coming up on electrical news weekly the government says it will pay cash of up to 30 000 pounds towards ev charges in residential car parks we take a look at the clever new ev charger which lets your car power your home and how the cost of energy is pushing homeowners to use dodgy and dangerous power saving products welcome to electrical news weekly whether you're listening in the van on site down at the wholesale counter or if you're a designer and you've made it safely to your desk wherever you are i hope your week is off to a great start i'm joe robinson and i've been through the best of the electrical industry news to save you the trouble and keep your ears peeled for the two words i've been challenged to use in this week's episode they were tricky the government is set to pour rocket fuel on the electric vehicle charging market by ponying up cash for landlords who install the cabling for at least five cars it will pay up to thirty thousand pounds towards ev infrastructure in multi-unit residential properties such as apartment blocks or housing estates that have a common car park only one parking space needs to have a charge point the rest just need the kit required to upgrade to a full charger at a later date as well as your work and the ev charges the grant will also cover kits such as the feeder pillars consumer units the cables the ducting and trunking the landlord needs to apply and installers need to be either a limited company or vat registered we've popped the link to the application form in the show notes one ev charger system you could use the government cache to install is a really clever one which was unveiled by indra at fully charged live in farnborough last week it's called v2h technology and basically it allows your car battery to power the home so you could in theory use off-peak energy anytime you like you could use your car to run the washing machine charge your mobile devices and even heat the shower it's another nice bit of kit from indra who just keep on surprising us with smart tech and cool features if you're unfamiliar with their other ev innovations check out some of our training videos and cpd again the link is in the show notes and finally in ev news hot on the heels of our attendance at elex harrogate and fully charged in farnborough gordon routledge popped along to grand designs live at the xl arena in london accompanying my energy and actually appeared on stage with the legendary owner of fired earth and presenter of grand designs so on stage we had a much loved presenter who consistently informs and updates the public on cutting edge innovations to technology used in the construction industry and also kevin macleod was there too speaking of innovations there's been a crop of new developments in lighting this week first up is illuma who have introduced a dim to warm version of its popular infinia downlight when you dim it the colour temperature goes from a coolish colour temperature of 3000 kelvin to a nice warm 1008 kelvin that's just about the colour of homer simpson the company says the light should prove popular in homes hotels pubs and clubs where you want a different atmosphere in the evening than during the day ledvance is currently promoting a sophisticated control system for offices called vivares that it says is super easy to install by anyone there are two options you can have a wired version which uses dali to set the brightness of the lights or you can have a wireless version which would be more suitable for retrofit projects the company has also massively expanded its led strip offering which you can use with vivarez there are lots of white versions with matching drivers and accessories as well as a tunable white led strip that you can connect to its bio looks human-centric lighting system another big player in tunable led strip is of course nanoleaf its popular led light bars can be seen in the bedrooms of teenage video gamers all over the land now it has introduced skins so you can customize the appearance of the units simply apply to change the colour of the bars from white to either black or pink knightsbridge who we really like for a solid quality at keen prices has just published a guide to its kitchen and bathroom lighting range as well as lights it includes led mirrors pop-up chargers sockets switches dimmers and wiring accessories although we're not sure why you might need a pop-up charger in the bathroom british firm power light fitzgerald has launched a tough outdoor luminaire called the urban path it's made with heavy gauge steel and is rated at ip65 for outdoor tolerance and ik10 for protection from vandals it's also dark sky compliant which means that it doesn't chuck any light up into the sky olsen direct has brought out a range of lighting distribution units these are central box units made of powder coated steel into which you simply plug the lights they come in four six and eight light versions and are compatible with three and four pin plugs or pre-wired leads finally in lighting news the nhs has approved the use of uvc lights for disinfection in its hospitals and healthcare buildings it's a big boost to signify the company formerly known as philips whose uvc lights have been added to the framework supply list the lights can kill bacteria and deactivate viruses including the dreaded coronavirus right onto tool news now and this week our favorite bit of kit is a new multi-function tester from qtec it features no fewer than 12 capabilities including sophisticated loop testing three and two wire low current test options a comprehensive rcd test facility and best of all ev charge point test capacity another bit of kit which passes the we want one test is an american style multi-function wire stripper from nipex as well as stripping and cutting both solid and stranded wire you can also cut screws the screw cutting holes don't have threads so a screw can be inserted and cut making it faster and easier additional features include locating ridges for easily finding the correct stripping holes without looking and wide gripping jaws for twisting wires also on our gifting wish list is this new multi-tool screwdriver from weha the compact pocket max fits into any shirt or trouser pocket like a standard screwdriver but the secret is in the handle this contains four interchangeable slim bits so you're prepared for anything the pocket max is also certified voltage proof up to 1000 volts which is a nice safety feature and will help you to keep safe during any hairy moments and speaking of safety fears have been rising that the cost of living crisis is pushing homeowners to risk using dangerous power saving products an investigation by consumer safety charity electrical safety first unearthed the problem the charity tested four plug-in products which purported to either save energy or stabilize electrical current all four samples failed basic safety standards risking fires and electric shock in a standard short-circuit test one of the devices exploded in the lab and sent fragments of hot glowing metal into the air the charity is warning both householders and electricians to be aware of the products and if in doubt don't buy other reports of dodgy kitten emerged this week from skullmore who are warning the electrical trade to be on the lookout for fakes of its popular electrical products the acid test says the firm is to check for the bsi kite mark all the companies click range of bs 1363 socket outlets feature the distinctive logo now we've looked at this area in some depth in the past especially with fake and dangerous cables i've popped the video link in the show notes so you know what to watch out for the 18th edition is of course all about taking safety to the next level and the good news here is that schneider electric have come out with a special 18th edition ebook that includes vital information as well as the latest products to help installers comply with the changes to the regulations as you know the new wiring regulations were released in march and included changes to special location installations such as solar and ev systems better surge protection and new installation requirements for buildings that have a fire risk all of these are covered in the e-book again the link to download it is in the show notes on the subject of fire protection industrial enclosure manufacturer spellsberg has released a quick installation version of its fireproof wke cable junction box the new wke sl includes vargo tool-free cable terminals which we're big fans of the junction boxes are rated to e30 circuit integrity class that means they'll provide functional integrity for at least 30 minutes for fire alarm systems acoustic systems emergency lighting and lifts and lastly it's promotion time not an efix promo this time but one from makita if you buy a compatible makita tool before the end of september 2022 you can claim either an xgt led light an inflator or our personal favorite a cool makita bluetooth radio that's it for the news this week just to mark your card for what's coming up on youtube gary's off visiting students and staff as part of our college connections program and he'll be joined by industry superstar and jpel 64 member shahid khan off of the eca so watch out for efix going live with learning at both mid kent and northampton colleges and remember if you miss the live stream the first time you can always catch up on youtube sticking with the learning theme we'll be dropping knowledge this week in the form of a free training package to help with your cpd this time on the subject of changes to circuit protection brought about by amendment 2 to the 18th edition of bs7671 so keep an eye on our social media and the know-how page of efix.co.uk to find out when it goes live we'll also be dropping a couple of q a videos on ring final testing and the perennially controversial topic of talk so stay tuned for those that's all from us this week did you manage to spot this week's challenge words if you think you have tag us in on twitter our handle is at efix247 make sure you subscribe to receive the next update have a great week stay safe out there and remember there's no such thing as a torque calibrated arm