Electricians Warned Over AFDDs and Low Smoke Cables

coming up on this week's news the trade is warned  over fake news about AFDDs and low smoke cables   a government department accuses Tesla over  the electrocution of an electrician and the   NICEIC clamps down on CPDs are you up to date  with continuous learning 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 sponsored by Brady printers   they'll be at the Elex show in Ally Pally on  the 2017 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 electricians are being warned this  week over fake news about arc fault detection  

devices and low smoke cables the manufacturer's  representative body BEAMA says that inaccurate   claims are circulating in the trade over AFDDs  and XPLE cables XPLE which stands for Crosslink   Polyethylene is a super tough insulation which  also provides a high level of fire performance   specifically BEAMA says there are two untruths  doing the rounds one is that AFDDs require carbon   produced by the charring of a PVC PVC cable  to detect an arc fault and that they won't  

work with an XPLE cable the second is that  XPLE cables don't char under any arc fault   conditions so there's no point fitting an afdd  BEAMA commissioned an independent test house to   prove its point the research explored how AFDDs  and RCBOs performed under arc fault tests the   testers use BASEC approved PVC and XPLE insulated  cables with low smoke and zero halogen sheathing   the technique was to repeatedly make and break  the connection to induce arcing in the experiment  

researchers used three different brands of AFDDs  all tripped correctly three different RCBOs were   also tested and non tripped in response to the  arcs despite significantly more charring BEAMA   says the results refute the rumours it is possible  for XPLE cables to char and AFDDs will trip with   this type of cable the the organisation has  now put its technical bulletin with details   of the investigation on its website I've put  a link to the download in the show notes in  

other news Tesla this week stands accused of  breaching workplace safety rules following  

the death of an electrician last summer Victor  Gomez senior was electrocuted while working on   an electrical panel in a new battery Factory  his family claims that the electric car giant   was negligent and it says the panel should never  have been energised it's suing Tesla for 800,000   over the incident in Austin Texas the US Labor  department has formally accused the company but   is not disclosed details of the specific failures  or any possible penalties this week Democrat  

Congressman Greg Casar demanded details of the  probe into Gomez's death in a reference to Tesla   boss Elon Musk Casar said that an electrician's  death should not be ignored simply because the   CEO at the top has lots of money and Powerful  connections here in the UK the NICEIC is cracking  

down on the continuing professional development of  electricians from next month certified companies   that aren't able to show documentary evidence  of their learning will be given a deadline of   30 days to do so the organisation says that firms  must be able to show documented evidence of their   CPD activity the NICEIC's technical director Paul  Collins says that in the electrical industry it's   simple if you don't do CPD you're going to  get left behind this is especially true of  

new tech such as EV Chargers solar panels and  heat pumps but it's also true he says of things   like marketing the way firms sell themselves has  changed enormously and contractors need to keep   up with this too now if all of this is making  you feel more uncomfortable than if you sat   on a cactus the good news is that here at eFIXX  we've created over 40 free training packages for   the electrical industry each one counts as an hour  towards your annual CPD requirement and you'll get  

a certificate that you can keep for your records  check out the eFIXX Know How Page by clicking the   link in the show notes you'll also find there the  NICEIC's guide to CPD now how would you like a  

massive 30% off top quality light fittings we've  teamed up with Signify to bring you a massive deal   on products purchased through the LumXpert app or  website even without the huge discount this is a   great tool for electricians helping you do quotes  lighting CS ordering and tracking of materials you   can find Phillips and Ecolink lighting Products  by type or application and order from your usual   wholesaler you can compare prices check stock 

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link in the show notes and make your life easier   and cheaper there's more good news for contractors  this time for those looking to make their next van  

an electric one the government has announced that  it's extending its zero emission vehicle grant for   another year under the scheme you can get up to  2,500 when buying a van up to 2 and 1/2 tons and   up to £5,000 for Vans up to 4.25 tons normally  you'd have to undergo additional training and   upgrade your license if you significantly increase  the weight of your van after all thanks to the   batteries electric vans are significantly  heavier than petrol or diesel ones but the  

department for transport also says it's scrapping  this requirement to make it easier to make the   switch you can get more details on the Grant from  participating EV dealerships still on EV Charger  

maker Indra is expanding its partnership with  octopus energy by integrating the intelligent   octopus go tariff into its charges the Tariff  has a super cheap rate of just 7p per kilowatt   hour Octopus says the plan saves customers up to  70% compared to a standard tariff the integration   was made possible by octopus's proprietary Kraken  software another EV partnership that's got off to   a flying start is between plug-in Point maker  Rolex and charging station operator wattif EV  

