Unqualified Solar Installers Cause '10 Fires a Month' 🔥

- Coming up on this week's news, it's been revealed that cowboy installers of solar panels are causing up to 10 fires a month. A court fines an energy firm 80,000 pounds after an inspector dies in an electrical panel explosion and the electrician who styles his daughter's hair with cable ties. Welcome to Electrical News Weekly in association with SCAME.

Whether you're listening in the van onsite 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'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.

A freedom of information request has revealed that rogue installers of solar panels are causing no fewer than 10 fires a month across the UK. Insiders say that the boom in PV kit has brought a surge of cowboys into the industry and they're leaving a trail of destruction in their wake. Many firms are popping up and then disappearing, leaving homeowners with problem panels with nowhere to go. Increasing numbers of people are buying solar panels online and trying to install them themselves.

This is a breach of insurance companies' guidelines who recommend that all installations are done by qualified and certified professionals. The average insurance claim from a bodged solar panel job is now costing around 8,000 pounds. One installation in 2020 at a block of flats in Kent caused 1.5 million pounds of damage and made 30 people temporarily homeless.

Gareth Jones, vice president of the Federation of Master Builders in Wales and boss of Carbon Zero Renewable says the situation is frightening. He tells householders that going solar isn't like buying a toaster. It's a big investment so you need to do your research. His advice? Get the best quality equipment and have it fitted by an accredited company.

Theft of solar panels are still on the rise, say police but they had a breakthrough against PV thieves this week as they discovered a huge haul in Worcestershire. Detectives say the kit was stolen from various solar farms across the country. Despite the raid, reports of stolen equipment are increasing every week. They advise the use of security and surveillance devices for solar installations in vulnerable locations. Another renewable energy source that's soaring

in popularity is heat pumps. The tech received a major boost this week with the news that top householder Redrow say they will scrap gas boilers in all detached houses they build and will fit air source heat pumps instead. The firm said its decision would make it the first of the UK's big developers to install heat pumps and under floor heating as standard. The government has ordered that all new build homes must be gas free by 2025.

The government has also acted against a number of suppliers of electric heaters this week. It has banned their ads for saying that electric heat is cheaper than gas. The ads for the Instaheat, Keilini, Heater Pro and Heater Pro X all suggested they were a cheaper alternative to gas central heating and could rapidly warm a room. The advert for the Keilini heater said it could heat every area in a room in just 60 seconds.

The Energy Saving Trust said gas is currently cheaper than electricity and it's more efficient to heat a room with one radiator than a plug-in mini heater.

Electrical safety is also in the spotlight this week as a judge fines an energy company 80,000 pounds following the death of an asbestos inspector in an explosion in an electrical panel. Christopher Wayne Earley died from horrific injuries after receiving an arc flash from a high tension busbar. He suffered burns to a third of his body, affecting his face, right arm, right side of his chest and left hand.

Earley, who was due to retire within a year, died from multiple infections and sepsis three months later. He was carrying out the survey for Global Energy Nigg Limited at its Shop 7 premises at Nigg Energy Park in the Cromarty Firth, Scotland. An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive found the switch room Earley was surveying was not in an appropriate condition. The live switch panels did not have a warning label indicating they were energized.

Additionally, there was no warning of electrical danger at the internal doorway between Shop 7 and the switch room. The internal door itself was also missing. This failure to maintain the switch room in an appropriate condition was the underlying cause of the incident. And the judge ruled that the primary duty of care belonged to Global Energy Nigg Limited. The company pleaded guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act.

Health and Safety Inspector Nile Mill said that the incident could have easily been avoided by simply carrying out the correct safe working practices. Again, that is just such a tragic story again. The team at eFIXX send their sincere condolences to the family of Mr. Earley.

One way of ensuring those safe working practices is, of course, to check that whoever's working on a job is suitably qualified. An easy way to do this and minimize any kerfuffle is with an ECS card as it can be independently checked with an app. The Gold Card was upgraded this week and it can now also show if you're a qualified supervisor or electrical inspector. The management of the scheme point out that there's been a number of updates recently to the required qualifications.

So the card should provide a suitable method for checking that someone has the right qualifications for the job.

Someone with clearly the right qualifications for the job is artist Lakwena Maciver who has pimped an electrical substation in London and turned it from a boring box of transformers and switchgear into an eye-catching landmark. The structure is one of the first elements of a new development in northwest London, which will see 6,700 homes built between Brent Cross and Brent Cross West Stations.

And finally, we turn our attention to one of the most useful items in an electrician's toolbox. Yes, we're talking about the humble cable tie. It's been used as a creative solution to lots of tricky problems, not just in electrical work. Car mechanics often use them to fix wheel trims. Police forces in some US states use them as handcuffs and surgeons even use a special version to rejoin the sternum after chest surgery. No wonder some 100 billion cable ties are produced every year.

Now US Spark Matt Kunz has found another use. He doesn't sing His two daughters a lullaby. He styles their hair with a cable tie. He got the idea when he couldn't find his girls' bobbles one morning. His daughters Hendrix and Scout love the look. So now they use cable ties just like their dad.

Coming up on our YouTube channel next week, we've got lots of great content, including a Q&A where I explain how swapping two phases on a three-phase motor makes it spin backwards. We drop knowledge on RCDs as we make one of our ever popular CPD videos live to the masses. And it's your final warning that the closing date for entries to the eFIXX Awards is tomorrow, Tuesday, the 31st of January. So don't worry about submitting your tax return. Get your nomination in instead.

Actually, no, that's terrible advice. Submit your tax return if you haven't already and then do your awards nomination. Pretty sure you can't win an award from debtors' prison. Anyway, 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 goodie bag prize to the first to get the right answers. Last week's words were candy floss and hypotenuse.

And to be fair, I don't think I did a very good job of smuggling them in as it seemed like nobody didn't get them. But the first one over the line was Pawel Banczyk. So well done to you, Pawel. Please click the link in the show notes to claim your prize. Thanks for listening to this episode of Electrical News Weekly in association with SCAME. 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.