Coming up on this week's news demand from hipsters is creating a super premium market for sockets  and some eye-catching prices a Middlesborough electrician is jailed over a solar installation  scam and are you sitting down Jeremy Clarkson the electric tractor has arrived and it's creating  a Mini Boom for Rural contractors welcome to Electrical News Weekly 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 our friends over at Brady printers they're exhibiting at the Elex show at Ally Pally  in London on the 27th and 28th of March so book your tickets to see the great kit they've got  on offer 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 an electrician from Middlesborough  has been jailed after pocketing almost £25,000 from homeowners in a solar scam Sean Berry, sole  director of SB Electrical Security and Solutions Limited asked customers for 50% Upfront for their  photovoltaic panel installations Berry said the money was to cover the cost of the kit but after  stumping up the cash no work was ever carried out no materials were received and no refunds were  provided North Yorkshire Council trading standards received six complaints from disgruntled clients  across the northeast of England one said that Berry took away her faith in Tradesmen she said  he manipulated lied and had every intention of taking advantage at York Crown Court Berry was  sentenced to 2 years and 8 months in prison for each fraud with the sentences running concurrently  he also received eight months in prison again to run concurrently for each unfair trading offence  finally he was also disqualified from acting as a company director for 10 years in other news don't  tell Jeremy Clarkson but the electric tractor has arrived John Deere unveiled its e-power model this  week to critical Acclaim from agricultural media and Massey Ferguson is promising that a version  of its 5S model is on the way the mainstream Brands add to the fleet of EVs which are already  starting to pop up on the nation's Fields all of which require charging infrastructure and  it's not just electric vehicles UK Farms are at The Cutting Edge of the solar panel rollout with  many leasing their land for big PV installs the trade got a boost this week from scientists at  the University of Sheffield who say that we don't have to choose between quality agricultural land  and renewable energy if farmers use so-called Agri voltaic practices which allows for farming  between and underneath panels then there need be no loss of output farmers are also adopting solar  enthusiastically to power their own operations already almost a third of dairy sheds now boast  panels it all represents a big opportunity for electrical contractors working in rural areas  to see what all the fuss was about Gordon donned Wellies this week and headed down the farm as well  as encountering some very agricultural electrical practices he saw at firsthand how Wireless sensors  are allowing Farmers to take the monitoring of their operations to the next level I'll pop the  link to the video in the show notes now Welcome to our electrical news weekly feature where we  focus on a specific product area this week we've gone weak for wiring accessories and the big news  in this product Market Market say analysts is the rapid growth of a super premium segment and money  it seems is no object for instance Canadian firm 22 System has developed a range for the UK trade  whose double socket for concrete walls retails at a stunning £273 even its basic double sockets  for plaster board walls start at £100 if you choose twin USB Outlets it'll set you back £188  yeah the company reports buoyant sales thanks to the individual circular outlets and it's flush  fit with the wall meanwhile the biggest current Trend with hipsters is sockets that are pre-rusted  snazzy the bestselling unit cost £25 and is made by a West Midlands brand called the workshop below  the plates are treated in the company's Workshop in Birmingham and assembled using Crabtree inserts  they're compatible with existing flush mounted backboxes or you can surface mount them using  a specially rusted double backbox a snip at 21 quid a unit with USB will set you back 40 quid  they're complemented by Rusty conduit at £22 a meter they're flying off the shelves apparently  meanwhile back here in the real world Selectric has unveiled a range of Wireless switches which  operate without batteries the grid 360 kinetic range is powered by the action of pressing the  switch you simply pair them with the firm's wireless receiver to operate lights without  hard wiring Scolmore is targeting its part m range of wiring accessories at applications in hospitals  and Healthcare buildings the range is antiviral and antibacterial certified so it's suitable  for use in clinical facilities they've been independently tested and shown to kill off 99.99%  of the big four viruses MRSA e-coli salmonella and bacterial pneumonia also available in the  range are units with high contrast for visually impaired people designer wiring accessory firm  Trendy Switch is now shipping its double socket which features distinctive long rocker switches  in Chrome the ice white 13 amp outlet also has a clip-on screwless plate and a back frame which  houses the screw holes and electrical connection module it'll fit into a standard UK backbox  and if you don't want white The Firm boasts ridiculously extensive colour options I really  like those actually there's always something a little bit different in wiring accessories good  stuff electrical device maker Theben has developed a lighting dimmer which you can insert into a back  box behind the wiring accessory that's because it happens to be the world's smallest dimmer  the Dimax 540 has been designed for electricians working in ultratight spaces it's the size of a  2 pound piece but it has the power of a full size dimmer it can provide flicker-free dimming for  up to 150 Watts of LED power and even better no neutral wires required you can also control the  lighting from multiple locations using