- Coming up on this week's news,
contractors walk off site after an electrician
is hospitalized following an electric shock.
The boss of MCS, the Microgeneration Certification Service,
reveals that his home has neither a heat pump
nor solar panels,
and do roads that power your car
mean the end of EV chargers?
Welcome to Electrical News Weekly,
in association with the Electric Heating Company,
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.
Contractors walked off site this week
following the hospitalization of an electrician
after an electric shock.
Contract firm, BGEN, ordered its workers
to leave the Ferguson Marine Shipyard in Glasgow
after their colleague came into contact
with a dangling live cable on one of the unfinished vessels.
The victim was taken
to the local accident and emergency department
and has now made a full recovery.
But BGEN says it needs to be satisfied
about site safety before restarting the work.
One electrician working on the new ferries
being built in the yard
described the incident was a wake-up call.
An investigation into the incident
has been carried out by Ferguson Buses
and it's been reported that inspectors
from the Health and Safety Executive
are due to visit the site.
Back in February, the shipyard was ordered by the executive
to address dangerous working conditions
or face prosecution.
It gave Ferguson Marine a month to correct safety issues
on the ferries and elsewhere on the site.
The inspectors also found a shortage of skilled personnel,
inadequate fire safety procedures,
and problems with work permits.
A Ferguson Marine spokesperson
said that the company is taking the electric shock incident
very seriously.
It's investigated what happened to ascertain the root cause
and to determine if any additional safety measures
are required.
It says the company has dealt with the incident
with the seriousness it requires.
In other news, it's been revealed
that the chief of the Microgeneration Certification Service
has no, well, micro generation at home.
Ian Rippin, the chief executive of MCS, told BBC radio
that he has neither a heat pump nor solar panels,
despite being in the job for five years.
He relies on a gas boiler for heating,
but says that his next house
will absolutely have a heat pump.
The MCS hit the headlines this month
after Octopus Energy said that owners of solar panels
can sell their electricity to it,
even if the installer isn't MCS certified.
Up until now, only an MCS certified system
could get cash back for exporting to the grid.
Now, any suitably skilled and competent person
can do the work.
It's a big blow to MCS,
who have regulated the market since 2007.
In product news, there's been an industry alert
over dodgy carbon monoxide alarms coming in from China.
The consumer group, which found five models
of concern all unbranded, one of them failed to respond
to carbon monoxide 10 times during 28 detection tests.
When it did detect the gas,
the alarm wasn't loud enough to alert householders.
Some of the alarms sell for as little
as five pounds on websites, such as eBay and Amazon.
The branded alarms which passed all the tests
included Google's Nest, FireAngel, Firehawk, and Kidde.
For information on how to properly
and safely install fire alarm systems,
check out our free training package on the subject
to help you with your CPD.
You'll find a link in the show notes.
Overhead power cables,
which can carry up to 30% more power,
are the promise of a new Leeds-based company.
The cables are coated in a special material
developed by a chemistry graduate
from the University of Manchester.
Niall Coogan says the breakthrough material
reflects sunlight, and allows infrared heat
to leave more easily.
This slashes energy losses by 10%
and increases the cable's current carrying capacity.
The company, AssetCool,
has just raised over 2 million pounds in investment,
money which it says will help it
bring its high-tech cables to market.
Speaking of overhead power lines,
last week we unveiled the striking new design
for the nation's electricity pylons.
Known as T-pylons,
the first of the new look structures
have been erected to connect the new Hinkley Point C
nuclear power station to the grid.
In our eFIXX poll, we asked whether you preferred them
to the traditional lattice shape
and the results are in.
Some 44% of you wanted to stick to the old design
but a decisive 56% of you said that you preferred it.
There's still time to vote for this
and indeed all of our other polls.
Simply click on the community tab on our YouTube site.
Another technical development is promising
to get rid of EV charges altogether,
Sweden is planning to build the world's first
electrified highway by 2025.
This will enable electric vehicles to charge
as they drive along.
The secret is an electrified rail buried in the asphalt.
The technology is called conductive charging
and it's said to be similar
to how a Scalextric model racing car works.
Underneath the vehicle is a metal strip,
and as this slides along the rail,
electricity flows to the vehicle.
To keep it centered an onboard camera
follows green led lights on the rail.
It also identifies the vehicle
so that the owner can be billed for the energy
that they use.
Karen Ebbinghaus, the Chief Executive of Elon Road,
the firm behind the tech,
says electrified roads make more sense
than building large networks of chargers.
The only downside is that roads
are in the traditional figure of eight shape
of the Scalextric kit.
Okay, we made that last bit up,
but you know, how cool would that be?
Our script writer's being cuter than a koala there.
And finally, a Manchester company
is doing a roaring trade selling bedsheets
that connect to the home's earthing arrangement.
The bed linen, made from cotton
and silver threads, is simply plugged into the earth pin
of the nearest socket while you sleep.
The company says having your sheets at zero volts
transfers free electrons straight from the earth to you,
allowing you to stay grounded while you sleep.
When grounded, the body shares the same electrical potential
as the earth, and this provides a protective effect
against any excessive positive charge.
To check its working,
the company recommends it is regularly tested
with a conductivity tester.
Great news, I've lost count of the amount of times
I've woken up by a lack of free electrons
causing excess positive charge on me.
I think this needs further investigation.
What's next?
That losing free electrons is better for weight loss
than liposuction, I don't know.
Anyway, just before we get to your favorite 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.
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Up next, for all your circuit protection needs,
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And to fix all that gear together
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that would win a gold medal.
It's Olympic Fixings.
Big thanks to you all.
We really appreciate your ongoing support for the news.
And just to let you know that if you'd like to be featured
in next week's news, simply visit the news tab
on efixx.co.uk.
Tell us about any exciting new products you've discovered,
any stories you've spotted, or simply any issues
that you believe deserve the community's attention.
The eFIXX team will then get on it
and everything will be considered for future news bulletins.
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 Labradoodle and supermodel.
And despite my personal rant
about the meaning of staycation
obviously throwing a few people off,
the first person over the line was Jonpearnpersonal88837.
So very well done to you, Jon.
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 the Electric Heating Company.
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.