coming up on this week's news installers are warned this week about the dangers of neutral  current diversions the trade reacts in Fury to the latest Amendment to the regs and we meet  the once homeless man who's just qualified as an electrician 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 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 words  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 the electrical trade is being warned  this week about the rising risks of neutral current diversions concern has been mounting  in the industry in recent years over this serious Network fault now the trade Association for the  electrical contracting industry in Scotland has moved to alert and educate electricians about  the hazard select has produced a set of materials to help contractors identify the issue and take  appropriate action these include posters for workshops and training centres a flowchart and  a pocket sized foldout for tool boxes an NCD can occur on a network when the combined protective  earthing and neutral conductor fails the current is then diverted by making a circuit via exposed  metal work on the building these can include the gas water and oil pipes if there's a significant  buildup of heat then this can be followed by fires and gas explosions protective Earth and neutral  or pen conductors are particularly vulnerable to damage corrosion and wear and tear across  an aging protective multiple earthing Network experts say that given the huge projected rise  in load on the network incidents are expected to multiply engineering and Technology magazine has  reported that the number of broken pen conductors has increased by more than eight times since 2005  one broken pen incident may affect around 50 properties meaning tens of thousands of properties  could be affected each year in the UK current can also flow through gas meters during these faults  if a current is diverted and it creates heat due to the resistance of the meter an explosion  can follow in 2022 a house in Birmingham was destroyed in such a blast the select flowchart  walks you through the steps to take before working on an existing electrical installation I've put a  download link in the show notes one of the first colleges to put the flowchart on its walls is West  Lothian College in Livingston Scotland but it hasn't stopped there the school has rigged up  a circuit which simulates a pen fault so that its budding electricians can get to grips with  the issue it's such a successful training tool that lecturers want to create another 21 to share  with rival institutions my colleague Gary has been along to see the rig and he's now issued a plea to  manufacturers to help make the roll out of the rig happen so if you think you can assist get  in touch in the comments I've put a link to his video about the setup in the show notes speaking  of training last week's question of the week came from our free training package on emergency  lighting made in association with robus and ask how often should a visual inspection of central  control power supply indicators to check that the system is in an operational and ready condition be  carried out the correct answer is of course daily and only 53% of viewers on YouTube were correct  but that was a magnificently impressive result compared with the 17% on LinkedIn to be fair  though I did have to pair the question down to the bone to get it to fit into the Draconian character  limit on LinkedIn poll so maybe that's why so many got it wrong which could also account for the poor  showing on X as well where only 34% of people were right either way make sure you check out that free  training package from robus to brush up on your knowledge the link is in the show notes in other  news the trade has reacted with Fury to the latest proposed amendment to the wiring regulations the  authors of the wiring Regs recently warned the trade of the impact of amendment four  this revision is designed to match us with European standards and includes requirements  for secondary batteries generating sets and power over ethernet installations it also sets out the  procedures for functional earthing and bonding for computer systems but contractors slam the changes  as information overload they say the constant need to keep up is becoming a major burden on the trade  which is not reflected in salary levels others point out that it was different when they joined  the trade changes to practice back then were rare and well signposted specifically electricians have  criticised the inclusion of power over ethernet installations in the regulations as overreach  one commenter Warren Boswell said the electrical profession was in danger of regulating itself out  of existence also looking to amend current practice is charger and battery pack maker  mienergi which has this week thrown its weight behind the concept of cross- pavement charging  the company says the technique of putting cables in recessed gullies allows EV owners without  driveways to plug in their Vehicles it's teamed up with one of the Technology's Pioneers kerbo  charge to promote it to local authorities already many councils have given the green light to cross  pavement charging some are even providing the service to its residents but the issue is not  without controversy earlier this year eFIXX exclusively revealed that some electrical  experts have grave reservations about the move to Street charging and some local authorities  say they won't proceed without further guidance from the Department for transport the alarm stems  from the risk of simultaneous contact between the body of an electric vehicle and another  vehicle or a piece of Street Furniture such as a metal lamp post or telecom's cabinet experts say  that unless the two items are connected to the same Distribution Systems there is a risk in a  fault of a high potential difference