Rust on a Socket...Wait Until You See the Price?!

Coming up on this week's news demand from hipsters  is creating a super premium market for sockets   and some eye-catching prices a Middlesborough  electrician is jailed over a solar installation   scam and are you sitting down Jeremy Clarkson the  electric tractor has arrived and it's creating   a Mini Boom for Rural contractors 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 supported by our friends over at Brady printers  they're exhibiting at the Elex show at Ally Pally   in London on the 27th 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 an electrician from Middlesborough  

has been jailed after pocketing almost £25,000  from homeowners in a solar scam Sean Berry, sole   director of SB Electrical Security and Solutions  Limited asked customers for 50% Upfront for their   photovoltaic panel installations Berry said the  money was to cover the cost of the kit but after   stumping up the cash no work was ever carried out  no materials were received and no refunds were   provided North Yorkshire Council trading standards 

received six complaints from disgruntled clients   across the northeast of England one said that  Berry took away her faith in Tradesmen she said   he manipulated lied and had every intention of  taking advantage at York Crown Court Berry was   sentenced to 2 years and 8 months in prison for  each fraud with the sentences running concurrently   he also received eight months in prison again to  run concurrently for each unfair trading offence   finally he was also disqualified from acting as a 

company director for 10 years in other news don't  

tell Jeremy Clarkson but the electric tractor has  arrived John Deere unveiled its e-power model this   week to critical Acclaim from agricultural media  and Massey Ferguson is promising that a version   of its 5S model is on the way the mainstream  Brands add to the fleet of EVs which are already   starting to pop up on the nation's Fields all  of which require charging infrastructure and   it's not just electric vehicles UK Farms are at  The Cutting Edge of the solar panel rollout with  

many leasing their land for big PV installs the  trade got a boost this week from scientists at   the University of Sheffield who say that we don't  have to choose between quality agricultural land   and renewable energy if farmers use so-called  Agri voltaic practices which allows for farming   between and underneath panels then there need be  no loss of output farmers are also adopting solar   enthusiastically to power their own operations  already almost a third of dairy sheds now boast  

panels it all represents a big opportunity for  electrical contractors working in rural areas   to see what all the fuss was about Gordon donned  Wellies this week and headed down the farm as well   as encountering some very agricultural electrical  practices he saw at firsthand how Wireless sensors   are allowing Farmers to take the monitoring of  their operations to the next level I'll pop the   link to the video in the show notes now Welcome  to our electrical news weekly feature where we  

focus on a specific product area this week we've  gone weak for wiring accessories and the big news   in this product Market Market say analysts is the  rapid growth of a super premium segment and money   it seems is no object for instance Canadian firm  22 System has developed a range for the UK trade   whose double socket for concrete walls retails  at a stunning £273 even its basic double sockets   for plaster board walls start at £100 if you  choose twin USB Outlets it'll set you back £188  

yeah the company reports buoyant sales thanks to  the individual circular outlets and it's flush   fit with the wall meanwhile the biggest current  Trend with hipsters is sockets that are pre-rusted   snazzy the bestselling unit cost £25 and is made  by a West Midlands brand called the workshop below   the plates are treated in the company's Workshop  in Birmingham and assembled using Crabtree inserts   they're compatible with existing flush mounted 

backboxes or you can surface mount them using   a specially rusted double backbox a snip at 21  quid a unit with USB will set you back 40 quid   they're complemented by Rusty conduit at £22 a  meter they're flying off the shelves apparently  

meanwhile back here in the real world Selectric  has unveiled a range of Wireless switches which   operate without batteries the grid 360 kinetic  range is powered by the action of pressing the   switch you simply pair them with the firm's  wireless receiver to operate lights without   hard wiring Scolmore is targeting its part m range  of wiring accessories at applications in hospitals   and Healthcare buildings the range is antiviral  and antibacterial certified so it's suitable  

for use in clinical facilities they've been  independently tested and shown to kill off 99.99%   of the big four viruses MRSA e-coli salmonella  and bacterial pneumonia also available in the   range are units with high contrast for visually  impaired people designer wiring accessory firm   Trendy Switch is now shipping its double socket  which features distinctive long rocker switches   in Chrome the ice white 13 amp outlet also has  a clip-on screwless plate and a back frame which  

houses the screw holes and electrical connection  module it'll fit into a standard UK backbox   and if you don't want white The Firm boasts  ridiculously extensive colour options I really   like those actually there's always something a  little bit different in wiring accessories good   stuff electrical device maker Theben has developed  a lighting dimmer which you can insert into a back   box behind the wiring accessory that's because  it happens to be the world's smallest dimmer  

