Government Regulations Cause More Electrical Fires

- Coming up on this week's news, a judge fines a building firm 50,000 pounds after a worker survives in 11 KV electric shock. New figures reveal that electrical fires have soared since the government introduced specific measures to prevent them, and one of our boys has made it. An electrician from Cambridge is crowned Tradesperson of the Year for 2022. Welcome to "Electrical News Weekly" in association with Myenergi.

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 as always, if you think you 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. Magistrates have fined a construction contractor

50,000 pounds after one of its workers received an electric shock of 11,000 volts. The man, an employee of Connop And Son of Leominster, was pouring concrete when the floating arm of the pump came into contact with a high tension overhead power line. He immediately lost consciousness and his workmates rushed to perform CPR in an attempt to resuscitate him. The injured laborer was later taken to Oxford Hospital, where he spent six days in a coma.

A health and safety executive probe found that Connop and Son fell far below the standard expected. The company failed to implement the control measures documented in its own risk assessment. Oxford Magistrates also fined two of the workers who they say failed to ensure the health and safety of the others on the site. Connop and Son was also ordered to pay costs.

In other news, an investigation by E&T Magazine has revealed that the number of electrical wiring fires has increased on a galactic level since the government introduced specific regulations aimed at preventing them. The findings have raised questions about the planned move to expand the current regulations. Electrical distribution fires occur within the fixed electrical parts of a home such as wiring and fuse boards.

There were almost 4,000 of these in 2021 across the UK, in comparison to the 3,000 recorded in 2005. That was when the government introduced Part P of the building regulations in England and Wales. E&T says that it is found evidence that some of the electrical tests carried out in properties are inadequate. In some cases, testers are incorrectly passing unsafe properties.

E&T has also heard evidence of drive by inspections with the paperwork being filled out without anyone entering the properties at all. This undercuts legitimate electrical contractors and even puts lives at risk. The government is now considering whether to extend the rules to social housing, but Mark Coles, technical boss at the IET has called on the government to review the existing legislation before extending it.

He said there were far too many fires of electrical origin occurring in dwellings in the UK. The National Fire Chief's Council agree. It says it's concerned about the apparent rising fires with causes related to electricity, including faulty wiring. The government says that the industry must take responsibility for raising competence and setting standards in the sector.

In product news, this autumn, RF Solutions have significantly enhanced the Bogeybox to include LoRa or long range spread spectrum technology. The Bogeybox allows the electrical installer to turn any vault-free, no vault input into a remote control transmitter capable of wirelessly switching a paired receiver output over a huge distance. The new LoRa version means any vault free buttons, switches, or other inputs can achieve a wireless switching range of up to five kilometers line of site.

Installers can also now choose to power the box from three AAA batteries, allowing for deployment anywhere, or via a 5 to 15 volt permanent power supply meaning minimum maintenance is required. On top of this, the upgraded Bogeybox now has an optional acknowledgement feature.

When enabled, this will alert the end user if the transmitter inputs have successfully operated its paired relay outputs, perfect when switching relays over a long distance and for applications where you can't see the consequence. If you'd like more information on the Bogeybox, I've popped a link into the show notes. In further product news this month,

lighting firm Signify has unveiled not one, but two technological firsts. The first breakthrough is with the company's range of WIZ lighting for the home. If you want to turn your lights on when you enter a room, you normally have to install a PIR detector or maybe a microwave sensor. But now Boffins, apparently, have come up with a presence detection method that works without any sensors. Instead, it detects motion using the Wi-Fi signals that are already present in a room.

These preexisting Wi-Fi signals are slightly disturbed when people move around in a space. Think of it like ripples in a swimming pool. By measuring these small deviations in signal strength caused by those disturbances, the WIZ lights can work out if someone is present.

Clever stuff, eh? The second breakthrough is a range of light bulbs which achieve an A rating in the ridiculously stringent new energy labeling rules. With the old energy labels, an efficiency of just 120 lumens per watt would achieve an A++ score. Under the new system that would achieve only an E rating. To get an A+ now, lamps must reach a spectacular energy efficiency of 210 lumens per watt, and well, that's exactly what Signify has achieved with its ultra efficient product lineup.

