Family Deaths Linked To DIY Wiring

coming up on this week's news fire investigators  say they found DIY electrical work at a Swansea   home where a three-year-old boy and his dad died  it's been revealed that over 3 million Smart   Meters aren't working properly and an electrician  working behind a false ceiling discovers a set   of Priceless artworks welcome to electrical news  weekly in association with solar trade sales your   easy One-Stop shop for all things solar make sure  you click the link in the show notes to access  

their online store 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  supported by the good people at Brady if you need   a label they've got a printer and so much more if  you think you've spotted the two words I've been   challenged to slip into this week's show comment 

with them below for the chance to win a prize and   while you're there click the link to check out  the Brady range of printers fire investigators  

have told an inquest that they found that DIY  electrical work had been carried out in a house   where a three-year-old boy and his dad died in a  fire Muhammad Esmael and his father, 51-year-old   Naemat Lawa Esmael died in The Blaze at their  Swansea home in July of last year now Muhammad's   mother, Sharmeen Ahmed has told the inquest  that her husband had made improvements in their   Council owned house including electrical work  investigators found an extension lead had been  

wired into a socket in the room where the fire  started Jason Woodman of MID and West Wales fire   and rescue service said that based on the balance  of probabilities the fire had started in that area   he said there were no other potential sources  of ignition found in the room and the Gathering   also heard from Barry Kelly an electrical expert  with South Wales police he assessed the electrical   aftermath following the fire and said there  was exposed electrical wiring in the living  

room which could have caused a serious electric  shock if touched and that there were alterations   in other areas of the house too in the room where  the fire started he said that there were two cut   cables coming out of the wall where a socket would  have been and electrical items had gone he said   he could not subsequently offer any opinion  on a possible cause of the fire Siobhan Cooze   from Swansea Council said the family moved into  the house in 2021 adding that smoke alarms were  

installed there in 2020 she said electrical Works  were not permitted in Council properties and that   this was made clear to tenants at several points  in the tenancy signing Swansea Council electrician   Thomas Mainwaring said the local authorities homes  were fitted with hardwired smoke alarms and were   connected to a lighting circuit he said the alarms  were all connected so if one sounded they all   sounded speaking through an interpreter Ms Ahmed 

told the inquest she wanted to know the exact   cause of the fire so that nobody else would have  to go through what she had she said it would been   much easier for her to lose her life there and  then than to go through all this sorrow now the   inquest continues meanwhile a wider investigation  into the problem of electrical fires in the UK  

has Unearthed some alarming statistics the home  office says that around 4,000 house fires across   the UK every year are caused by faulty electrics  Cambridge fire and rescue service has revealed   that it alone has been called out to more than  1,200 electrical fires in the last 3 years figures   obtained by legal experts show that of those  more than 580 happened in domestic properties   with the leading cause being wiring cabling and  plugs another fire service Hampshire and Isle of  

Wight has published its figures showing that it's  tackled over 1,000 electrical fires in its patch   since 2021 in other news the roll out of smart  meters in the UK has come in for intense criticism  

in a BBC Panorama documentary in it BBC journalist  Zoe Conway revealed that no fewer than three and   a half million of the units weren't working as  they should that means many householders can't   Avail themselves of smart tariffs for heating hot  water and electric vehicles as well as powering   heat pumps and battery packs the program looked  at the case of Hartesh Battu a doctor from Glasgow   he's had six different Smart Meters fitted by two 

energy suppliers none of which has worked when he   complained he was told that he lived too far north  that's because a different wireless network is   used in the north of England compared to the south  in the popular South The Meters talk to the mobile   cellular phone network in the more sparsely  populated North they communicate via radio   masts but even the energy industry admits that the  northern network isn't working well and complaints   have been Soaring Over unexpectedly High bills 

an anonymous engineer told Pomeranian sorry that   should be Panorama we'll get that in post we'll  edit that out and Anonymous engineer told Panorama   that part of the problem was that different  energy companies with different technical   capabilities installed different systems running  different software Oxford University Professor   Sir Dieter Helm said that the government made two  fundamental mistakes with the roll out of smart   meters first it gave into lobbying by putting 

the energy suppliers in charge of installing   Smart Meters instead of the network operators  and second he said it made having a smart meter   voluntary this meant that each energy firm had  to persuade each of its customers to have one   fitted driving up costs Helm says the roll out of  smart meters should go down as a textbook example   of a project failure he says it's late and very  expensive you can see the full documentary in   the UK on BBC I player I've put the link in the 

show notes if your smart meter is working then  

you may be interested in what's being billed  as the UK's first smart tariff for traditional   electric storage heaters octopus is going Retro by  Reinventing the economy 7 tariff which dates back   to the 1970s instead of seven continuous hours its  version dubbed snug octopus offers up to 6 hours   of cheap energy every night with an extra hour in  the afternoon for a toasty boost at dinner time   it says it allows average customers to save almost 

