coming up on this week's news fire investigators say they found DIY electrical work at a Swansea  home where a three-year-old boy and his dad died it's been revealed that over 3 million Smart  Meters aren't working properly and an electrician working behind a false ceiling discovers a set  of Priceless artworks 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 on site 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 Brady if you need  a label they've got a printer and so much more 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 and  while you're there click the link to check out the Brady range of printers fire investigators  have told an inquest that they found that DIY electrical work had been carried out in a house  where a three-year-old boy and his dad died in a fire Muhammad Esmael and his father, 51-year-old  Naemat Lawa Esmael died in The Blaze at their Swansea home in July of last year now Muhammad's  mother, Sharmeen Ahmed has told the inquest that her husband had made improvements in their  Council owned house including electrical work investigators found an extension lead had been  wired into a socket in the room where the fire started Jason Woodman of MID and West Wales fire  and rescue service said that based on the balance of probabilities the fire had started in that area  he said there were no other potential sources of ignition found in the room and the Gathering  also heard from Barry Kelly an electrical expert with South Wales police he assessed the electrical  aftermath following the fire and said there was exposed electrical wiring in the living  room which could have caused a serious electric shock if touched and that there were alterations  in other areas of the house too in the room where the fire started he said that there were two cut  cables coming out of the wall where a socket would have been and electrical items had gone he said  he could not subsequently offer any opinion on a possible cause of the fire Siobhan Cooze  from Swansea Council said the family moved into the house in 2021 adding that smoke alarms were  installed there in 2020 she said electrical Works were not permitted in Council properties and that  this was made clear to tenants at several points in the tenancy signing Swansea Council electrician  Thomas Mainwaring said the local authorities homes were fitted with hardwired smoke alarms and were  connected to a lighting circuit he said the alarms were all connected so if one sounded they all  sounded speaking through an interpreter Ms Ahmed told the inquest she wanted to know the exact  cause of the fire so that nobody else would have to go through what she had she said it would been  much easier for her to lose her life there and then than to go through all this sorrow now the  inquest continues meanwhile a wider investigation into the problem of electrical fires in the UK  has Unearthed some alarming statistics the home office says that around 4,000 house fires across  the UK every year are caused by faulty electrics Cambridge fire and rescue service has revealed  that it alone has been called out to more than 1,200 electrical fires in the last 3 years figures  obtained by legal experts show that of those more than 580 happened in domestic properties  with the leading cause being wiring cabling and plugs another fire service Hampshire and Isle of  Wight has published its figures showing that it's tackled over 1,000 electrical fires in its patch  since 2021 in other news the roll out of smart meters in the UK has come in for intense criticism  in a BBC Panorama documentary in it BBC journalist Zoe Conway revealed that no fewer than three and  a half million of the units weren't working as they should that means many householders can't  Avail themselves of smart tariffs for heating hot water and electric vehicles as well as powering  heat pumps and battery packs the program looked at the case of Hartesh Battu a doctor from Glasgow  he's had six different Smart Meters fitted by two energy suppliers none of which has worked when he  complained he was told that he lived too far north that's because a different wireless network is  used in the north of England compared to the south in the popular South The Meters talk to the mobile  cellular phone network in the more sparsely populated North they communicate via radio  masts but even the energy industry admits that the northern network isn't working well and complaints  have been Soaring Over unexpectedly High bills an anonymous engineer told Pomeranian sorry that  should be Panorama we'll get that in post we'll edit that out and Anonymous engineer told Panorama  that part of the problem was that different energy companies with different technical  capabilities installed different systems running different software Oxford University Professor  Sir Dieter Helm said that the government made two fundamental mistakes with the roll out of smart  meters first it gave into lobbying by putting the energy suppliers in charge of installing  Smart Meters instead of the network operators and second he said it made having a smart meter  voluntary this meant that each energy firm had to persuade each of its customers to have one  fitted driving up costs Helm says the roll out of smart meters should go down as a textbook example  of a project failure he says it's late and very expensive you can see the full documentary in  the UK on BBC I player I've put the link in the show notes if your smart meter is working then  you may be interested in what's being billed as the UK's first smart tariff for traditional  electric storage heaters octopus is going Retro by Reinventing the economy 7 tariff which dates back  to the 1970s instead of seven continuous hours its version dubbed snug octopus offers up to 6 hours  of cheap energy every night with an extra hour in the afternoon for a toasty boost at dinner time  it says it allows average customers to save almost £40 a year compared to a standard economy 7 tariff  without the need to invest in other low carbon Tech customers can adjust their heat and runtime  as they want allowing them to cut down their energy use and costs during the warmer months  around 1.7 million homes in the UK currently use storage heaters and they're also very popular with  housing associations with over 180,000 of their homes relying on them for heating now to run those  heaters you're going to need a variety of cables and the results of our most recent question of the  week would suggest there's still some confusion over cable codes the question