This includes standard light bulbs. You can tell I didn't write this segment. Candle lamps, LED tubes, and GU tens. So well done Signify. Gary and Gordon made a whole video about lighting energy labels recently and it's been hugely popular, so check out what all the fuss is about. Again, I've popped the link to the video in the show notes. Now, with 2023 shaping up to be one of the most

economically challenging in decades, business experts from Fergus, the admin software people, have set out their five top tips for electrical contractors to survive and thrive in a recession. Their top tip, keep records. Many electricians hate record-keeping, but they emphasize that it's the only way to stay on top of your finances. The experts recommend little and often. Keep notes of income and spending every day or at least every other day.

Second, understand how you as a business are performing. Who are the bad debtors, which customers and work generates the best return, and so on. Third, have a tidy up. Write off debts you can't recover. Sell stock and assets that don't generate any revenue. Although this can be painful, it's also remarkably liberating. The fourth good habit is to set aside the tax you owe.

Whether you charge VAT or not, it makes sense to put these sums in another account as that way you don't think of it as your money. Finally, remember that a business makes no money until an invoice is sent. If creating an invoice is a pain, find a system to make it easier. Maybe give yourself a little treat for doing it like a coffee and a slice of Battenberg. If you get into this habit, you'll notice the cash start to roll in quickly.

Now, in the summer, we had Dan from the Rewired Agency come into the studio to talk to us about his business, which is specifically designed to help self-employed electricians and other tradespeople get on top of their admin. I've popped the link to that video in the show notes

and it's well worth checking out. Now it's a very exciting time up north in Blindside Studios, not because Gordon's back today to share his holiday pictures with us or that he's approved an upgrade to Yorkshire Teabags or even that Mastabs Curry House on the Keighley Road is bringing back the chicken hyderabadi. No, it is none of these admittedly fine things. It is of course, because the EFixx Awards are coming up and you, our dear viewer, have a role to play.

Currently, we are looking for your help in identifying the industry's best employer of apprentices. Which firms are going above and beyond the call of duty to give new starters to our industry the best experience possible. You can nominate a firm you know for the apprentice employer of the year category. Alternatively, you can even nominate yourself. Tell us what makes the company special and what it does for its apprentices. I've popped the link to the awards in the show notes, so get entering.

And finally, the UK's top tradesperson has been revealed

and it's good news as one of our boys has made it. Electrician Toby Peacock has been named the Screw Fix UK Champion for 2022. The judges were wowed by his professionalism and dedication to the trade, and this week his face appeared on a huge digital billboard in his home town of Cambridge. Toby also walks away with an ultimate trade bundle consisting of 20,000 pounds worth of tools, technology, and future training. The EFixx team sends its heartiest congratulations to you, Toby.

That's it for this week, but coming up on our YouTube channel over the next few days

we've got a Q and A asking if you can charge your EV from a normal 13 amp socket outlet, a review of the Sterling Curve data trunking from Marshall Tufflex, and some more information on the Easy Nine compact multi row board from Schneider, including a full install from our tame fixer Rick. Plus all the usual fun and games across our social media accounts to look forward to.

If you think you know the words that I've smuggled into this week's show, pop your guess into the comments and we'll dig out a goody bag prize to the first to get the right answers. Last week's words were al fresco and catamaran, which are obviously normal everyday words you'll find on any electrical podcast. However, they leapt out pretty quickly at Zach Wilson, who was the first to comment. So well done to you, Zach. Please click the link in the description below to claim your prize.

And in a podcast first, we had someone predicting this week's words as well. A viewer going by the name of Sirus suggested that they would be diaphanous and flocculant. By saying those words, have we gone full matter and self-referential risking damage to the space time continuum by creating a time loop? Or is all this just a red herring? Make your guesses in the comments and we'll find out.

We'd also like to make a small apology to anyone who heard the raw audio file released of the podcast last week. The problem was quickly corrected and the relevant operative has now had their biscuit privileges temporarily revoked. Thanks for listening to this episode of "Electrical News Weekly" in association with Myenergi. 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 taught calibrated arm.