Experts Give Verdict on the Cable Overload Row

coming up on this week's news the authors  of the wiring regulations weigh in on the   cable overloading debate how a misconnected CT  clamp led to a homeowner being charged £5 just   to boil a kettle and an electrical crime arrives  on the doorstep of eFIXX headquarters welcome to   Electrical News Weekly in association with Solar  Trade Sales your easy One-Stop shop for all things   solar 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 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 the authors of the wiring regulations  

have weighed in on a longtime debate over cable  overloading the IET says they want to bust some   myths on the topic that many electricians hold  dear they site the example of a 1 square mm twin   and earth cable which typically has a current  rating of around 14 amps connected to a 32 amp   circuit breaker another is a 10 amp Kettle lead  plugged into a 13 amp socket many in the trade   will label both of these as bad practice but the  IET's experts say that to get the answer we need  

to refer back to regulation 131.4 on overload  protection the clue they say is in the title not   everything is likely to overload examples include  filament lamps heating elements and power supplies   with internal protection the IET ruling says  that if the equipment can't overload the cable   supplying it then it doesn't require overload  protection on this basis a 1 square mm cable   connected to a 32 amp circuit breaker powering  a dedicated load of 20 watts Wi-Fi access point  

could be acceptable in a controlled environment in  fact the concept is specifically spelled out in an   often Overlook regulation 433.3.1 it says that a  device for protection against overload need not   be provided if the conductor is powering a load  that's unlikely to carry overload current that's   provided of course that the conductor is protected  against fault current in accordance with the   requirements of section 434 so that's that debate 

cleared up or is it pop your view in the comments   and for much more information on this subject  and this regulation click the link in the show   notes to our free training package from Marshall  Tufflex on underfloor wiring systems in other news  

it's been revealed that a misconnected CT clamp  resulted in homeowners being charged £5 just to   boil a kettle Ford and Ann Jones went into a  panic when their newly installed smart meter   showed it adding a Fiver to their electricity  bill they then tried the washing machine and   found that they were charged £15 to clean their  clothes in the first three months with the new   meter the couple were charged £3,000 that's more  than 10 times their usual bill octopus energy  

their supplier couldn't get to the bottom of the  problem it was only as their heads were about to   prematurely exfoliate when they got in touch with  an independent engineer who had fixed solar panels   to their roof that he spotted a CT clamp had been  reconnected the wrong way round it was this that   was causing the meter readings to go Haywire a  CT clamp the CT stands for current Transformer   measures power use in amps it's crucial that's 

pointing in the right direction experts believe   this is far from an isolated incident electrician  Dave Cookman told the This Is Money website that   he was called out a dozen times last year to  reverse CT terminals he says the problem often   arises when smart meters are fitted to a home  with solar panels if the meter is installed by   someone not skilled at handling the technology  and they put the magnetic clamp in the wrong   direction the reader won't have a clue what's 

going on Cookman believes energy suppliers such   as octopus are keen not to admit responsibility  for its part octopus energy says that it fits   thousands of clamps a year and reversing one is a  very rare error still on solar it's been revealed  

that putting in PV panels is comparable to a full  body workout at the gym GB energy tracked one of   its installers for a week and the results show the  extraordinary physicality of the job its monitored   individual walked an average of 10.5 km a day for  5 days that's about 14,000 steps daily he also   climbed 34 flights of stairs and in total burned  an average of 2,215 calories each day Luke Antonio   of GB energy says the results show how much energy 

a member of its hardworking team uses up all In  

the name of sustainable energy and now with the  lighter electrical news it's time for teabreak   with safe connect and their range of indicators  for overheating electrical connections ever heard   the phrase having an ace up your sleeve well how  about an electrician in your side that's exactly   what saved Sittingbourne in their FA trophy  clash with Salisbury after a mid-match flood   light failure at the Raymond McEnhill Stadium at  half time with the score tied at nil nil it looked  

like the match might be abandoned When the Lights  Went Out enter Sittingbournes unsung hero a player   who also happens to be a Sparky while Salisbury  fans held their breath the Bricky's multitasking   Maestro saved the day getting the lights back on  but here's the kicker once play resumed Salisbury   might have wished the lights had stayed off  Sittingbourne struck twice taking the match 21 and   booking a date with SouthEnd United who is this 

mystery electrician no idea but salisbury's fans   probably won't be booking him for any home repairs  anytime soon that was the lighter electrical   news in teabreak with safe connect click the  link to check out their range of indicators   for overheating electrical connections in product  news a simple new device has been developed to  