just one Dimax module combined with push to make switches  and according to a doodle sent to us by Theben's country manager Simon Johnson you can even use  it on intermediate switches if you wire it in a particular way surely something as radical as this  deserves a dedicated video I hear you ask and it totally does so we did one well Gary did I'll put  the link in the show notes to that now have you noticed recently that you've been struggling to  get dimmers into back boxes where they used to fit perfectly before well well Struggle No More  with the PDM 250 intelligent 250 Watt multi-way dimmer from Enkin founded by electrician Joshua  Hammerton it's had a clever redesign to feature cutouts that sit well away from the lugs on both  metal and dry lining back boxes so they'll always fit even if backbox makers have a sneaky retool  it's not just the body that's clever the brain of the dimmer is too instead of relying on a Master  Slave setup this clever unit lets you Dim your light seamlessly from several points in a room  when using multiple PDM 250 units in fact you can have up to 20 dimmers working together and  it's as simple as connecting them all together in parallel using the green push button on the back  you can quickly and easily set the minimum and maximum light output levels as well as perform a  factory reset carrying any of these Out on Just One of the dimmers in a set will automatically  adjust them all to the same levels that's not just clever that's genius and have you seen  the award-winning range from Eurolight their enhanced range features Sleek modern designs  while the concealed range provides a minimalist look with hidden screw fixings the stainless steel  accessories offer a durable professional finish suited for high-end applications and lastly the  utility range delivers cost-effective practical solutions for everyday electrical installations  each product line is designed to combine Aesthetics with functionality ensuring reliability  and style in various environments you can check out some of these cool wiring accessories in real  life at some upcoming shows you can see trendy switch's socket range at the Home Building and  renovating show from Thursday the 20th of March to Sunday the 23rd of March at NEC and you can  get up close and personal with the new launches from Theben and Enkin at the Elex Exhibition at  Alexandra Palace in North London it takes place on Thursday the 27th of March and Friday the 28th of  March while you're there pop along to visit show sponsors Brady printers as well also coming up  next month is the Machine Building North event in Manchester which takes place on Thursday the 10th  of April there you'll be able to see friends of the show Crompton Controls Wago and Wieland  among many other big electrical Brands that's our electrical news weekly Roundup of products  we think deserve some attention next week we're cover ing the great Innovations to be found in  the electrical industry and off the back of our product Focus feature our question of the week  was taken from our free training package on wiring accessories made in association  with BG and asked which of the following is a recommendation by the NHBC for sockets in the wall  of a fire compartment the correct answer is that back-to-back sockets should be avoided and 43% of  people got that right on YouTube meanwhile over on LinkedIn a more impressive 60% of people were  correct of course it's worth noting and always pleasing when you all err on the side of caution  as many also voted for never putting sockets back to back at all which of course is even safer so  actually good work in the end to check out when it might be okay to install back-to-back sockets  in a firewall check out that free training package from BG on wiring accessories you'll find the link  to that in the show notes now before we go a shout out to contractor Gary Usher in Basingstoke who's  celebrating the 20th anniversary of his company in two decades Usher has expanded to a fleet of six  Vans and 11 employees the team celebrated with an incredible anniversary cake made in the shape of  a cable drum congratulations Gary and remember to send us a slice now 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 over the next few weeks we'll be featuring electrical Innovations  Renewables and Fire Safety and Security so send us pictures of your installs or let us know if  you've come across any new kit that's making your job easier or any products that you think  deserve a shout out and 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  news without you first up they're the people who created the Swiss army knife of solar inverters  along with all weather batteries is very much the Boy Scouts of the solar industry it's Sunsynk and  speaking of solar with manufacturing powered by a massive 250 megawatt solar PV array they're  literally the greenest test instrument maker in Europe both physically and ethically it's KPS  now 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 with their new award winning Lumo consumer units  and offering Complete product support from their highly trained team it's CPN Cudis don't forget to  use the code eFIXX30 to claim your 30% discount on top quality light fittings from Phillips and  Ecolink download the Lumxpert app today and make your life easier and less expensive it's the light  of Our Lives Signify 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 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 supported by our good friends at Brady  printers don't forget to book your tickets to join them at the elect show at Alexandra  Palace on the 27th and 28th of March last week's words were Cactus and Roadrunner and we actually  had a correct guess on Facebook for once so keep those coming folks they all go into the draw so  we put all of your names into an electronic hat and the first one to be plucked out as a winner  was Shauna Jackson 5044 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 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