Electricians Welcome Major Government Rule Change On Home Batteries

- Coming up on this week's news, the electrical trade gives a big thumbs up to a major government rule change on home batteries. A fire which killed a mother and son in North London is being blamed on an electrical fault, and we reveal the latest country to roll out the red carpet for electricians. 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. We've changed the rules for the challenge word competition, so stay tuned to the end of the show to find out how it works now. The electrical trade is expecting a boost from next month after the VAT of 20% is scrapped on home batteries. Previously, battery systems and power diverters qualified for VAT relief only when installed alongside something like a wind turbine or solar panels. From the 1st of February, they will be zero rated when they are retrofitted or installed as a standalone technology connected to the grid. Myenergi founder, Jordan Brompton, said the change was a major step forward, but she called on the government to go further and X the tax on EV charge points as well. Still on tax, this month's deadline of midnight on 31st of January is looming large for self-employed electricians. That's when your self-assessment has to be filled in. This week, the payroll specialist Indigo listed its top tips for trade taxpayers preparing for the deadline. It says its number one suggestion is to get on top of any deductions you can use under the Construction Industry Scheme, or CIS. The CIS affects most electrical contractors and involves deductions from payments made to subcontractors, which counts towards your tax and National Insurance. I've put the link to Indigo's full list of suggestions in the show notes. Another boost to the trade came this week in the shape of the latest numbers of apprentices choosing a career on the tools. There were over 7,400 starts in electrical apprenticeships in '22-'23. This compares to a 10-year average of around 6,000. However, training experts are expressing caution and suggesting that we don't break out the bubbly just yet. For instance, JTL boss Chris Claydon says the numbers are probably inflated by COVID backlogs. Sounds like they could do with some anti-COVID style disinfectant to clean up that data. He also points out that employer bodies are still calling for more to meet specific demand and close the skills gap. It looks like the UK's going to need those 7,000 apprentices, not least to replace those skilled electricians being wooed to work overseas. Canada has become the latest country to roll out the red carpet. The nation has about half a dozen different entry options for electricians, including an express programme. For all of them, you'll need a minimum of a year's worth of practical experience. In return, you can expect a salary in the range of 40,000 to 64,000 pounds. I like the sound of being in the violet area of that spectrum. I've always fancied living over there. Canada joins Australia and Saudi Arabia as countries vying to appropriate UK sparks to fill skills gaps in their economies. For those continuing to do electrical work in the UK, this year's 30 under 30 Awards, supported by the good people at Luceco Group is now open for entries. Now in its third year, this prestigious event recognises and rewards those young people who are going to carry the flame of the electrical industry into the future. Maybe you know someone who's set up their own business in a unique niche of the industry or who gives back to their local community. Maybe it's simply an apprentice or a full-time learner just starting out on their journey, but already impressing with their commitment and tenacity. Or maybe it's someone who's had to overcome serious adversity to succeed in their chosen career. Whatever the case, if you think you know a worthy winner, then get your entry submitted by clicking the link in the description. We've streamlined the entry process this year, so it couldn't be easier. Who knows, maybe you and your nominee could be joining us at the next exciting winners event. Entries close on the 29th of February and the awards will be announced on the 3rd of April. The clock is ticking, so don't delay. In other news, a deadly blaze which saw a woman and her disabled son perish is being blamed on an electrical fault. 86-year-old Champagauri Bhatt and her 66-year-old son Dipak died in their North London home in March last year. This week, a hearing learned that a possible cause of the fire was an electrical fault with their tumble dryer. Barrister Adam Korn, representing the Bhatt family, said an investigator pointed to the electric door switch as the culprit. However, forensic investigator Mr. Jonathan-Thomas, representing the tumble dryer manufacturer Whirlpool, suggested that there could be an external cause to the fire, possibly a cigarette butt. Coroner Dr. Peter Straker ruled that a full inquest should probe the exact reason for the incident and scheduled it to be heard in November this year. As always, our condolences to the Bhatt family and all those affected by their tragic deaths. In product news, British firm GivEnergy has unveiled a three-phase energy storage system. It's aimed at a gap in the middle of the market: businesses who need more than a single phase domestic battery system, but less than a full-scale commercial system. The range includes four models of three phase inverters in ratings of six kilowatts, eight