the agreement will see Rolex kit matched with  wattif software and funding the duo have begun by   targeting Caravan Parks they've installed chargers  next to mobile homes across Dorset and Devon they   say the project means holiday makers can relax  knowing they'll always have power for their   vehicle now no doubt Gary and Gordon will jump on  this opportunity to spread even more slanderous   rumours that I enjoy taking a caravan on holiday  the truth of course is very different when I drive  

to my holiday destination I prefer to go at the  speed of a roadrunner rather than a tortoise   meanwhile in North London Compleo has just won  a 1.2 million pound charger order from Islington   Council the company will help Electrify the local  authorities Fleet in a bid to cut emissions over   the next two years Compleo will install a range  of AC DC and high-speed EV Chargers to power up   the 550 strong electric fleet vehicles covered  include bin lories buses and tipper trucks yet  

another collab as the kids say is between charger  maker NEX blue and specialist installer bumblebee   they've teamed up to launch a plug-in point  for home charging capable of providing up to   7.4 Kw of charging power on a single phase  the Bumblebee point is a wall mounted unit   with Advanced features it can receive over the air  software updates via Wi-Fi a 4G e-sim or Bluetooth   the sleek black charging box is compatible  with all grid systems and features integrated  

pen fault protection now Welcome to our electrical  news weekly feature where we focus on a specific  

product area this week we're getting charged up  with all things EV the latest charger to hit the   market is the IO8 from Ratio the Bollard style  plug-in Point comes in 7.4 and 22 KW versions   and has a cool light at the top it's British made  OCPP 1.6 compliant and you get a 3-year warranty  

ChargeM8 has unveiled two new products this week  first up is the sigma contactless payment kiosk   which allows electric car drivers to pay for their  charge this is designed to work seamlessly with   the tap electric pay technology it has an onboard  power supply with plug and play connections for   both power and a 4G connection it also boasts an  anti Vandal High Gain 4G antenna for the install   it fits into an EV block mini or you can bolt it 

down to a suitable surface also out this week is   the Brand's Libra Dynamic load balancing device  instead of allocating a set amount of power to   a client set of EV Chargers this clever bit of  Kit allows you to use any available power when   the building is running below its maximum use  told you it was clever it also features out of   the box integration with tap electric as well  as integration with subzone load management   and individual phase monitoring it talks to 

the outside world via 4G ethernet and Wi-Fi   you commission it via the touchscreen that's  our electrical news weekly Roundup of products   we think deserve some attention next week we're  taking a look at wiring accessories and off the  

back of our product focus on EV the results  from last week's question of the week are in   we asked if no RDCDD is used to protect an EV  charge Point what type of rcd protection must   be used the correct answer is type B that's  because type B RCDs are specifically designed   to detect AC pulsating DC and smooth DC residual  currents making them the required Choice when no   RDCDD is used on YouTube only 25% of people got  it right whereas some 44% of LinkedIn members  

got it correct so that's a little bit better the  question was taken from our free training package   from Indra renewable Technologies I'll put a link  to the course in the show notes and based on those   results it might be a good idea for everyone to  go and have a look at that remember it'll count   as an hour towards your annual CPD requirement  in product news this week Contactum has unveiled  

a 250 amp disboard based on the Brand's 125 amp  Defender the unit features include five incomer   options these include three and four pole switch  disconnectors thermal magnetic adjustable MCCBs   and a four pole MCCB with adjustable type B RCD  the type B Earth leakage breaker detects AC as   well as both pulsating and smooth DC residual  currents so it works well with charge points   and solar installs there are seven enclosure sizes  available supporting 6 to 24 triple pole outgoing  

ways a neutral disconnector link and provision  for surge protection and metering options come   as standard the bus bar is rated at a chunky 35  Ka NightSearcher has introduced a professional  

inspection light which it's aiming at the trade  the ISpector 400 delivers 400 lumens that's the   same as an old school 40 watt incandescent lamp  its slim profile is great at getting into tight   spaces you can also rotate the light bar 180  degrees for awkward locations it's IP65 fully   rechargeable and will set you back just 24  quid 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 wiring accessories   and electrical Innovations so send us pictures  of your in stores 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 reveal last week's challenge   words and winners we want to 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 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 in 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 unit  and offering Complete product support from their   highly trained team it's CPN Cudis don't forget 

to use the code eix 30 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 it's Doncaster Cables click  the link 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've spotted the two words that I've  been challenged to slip into this week's show then   leave your guesses in the comments below 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 as sponsored by 

the good people at Brady printers don't forget to   go and see them down at the elect show at Ali  pal on the 27th and 28th of March last week   words were Rigar and Blimey and the person to  be selected from our electronic hat this week   was David Pike so well done to you David 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