coming up on this week's news the IET reignites the heated debate over the safety of external  consumer units it's revealed that 15,000 Council homes in Sheffield haven't had an EICR in 5  years and electrical contracting firms fear big losses following the collapse of construction  heavyweight ISG welcome to electrical news weekly in association with solar trade sales your easy  One-Stop shop for all things solar make sure you click the link in the show notes to access their  online store whether you're listening in the van onsite or down wholesale counter I'm Joe Robinson  and I've been through the best of the electrical industry news to save you the trouble and 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 IET has weighed into the heated debate over the  safety of external consumer units the institution this week unveiled a long list of its concerns  over the use of the units for installation such as EV chargers and heat pumps the 4,000-word article  itemised a Litany of its worries including the effect of bad weather direct sunlight  condensation pollution and corrosive substances on the Integrity of the boards the I is also  concerned about tampering and the possibility of impacts from Vehicles Additionally the article  opens up the ongoing debate around PEN faults and earthed outdoor electrical kits such as  heat pumps and solar storage batteries a rare fault condition on DNO cables can cause exposed  metal work to become live and RCDs don't protect against this dangerous fault condition although  EV chargers include protection against PEN faults this is usually included within the charger and  offers no protection to other equipment the IET also stresses that installers can impair the IP  rating unless they're very careful about how they select and use cable entry glands the institution  concludes by saying many Engineers would regard the use of external consumer units as a last  resort option however some observers say that the intervention by the IET isn't that helpful instead  they say it adds to the confusion in the trade eFIXX understands there are no plans to change  the wiring regulations in this area and writing on social media the article's author senior IET  engineer Craig O'neill says that any regs change needs to be backed by strong science he says he  doesn't have any evidence to process a proposal for change many in the trade have also been quick  to point out that external units made to BS61439-3 are compliant with the regs and installing  them can often save the homeowner the expense of replacing their indoor consumer unit with a larger  one back in March electricians were told to stop putting Battery Systems in Lofts following a fast  tracked publicly available specification instead the document recommended that batteries should be  located outside a property putting consumer units in the DNO's external meter boxes is also a no no  the energy networks Association ruled it out in a recent statement it is a space designed for  the use of electricity industry apparatus only no allowances made for additional equipment for  safety reasons it would not recommend that any internal wiring including a consumer unit is  installed within such a cabinet many in the trade point to the energy companies which are currently  installing thousands of external consumer units every month as they help householders connect  up EV Chargers solar panels and heat pumps the companies are accused of using external consumer  units as a first Resort the row has the potential to reignite concerns about what many independent  Sparks and contractors see as unfair competition from the energy firms they point to the fact that  the companies are allowed to pull the service fuse whereas independent installers need to  request a visit from the energy supplier or the newly created safe isolation providers or SIPs  octopus declined to reply to eFIXX's requests for comment tell us what you think about the issue in  the comments below still on electrical safety it's been revealed that over 15,000 Council  homes in Sheffield haven't had an EICR in 5 years it's recommended that local authorities inspect  and test their installations at least once in that period as well as at a change of occupancy  sources are blaming a pause in checkups during the pandemic Sheffield City Council now says it  plans to conduct regular inspections of all its 38,000 Properties by 2030 it's estimated that the  plan could cost almost 20 million as part of the electrical testing work all code one present risk  of injury and code two potentially dangerous items must be rectified while the contractor is at the  property in other news electrical contracting firms this week are assessing their options  following the collapse of construction heavyweight ISG it's the biggest failure in the building  sector since Carillian went bust in 2018 many of those who were subcontracted on ISG building  sites fear they could lose out after five of ISG's component companies went into Administration the  ECA urged those affected to take immediate action it said that if you're able to access your site  get photographs video and written records of your work in progress also recover tools and  unfixed materials which you have titled to and have not yet been paid for keep in contact with  ISG representatives and make a claim for unpaid works with the appointed administrator ensure your  records are up to date as they will be vital in establishing the value of your final account they  