Coming up on this week's news, electricians are set to be caught in the crossfire again as the trade gears up for a fresh battle over plug-in batteries. The government acts over this branded light switch with a high risk of electric shock. And Siemen's circuit breaker from the future finally lands at 600 quid a pop. Welcome to electrical news weekly in association with Shelly, helping electricians offer smarter buildings and better energy management. Shellys range of smart relays, sensors, and control devices make it easy to add automation without the cost and disruption of rewiring. And we're being lit by Flex 7 with their lightning fast pre-wired modular lighting connection system. And I've been challenged to slip in two words this week. Spot them and you could win this rather dashing cap thanks to Friends of the Show QuickWire and Chump Tools. And be sure to check out the show notes web page for bonus stories from the electrical industry. And stay tuned to the end of the show for weather from me, Joe Junior, announcing the winners for the Spit England giveaway, learner of the week, and the lighter side of the news. The electrical trade looks set to be caught in the crossfire yet again this summer. That's because the industry is gearing up for a fresh battle over plug-in technology. Sources fear the introduction of plug-in home batteries up a new front in a war of words between the government and major electrical organisations. The clash began earlier this year when energy secretary Ed Miliband vowed to bring in plug-in solar for the UK. Five trade bodies, the NIC, the ECA, the IET, Electrical Safety First, and Scottish Body Select said they opposed the move unless more safety measures were brought in. They say the move is potentially dangerous. That's because the nation's ageing domestic electrical installations aren't ready for new sources of power. But the government isn't backing down. In fact, it says plug-in solar will become legal on Thursday, the 27th of August. Things took a fresh twist earlier this month when energy giant Octopus unveiled a plug-in battery pack for households that doesn't need an installer. The Nook Cube, Nook, Nook, Nook, understood to be based on technology from Chinese brand Fox ESS, is expected to take the format mainstream. It's the size of a shoe box and has a capacity of 2 kWh. Extra units can be added to boost storage up to 10.5 kWh. You simply plug in into a standard socket. The cube will store clean electricity when prices are low and use it later when energy is more expensive. However, the criticism aimed at plug-in solar that it is introducing a new power source on the load side of an installation can also be levelled at plug-in batteries. A possible way to break the impasse was aired this week by the IET senior engineer Joe Cannon. Cannon appears to have held out an olive branch with a suggestion that households receiving plug-in solar have a pre-installation assessment. This would be conducted by a competent electrician covering wiring condition, the suitability of protective devices for reverse power flow and overload protection along with any historic DIY alterations. He says this is the only reliable way to establish whether an installation is ready for solar generation and by extension battery generation. In response, the government is recommending that if you have over 960 Watts of solar panels, typically around two or three panels, or you don't have RCD protection on your sockets, then you should get a full installation health check from a qualified electrician. Gordon has done a deep dive into both plug-in solar and plug-in batteries, and I've popped the links in the show notes. Still on safety, the government has acted over a branded light switch, which it says has a high risk of electric shock. The two gang two-way white molded accessory is made by Chinese firm Lueden with a U, not to be confused with the better known consumer unit brand Lewden with a W. It comes in clear plastic packaging with blue sealed ends. Government safety inspectors say that the product presents a high risk of electric shock because it was not supplied with an instruction manual for safe installation. If the wall switch is incorrectly wired to the neutral line instead of the live line, leaving the threaded metal part of the bulb socket permanently energised, and the user turns on the light switch, they are at risk of receiving an electric shock. There is also a risk of an electric fire starting, possibly leading to property damage. The product does not meet the requirements of the general product safety regulations 2005. The Office for Product Safety and Standards has rejected the units at the border. Amazon has also removed its listing from its online marketplace. I put the relevant product identifier codes in the show notes. In product news, Siemen's groundbreaking Sentron ETP30 breaker has finally landed in the UK. The solid state switch gear, first heralded in 2024, is fundamentally different from standard breakers. Because it has no moving parts, it uses purely electronic switching rather than electromechanical tripping. It's been described as the circuit breaker from the future, and you'll need to get used to a brand new acronym, ECPD. It stands for electronic circuit protection device. The solid state switching happens silently and instantly. In fact, it's a thousand times faster than standard circuit breakers. It also has no contact to wear down no matter how many times it switches. Once it trips, the breaker makes a decision whether to trip a mechanical isolating contact further along the circuit. The Sentron can also test its own RCD capability regularly. The boss of Siemen's electrical products division, Andreas Matthé, said that for the first time in the history