coming up on this week's news the authors of the wiring regulations weigh in on the  cable overloading debate how a misconnected CT clamp led to a homeowner being charged £5 just  to boil a kettle and an electrical crime arrives on the doorstep of eFIXX headquarters welcome to  Electrical News Weekly in association with Solar Trade Sales your easy One-Stop shop for all things  solar 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 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 authors of the wiring regulations  have weighed in on a longtime debate over cable overloading the IET says they want to bust some  myths on the topic that many electricians hold dear they site the example of a 1 square mm twin  and earth cable which typically has a current rating of around 14 amps connected to a 32 amp  circuit breaker another is a 10 amp Kettle lead plugged into a 13 amp socket many in the trade  will label both of these as bad practice but the IET's experts say that to get the answer we need  to refer back to regulation 131.4 on overload protection the clue they say is in the title not  everything is likely to overload examples include filament lamps heating elements and power supplies  with internal protection the IET ruling says that if the equipment can't overload the cable  supplying it then it doesn't require overload protection on this basis a 1 square mm cable  connected to a 32 amp circuit breaker powering a dedicated load of 20 watts Wi-Fi access point  could be acceptable in a controlled environment in fact the concept is specifically spelled out in an  often Overlook regulation 433.3.1 it says that a device for protection against overload need not  be provided if the conductor is powering a load that's unlikely to carry overload current that's  provided of course that the conductor is protected against fault current in accordance with the  requirements of section 434 so that's that debate cleared up or is it pop your view in the comments  and for much more information on this subject and this regulation click the link in the show  notes to our free training package from Marshall Tufflex on underfloor wiring systems in other news  it's been revealed that a misconnected CT clamp resulted in homeowners being charged £5 just to  boil a kettle Ford and Ann Jones went into a panic when their newly installed smart meter  showed it adding a Fiver to their electricity bill they then tried the washing machine and  found that they were charged £15 to clean their clothes in the first three months with the new  meter the couple were charged £3,000 that's more than 10 times their usual bill octopus energy  their supplier couldn't get to the bottom of the problem it was only as their heads were about to  prematurely exfoliate when they got in touch with an independent engineer who had fixed solar panels  to their roof that he spotted a CT clamp had been reconnected the wrong way round it was this that  was causing the meter readings to go Haywire a CT clamp the CT stands for current Transformer  measures power use in amps it's crucial that's pointing in the right direction experts believe  this is far from an isolated incident electrician Dave Cookman told the This Is Money website that  he was called out a dozen times last year to reverse CT terminals he says the problem often  arises when smart meters are fitted to a home with solar panels if the meter is installed by  someone not skilled at handling the technology and they put the magnetic clamp in the wrong  direction the reader won't have a clue what's going on Cookman believes energy suppliers such  as octopus are keen not to admit responsibility for its part octopus energy says that it fits  thousands of clamps a year and reversing one is a very rare error still on solar it's been revealed  that putting in PV panels is comparable to a full body workout at the gym GB energy tracked one of  its installers for a week and the results show the extraordinary physicality of the job its monitored  individual walked an average of 10.5 km a day for 5 days that's about 14,000 steps daily he also  climbed 34 flights of stairs and in total burned an average of 2,215 calories each day Luke Antonio  of GB energy says the results show how much energy a member of its hardworking team uses up all In  the name of sustainable energy and now with the lighter electrical news it's time for teabreak  with safe connect and their range of indicators for overheating electrical connections ever heard  the phrase having an ace up your sleeve well how about an electrician in your side that's exactly  what saved Sittingbourne in their FA trophy clash with Salisbury after a mid-match flood  light failure at the Raymond McEnhill Stadium at half time with the score tied at nil nil it looked  like the match might be abandoned When the Lights Went Out enter Sittingbournes unsung hero a player  who also happens to be a Sparky while Salisbury fans held their breath the Bricky's multitasking  Maestro saved the day getting the lights back on but here's the kicker once play resumed Salisbury  might have wished the lights had stayed off Sittingbourne struck twice taking the match 21 and  booking a date with SouthEnd United who is this mystery electrician no idea but salisbury's fans  probably won't be booking him for any home repairs anytime soon that was the lighter electrical  news in teabreak with safe connect click the link to check out their range of indicators  for overheating electrical connections in product news a simple new device has been developed to  speed up the