can also be used in any negotiations with any main contractor who is brought into to complete the  contract remember too says the association that Administration is not liquidation you may even get  a chance to finish the job so stay positive I've popped a link to the ECA's full list of advice in  the show notes it's been revealed that women electricians often earn less than their male  counterparts more than a third of Trades women say that they are not taken seriously because of their  gender that's according to research by industry platform rated people Katy Bradshaw an electrician  from Gloucester and a winner of eFIXX's 30 under 30 award this year told the BBC this  week that she struggled to find an apprenticeship despite being the only one of her training course  to pass first time with distinction every other lad in her class failed Bradshaw maintains that  nobody would take her on because she's female she eventually found someone who already had a woman  installer on their books and was willing to take her on meanwhile down in Australia a specialist  electrician has broken cover with the eye watering salaries that some in the trade can earn Down  Under the instrumentation specialist from the Gold Coast earns a basic salary of a whopping  £92000 that's more than enough to create a garden filled with topiary herons the high earnings are  partly because he works in the lucrative oil and gas sector instrumentation electricians  are qualified Sparks with specialist training who work with Control Systems they install and  maintain equipment and repair faults to reduce interruptions in a production environment he  said the sector was screaming out for workers and urged young people to consider it as a career in  product news this week Spanish Brand Zemper has unveiled a dedicated emergency light for a range  of applications it helps reduce installation time because you can have 30m spacings in offices and  26m in corridors you can also put in lenses including ones for Escape Routes it features  a 3-hour battery check out the Q&A video I made on the subject of corridor and area lighting  featuring The Spatio Plus at the link in the show notes Sunsynk has unveiled the latest  range of Acure hybrid inverters at the solar and storage trade show in Birmingham a key feature of  the series is a wireless current Transformer which enables easier installation and monitoring without  the need for wiring the inverters support up to 10 Wireless smart switches allowing prosumers  to maximise their own power consumption by diverting excess solar energy into household  loads such as water heaters or electric vehicles units also boast a crucial safety feature in the  form of arc fault detection on solar strings which detect and mitigate potential electrical  faults that could lead to fires models range from 3.6 KW single-phase options to 12 KW three-phase  units if if you're doing a lot of solar these days then you'll be super interested in a video  that's fresh from the edit Suite in it Gordon bench tests the latest PV Checks Pro from TIS  a tool which saved us big bucks when we did a big solar install on the roof of the Lineside Studios  the link as ever is in the show notes and finally eFIXX has learned that British brand myenergi is  developing a special EV charger which can power your home from your car it's set to be the UK's  first mass Market vehicle to grid plug-in Point sources say the product could hit the market  early in the New Year it's understood the launch will be released to coincide with the arrival of  a host of mainstream vehicle to grid enabled electric vehicles will keep you posted when we  hear more and our usual 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 send us pictures  of your installs or let us know if you've come across any new kit that's making your job easier  now just before we get to your favourite bit of the show where I revealed last week's challenge  words and winners we want to thank our premium Partners we couldn't make the new news without  you first up it's 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 up next they're  resolving ventilation problems one property at a time offering a simplistic ventilation design  service and high quality products made right here in the UK breathing fresh air into your home its  environment and do you want a no fuss lighting Solution that's packed with value then try the  Ecolink range from signify combining value for money with top-end Signify quality now a business  that will literally bend over backwards to give you first class service on the trade only supply  of signal reception and distribution custom install home automation and security products  for all residential and Commercial projects it's Alltrade 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 all we really appreciate your  ongoing support for the news if you think you know the words that I've smuggled into this week's show  pop your guest 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 winners of last week's  challenge word competition last week's words were phenomenon and Worcestershire see I can say it and  the winner we plucked from our digital hat was Ellena Jones 7131 so well done to you make sure  you click the get involved Link in the show notes to claim your prize 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 remember to click that link in the show notes to check out their online shop 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 talk calibrated arm