Coming up on this week's news, the UK government considers how plug-in batteries could become a fixture in British homes. The trade warns that it can no longer afford to take on apprentices and a power drill is removed from the scene of an electrocution in Southampton. Welcome to 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 makes it easy to add automation without the cost and disruption of rewiring. 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 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 this exclusive cap branded with friends of the show, QuickWire and ChumpTools. And while you're there, click the links in the show notes to check out what our sponsors offer. On the show notes web page, you'll also find our bonus stories section covering a wide range of subjects. It's definitely worth a read and stay tuned to the end of the show to catch up on our regular features, including the weather from Fox ESS and the lighter side of the news from Quickwire. The UK government is officially considering whether plug-in batteries could become a fixture in British homes. It follows the successful launch of plug-in solar panels last month. Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh has set aside a quarter of a million pound for someone to do a safety study into the tech. The research will assess how feasible it is to have the units in British homes as well as help with the writing of the necessary technical standards. Whoever does the probe will specifically consider the risk of fire and will be expected to test plug-in battery packs and take them apart to look for weaknesses. The report must be back on Fahnbulleh's desk by March 2028 for a final decision. And there's an interesting development in the latest version of G98. The engineering recommendation covers microgenerators connected to the public low voltage network and the latest version explicitly includes something called plug-in electricity storage. In other words, batteries. It says a single plug-in microgenerator including plug-in solar and plug-in electricity storage can be connected provided its registered capacity is no more than 800 W. And the notification form now has a box for the capacity of electricity storage devices measured in kWh. So, while the government is still studying the safety of plug-in batteries, the grid connection rules already make provision for them. And Octopus is already getting ready for this market. CEO Greg Jackson says his firm plans to launch a plug-in battery pack in the UK next year. The Nook Cube, understood to be based on technology from ENW Weather sponsors Fox ESS, could take the format mainstream on its introduction. It's the size of a shoe box and has a capacity of 2 kWh and could make you happier than a boy scout who's found his waggle. In other news, the trade is pushing back over the rising cost of apprentices. Taking on an apprentice now means paying higher minimum wage rates while government support remains limited. In a survey by ScrewFix, just 5% of trades people currently hire an apprentice. The biggest reason cited by a third was cost. Additional reasons were red tape and concerns about finding the right person to work with a team. A survey the Scottish Electrical Contractors Association select echoed those findings. High wages and limited financial support were the biggest problems. Some had bad experiences in the past with apprentices. Almost a third said trainee left before completing their courses. A quarter said they left within one year of qualifying. One member complained about an apprentice's repeated use of social media on site. Another said they should be made more aware of older installations, especially when it comes to testing. He said he encounters issues every day with apprentices, especially where mineral insulated copper clad cabling is involved. Apparently, they have no idea what it is. They clearly haven't seen our profusion of videos on the subject. Training provider JTL says that apprenticeship starts are set to fall below 7,000 a year. This is well below the estimated 12 a half thousand annual starts needed to maintain a workforce capable of supporting future demand. The organisation also says the trade is around 25% smaller than it was in 2018 and more people are expected to leave the profession than enter it, leaving the industry effectively constipated. And if you're struggling to find a bright spark to take on as an apprentice, take comfort from the bright light from the seriously flexible and smoothly illuminated neon LED lighting from UltraLED. Perfect for extremely tight spaces with a dot-free seamless glow in a huge range of colours and effects. Perfect for both outdoor and indoor applications. All this and it's incredibly quick to install with their quick connect system. You know where to find the link. In Southampton this week, police have been seen leaving the scene of an electrocution carrying evidence, including a power drill. Fifty-five year old Jason Gledhill was found dead after working alone in the maintenance room at the Southampton Harbour Hotel. Senior Hampshire coroner Christopher Wilkinson said that a post-mortem examination found that the maintenance man’s cause of death was electrocution.A full inquest is expected to take place next year. Our sincere condolences from all at team eix to the family and friends of Mr. Gledhill. Meanwhile, the government has issued another warning about a dangerous impact