kilowatts, 10 kilowatts, and 11 kilowatts. As hybrid models, each unit is a battery inverter and solar inverter in one. They can switch between on-grid and off-grid modes based on the availability of energy from the solar panels or the battery. The inverters are designed to work with the company's new high voltage stackable battery, which offers between 10 and 20 kilowatt hours of power. GivEnergy boss Dave Roberts said that the call for an upgraded three-phase supply in the UK is growing. He says it's often swept under the carpet that the majority of UK homes run off a single phase supply with one fuse. He described this as a pre-World War II standard based on a time when lights represented the main household load. But today, our homes must run vastly heavier loads, like powering cars and even providing flexible energy to other homes. Quickwire has unveiled two new junction boxes. The two and four-Way splitter boxes are designed for breaking into ring finals, adding spurs, or repairing damaged cable runs. They're made to take 2.5 mill twin and earth. They're rated at 24 amps and they comply with the latest British standards. What's unique about the company, and gained it lots of fans in the trade since 2018, is the patented Quickwire high speed connection terminals. This allows installers to wire all four connectors on the splitters in just seven seconds. The new 24-amp boxes will be available in all good wholesalers next week, but if you can't wait, you can also order them now on the Quickwire website. And for more details, check out the videos we've made on the product, including a review and a Q&A on whether a 24-amp device can be used on a 32-amp ring final circuit. Find the links to those in the show notes. And as part of this month's feature on residential circuit protection, we bring you news that MK has launched a new range of type A Mini RCBOs measuring just 17.8 millimetres by 85 millimetres in size. They're available as a 30-amp type A RCD and a 6 to 40 amp type B and type C curve MCB. The units are aimed at domestic applications with a circuit breaking capacity of 6 KA and are compatible with all MK Sentry dist boards. The slim profile enables more ways for household circuits in the boards. The company also unveiled a new single module type two surge protection device, which is just 18 mill by 38 mill in size. Both ranges come with a five-year guarantee. And just a reminder that we're in the market for your stories, your projects, and your recommendations as we'd like to share them with the wider eFIXX community. In the month of January, we're focusing on residential circuit protection with the launch of a brand new CPD from Lewden where we bust a few myths and give you a few frights about circuit protection. But we'd particularly like to hear from you about AFDDs and your experiences with them. Are you fitting them at all? Have they uncovered any problems on installations where they've been retrofitted? Do you have them on your own house? Then in February, we'll be moving on to residential solar and battery instals. Have you installed a plant room to rival Gary's over on our sister channel eFIXX Energy, or are you a solar sceptic? Send us some pictures of your best instals. Tell us about your experiences or let us know if you've come across any new kit that's making your job easier and you could be featured on the next episode of the news. And 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 and testing, testing, one, two, testing, if you've got something you need to measure or a piece of test equipment to calibrate from multimeters to power quality analyzers, then it can only be Test Instrument Solutions. Are you a bit of a control freak, motor control that is? If so, with huge stocks and excellent service, check out Crompton Controls as they said to me in a recent conversation,"If we don't have it, then we can build it." And would you like to win more jobs, save your customers thousands? Would you like some help with that for free? Then check out Tap Electric, the free EV charger management platform. Up next, for all your circuit protection needs, they're like having an Italian star striker in your Premiership team, it's Lewden Palazzoli. The best thing to come out of Yorkshire since stainless steel, the home of EV-Ultra and other groundbreaking and quality products, it's Doncaster Cables. 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 I've smuggled into this week's show, pop your guess into the comments and we'll dig out a goodie bag prize, but not to the first to get the right answers. We're getting an increasing number of entries on all platforms. And so from now on, we'll take all the correct guesses and select one at random to be a winner. That should open it up a bit for those of you on catchup. Answers submitted after about lunchtime on the Thursday after release will not be entered into the draw. Last week's words were gingerbread and air fryer. And despite a certain Mr. Gary Hayes trying to win the competition from an inside position, he was beaten to the punch by mikeyharrismusic2334. Well done to you, Mikey. Make sure you click the Get Involved link in the show notes to claim your prize. And just to reassure you, we have spoken to Gary about ethical standards in business practise and how no person associated with the company, their families, or budgerigars may win the competition. 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.