge a lot of money, but the individual electrician can be on more modest pay and would appreciate some extra. Others are appalled by the idea. One customer said that if an electrical contractor wants a tip, we should tell him to move to the States. What's your view? Is it a welcome way for customers to show their gratitude or does it detract from our professionalism? Let us know your view in the comments below. 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 their most powerful portable speaker yet, it's the home of the Roam, 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 100th 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 grasshopper and Panama. And the first person to get both right was adventuresofanathan who obviously listened and thought a man, a plan, a canal, Panama. That's a palindrome by the way. It reads the same forwards and backwards. Clever stuff, hey? Anyway, well done to you, Nathan. Click the get involved link in the show notes 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 torque-calibrated arm.