drill. The Office for Product Safety and Standards says the Goywato cordless drill carries a high risk of electric shock and fire. This is because the supplied plug does not conform to the dimensional requirements of BS 1363 and cannot make a secure connection to the socket. This could lead to the user receiving an electric shock when plugging in and using it. The drill could also overheat whilst in use, presenting a risk of fire. The product does not meet the requirements of the supply of machinery safety regulations or the plugs and sockets safety regulations. The shipment, which is sold via Amazon, has been rejected and destroyed. I'll put a full list of the product model number and identifiers in the show notes. In promo news, there's still time to enter BG's buy spin win competition with a trip to Las Vegas up for grabs. There's also lots of instant prizes such as BG and Knipex kit and discount vouchers. When you buy a selected BG consumer unit, you'll get a unique code which you enter online to try the spin to win wheel. This gets you the chance to win an instant prize as well as entry into the major prize draw. You get flights, a five night stay in Las Vegas, including a Grand Canyon helicopter tour, excursions, and £1,000 spending money. The promo ends on the 31st of October. All the best. Another date for your diary. The solar and storage live show takes place from Tuesday the 22nd of September to Thursday the 24th of September at the NEC in Birmingham. This year, the event is putting fire safety and compliance at the top of the agenda. The show's conference is set to give practical insights into fire safety, which is an essential focus for electricians working with rooftop solar PV and battery systems. For the trade, staying up to date on fire eggs is critical to securing contracts, maintaining insurance, and protecting life and property. There's a session on new research from the building research establishment and what it means for daily installation practices. Another case study from Surrey Fire and Rescue Service. We'll look at real world incidents and explore how proper installation practices can prevent catastrophic failures. A session on commercial and industrial battery storage will look at practical strategies for installers to mitigate thermal runaway risks, design safer layouts, and navigate complex safety standards in larger installations. There's also a dedicated installer training hub featuring direct equipment training from leading manufacturers like Solarport, ZYC Energy, Canadian Solar, GSE Intégration, UK Sol, Genius Roof Solutions, and Fronius. And of course, there's over 500 global exhibitors displaying everything from PV modules to inverters and smart monitoring platforms. Because we're now into our annual safe for September campaign when we focus on safety, our pick of the exhibitors at Solar and Storage this week is Easi-Dec. The company will be showing its solar access platform. This is a fully compliant product designed to streamline the installation and maintenance of roof mounted solar panels. The system features a purpose-driven gantry for lifting solar panels to roof level. There are minimal parts and the no tools design enables quick, easy assembly and dismantling in under 30 minutes. The height is adjustable and there are independently adjustable legs. Crucially, it's fully compliant to EN13374 Class C and EN12811-1. Visitors to solar and storage can also attend EV charge live UK next door. There, Lewden will be showcasing its expanded EV ecosystem offering. This includes the long-awaited Siena Duo, an EV charger designed for the commercial sector. It's a dual port charger which delivers up to 22 kW per port. If your tool bag already looks like a DeWalt showroom, there's another bit of kit to make room for. The new DCG 404 is a compact 18VT XR brushless angle grinder with 125 mil disc, delivering up to 760 W and spinning at 11,000 RPM. DeWalt says it's 28% more compact than its traditional 18VT XR grinders, making it brilliant in tight spaces or when you're working at arms length. Safety features include an electronic brake, electronic clutch to reduce kickback if the disc jams and soft start to prevent that initial lurch. The brushless motor has mesh debris covers while a rubber overmold and two-position side handle should make extended use more comfortable. And naturally, it runs on DeWalt's 18VT XR battery platform. It comes as a bare tool with side handle, grinding, and cutting guards and a hex wrench. And it's absolutely perfect for cutting up metal tray, unistrut, and trunking. If you're working on commercial or industrial jobs, Navitas has launched a range of 125 amp three-phase type B dis boards designed with the installer in mind. The range comes in 4, 6, 8, 12, and 16way versions with prices starting at £27 excluding VAT. The larger 12 and 16way boards can also be adapted for 250 amp applications, while the whole range can be converted for single phase use, which Navitas says has also made them popular for larger domestic installations. A standout feature is the depth of the enclosure, giving installers plenty of working room and enough clearance to get larger hole saws into the board properly without gland nuts fouling on the cable entry apertures. There's also a distinctive curved lid, which Navitas says required a significant amount of engineering to get right. Inside you'll find a heavy duty 125 amp four-pole switch