Coming up on this week's news, Tesla's troubled Powerwall 2 hits the headlines again as the UK government issues a warning to the trade over the risk of fire. Thousands of electricians are set to become unqualified for some work this week after new rules kick in. And the MCS warns over a viral scam targeting electricians.
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 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 Chump Tools. And while you're there, click the links in the show notes to check out what our sponsors offer. 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.
Tesla's troubled Powerwall 2 is hitting the headlines again this week after the UK government issued a fresh warning to the trade over the risk of fire. Safety watchdogs say that the home battery pack presents a risk of fire as certain cells within affected units may develop internal defects over time.
A probe identified that cells manufactured by a third party may contain excessive lithium plating. This can lead to cracking of the cell casing. This may in turn result in an internal short circuit and subsequent thermal runaway, increasing the risk of the battery overheating and catching fire, meaning you definitely wouldn't want to get touchy-feely with it.
Government inspectors say the American-made product does not meet the requirements of the Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations of 2016.
Tesla has now remotely discharged most affected Powerwall 2 units pending replacement. Any affected units remaining are being discharged by Tesla technicians, says the company.
Electricians should tell their customers to ensure their Powerwall 2 remains online. However, homeowners should check the Tesla app for a notification confirming whether their unit is affected.
If a replacement is required, customers will be urged to contact their original Tesla Certified Installer to arrange installation of the new unit. Affected Powerwall 2 units will be replaced free of charge to the householder.
This is not the first time the Powerwall 2 has been in the news for all the wrong reasons. Last September, Australia issued an electrical safety recall for some units, saying Tesla had received reports of units smoking or emitting flames with some property damage.
In October, New Zealand issued a similar recall. Then in November, Tesla recalled over 10,000 units in the United States after 22 reports of overheating, including six smoking incidents and five fires.
The US Consumer Product Safety Commission said the affected lithium-ion cells could overheat and cause fire. Anyone with any concerns is urged to contact Tesla customer services in the first instance.
For rock-solid batteries that won't cause you concerns, check out the range 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, and driven to the absolute limits. So, they'll keep working exactly when you need them to.
In other news, thousands of electricians are set to lose the ability to carry out certain types of work this week after new rules kick in. That's because a big shake-up of EAS competence requirements is coming into effect.
From this week, you'll need qualifications before you can work on EV chargers, solar panels, or battery packs. You'll also be required to have the standards and codes of practice documents, as well as the right tools.
Additionally, qualified supervisors and employed persons who do periodic inspection and testing must now have at least two years’ experience. They also must hold what's termed “acceptable qualifications”. Finally, they'll have to show proof of continuing professional development.
An increasing number of installers are finding out about the changes the hard way. They're discovering that it's affecting the scope of their work, their sign-off rights, and future work opportunities.
But apart from a slight broadening of the requirements for EV charger installs to include a couple of City & Guilds qualifications, the EAS isn't backing down.
Meanwhile, the NICEIC has reported a sharp increase in the use of forged electrical documents. It says fake certificates, qualifications, and other proofs of competence, such as ECS gold cards, are circulating in the trade.
The organisation believes scammers have spotted a gap in the market. It says workers who don't meet qualification requirements are finding ways of staying in the industry. The warning follows mounting concern as more and more electricians are discovering they're no longer qualified to do work that they've been doing for years. I've put a link to the full requirements in the show notes.
Another alert has been sounded this week, this time by the Microgeneration Certification Scheme. The organisation says it's discovered a company impersonating its website with the aim of hoovering up electricians’ personal details.
Installers have reported receiving an email purporting to come from the MCS. It directs them to a portal where they're asked to input personal information, including bank details.
However, the email and the associated website are not from the MCS. The body warns contractors not to follow any links from this email address or carry out its suggested actions. It says it never communicates with text messages, and it never asks for bank details.
Any email communication from MCS will always come from an mcscertified.com address with email marketing coming from mail.mcscertified.com. It urges installers to always check an email address or domain claiming to be MCS.
The organisation has reported the scam to the government's communications watchdog, Ofcom, as well as the National Cyber Security Centre. It's also raised a complaint with the Trading Standards office.
If you think you've been targeted by this scam, you're urged to contact their Customer Support Helpdesk. I've put their number in the show notes.
Also sounding the alarm bells this week is German tool giant Klauke. The company is warning electrical contractors to pay closer attention to aluminium cable terminations as the material becomes more common in EV charging, solar, and battery storage projects.
It says that while aluminium offers clear advantages on larger installations, including lower weight and potentially lower material costs, problems can arise where aluminium conductors are terminated incorrectly or connected to copper equipment without the correct components.
One of the biggest risks is corrosion at aluminium-to-copper junctions. The problem may not be obvious when the installation is first commissioned, but moisture, oxidation, and unsuitable terminations can cause resistance to increase over time, potentially leading to overheating and failure.
Klauke also highlights the importance of correct conductor preparation, contact compounds, suitable crimp dies, and the use of bimetallic lugs where aluminium conductors are being connected to copper equipment.
eFIXX has published a new technical guide explaining why aluminium cable is appearing on more projects, what can go wrong at the termination, and the practical steps electricians need to understand before reaching for the crimper.
We've also created a CPD on the Complete Guide to Crimp Lugs. I'll put a link to both resources in the show notes.
In promo news, this is your last chance 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 again, £1,000 spending money. The promo ends on the 31st of October. All the best.
FastAmps has launched a new 22 kW three-phase EV charger, sticking to its usual formula of keeping things simple, reliable, and affordable.