£40 a year compared to a standard economy 7 tariff   without the need to invest in other low carbon  Tech customers can adjust their heat and runtime   as they want allowing them to cut down their  energy use and costs during the warmer months   around 1.7 million homes in the UK currently use  storage heaters and they're also very popular with   housing associations with over 180,000 of their  homes relying on them for heating now to run those   heaters you're going to need a variety of cables 

and the results of our most recent question of the   week would suggest there's still some confusion  over cable codes the question was taken from our   recently launched free training package on cables  and conductors From Doncaster cables and asked the   following code describes a cable which when in  a fire does not emit smoke or gases the code is   H5 Z1 Z1 hythen F the code hythen F tells tell  us that the cable is and the correct answer is  

flexible not fire rated as 35% of people thought  on YouTube only 56% of people got it right there   over on LinkedIn meanwhile just 18% of respondents  got it right while over on X just 17% of people   were correct it would seem that there's never  been a better time to have a look at that free   training package From Doncaster cables the link  as ever is in the show notes in product news Sync  

Energy has launched a consumer unit for outdoor  applications such as EV charges and solar panels   the plastic unit has an Ingress Protection rating  of IP66 and an impact rating of IK1 and it's being   marketed as a cost-effective alternative to metal  it's pre-fitted with pollution degree 3 certified   devices options include two 100 amp main switch  versions one with a 40 amp 30 milliamp double pole   bidirectional rcbo and one with a 40 amp MCB you 

can also get a 40 amp main switch and all units   have a type 2 SPD and don't forget there's still  time to enter BG's competition where the top prize   is a European city break the runner prizes aren't  too shabby either they include Moto GP tickets   Porsche driving experiences Smart TVs and more  including an annual pass for Merlin theme parks   and attractions to enter all you've got to do is  buy a product from the circuit protection range   accessories are not included upload your receipt 

or invoice to the special BG website and that's   it I've popped a link to the competition website  in the show notes time is running out to enter as   the promotion ends on Tuesday the 10th of December  all the very best everyone now a couple of weeks  

ago we we introduced you to the M211 printer  from Brady if like Gary the idea of using apps   on your phone to print isn't your preference  then Brady have got you covered with the M210   which simplifies labelling with smart automatic  formatting you just drop in a cartridge type and   print intuitive design Wizards streamline label  creation whilst the onscreen display lets users   easily check printer and cartridge status you  can save and reuse label designs directly on  

the printer for ultimate convenience it's built  for durability the m210 features drop lock Ando   cartridges rugged moulded rubber bumpers and  a 2-year warranty this lightweight 0.7 kilo   printer resists military spec shocks and survives  Falls up to 1.8 m it prints durable labels from 6   to 19 mm wide in up to seven industry specified  materials perfect for wire wraps terminal blocks   and more with an ergonomic cut a smart automatic  formatting and easy to use ABC keypad the m210  

combines brains and Brawn for reliable efficient  label creation on any job site now lighting   specialist Ledvance has unveiled its flood  light Gen 4 this powerful exterior light has  

a high efficiency of 150 lumens per watt an IP  rating of 66 and a service life of up to 75,000   hours a special multi- Lumen function allows the  brightness to be adjusted in two stages via a   switch on the Lumen a light output options range  from 780 lumens to a super bright 25,000 lumens   a sensor version has automatic dimming which  Cuts output to either 20 or 40% if no person   is detected a photocell version with a daylight  sensor completes the range the link to to all  

the products is in the show notes in promotions  this week the standout has to be the chance to  

win some original Formula 1 merch signify has  recently sponsored the Mercedes AMG Petronas   team to help support its goal of achieving zero  net Emissions on offer is an exclusive Formula 1   hoodie to join simply register on the signify  LumXpert platform and send a message with the   word giveaway to the signify LumXpert WhatsApp  additionally the first 100 contractors to put   in an order worth over2 200 will receive a  Mercedes AMG Petronas cap during the promotion  

the promo ends on Sunday the 8th of December I've  put a link to the full terms and conditions in the   show notes and finally an Italian electrician  has discovered Priceless artworks hidden behind  

a false ceiling Davide Renzoni was doing routine  electrical maintenance at Palazzo in Rome when he   came across a set of 17th century frescoes the  three stunning paintings feature rosy-cheeked   cherubs surrounded by Hues of blue red and gold  art experts say that they've lost none of their   Brilliance despite being covered up for decades  Renzoni was stunned to come across the art in the   vaulted ceiling of what was once the living  room of Agostino Chigi, a wealthy banker and  

Renaissance patron who had the villa built in the  16th century. now just before we go we'd like to  

give a special College connection shout out to  18-year-old Kian Ivory who's doing level three   at Milton keyne's College Kian has completed lots  of our cpds including ones on continuity testing   rcds and containment we're delighted that you're  finding our free courses useful Kian and we wish   you and your classmates every success in your  studies and 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 can you believe that  the next episode of the news will be released in   December I don't know where 2024's gone anyway  over the next month we'll be looking at energy   monitoring and lighting controls 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 it's 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 at SynSynkl 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 with   an incredible range of equipment from EV charge  points through industrial sockets and switches  

to kit for explosive areas plus they supplied  gear for a Campari factory so they'll always   have a place in my heart it's Scame 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 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 Brady remember if you need a  label they've got a printer and so much more  

click the link in the description to view their  incredible range last week's words were Jacoban   and salamander and the first name to come out  of our electronic hat was Johnny Mack lk5 qo   excellent work Johnny click the link in the show  notes to claim your prize and while here just a   quick shout out as well to Anthony pigot 7075 for  the funniest comment last week when he suggested   that jacoban and salamander would probably be  the name of a paint colour next week if anyone's  

watching from Farah and ball we can negotiate  licensing terms 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