- Coming up on this week's news, contractors walk off site after an electrician is hospitalized following an electric shock. The boss of MCS, the Microgeneration Certification Service, reveals that his home has neither a heat pump nor solar panels, and do roads that power your car mean the end of EV chargers? 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. Contractors walked off site this week following the hospitalization of an electrician after an electric shock. Contract firm, BGEN, ordered its workers to leave the Ferguson Marine Shipyard in Glasgow after their colleague came into contact with a dangling live cable on one of the unfinished vessels. The victim was taken to the local accident and emergency department and has now made a full recovery. But BGEN says it needs to be satisfied about site safety before restarting the work. One electrician working on the new ferries being built in the yard described the incident was a wake-up call. An investigation into the incident has been carried out by Ferguson Buses and it's been reported that inspectors from the Health and Safety Executive are due to visit the site. Back in February, the shipyard was ordered by the executive to address dangerous working conditions or face prosecution. It gave Ferguson Marine a month to correct safety issues on the ferries and elsewhere on the site. The inspectors also found a shortage of skilled personnel, inadequate fire safety procedures, and problems with work permits. A Ferguson Marine spokesperson said that the company is taking the electric shock incident very seriously. It's investigated what happened to ascertain the root cause and to determine if any additional safety measures are required. It says the company has dealt with the incident with the seriousness it requires. In other news, it's been revealed that the chief of the Microgeneration Certification Service has no, well, micro generation at home. Ian Rippin, the chief executive of MCS, told BBC radio that he has neither a heat pump nor solar panels, despite being in the job for five years. He relies on a gas boiler for heating, but says that his next house will absolutely have a heat pump. The MCS hit the headlines this month after Octopus Energy said that owners of solar panels can sell their electricity to it, even if the installer isn't MCS certified. Up until now, only an MCS certified system could get cash back for exporting to the grid. Now, any suitably skilled and competent person can do the work. It's a big blow to MCS, who have regulated the market since 2007. In product news, there's been an industry alert over dodgy carbon monoxide alarms coming in from China. The consumer group, which found five models of concern all unbranded, one of them failed to respond to carbon monoxide 10 times during 28 detection tests. When it did detect the gas, the alarm wasn't loud enough to alert householders. Some of the alarms sell for as little as five pounds on websites, such as eBay and Amazon. The branded alarms which passed all the tests included Google's Nest, FireAngel, Firehawk, and Kidde. For information on how to properly and safely install fire alarm systems, check out our free training package on the subject to help you with your CPD. You'll find a link in the show notes. Overhead power cables, which can carry up to 30% more power, are the promise of a new Leeds-based company. The cables are coated in a special material developed by a chemistry graduate from the University of Manchester. Niall Coogan says the breakthrough material reflects sunlight, and allows infrared heat to leave more easily. This slashes energy losses by 10% and increases the cable's current carrying capacity. The company, AssetCool, has just raised over 2 million pounds in investment, money which it says will help it bring its high-tech cables to market. Speaking of overhead power lines, last week we unveiled the striking new design for the nation's electricity pylons. Known as T-pylons, the first of the new look structures have been erected to connect the new Hinkley Point C nuclear power station to the grid. In our eFIXX poll, we asked whether you preferred them to the traditional lattice shape and the results are in. Some 44% of you wanted to stick to the old design but a decisive 56% of you said that you preferred it. There's still time to vote for this and indeed all of our other polls. Simply click on the community tab on our YouTube site. Another technical development is promising to get rid of EV charges altogether, Sweden is planning to build the world's first electrified highway by 2025. This will enable electric vehicles to charge as they drive along. The secret is an electrified rail buried in the asphalt. The technology is called conductive charging and it's said to be similar to how a Scalextric model racing car works. Underneath the vehicle is a metal strip, and as this slides along the rail, electricity flows to the vehicle. To keep it centered an onboard camera follows green led lights on the rail. It also identifies the vehicle so that the owner can be billed for the energy that they use. Karen Ebbinghaus, the Chief Executive of Elon Road, the firm behind the tech, says electrified roads make more sense than building large networks of chargers. The only downside is that roads are in the traditional figure of eight shape of the Scalextric kit. Okay, we made that last bit up, but you know, how cool would that be? Our script writer's being cuter than a koala there. And finally, a Manchester company is doing a roaring trade selling bedsheets that connect to the home's earthing arrangement. The bed linen, made from cotton and silver threads, is simply plugged into the earth pin of the nearest socket while you sleep. The company says having your sheets at zero volts transfers free electrons straight from the earth to you, allowing you to stay grounded while you sleep. When grounded, the body shares the same electrical potential as the earth, and this provides a protective effect against any excessive positive charge. To check its working, the company recommends it is regularly tested with a conductivity tester. Great news, I've lost count of the amount of times I've woken up by a lack of free electrons causing excess positive charge on me. I think this needs further investigation. What's next? That losing free electrons is better for weight loss than liposuction, I don't know. Anyway, 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, 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 Sun Synk. Up next, for all your circuit protection needs, they're like having an Italian star striker in your Premiership team, it's Lewden Palazzoli. Next, they're your one-stop solution provider for EV installations, from domestic to large DC public charges. It's the ingenious and gifted Garo. 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 to fix all that gear together and to surfaces, you need fasteners that would win a gold medal. It's Olympic Fixings. Big thanks to you all. We really appreciate your ongoing support for the news. And just to let you know that if you'd like to be featured in next week's news, simply visit the news tab on efixx.co.uk. Tell us about any exciting new products you've discovered, any stories you've spotted, or simply any issues that you believe deserve the community's attention. The eFIXX team will then get on it and everything will be considered for future news bulletins. 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 Labradoodle and supermodel. And despite my personal rant about the meaning of staycation obviously throwing a few people off, the first person over the line was Jonpearnpersonal88837. So very well done to you, Jon. Please click the 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.