the Dimax 540 has been designed for electricians  working in ultratight spaces it's the size of a   2 pound piece but it has the power of a full size  dimmer it can provide flicker-free dimming for   up to 150 Watts of LED power and even better no  neutral wires required you can also control the   lighting from multiple locations using just one  Dimax module combined with push to make switches   and according to a doodle sent to us by Theben's  country manager Simon Johnson you can even use  

it on intermediate switches if you wire it in a  particular way surely something as radical as this   deserves a dedicated video I hear you ask and it  totally does so we did one well Gary did I'll put   the link in the show notes to that now have you  noticed recently that you've been struggling to   get dimmers into back boxes where they used to  fit perfectly before well well Struggle No More   with the PDM 250 intelligent 250 Watt multi-way  dimmer from Enkin founded by electrician Joshua  

Hammerton it's had a clever redesign to feature  cutouts that sit well away from the lugs on both   metal and dry lining back boxes so they'll always  fit even if backbox makers have a sneaky retool   it's not just the body that's clever the brain of  the dimmer is too instead of relying on a Master   Slave setup this clever unit lets you Dim your  light seamlessly from several points in a room   when using multiple PDM 250 units in fact you  can have up to 20 dimmers working together and  

it's as simple as connecting them all together in  parallel using the green push button on the back   you can quickly and easily set the minimum and  maximum light output levels as well as perform a   factory reset carrying any of these Out on Just  One of the dimmers in a set will automatically   adjust them all to the same levels that's not  just clever that's genius and have you seen   the award-winning range from Eurolight their  enhanced range features Sleek modern designs  

while the concealed range provides a minimalist  look with hidden screw fixings the stainless steel   accessories offer a durable professional finish  suited for high-end applications and lastly the   utility range delivers cost-effective practical  solutions for everyday electrical installations   each product line is designed to combine  Aesthetics with functionality ensuring reliability   and style in various environments you can check  out some of these cool wiring accessories in real  

life at some upcoming shows you can see trendy  switch's socket range at the Home Building and  

renovating show from Thursday the 20th of March  to Sunday the 23rd of March at NEC and you can   get up close and personal with the new launches  from Theben and Enkin at the Elex Exhibition at   Alexandra Palace in North London it takes place on  Thursday the 27th of March and Friday the 28th of   March while you're there pop along to visit show  sponsors Brady printers as well also coming up   next month is the Machine Building North event in 

Manchester which takes place on Thursday the 10th   of April there you'll be able to see friends  of the show Crompton Controls Wago and Wieland   among many other big electrical Brands that's  our electrical news weekly Roundup of products   we think deserve some attention next week we're  cover ing the great Innovations to be found in   the electrical industry and off the back of our  product Focus feature our question of the week  

was taken from our free training package  on wiring accessories made in association   with BG and asked which of the following is a  recommendation by the NHBC for sockets in the wall   of a fire compartment the correct answer is that  back-to-back sockets should be avoided and 43% of   people got that right on YouTube meanwhile over  on LinkedIn a more impressive 60% of people were   correct of course it's worth noting and always  pleasing when you all err on the side of caution  

as many also voted for never putting sockets back  to back at all which of course is even safer so   actually good work in the end to check out when  it might be okay to install back-to-back sockets   in a firewall check out that free training package  from BG on wiring accessories you'll find the link   to that in the show notes now before we go a shout  out to contractor Gary Usher in Basingstoke who's  

celebrating the 20th anniversary of his company in  two decades Usher has expanded to a fleet of six   Vans and 11 employees the team celebrated with an  incredible anniversary cake made in the shape of   a cable drum congratulations Gary and remember to  send us a slice 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 electrical Innovations   Renewables and Fire Safety and Security so send  us pictures of your installs 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 revealed  

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  created the Swiss army knife of solar inverters   along with all weather batteries is 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 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 with  their new award winning Lumo consumer units   and offering Complete product support from their  highly trained team it's CPN Cudis don't forget to   use the code eFIXX30 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 is Doncaster Cables click the links in   the show notes to find out more about these great  Brands 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 supported by our good friends at Brady   printers don't forget to book your tickets  to join them at the elect show at Alexandra  

Palace on the 27th and 28th of March last week's  words were Cactus and Roadrunner and we actually   had a correct guess on Facebook for once so keep  those coming folks they all go into the draw so   we put all of your names into an electronic hat  and the first one to be plucked out as a winner   was Shauna Jackson 5044 so well done to you 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