was taken from our  recently launched free training package on cables and conductors From Doncaster cables and asked the  following code describes a cable which when in a fire does not emit smoke or gases the code is  H5 Z1 Z1 hythen F the code hythen F tells tell us that the cable is and the correct answer is  flexible not fire rated as 35% of people thought on YouTube only 56% of people got it right there  over on LinkedIn meanwhile just 18% of respondents got it right while over on X just 17% of people  were correct it would seem that there's never been a better time to have a look at that free  training package From Doncaster cables the link as ever is in the show notes in product news Sync  Energy has launched a consumer unit for outdoor applications such as EV charges and solar panels  the plastic unit has an Ingress Protection rating of IP66 and an impact rating of IK1 and it's being  marketed as a cost-effective alternative to metal it's pre-fitted with pollution degree 3 certified  devices options include two 100 amp main switch versions one with a 40 amp 30 milliamp double pole  bidirectional rcbo and one with a 40 amp MCB you can also get a 40 amp main switch and all units  have a type 2 SPD and don't forget there's still time to enter BG's competition where the top prize  is a European city break the runner prizes aren't too shabby either they include Moto GP tickets  Porsche driving experiences Smart TVs and more including an annual pass for Merlin theme parks  and attractions to enter all you've got to do is buy a product from the circuit protection range  accessories are not included upload your receipt or invoice to the special BG website and that's  it I've popped a link to the competition website in the show notes time is running out to enter as  the promotion ends on Tuesday the 10th of December all the very best everyone now a couple of weeks  ago we we introduced you to the M211 printer from Brady if like Gary the idea of using apps  on your phone to print isn't your preference then Brady have got you covered with the M210  which simplifies labelling with smart automatic formatting you just drop in a cartridge type and  print intuitive design Wizards streamline label creation whilst the onscreen display lets users  easily check printer and cartridge status you can save and reuse label designs directly on  the printer for ultimate convenience it's built for durability the m210 features drop lock Ando  cartridges rugged moulded rubber bumpers and a 2-year warranty this lightweight 0.7 kilo  printer resists military spec shocks and survives Falls up to 1.8 m it prints durable labels from 6  to 19 mm wide in up to seven industry specified materials perfect for wire wraps terminal blocks  and more with an ergonomic cut a smart automatic formatting and easy to use ABC keypad the m210  combines brains and Brawn for reliable efficient label creation on any job site now lighting  specialist Ledvance has unveiled its flood light Gen 4 this powerful exterior light has  a high efficiency of 150 lumens per watt an IP rating of 66 and a service life of up to 75,000  hours a special multi- Lumen function allows the brightness to be adjusted in two stages via a  switch on the Lumen a light output options range from 780 lumens to a super bright 25,000 lumens  a sensor version has automatic dimming which Cuts output to either 20 or 40% if no person  is detected a photocell version with a daylight sensor completes the range the link to to all  the products is in the show notes in promotions this week the standout has to be the chance to  win some original Formula 1 merch signify has recently sponsored the Mercedes AMG Petronas  team to help support its goal of achieving zero net Emissions on offer is an exclusive Formula 1  hoodie to join simply register on the signify LumXpert platform and send a message with the  word giveaway to the signify LumXpert WhatsApp additionally the first 100 contractors to put  in an order worth over2 200 will receive a Mercedes AMG Petronas cap during the promotion  the promo ends on Sunday the 8th of December I've put a link to the full terms and conditions in the  show notes and finally an Italian electrician has discovered Priceless artworks hidden behind  a false ceiling Davide Renzoni was doing routine electrical maintenance at Palazzo in Rome when he  came across a set of 17th century frescoes the three stunning paintings feature rosy-cheeked  cherubs surrounded by Hues of blue red and gold art experts say that they've lost none of their  Brilliance despite being covered up for decades Renzoni was stunned to come across the art in the  vaulted ceiling of what was once the living room of Agostino Chigi, a wealthy banker and  Renaissance patron who had the villa built in the 16th century. now just before we go we'd like to  give a special College connection shout out to 18-year-old Kian Ivory who's doing level three  at Milton keyne's College Kian has completed lots of our cpds including ones on continuity testing  rcds and containment we're delighted that you're finding our free courses useful Kian and we wish  you and your classmates every success in your studies 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 can you believe that the next episode of the news will be released in  December I don't know where 2024's gone anyway over the next month we'll be looking at energy  monitoring and lighting controls send us pictures of your installs 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 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 at SynSynkl 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 that I've smuggled into this week's show pop your guess  into the comments we'll take all the 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  as sponsored by Brady remember if you need a label they've got a printer and so much more  click the link in the description to view their incredible range last week's words were Jacoban  and salamander and the first name to come out of our electronic hat was Johnny Mack lk5 qo  excellent work Johnny click the link in the show notes to claim your prize and while here just a  quick shout out as well to Anthony pigot 7075 for the funniest comment last week when he suggested  that jacoban and salamander would probably be the name of a paint colour next week if anyone's  watching from Farah and ball we can negotiate licensing terms 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 the 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 Torque calibrated arm