Built in the UK at the company's Darwin House facility, the charger is aimed at behind-the-gate installations where straightforward commissioning and dependable operation matter more than unnecessary complication.
Despite the competitive price point, and like their single-phase charger, FastAmps has packed in plenty of useful tech, including solar integration, Bluetooth connectivity, solenoid locking, and simple one-button control.
There's another advantage to the charger being designed and manufactured in-house, too. If you do need technical support, you're generally speaking directly to the same team that actually designs and builds the units.
FastAmps also offers 7.4 kW charging options. And if you want to see the range in the flesh, you'll find them at ELEX, Stoneleigh Park on stand E95.
TRT Lighting has launched a new tunnel luminaire designed to meet some pretty serious fire safety requirements. The new R-Range is S12-compliant, meaning it's been developed specifically for road and rail tunnel environments where strict controls apply to fire performance, smoke generation, and flame spread.
It uses low-plastic-content construction, EN 45545-2-approved gaskets, and can also be specified with ceramic terminal blocks.
Maintenance has been given plenty of thought, too. There's tool-less access, a plug-in optical assembly, and a removable driver plate, helping reduce servicing time when closures are expensive and access windows are limited.
The fittings can also be remotely monitored through TRT's Lumi-LinQ system with options for adaptive dimming, energy optimisation, and performance monitoring.
The housing is made from corrosion-resistant 316L stainless steel with IP66 and IK08 protection. Outputs reach up to 3,314 lumens with a rated life of 100,000 hours.
And the range is designed as a practical like-for-like replacement for existing tunnel fittings.
Eltako has launched a compact three-phase energy meter designed to give installers a clearer picture of exactly what's coming in and going out of a building.
The DSZ16DZ-3x100A MID is a bidirectional meter capable of directly measuring up to 100 amps. So there's no need for current transformers within that range.
It can be used on one, two, or three phases and takes up just three modules on the DIN rail.
As well as imported and exported energy, it displays voltage, current, active, apparent and reactive power, power factor, and frequency, making it particularly useful for installations with solar PV, batteries, or other local generation.
And because it's MID-compliant, it can also be used for submetering and billing applications.
There's Modbus RTU over RS-485 and separate S0 outputs built in too, meaning the meter can start as a straightforward local monitoring device and later become part of a wider energy management or control system.
Now, how about this for a bright idea? It's the Paul Russells’ lamp of the week. This week's offering has been inspired by life itself with a DNA-style double-helix filament.
It's got a contemporary elongated shape with an Edison Screw E27 base. Delicately smoked glass offsets the extra-warm 1,800 kelvin LED filament. Its rated power is 4.5 watts to achieve 140 lumens, which is the equivalent of a 15 W lamp in old money.
And what's better than a Paul Russells lamp? How about three of them? 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 and its range of incredibly rapid electrical connectors.
A mossy-fingered American electrician has used his technical expertise to grow a huge pumpkin. And when I say huge, I mean humongous. This vegetable weighs over a tonne and can only be moved by a forklift truck. It comfortably set a new record in his state of Illinois.
The sassy spark puts soil cables underneath the ginormous gourd to maintain it at the perfect temperature.
Do you grow oversized produce as a way of relaxing after a day on the tools? Send us a picture of your colossal cabbage or monstrous melon for a chance to win a prize.
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.
And I feel it's only fair to say that one of this week's challenge words was in that last segment as there's so many red herrings from scriptwriter Ray this week.
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 of experience.
One of our favourite new innovations here at eFIXX, especially now it's in 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 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 midnight on the Wednesday after release will not be entered into the draw.
Now, let's reveal the winner of last week's challenge word competition. Last week's words were stroganoff and gander. And the first person to come out of the electronic hat was Mark Irving. So, well done to you, Mark. Make sure you click the Get Involved link in the show notes.
And now it's time for this week's weather from Joe 3PO and Fox ESS.
October is doing the classic British shuffle. Mild, wet, bright, and then wet again. So, when should your panels be doing the heavy lifting?
Well, before we get to that, a quick shout out to this week's Fox ESS featured installer, i-Protech, based in Scotland. These guys and girls are no stranger to a battery and solar install, even if they are working in a place that doesn't get that much sunshine.
And for a solar barometer, we're heading to Lambourne Place in Blackheath, London. A compact run of homes with promising south-facing rear roof slopes, but very little obvious solar PV. Quite a few missed opportunities here, so maybe worth a look for the local contractor.
Okay, so Tuesday sees a band of rain moving south-east across the country. It stays fairly mild ahead of it with brighter conditions developing further north and west once the rain clears.
The rain continues into southern and eastern areas on Wednesday and could become heavy for a time. Behind it, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and northern England could see brighter but noticeably colder conditions.
Thursday looks like the solar highlight. Dry and bright for most of the UK with some crisp autumn sunshine. It'll feel cooler, but those clearer skies should offer the week's best generation window.
By Friday, Atlantic weather returns, bringing cloud, rain, and more variable output from west to east.
The weekend remains changeable. Saturday should offer some brighter intervals between showers with the best conditions towards the south and the east. Sunday is less certain, but further rain or showers remain possible, particularly in the north and west.
So, Thursday is the day to make those panels earn their keep. And the battery might come in handy once the Atlantic gets involved again. And that's your weather.
Thanks for that update, Joe. And thanks for listening to this episode of Electrical News Weekly. Until next time, have a great week. Stay safe out there.