disconnector, integrated drails, and removable cable entry plates with the option of a factory fitted type 2 SPD mounted directly to the bus bar assembly, so you don't sacrifice an outgoing way. Extension units are also available for RCDs, contactors, metering, and control gear. While even the packaging has been designed to help installers with a fixing template, so you can mark mounting points without wrestling a heavy TPN board into position. The boards are rated to be SCN 61439-3 and undergo a 37 point quality inspection and come with a 10-year warranty. So, three-phase distribution, built like a tank, but designed to make life on site considerably easier. And currently, you can get a cool 20% off the entire Navitas range using the code eFIXX20. Grab a bargain while it lasts. Now, how about this for a bright idea? It's the Paul Russell's lamp of the week. This week, we've got something smoking. Well, smoked glass. Anyway, these chaps have an Edison screw base and a double helix LED filament. They're dimmable and dim down to a toasty colour temperature of 1,800 Kelvin. The lamp gives out 120 lumens from an input power of just 4.5 W. The lamp life is 15,000 hours, so basically ages. You can see the full range of lamps at paulrussells.com. And now to the lighter side of the electrical news. Yes, it's time for a tea break with QuickWire in its range of incredibly rapid electrical connectors. An electrician’s snake ate my cat! Echoing the famous Sun headline ‘Freddie Star ate my hamster’, that was the cry from an Australian home owner this week after a huge 8 kilogram python belonging to spark Brydie Maro consumed the family pet. But Maro is unapologetic and unrepentant. She says her serpent is a misunderstood and beautiful creature. And the electrical contractor has now developed a lucrative sideline in rescuing snakes from customers’ properties. What a great idea. Just remember to put your pussy in a python-proof place. That's the lighter side of the news in our tea break with QuickWire and their range of incredibly rapid electrical connectors. Click the link in the description to check them out for yourself. 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, Ledvance. Your vision, their light. Celebrating 10 years and 100 years experience. One of our favourite new innovations here at eFIXX, especially now in its sexy new packaging. For rock solid fixings in flimsier materials. Don't just fix it when you can Chumpfix it. And 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. Click the links in the show notes to find out more about these great brands. If you think you've spotted the two words that I've smuggled into this week's show, pop your guess into the comments. will take all the correct guesses and select one at random to be the winner of an eFIXX goodie bag prize. Answers submitted after midnight 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. Last week's words were lack luster and pendulum. And the first person to come out of her electronic hat was OG Emab, who accused me of being sneaky, which is rather the point of them being a challenge. However, despite this heinous accusation, you're still a winner. So, well done to you, OG Emab. However, it's supposed to be said, make sure you click the get involved link in the show notes to claim your prize. And now it's time for this week's weather from Joe 3PO and Fox ESS. September has arrived, which means summer is technically still hanging around, but the weather appears to have stopped reading the calendar. Uh but before the forecast, a quick shout out to this week's Fox ESS featured installer UPS Solar based in Oakton near Chorley. UPS Solar installs solar PV and battery storage systems nationwide using its own in-house fitting teams and they're also a Fox ESS elite installer. So they know their way around a Fox battery or two. And for this week's solar barometer, we're staying very local and heading to Runshore Lane in Oxton. There are plenty of homes along here with pitch roof space. So, what does the weather have in store? Well, Tuesday remains a little unsettled. Showers should gradually ease through the day, leaving some brighter spells in between. So, for solar generation, it is very much a case of grabbing it while you can. Uh, Wednesday currently looks like the best solar generation day of the week. Most areas should be largely dry and bright with some decent spells of sunshine and lighter winds as the showers finally clear away. Uh Thursday starts promisingly with fine and dry conditions for many, but don't get too comfortable. Uh cloud, rain, and stronger winds are expected to push in from the west, gradually eating into those useful generation hours. Uh Friday keeps things changeable with further rain or showers possible as weather systems continue arriving in from the Atlantic. Uh there should still be some brighter gaps between them, but generation is likely to vary considerably depending on where you are. And going into the weekend, confidence drops a little. The overall picture remains changeable with dry and brighter periods mixed with further showers or rain. And although there are signs that the gaps between those weather systems could start becoming longer. And that's your weather. Thanks for that update, Joe. 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 makes it easy to add automation without the cost and disruption of rewiring. 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.