MK Urgently Recalls Double Sockets Over ‘High Fire Risk’

coming up on this week's news MK has urgently  recalled 37 versions of its Essentials double   socket range over a high risk of fire a contractor  is fined £100,000 after a solar panel installer   falls through a skylight and it's revealed  that 80% of electricians have had electric   shocks despite all the safety procedures 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  

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printers the respected British accessories brand  MK has urgently recalled some 37 versions of its   Essentials double socket range over what's being  termed a high risk of fire it's been revealed that   when the switch on the socket is being switched  on Switched Off or while it's under load there   is a possibility for an arc flash to occur this  could cause the socket and surrounding materials   to ignite the government's office for product  safety and standards have recorded the risk  

level as high local Authority trading standards  officials were first to raise the alert about the   products which are made in China it appears the  affected sockets do not meet the requirements of   the electrical equipment safety regulations  of 2016 or for the plugs and sockets safety   regulations of 1994 the affected models are all 13  amp two gang sockets in the essentials range they   include both single and double pole versions and  the single pole switch socket with neon light and  

the option with an integral USB port they were  on sale to electricians from 2018 to July 2024   MK says the products have now been withdrawn from  the market I've put a link to the full 37 product   codes in the show notes in other news a Renewables  contractor has been fined 100,000 pounds after a  

solar panel installer fell 10 m through a skylight  and sustained serious injuries Nicolas Vilela had   been fixing a photovoltaic panel into position on  the roof of the Greystone Action Sports skate park   in Salford Greater Manchester when the accident  happened he took a step backwards onto a fragile   Skylight and then plunged down to the skate  park below narrowly missing several people his   horrific injuries include a partial lung collapse 

broken ribs pelvis femur and left wrist as well   as fractures to his lower vertebrae he spent a  month in hospital H2O Renewables limited where   the principal contractor on the job and it had  engaged Green Projects limited as subcontractor   to fit the roof mounted system H20 planned  the work during which time they were aware   of multiple fragile roof lights near to where the  solar panels would be fitted its risk assessment   stated that cones and warning tape would be used 

to warn workers of the risk of falling through the   roof lights additionally fixed scaffolding would  be used to prevent falls from the perimeter of   the roof a health and safety probe found that  by the time by the work started in November   2022 the fixed scaffold had only partially  been erected and only cones had been placed   next to the skylights despite these insufficient  measures Green Projects limited's operatives were   allowed to start work to fit the solar panels 

the investigation concluded that H2O Renewables   limited and green projects limited had failed to  take suitable and sufficient precautions to ensure   the safety of workers on the roof H2O Renewables  limited of Hazel Grove Stockport pleaded guilty to   breaching the construction design and management  regulations of 2015 they were fined £106,000 and   ordered to pay almost £5,000 costs at a hearing  at Manchester magistrates Court green projects  

limited of Albert Street Olden pleaded guilty  to breaching the work at height regulations 2005   and were fined £13,340 and ordered to pay £1600  in costs over in Wales the recent storm Darragh  

has devastated the UK's biggest solar farm high  winds blew hundreds of panels off their mountings   at the giant 190 acre Porth Wen solar farm in  Anglesey the installation was only completed 2   years ago the site is owned by French energy firm  EDF energy and Powers up to 9 and a half thousand   households it now needs significant repairs says  assessors Elsewhere on Anglesey the wind was so   strong that blades were sheared off a wind turbine 

which then reportedly caught fire that's all going   to take a bit of work to manhandle back into  shape there's more sobering news for the solar  

sector in a scientific study released this week  which shows that panels can accelerate the spread   of fire on sloping roofs the effect depends on  the Gap distance between the roof surface and   the module and the size of the ignition Source the  scientists did a lot of experiments which showed   that a self-propagating fire can be achieved if  the ignition source is big enough the bouyant   plume spreads the fire mostly up the roof surface  and to a limited degree laterally the fire spread  

was also seen down the Roof in the burning melted  roof membrane none of the experiments caused the   fire to spread into the roof construction I've  popped a link to the detailed research in the show  