between them for their part the IET and the ECA both require a  simultaneous contact assessment before starting an install if you can't guarantee items are connected  to similar Distribution Systems then according to the guidance you can't proceed with the install we  will of course keep you posted about any further developments in this issue a less controversial  method of char ing multiple cars is starting to get Traction in the UK bus bar systems with  tap off points are proving the perfect solution for car Parks a flat cable serves as a bus bar  designed to be mounted directly onto the ceiling or walls of the car park designated charge points  tap off boxes securely clamp around the cable facilitating a connection to each electric vehicle  charger the method is much faster than using traditional metal containment Brands supplying  the kit include Weiland Schneider and Legrand Gordon popped along to an underground car park in  Central London to witness an install the worst bit the bill from the DNO for the 400 amp connection  which came in at an eyewatering £25,000 still the Bentley drivers of London seem delighted with  the job Gordon's video is cooler than an Eskimo with an ice cream and well worth a watch so I've  put the link in the show notes and finally on EV charging Rolec and Sinexel have unveiled the ultra  charge 30 a compact and cost effective solution set to change the game in EV charging designed  for accessibility and affordability this rapid charging Marvel is perfect for businesses looking  to implement EV charging with minimal investment building on the success of its predecessor the  ultra charge 160 the ultra charge 30 packs the same trusted technology into a smaller very  affordable package with a low grid connection requirement of just 55 amps on a three-phase  supply it's easy to integrate into most commercial premises whether for customers staff or fleets  tailored to the UK Market it features contactless payment options compliance with pas 1899  accessible charging standards and ISO 15118 plug charge capabilities for ultimate convenience plus  it's future proof supporting ocpp 2.0.1 upgrades to keep Pace with industry Evolution this unit is  easy to install simple to maintain and backed by Rolec and Sinexel Technical teams who stand ready  to offer full support even better it's already in stock and ready for immediate delivery in the  UK now back to the capital A man who overcame homelessness to qualifies as an electrician has  thanked the people who helped him Andrew Onasanya a graduate of the College of Northwest London was  recently presented with an award by the Prince of Wales while training as an apprentice Andrew  found himself in a precarious position when his housing benefit was cut he sought help from the  homeless charity Centrepoint which provided him with a safe living environment the support allowed  him to focus on his studies and work towards a career last year he completed his level three  and is now a qualified electrician we wish him very well another man we want to wish well is  our very own Gary who's just turned 50 he hit the half century last week but he's been strangely  silent about it on social media and in Lineside Studios so I'm here to tell the world be nice to  him he's getting on a bit seriously I'd like to give a shout out to Gary for all the Unseen work  he does for colleges and apprentices up and down the country really nice one Gaz as well done now  an electrician who doesn't fully trust putting test results into a tablet or iPad has developed  an electrician's diary which we're getting pretty buzzed about Dale Kerry of DSK Electrical created  it for himself but has now produced it for other installers like him who prefer paper to electronic  devices he's put all the useful information in it so you don't need to take all your notebooks into  the property while on a job it includes things like current carrying capacity charts and voltage  drop for flat twin and Earth cables each page has columns to input test results so there's no need  to jot results down on the back of an envelope if you put electrician diary into Amazon it should  pop up but I've put the link in the show notes as well I also did a quick impromptu regulation  Corner that featured the diary in last week's live stream where we also welcomed Schneider Electric  it's well worth a catch up that live stream it was a good one wiha has announced that there's  been a big fire at its Factory in Vietnam while nobody was injured the plant produces  the company's standard electrical pliers but also some complex Innovative pliers as well the brand  says to expect some delays and disruption to its supplies while it reorganises production crimping  and stripping tools are manufactured elsewhere and are not affected 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 in December 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 now 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 it's Sunsynk the best thing to come out of Yorkshire since stainless steel the home of EV  Ultra and other groundbreaking 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 scar  me 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 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 is  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 now at this point I need to  make a small confession I completely forgot to add one of last week's words into the script I got one  but not the other so everyone who got the one word that I did put in has been entered into the prize  draw my apologies normal service has been restored this week I hope anyway last week's word singular  was Pomeranian and the first name to come out of our electronic hat was transmission signal so very  well done to you click the 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 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