- Coming up on this week's news. It may be over 100 years old but the venerable fluorescent tube is set to pass into history next February. We give you the lowdown on the bulb ban. Also, the Japanese boffin who's come up with a light that doesn't use electricity. And we reveal the winner of our big Marshall Tufflex competition. Welcome to Electrical News Weekly in association with SCAME, whether you're listening in the van, onsite or down at the wholesale counter. I'm Joey 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 I've been challenged to slip into this week's show, comment with them below for the chance to win a prize. Its history may predate the first World War but the fluorescent tube is set to become a museum piece after the UK government confirmed the timing of its so-called bulb ban. The reason? Florries contain mercury, which is classed as a hazardous substance by the authorities. From next February, it will be illegal to put T5 and T8 lamps up for sale. However, the law allows what it terms current stocks to continue to be sold. So in practice, the availability will tail off rather than end overnight. If you've got customers with lots of tubes, you'll need to have a conversation with them about what they're going to do when the ax comes down. Instead of replacing the lights, you could substitute the fluorescents for retrofit LED tubes. Doing this will result in big energy savings. In fact, we've calculated that for one installation we swap the tubes over in, it resulted in a three-month payback, one of the best we've ever seen. And that figure is likely to be even better after the recent energy hikes. There's a couple of options for installation. You can either keep the ballast in situ or tweak the wiring inside to remove it from the circuit and the fitting if you want to perhaps weigh in the magnetic ballasts. All that changes is the type of retrofit LED tube you install. Happily, Gordon and Gary have created a special video to show you how to do just this, and it really is a cracker. Definitely worth a watch. And I've also created a free training package to help you with your CPD on the efficiency in lighting design, which includes guidance on calculating payback periods. I've popped the link to both into the show notes. Another change you'll notice is in the colorful energy label on the box of the LED tube. And if you bought one last year, it probably had an A+ rating, which no doubt impressed your customer but now it could have an F rating. Don't be alarmed. It's exactly the same lamp. And again, Gordon and Gary have come up with a short video to explain the recalibration of the energy label. The link is also in the show notes. One light maker who is guaranteed an excellent rating, even under the new system, is a Tokyo-based product designer called Yuichiro Morimoto. He has just unveiled a softly glowing light, which uses no electricity or battery. The magic happens in a specially treated, light collecting acrylic surface called a condensing plate. This plate absorbs ultraviolet light and redirects the light to its edges. The luminaire gradually lights up to exude a warm glow from around its edges. Finally, a layer of white opalescent acrylic is positioned on top to diffuse the light. It's believed to be the first light in the world to use this technique. Morimoto has dubbed the product nisshoku, which means eclipse in Japanese as it resembles the blocking of the sun. No one's claiming the nisshoku gives out a lot of light at this stage of its development but that could be a real positive in these days of high glare, LED lights. Truly, glare has returned with a vengeance in our streetlights, our retail lights and our office lights. Often, you'll see that an office light has what's turned a unified glare rating of 19. But is this good? Is it bad? What does it mean? Well, earlier this week I delved into the mysteries of glare and you can check out my five-minute explainer video on the channel. Again, the link is in the show notes. Expect to be enlightened. Now, do you think your job is dangerous? The reason I ask is that Forbes Advisor, a management information service reckons that being an electrician is up there in its list of dangerous professions with firefighters, prison officers and policemen and women. And if you've been following our news weeklies for a while, you'll know that now and again, some colleagues in the trade can suffer horrific injuries and even death when things go wrong. But Forbes' most remarkable finding is that there isn't much of a connection between how dangerous your job is and what you're paid. Farmers, for instance, earn over 50% more than an electrician on average, but they have a danger rating of 10 compared to electricians of 11. In fact, electricians make it to Forbes' list of the worst paid dangerous jobs, along with kitchen assistant and animal care workers. And yet, in a world gone wonky, the country needs more electricians, lots of them, over 100,000, in fact. That's the estimate revealed in the new UK Trade Skills Index for 2023. There are three reasons for the shortage. A bulge of older electricians are starting to retire about now. There was an exodus of EU workers post Brexit and demand is soaring. It says there is already an alarming shortage and we need those 100,000 by 2032. They should be attracted into the profession by its financial security. But increasingly, on the ground, electrical contractors and jobbing electricians alike are struggling to get paid. In fact, insurance firm Direct Line reports that electricians are currently owed on average 7,000 pounds, which is past the due date for payment. On average, the largest single invoice they've given up chasing on payment comes to 4,757 pounds with nearly 1/4 losing out on payments worth over 2,500 pounds. More than 3/4 have at some point tried to make a legal claim to recover payments. Over half were either unsuccessful in their claim or still have unresolved claims. The situation is worse in Scotland. The Construction Industry Collective Voice says the trades north of the border are suffering a scourge of late payments, outstanding retentions and unexpected charges. Some 68% of respondents to its in-depth poll said their payment terms were altered negatively with 60% claiming adjustments to payments were made with little or no explanation. And 69% of those surveyed said the time and cost of chasing outstanding money was their most significant problem when it came to payment. How on earth are Scottish electricians supposed to pay for their neeps and tatties and cock-a-leekie soup? I don't know. Let's had a little bit of fun to the show now by revealing the winner of our CPD competition with Marshall Tufflex. We said that anyone who completed the free training package on dado trunking by the end of February would win a Virgin Experience Day from The Scarlet Collection. So who's won and what will they choose? Abseiling, cheese tasting, sheep dog training? Let's find out. And the winner drawn at random from the entrance is Graham Mellish of Harvey Mellish Electrical Services Limited in Hemel Hempstead. Congratulations, Graham. Please be sure to share your experience with us on social media. Now, just before we get to your favorite 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, for all your circuit protection needs, they're like having an Italian star stroker in your Premiership team, It's Lewden and Palazzoli. And 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. And one of the biggest lighting companies in the world because their capital is always Dublin, it's Irish lighting manufacturer at ROBUS Home of great quality and innovative lighting products. Big thanks to you all. We really appreciate your ongoing support for the news. Now, 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 to the first to get the right answers. Last week's words were nutmeg and smithereens. And the first person to get them both right was Ronny Hawks. We're not going to penalize you for the spelling Ronny, so well done. And click the link in the show notes to claim your prize. Coming up across all our social media platforms this week, we've got the Complete Guide to Heat Shrink. Our brand new presenter answers a question on basic insulation, and we launch another free training package to help you with your CPD in a brand new and improved format that we think you're going to love. So keep your eyes peeled for that. Thanks for listening to this episode of Electrical News Weekly in association with SCAME. 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.