of circuit protection, it is now possible to use several different functionalities in one device. The Clever Sentron also has other capabilities. You can reconfigure it for a change of circuit using an app on your phone. In fact, you can change its rated current, its tripping limits, or any other behaviour. You could for example program it to ignore certain peaks of high inrush currents. This means you can design a circuit with a lower rated current. This would be useful and economical for circuits with brief inrush peaks. You can also monitor the breaker and switch it remotely as well as connect it to the building management systems. This cleverness comes at a price though. If you want to buy it in the UK, it'll set you back over 600 quid before VAT. But speaking of blisteringly high speeds, try the seriously flexible and smoothly illuminated neon LED lighting from Ultra LED. Perfect for extremely tight spaces with a dot-free seamless glow in a huge range of colours and effects. Perfect for both outdoors and indoor applications. All this and it's incredibly quick to install with their quick connect system. You know where to find the link. It's been revealed that almost 2 million households stepped in to help the UK's national grid cope during the recent heat wave. Two factors combined to create what would have been a perfect storm. The first was sweltering customers turning on air conditioning units and every electric fan they could find. The second was a series of unplanned outages of gas turbine plants bang in the middle of the scorchio weather. Combined, they could have knocked the network over. But energy firms such as Octopus persuaded 1.8 million of its customers to help out. Some cut their energy use in return for points. These points can be exchanged for discounts, fashion, cinema tickets, and free coffee at Gregs. Others shifted up to 4.5 GWh of demand from times when the grid was under pressure using connected devices such as home batteries and EVs. Octopus has now called on regulators to use this flexibility on a more regular basis to balance demand. And speaking of flexibility, the MI 3136 tester from Metrel can be used for lots of different checks and tests. It's also faster, more functional, and has a better screen than its predecessor, the MI3125 with features you'd only expect to find on a more expensive tester. This is a substantial upgrade. Our man Rick did a full review, so check it out in the show notes. The first light designed for Padel courts has been unveiled by Ansel. If you're not familiar with it, Padel is one of the world's fastest growing sports. Think of it as a cross between tennis and squash played on an enclosed court where the walls are part of the game. The Ecstasy light is made from an aluminium alloy and is designed to be low glare so players aren't blinded. It's also super tough, so it can take a direct hit from a paddle ball. Just as tough as this kit from DeWalt with tools created specifically for the electrical industry. They're tested on site and in the hardest possible ways. Dropped, covered in dust, abused, set on by a Chihuahua, and driven to the absolute limit so they'll keep working exactly when you need them to. In Solar News, hundreds of panels at 80 schools have been turned off after a series of fires involving PV arrays. The National Education Union says it has grave concerns for the safety of pupils and teachers after fires involving solar panels occurred at several schools across Suffolk. Firefighters have fought blazes at schools across the region in recent months. A spokesperson for Suffolk County Council said there was no firm evidence the school fires had been caused by the same issue and it had already begun to switch off solar panels at 80 schools. Still on fire safety, you'll want to fit the range of high quality smoke alarms from Kidde. From battery power to hardwired, there's an easy to install solution that suits your customers with the latest sensing technology to detect potential fire hazards and comply with strict European standards. I did a full review on their range and the links are in the show notes. turning out to EV chargers. And if you're a regular charger installer, you'll know the dreaded call. My car didn't charge overnight You turn up expecting a fault only to find the charger has disconnected because of a voltage fluctuation rather than a genuine safety issue. As more homes add solar panels, batteries, heat pumps, and EV chargers, voltage swings on local networks are becoming more common. The result, more nuisance tripping and more unnecessary callbacks for installers. myenergi says its answer is Zapsafe, a dual sensing pen fault protection system built into every Zappi charger. Instead of relying solely on voltage to detect an open pen voltage, Zapsafe also monitors what's happening on the protective earth that gives the charger a clearer picture on whether there's a real fault or just normal grid fluctuations. The company claims this reduces unnecessary disconnections while remaining compliant with BS7671. In a study of a thousand live Zappi installations during a day of high solar generation, only six chargers experienced overvoltage trips, around 10 times fewer than what would be expected with voltage only protection. For installers, that could mean fewer call backs, happier customers, and more reliable charging as the UK's increasingly dynamic electricity grid continues to evolve. I put the link for more info in the show notes. CTEK has unveiled a new variant of its popular Chargestorm. The Chargestorm Connected 3i boasts a large integrated touchscreen that enhances vision, accessibility, and security at charging stations. The screen based interface gives clear, high visibility information such as charging