speed up the installation of lighting pendants  pull cords and smoke alarms in fact it helps   attach anything to plaster board that requires  one or two screws ChumpFix is a perforated piece   of plastic about the size of a small ruler you  push it up through a 25 mm hole usually the same   one for the cable and then flatten it by pulling  the handle you then screw through the plaster to   reach one of its many holes it means you don't  have to use wool plugs and it helps to spread  

the weight of the light across the the ceiling it  also minimises the risk of plasterboard failure   caused by drilling near the edges and we've  all been there this Innovation isn't yet in   wholesalers so I've popped the link for online  sales into the show notes Brady's Express labels   mobile app introduces a voice control feature  designed to streamline electricians workflows   this Innovation allows users to create and print  labels using simple voice commands reducing manual  

input and enhancing efficiency by integrating  voice control electricians can maintain focus   on their tasks without the need to handle devices  directly promoting ing safety and productivity the   app supports a wide range of label types ensuring  versatility for various electrical applications   available for both IOS and Android devices Express  labels mobile is set to become an essential tool   for modern electricians seeking to optimise  their labelling processes Schneider Electric  

has unveiled a busbar trunking product specially  to supply electric vehicle charging stations the   Canalis for EV system allows for configurations up  to 400 amps and is suitable for outdoor use it's a   modular plug- and play platform that reduces the  amount of civil's work that needs to be done tap   off points along the busbar connector individual  chargers there's even an option to provide   lighting as often charging stations can be dark 

and unwelcoming still on innovation in EV charging   an American firm has developed a flat charging  cable to eliminate trips and slips the ghost   cable is just 6 mm thick and 8 cm wide it comes  in length of up to 24 ft and in voltages of 110   and 220 volts The Firm says that traditional round  cables can be tedious bulky and hazardous in urban   areas its cable is engineered to lay flat reducing  tripping risks and rolling up easily for storage  

Luceco has launched a new selection of exterior  decorative lighting including solar lights and   Mains powered bulkheads the wired bulkheads  come with an easy fix wall bracket for ease of   installation they have an IP 54 plus rating and  tough materials to ensure year round efficiency   there's also multiple modes and colour temperature  options and speaking of lighting our most recent   question of the week came from our free training  package on the subject of emergency lighting made  

with support from Robus the question was what is  the minimum maintained illuminance level required   on the reference plane in high-risk areas for  the usual task to take place and we had a bit of   a shocker on this one the correct answer is just  10% and not less than 15 lux however on YouTube   only 21% of respondents got it right and for the  second week running LinkedIn respondents proved   themselves to be slightly better informed with 27% 

getting it right I think either way though it's   fair to say that taking that free training course  from robus on emergency lighting might be a good   idea the link's in the show notes and finally to a  new feature crime news actually rename that crime  

on our doorstep news that's because criminality  has arrived in Sleepy Skipton the Yorkshire home   of the eFIXX HQ and Studios A woman decided to  help herself to a distinctive light fitting from   the eFIXX team's favourite fish and chip shop a  security camera caught the egregious lady standing   on the seats to remove the pendant the video  has now gone viral it's been seen as far away as   it some may view the heist at the fish and chip  shop as small fry but locals are concerned the  

town's reputation will take a battering after all  no one steals an LED light Just For the Halibut   this place is floundering until salmon opens up  to the crime apologies I've used my allocation of   Piscine puns now feel free to add your own below  though we will of course keep you posted if the   police make a catch seems I misled you about my  allocation and finally our usual reminder that   we're in the market market for your stories your  projects and your recommendations as we'd like  

to share them with the wider eFIXX Community  send us pictures of your installs or let us   know if you've come across any new kit that's  making your job easier 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 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 250 g wat solar PV they're literally  the greenest test instrument maker in Europe both  

physically and ethically it's KPS 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 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 big thanks to you all we really appreciate  your ongoing support for the news 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 last   week's words were bilingual and gotcha and would  you believe it he's had a long run of being on   the back burner but he's back with a bang our most  frequent winner of the challenge word competition  

it's Mark just Mark so very well done to you for  what is it like the 37th time now Mark I think   anyway click the link in the show notes to claim  your prize thanks for listening to this episode   of electrical news weekly in association with  solar trade sales your easy One-Stop shop for   all things solar remember to click the link  in the show notes to check out their online   shop 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