notes meanwhile a fire risk assessment of Home  battery packs by German scientists have rated the   chance of a blaze at just 0.0049% researchers at  the RWTH Aachen University say they only took into   account cases in which the fire in the house was  actually triggered by the battery storage system   itself not by the battery management system or  human error they also found that the fires are   increasingly taking place in the spring this  is most likely a reaction that occurs when the  

storage systems begin to be used again after the  winter most of the fires occur between noon and   4 p.m. when the memory is fully loaded in EV news  it's been revealed that Europe's biggest charging  

location is set to be at the Trafford Center in  Manchester a planning application to turn a former   petrol station on the site into an ev station  has been submitted to the centre's planning   team the development will deliver an ultra rapid  charging Hub a supercharger lounge and a further   47 250 KW Ultra fast charges that would take  the total at the centre to 65 which could make   make it the largest Ultra rapid charging Hub in  Europe if it's approved work is set to begin in  

early 2025 EV chargers in petrol stations are  becoming a contentious issue in the trade just  

this week a petrol industry trade Association  warned that a loophole in the law is allowing   chargers to be put in dangerous locations on fore  courts because operators don't have to notify any   authorities when they add chargers it means a  non-compliant scheme could be in operation for   years until a petrol enforcement team visits the  site only at this point will operators be asked to   rectify the situation Jamie Thompson chairman  of the association for petrol and explosives  

administration's technical committee said that the  existing law does not recognise the installation   of electric chargers as a material change to a  petrol station he said the current situation is   a possible danger to the public Thompson also said  that installers of plug-in points sometimes don't   take into account temporary hazards such as petrol  tankers being too close to the charge points the   cable or the car being charged another problem 

is that an isolator unit is often not installed   on the for court or inside the shop for fire  service to turn off the equipment in the event of   an accident now it's been revealed that eight in  10 electricians in Northern Ireland have suffered  

electric shocks on the job the groundbreaking  report by the electrical training trust has   revealed what the organisation terms a culture of  shock silence the survey which interviewed some   350 Electrical Workers in the province also  showed that some 40% have had at least three   shocks in their careers to date of those who've  experienced a shock 89% sustained an injury and   almost all required time off work and despite  the frequency of the shock incidents almost  

three quarters were not reported to employers  a key finding is the failure of electricians in   Northern Ireland to carry out safe isolation  procedures using lockoff kits the document   said that company culture ineffective reporting  procedures and time pressures are the three most   common reasons staff failed to report an electric  shock at work the organisation's Charlotte Bamber   said the findings should serve as a wakeup call  to the electrical industry eFIXX has produced lots  

of info and educational videos on safe isolation  including a full CPD I highly recommend that you   take a look at that the links as always are in the  show notes finally in product news this week the  

big story is a breakthrough in Battery Technology  this looks set to result in more powerful longer   lasting power tools Battery Giant Ampace has found  a clever way to reduce the internal resistance   of a cell which in turn cuts the temperature  rise during discharge the result is the JP30 a   battery which can deliver a stunning 36 amps for  5 minutes without cutting out that's twice the   current capability the company has also managed  to increase the power density from an industry  

standard 1,000 watts per kilogram to 2,100 Watts  The Innovation should feed through into tools in   the coming years and we can't wait to see those  before we go a shout out to the constellation   of stars that make up level three night time  adult pupils at Preston College in Lancashire   maintenance engineer Damien Cross got in touch to  tell us that the students watch the news each week   and have all benefited from our educational videos  thanks for the feedback Damien and all the best  

to you and all your colleagues in your studies  if you if you'd like a name check on the eFIXX   news weekly get in touch via our contacts in the  show notes or in the comments below 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  send us pictures of your installs or let us know   if you've come across any new kit that's making  your job easier 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 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 it's Sunsynk  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 correct guesses and select one at random to be   the winner of an eFIXX goodie bag prize answers  submitted after 5:00 on the Wednesday 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  

brain rot and Bret and the first name to come out  of electronic hat was Martin E63 so very well done   to you Martin 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