installation of lighting pendants pull cords and smoke alarms in fact it helps  attach anything to plaster board that requires one or two screws ChumpFix is a perforated piece  of plastic about the size of a small ruler you push it up through a 25 mm hole usually the same  one for the cable and then flatten it by pulling the handle you then screw through the plaster to  reach one of its many holes it means you don't have to use wool plugs and it helps to spread  the weight of the light across the the ceiling it also minimises the risk of plasterboard failure  caused by drilling near the edges and we've all been there this Innovation isn't yet in  wholesalers so I've popped the link for online sales into the show notes Brady's Express labels  mobile app introduces a voice control feature designed to streamline electricians workflows  this Innovation allows users to create and print labels using simple voice commands reducing manual  input and enhancing efficiency by integrating voice control electricians can maintain focus  on their tasks without the need to handle devices directly promoting ing safety and productivity the  app supports a wide range of label types ensuring versatility for various electrical applications  available for both IOS and Android devices Express labels mobile is set to become an essential tool  for modern electricians seeking to optimise their labelling processes Schneider Electric  has unveiled a busbar trunking product specially to supply electric vehicle charging stations the  Canalis for EV system allows for configurations up to 400 amps and is suitable for outdoor use it's a  modular plug- and play platform that reduces the amount of civil's work that needs to be done tap  off points along the busbar connector individual chargers there's even an option to provide  lighting as often charging stations can be dark and unwelcoming still on innovation in EV charging  an American firm has developed a flat charging cable to eliminate trips and slips the ghost  cable is just 6 mm thick and 8 cm wide it comes in length of up to 24 ft and in voltages of 110  and 220 volts The Firm says that traditional round cables can be tedious bulky and hazardous in urban  areas its cable is engineered to lay flat reducing tripping risks and rolling up easily for storage  Luceco has launched a new selection of exterior decorative lighting including solar lights and  Mains powered bulkheads the wired bulkheads come with an easy fix wall bracket for ease of  installation they have an IP 54 plus rating and tough materials to ensure year round efficiency  there's also multiple modes and colour temperature options and speaking of lighting our most recent  question of the week came from our free training package on the subject of emergency lighting made  with support from Robus the question was what is the minimum maintained illuminance level required  on the reference plane in high-risk areas for the usual task to take place and we had a bit of  a shocker on this one the correct answer is just 10% and not less than 15 lux however on YouTube  only 21% of respondents got it right and for the second week running LinkedIn respondents proved  themselves to be slightly better informed with 27% getting it right I think either way though it's  fair to say that taking that free training course from robus on emergency lighting might be a good  idea the link's in the show notes and finally to a new feature crime news actually rename that crime  on our doorstep news that's because criminality has arrived in Sleepy Skipton the Yorkshire home  of the eFIXX HQ and Studios A woman decided to help herself to a distinctive light fitting from  the eFIXX team's favourite fish and chip shop a security camera caught the egregious lady standing  on the seats to remove the pendant the video has now gone viral it's been seen as far away as  it some may view the heist at the fish and chip shop as small fry but locals are concerned the  town's reputation will take a battering after all no one steals an LED light Just For the Halibut  this place is floundering until salmon opens up to the crime apologies I've used my allocation of  Piscine puns now feel free to add your own below though we will of course keep you posted if the  police make a catch seems I misled you about my allocation and finally our usual reminder that  we're in the market 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 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 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 Sunsynk and speaking of solar with manufacturing  powered by a 250 g wat solar PV they're literally the greenest test instrument maker in Europe both  physically and ethically it's KPS are you a bit of a control freak motor control that is if so  with huge stocks and excellent service check out Crompton controls as they said to me in  a recent conversation if we don't have it then we can build it and the best thing to come out  of Yorkshire since stainless steel the home of EV Ultra and other groundbreaking and quality  products is Doncaster Cables click the links in the show notes to find out more about these great  Brands 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 last  week's words were bilingual and gotcha and would you believe it he's had a long run of being on  the back burner but he's back with a bang our most frequent winner of the challenge word competition  it's Mark just Mark so very well done to you for what is it like the 37th time now Mark I think  anyway 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