status, energy usage, pricing, as well as user guidance. The touchscreen also allows unique QR codes for ad hoc payments. These remove the risks associated with static QR stickers such as tampering, duplication, and fraudulent redirects. The CC3i complies with AFIR requirements for public charging infrastructure, including ad hoc payment access and clear user information at the point of charge. The platform is also futureproof from coming technologies such as plug-in charge and vehicle-to-g grid power. The CC3i comes in either single or dual 22 kW AC charging options. They have high uptime, robust construction, and seamless integration with CTEK's nanogrid load balancing platform. Not to be outdone, Spark's favourite Fluke has a range of EV charger testers with a host of features. Leading the charge, sorry, is the mighty FEV500. It's designed specifically for fast DC level 3 EV charging stations. These high powered stations operate at extreme energy levels and rely on complex digital communication. The all-in-one FEV500 tester has the ability to act as a virtual electric vehicle and combine safety, communication, and interoperability checks in one tool. This means you can perform comprehensive safety and operability tests on site without the cost, complexity, or uncertainty of using an actual EV. The FEV500 replaces the need for multiple tools. It complies with ISO5118 and Dins spec 70121 international standards for digital communications between electric vehicles and electric vehicle supply equipment. Also in the range are the FEV 350 and 300. For AC charging infrastructure, the FEV 350 does all of the required safety and performance tests for EV charging stations with type 1 and type 2 connectors. Again, you can quickly perform, verify, and document multiple tests using a single instrument. The Fluke FEV300, meanwhile, is designed for functional and safety testing of mode 3 AC charging stations. I've put a link to the full range in the show notes. Sync Energy says his home energy management system or HEMS brings everything together in one place, combining solar, battery storage, EV charging, and energy management through a single app. The system includes sync inverters, batteries, EV chargers, and solar divers, allowing homeowners to monitor generation, storage, consumption, and charging from one simple interface. The idea is to make managing a home's energy smarter and easier. It helps customers get more from their solar panels, use storage energy when it makes sense, and optimise when they charge their EVs. And there's more coming from Sync Energy. We can't reveal all the details just yet, but they're preparing a major competition where one lucky winner could take home the complete package, including the inverter, batteries, EV charger, and solar diverter. We'll have all the details on how to enter as soon as we get it. It's the Paul Russells Lamp of the Week. This week, we have a regular GLS shape with an Edison screw base, but this one's been given a twist with a helix LED filament and tinted glass. It has a really cozy colour temperature at 1,800 Kelvin and it's dimmable, so it's perfect for hospitality projects from cozy wine bar to tiramisu loving coffee houses. It gives out 250 lumens and it has a rated lifetime of 15,000 hours. You can see the full range of lamps at paulrussell.com. And now it's our learner of the week and it's brought to you by excess training with their online electrical courses for beginners and [music] experienced sparks covering inspection and testing, solar, battery storage, EV charging, and their specialism NVQs and AM2 online preparation. Our learner of the week this week is Thomas Stanton of Riverside College in Widnes. Thomas has just completed his level two and is looking to secure an apprenticeship. He recently joined LinkedIn to increase his chances of securing an apprenticeship before college returns in September. He was incredibly proud of his end of course practical assessment and has shared images of his installations on social media. To produce work to this standard in one academic year is a real credit to Thomas' dedication, commitment, and willingness to learn. He's also engaged with additional learning outside of college by completing several eFIXX CPD modules. Great job, Thomas. Thomas is a great example of the enthusiasm and professionalism we love to celebrate. And if you're looking to break into industry, we can help. eFIXX has set up a dedicated LinkedIn group for people training an electrical installation. It's aimed at apprentices, full-time learners, and adults training in the evening. Just log into LinkedIn and search for UK electrician apprenticeships and career support. I'll also put links in the [music] show notes. If you're an employer looking to offer work experience or an electrical apprenticeship, we can help, too. Just reach out to the team at eFIXX and we'll do our best to connect you with motivated learners in your area. Taking on an apprentice just got a whole lot easier thanks to a new industry initiative where you can assess potential apprentices on real jobs before committing to employ them. This will answer those basic questions. Will they turn up on time? Will they listen? Are they comfortable on site? Do they have the right attitude to learn? A T-LE industry placement [music] gives electrical contractors around 45 days to answer those questions before deciding whether to offer someone a job or apprenticeship. Students studying the T- level with an electrotechnical engineering specialism must complete a substantial placement with an employer [music] as part of their course. The placement gives them experience in a real electrical business. For the contractor, it offers a practical way to assess a young person's reliability, attitude, sight