coming up on this week's news MK has urgently recalled 37 versions of its Essentials double  socket range over a high risk of fire a contractor is fined £100,000 after a solar panel installer  falls through a skylight and it's revealed that 80% of electricians have had electric  shocks despite all the safety procedures 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 the respected British accessories brand MK has urgently recalled some 37 versions of its  Essentials double socket range over what's being termed a high risk of fire it's been revealed that  when the switch on the socket is being switched on Switched Off or while it's under load there  is a possibility for an arc flash to occur this could cause the socket and surrounding materials  to ignite the government's office for product safety and standards have recorded the risk  level as high local Authority trading standards officials were first to raise the alert about the  products which are made in China it appears the affected sockets do not meet the requirements of  the electrical equipment safety regulations of 2016 or for the plugs and sockets safety  regulations of 1994 the affected models are all 13 amp two gang sockets in the essentials range they  include both single and double pole versions and the single pole switch socket with neon light and  the option with an integral USB port they were on sale to electricians from 2018 to July 2024  MK says the products have now been withdrawn from the market I've put a link to the full 37 product  codes in the show notes in other news a Renewables contractor has been fined 100,000 pounds after a  solar panel installer fell 10 m through a skylight and sustained serious injuries Nicolas Vilela had  been fixing a photovoltaic panel into position on the roof of the Greystone Action Sports skate park  in Salford Greater Manchester when the accident happened he took a step backwards onto a fragile  Skylight and then plunged down to the skate park below narrowly missing several people his  horrific injuries include a partial lung collapse broken ribs pelvis femur and left wrist as well  as fractures to his lower vertebrae he spent a month in hospital H2O Renewables limited where  the principal contractor on the job and it had engaged Green Projects limited as subcontractor  to fit the roof mounted system H20 planned the work during which time they were aware  of multiple fragile roof lights near to where the solar panels would be fitted its risk assessment  stated that cones and warning tape would be used to warn workers of the risk of falling through the  roof lights additionally fixed scaffolding would be used to prevent falls from the perimeter of  the roof a health and safety probe found that by the time by the work started in November  2022 the fixed scaffold had only partially been erected and only cones had been placed  next to the skylights despite these insufficient measures Green Projects limited's operatives were  allowed to start work to fit the solar panels the investigation concluded that H2O Renewables  limited and green projects limited had failed to take suitable and sufficient precautions to ensure  the safety of workers on the roof H2O Renewables limited of Hazel Grove Stockport pleaded guilty to  breaching the construction design and management regulations of 2015 they were fined £106,000 and  ordered to pay almost £5,000 costs at a hearing at Manchester magistrates Court green projects  limited of Albert Street Olden pleaded guilty to breaching the work at height regulations 2005  and were fined £13,340 and ordered to pay £1600 in costs over in Wales the recent storm Darragh  has devastated the UK's biggest solar farm high winds blew hundreds of panels off their mountings  at the giant 190 acre Porth Wen solar farm in Anglesey the installation was only completed 2  years ago the site is owned by French energy firm EDF energy and Powers up to 9 and a half thousand  households it now needs significant repairs says assessors Elsewhere on Anglesey the wind was so  strong that blades were sheared off a wind turbine which then reportedly caught fire that's all going  to take a bit of work to manhandle back into shape there's more sobering news for the solar  sector in a scientific study released this week which shows that panels can accelerate the spread  of fire on sloping roofs the effect depends on the Gap distance between the roof surface and  the module and the size of the ignition Source the scientists did a lot of experiments which showed  that a self-propagating fire can be achieved if the ignition source is big enough the bouyant  plume spreads the fire mostly up the roof surface and to a limited degree laterally the fire spread  was also seen down the Roof in the burning melted roof membrane none of the experiments caused the  fire to spread into the roof construction I've popped a link to the detailed research in the show  notes meanwhile a fire risk assessment of Home battery packs by German scientists have rated the  chance of a blaze at just 0.0049% researchers at the RWTH Aachen University say they only took into  account cases in which the fire in the house was actually triggered by the battery storage system  itself not by the battery management system or human error they also found that the fires are  increasingly taking place in the spring this is most likely a reaction that occurs when the  storage systems begin to be used again after the winter most of the fires occur between noon and  4 p.m. when the memory is fully loaded in EV news it's been revealed that Europe's biggest charging  location is set to be at the Trafford Center in Manchester a planning application to turn a former  petrol station on the site into an ev station has been submitted to the centre's planning  team the development will deliver an ultra rapid charging Hub a supercharger lounge and a further  47 250 KW Ultra fast charges that would take the total at the centre to 65 which could make  make it the largest Ultra rapid charging Hub in Europe if it's approved work is set to begin in  early 2025 EV chargers in petrol stations are becoming a contentious issue in the trade just  this week a petrol industry trade Association warned that a loophole in the law is allowing  chargers to be put in dangerous locations on fore courts because operators don't have to notify any  authorities when they add chargers it means a non-compliant scheme could be in operation for  years until a petrol enforcement team visits the site only at this point will operators be asked to  rectify the situation Jamie Thompson chairman of the association for petrol and explosives  administration's technical committee said that the existing law does not recognise the installation  of electric chargers as a material change to a petrol station he said the current situation is  a possible danger to the public Thompson also said that installers of plug-in points sometimes don't  take into account temporary hazards such as petrol tankers being too close to the charge points the  cable or the car being charged another problem is that an isolator unit is often not installed  on the for court or inside the shop for fire service to turn off the equipment in the event of  an accident now it's been revealed that eight in 10 electricians in Northern Ireland have suffered  electric shocks on the job the groundbreaking report by the electrical training trust has  revealed what the organisation terms a culture of shock silence the survey which interviewed some  350 Electrical Workers in the province also showed that some 40% have had at least three  shocks in their careers to date of those who've experienced a shock 89% sustained an injury and  almost all required time off work and despite the frequency of the shock incidents almost  three quarters were not reported to employers a key finding is the failure of electricians in  Northern Ireland to carry out safe isolation procedures using lockoff kits the document  said that company culture ineffective reporting procedures and time pressures are the three most  common reasons staff failed to report an electric shock at work the organisation's Charlotte Bamber  said the findings should serve as a wakeup call to the electrical industry eFIXX has produced lots  of info and educational videos on safe isolation including a full CPD I highly recommend that you  take a look at that the links as always are in the show notes finally in product news this week the  big story is a breakthrough in Battery Technology this looks set to result in more powerful longer  lasting power tools Battery Giant Ampace has found a clever way to reduce the internal resistance  of a cell which in turn cuts the temperature rise during discharge the result is the JP30 a  battery which can deliver a stunning 36 amps for 5 minutes without cutting out that's twice the  current capability the company has also managed to increase the power density from an industry  standard 1,000 watts per kilogram to 2,100 Watts The Innovation should feed through into tools in  the coming years and we can't wait to see those before we go a shout out to the constellation  of stars that make up level three night time adult pupils at Preston College in Lancashire  maintenance engineer Damien Cross got in touch to tell us that the students watch the news each week  and have all benefited from our educational videos thanks for the feedback Damien and all the best  to you and all your colleagues in your studies if you if you'd like a name check on the eFIXX  news weekly get in touch via our contacts in the show notes or in the comments below 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 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 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 correct guesses and select one at random to be  the winner of an eFIXX goodie bag prize answers submitted after 5:00 on the Wednesday 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  brain rot and Bret and the first name to come out of electronic hat was Martin E63 so very well done  to you Martin 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