Don’t Install This EV Charger, Government Warns Electricians

- Coming up on this week's news, the government warns electricians not to instal a popular wall box EV charger because it could be used to bring down the national grid, the ECA pushes for big changes to payment terms, and two fatalities in the UK this week underline the importance of electrical safety. Welcome to "Electrical News Weekly" in association with Solar Trade Sales, your easy one-stop shop for all things solar. 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 this week's challenge word competition is supported by the good people at Compleo, the complete solution for EV ChargePoint installers. 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. The government has warned electricians not to instal a popular EV charger from Wallbox. It says the Copper SB model could let hackers in to attack the UK's national grid. The watchdog, The Office For Product Safety And Standards says the plugin point doesn't comply with cybersecurity laws. Cyber expert Ken Munro of Pen Test Partners even warns that hostile nations could use the product to gain access to the UK's energy infrastructure and cause electricity blackouts. In a statement to eFIXX, Wallbox says that it puts safety and security at the centre of its product development. The company says it's made updates to the Copper SB to comply with the UK smart charging points regulations. These changes were implemented to prevent simultaneous charging initiation and to safeguard the grid. However, in a statement to The Office For Product Safety And Standards, it says that it cannot implement the cybersecurity requirements in full on the product because of the limits to its hardware and operating system. It says that the product is at the end of its lifecycle and will not be sold after it launches the next generation. The watchdog has now granted Wallbox a temporary waiver, which allows the continuing sale of the Copper SB until June. In other news, major changes to payment terms for electrical contractors could be on the horizon following a two-year campaign by the ECA. A law to change the way big firms report on how quickly they pay their subcontractors has been put before MPs in Parliament. The legislation will force large construction companies to reveal the gruesome details of the value of invoices paid within 30 days, between 30 and 60 days, and over 60 days. They'll also have to state the value of invoices not paid within agreed terms, as well as the percentage of bills not paid due to a dispute. It's hoped that the disclosures will name and shame the worst payers into paying more promptly. The government has also confirmed that further legislation introducing reporting on retentions will be put before the House of Commons later this year. Two fatalities in fires in recent days has kept the issue of electrical safety at the top of the agenda. It follows a spate of blazes throughout February, one of which resulted in death. In North Cumbria, an elderly man who lived alone, died in a conflagration, which the Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service blamed on an electrical issue. In Leek, a woman in her 70s was found dead during a house fire after Staffordshire Fire and Rescue forced their way into the property. Again, investigators blamed an electrical fault. Now, if you know a great young spark whose quality of work actively combats electrical fires, then good news. We've extended the closing date of the 30 under 30 awards supported by the Luceco Group. So if you thought you'd missed out, there's still time, but only just. Entries close at midnight, on Wednesday the 6th of March. So that's just two days from the release of this video. Click the link in the show notes. You're very nearly out of time. In product news this week, Hamilton has unveiled a range of lighting controllers, which look like normal switches and rotary dimmers, but which have some pretty clever tech inside. When you connect them to the Wi-Fi, they allow you to achieve the priceless treasure of rotary dimming from up to three different positions. They don't need a hub, and you can use an app to schedule dimming and switching, as well as set scenes. You can set up Alexa voice control for the customer as well as Google Assistant. Best of all, the LEDSTAT Smart Wi-Fi system doesn't need a neutral, so it's easy to retrofit. Gordon's working on a video all about how it works, so make sure you subscribe to the channel and you've got your notifications turned on, so you don't miss out on that when it drops. Gordon also did a vid last year on another cool piece of remote switching technology called the FERRET. This one, however, from RF Solutions is aimed at long distance switching. It uses FM radio to reach the parts that other wireless systems can't. One version of the FERRET can switch electrical loads such as garden lights from a distance of up to 200 metres. Another version can actually reach up to a kilometre. Most electricians have been popping the FERRET into a whisker box. Ferrets whiskers, anyone? No. Keep trying, scriptwriter, right, we'll get there. But what was lacking in the range, as Rick gently pointed out back then, it was a DIN rail mounted version for dis boards. The good news is that the boffins at RF solutions have made Rick's wish come true and a DIN unit is now ready to ship. I've popped a link to the original FERRET video in the show notes. So if you've got a job that needs remote switching, even over monstrous distances, take a look. Now, if you are one of the many onsite electricians whose job requires you to reset call points and alarms after they've been triggered, then you'll know the pain of having to rummage through a box of weird keys to find something that will do the job. Well, my friend, rummage no more. A call new tool from Vimpex is being described as the Swiss Army knife of call points. It has versions of all the most obscure reset keys that the company could find. It will work with brands such as Cycle, KAC, and STI. And finally, a new book has landed on my desk with a thump, almost spilling my skinny latte. Skinny latte. It's a good old fashioned cup of tea and scriptwriter Ray know that. Gary Alder, an electrician from Basingstoke has released a volume charting the highs and lows of the life of a spark. Entitled, "So You Want To Be An Electrician?" Alder describes the realities of working on the tools on projects such as London's Super Sewer, where he is the lead electrician on the project. If you fancy adding it to your summer holiday reading list, I've added a link in the show notes where you can buy a copy. I'm about a third of the way through my copy, so more details to follow. But seriously, well done Gary, getting a book finished and published is no mean feat. Finally, 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 March, we're focusing on commercial EV charging, heat pumps, and ventilation. So send us pictures of your instals or let us know if you've come across any new kit that's making your job easier. 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. And 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. Now, who doesn't love a freebie? With their incredibly simple and totally free EV charger management platform, they're helping installers win jobs and save their customers thousands a year, it's Tap Electric. With their high quality and reliable EV charging equipment and industry leading customer care, you could say they're leading the EV lution, it's Hydra EVC. 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 guesses into the comments. We'll take all the correct guesses and select one at random to be the winner of an eFIXX goodie bag prize. Answers submitted after about lunchtime on the Thursday after release will not be entered into the draw. Now let's reveal the words and winners of last week's challenge word competition, supported by Compleo, the complete solution for EV ChargePoint installers. Last week's words were lumberjack and cauliflower, and it was clearly more obvious than the previous week's offering, because loads of you got it right. So we put all of your names into an electronic hat and the first one to be plucked out as a winner was 14fy. So well done to you. Make sure you click the get involved link in the show notes to claim your prize. And just in case anyone's noticed that my voice isn't quite what it normally is this week, I have been nursing an unbelievably difficult cough. So I've had to break off about every other sentence in order to record this episode of the news. So thank you for bearing with me through that. So let's finish up by saying thanks for listening to this episode of"Electrical News Weekly" in association with Solar Trade Sales, your easy one stop shop for all things solar. 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.