awareness, and willingness to learn. There is no obligation to employ the student upon the placement's end, and you don't even need to pay them while they're on the placement. Cash back. Thanks to the [music] Gatsby Foundation for the heads up on this great idea. And now over to Joe Junior to announce the winners of the Spit England competition. Well, what a World Cup it's been. England gave us plenty to cheer about and while they didn't quite get it over the line, we've still got three winners to celebrate today. Over the last few weeks, we've teamed up with Spit to give away three fantastic prizes to electricians who entered our World Cup competition. Loads of you got involved. So, let's see who's won. Our third prize winner taking home a Spit Pulsa 27E starter kit is Anthony Bull. Congratulations. Your toolbox has just had a very nice upgrade. Next up, second prize, a Spit Pulsa 27E starter kit plus an England shirt goes to Chris Burnett. Congratulations. Just don't wear the shirt while crawling through a loft in the 30° heat. And now for the big one. First prize wins a Spit Pulsa 27E starter kit, plus two tickets to an England international fixture during the 2026 2027 season. And the winner is Andrew Young. Congratulations. We hope it's a cracking match and if England play anything like they did against France this summer, then it's a guarantee. And if none of your mates are available on that date, my inbox is always open. Well done to all our winners. The good people at Spit will be in touch shortly to arrange delivery of your prizes. So keep an eye on your inbox. Thanks again to everyone who entered. Back to Joe with the rest of this week's news. And now it's time for a tea up with Quickwire and its range of [music] incredibly rapid electrical connectors. An electrician who turned to metal detecting to relax after a day on the tools has discovered parts of a Viking sword. Andy Green, who only started the hobby six weeks earlier, [music] says his hands started shaking when he saw the glint of gold in the soil. Green has found a gold and silver Viking era pommel, the decorative end of a sword. He unearthed the rare find in a field near Corby, Northamptonshire. It has now been declared official treasure, and Green can keep the find. I think I might take up metal detecting. Okay, so quick thanks goes to our premium partners. We couldn't do the news without you. Lead Vance, your vision, their lights. Celebrating 10 years and 100red years experience. One of our favourite new innovations here at eFIXX. Especially now it's in a sexy new packaging for rocksolid fixings in flimsier material. Don't fix it, chump fix it. And the best thing to come out of Yorkshire since licourice all sorts, the home of EV Ultra and other amazing cables. It's Doncaster Cables. Click the links in the show notes to find out more about these great brands. And if you spotted the words from this week, hit them in the comments and you could win this exclusive cap. And submitted after midnight on the Wednesday after release will not be entered into the drawer. And now the weather from Fox ESS. The Commonwealth Games are underway in Glasgow and King Charles opened them by stepping out of the [ __ ] which is still only the second most surprising thing to arrive in Scotland this week. The first is a forecast containing Sunshine. Anyway, before the forecast, a quick shout out to this week's Fox ESS premier partner, Northeast Solar, based in Newcastle upon time, operating across the Northeast. They individually design every solar installation and can even carry out the initial survey remotely using Google Earth. For this week's solar barometer, we're staying close to Northeast Solar and heading to Elmfield Road in Goss. There are rows of substantial homes, plenty of broad roof space, and a forecast offering some useful sunny intervals. Local installers, it may be worth a closer look. So, let's see what the weather has in store. Tuesday brings a strong start for southern and southeastern England with long sunny spells and temperatures potentially reaching around 30° in London. The northeast should also see some decent sunny intervals, although temperatures around Newcastle will be closer to 20 degrees. Uh further north and west, it's a more mixed picture. Scotland is likely to see cloud drizzle and a few showers, particularly during the morning, while parts of northwest England may also begin the day rather grey. Uh Wednesday should bring another mixture of sunshine and cloud. England and Wales will see the best of the brighter weather, while northern and western areas remain most likely to catch a shower. Thursday and Friday remain warm and potentially hot at times in the south, but an Atlantic weather system will be attempting to get involved. Western and northeastern areas have the greatest chance of rain, while southern and eastern England should hold on to longer dry and sunny spells. There is also a possibility of the occasional heavy or thundery shower elsewhere. Into the weekend, there are hints that more settled conditions could begin returning. The south is most likely to remain dry, warm, and bright, while the north and west may still see further cloud and occasional rain. This week, we've been lit by Flex 7 with their lightning fast pre-wired modular lighting connection systems that keeps your installation times razor sharp. And don't forget to click the links in the show notes to find out more. Thanks for listening to this episode of Electrical News Weekly in association with Shelly. Helping electricians offer smarter buildings and better energy management. Shelly's range of smart relays, sensors, and control devices make it easy to add automation without the cost and disruption of rewiring. Thanks for watching.