- Coming up on this week's news:
the courts get tough on substandard electrical installations
as a fake NICEIC Spark is convicted in Chester,
and a major builder is ordered to pay 5 million pounds
for a botched job at a cancer center in Leeds.
Reno announces that its cars will soon power your home,
and we check out the world's smallest light fitting.
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 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.
A rogue trader who carried out botched electrical work
in Chester and then harassed customers
for payment is to be sentenced next month.
33 year old Jake Hughes of York,
was prosecuted by Cheshire West and Chester Council
for seven consumer protection offenses.
Hughes pleaded guilty at Chester Crown Court
of falsely advertising himself as a qualified electrician
and a member of the NICEIC.
Hughes's work was so bad it often had to
be completely removed and started again from scratch.
As well as substandard electrical work,
he also attempted building work which fell so far short
of compliance with any structural design,
that it to had too be removed.
In another offense,
he aggressively demanded payment from a female client
by bombarding her with texts and emails,
knowing she'd been admitted to hospital
with a heart problem.
The offenses took place
between August, 2021 and March, 2022.
Hughes will now be sentenced at a hearing
on February the third at Chester Crown Court.
In another case about substandard work,
a judge has ordered building giant, Lendlease,
to pay 5 million pounds to a cancer center,
in compensation for an inadequate electrical installation.
The project at the oncology building at
St. James' University Hospital in Leeds,
included highly complex electrical
and fire safety installations.
The case focused on the lack of compartmentalization
for the substation and electrical plant in the basement.
This increased the risks from a fire considerably.
The whole of the plant room was in effect
a single fire compartment.
This meant that a fault or a blaze could take out
both the primary and secondary power supplies,
and shut down operating theaters, the intensive care unit,
and the radiotherapy and chemotherapy units.
The decision settles the long-running dispute
which has rumbled on since 2017.
In electrical news this week, French car maker Reno
has announced that it's on track to make all its
electric cars with bidirectional power
by the end of the decade.
This means the Reno owners could, for instance
charge their cars with solar power during the day
and take it back in the evening.
The company says the high efficiency charger
will reduce energy losses by 30% and recharge the
vehicle's battery faster.
The charger has a capacity of up to 22 kilowatts
in three phase mode, allowing for fast charging
of the vehicle while ensuring the durability of the battery.
In the UK, with news that'll make EV owners as happy
as a kid with candy floss,
it's been announced that the EV charging network grew
by almost a third last year.
Last year saw the installation of a record 9,000
public chargers taking the total to 37,000.
2022 also saw electric vehicles overtake diesel
for the very first time to become the second most
popular engine after petrol.
And the news is even better for rapid chargers
which increased by 80%.
The latest EV charger to hit the market ships this week.
The clear line EV from Viridian Solar, is the first product
to emerge from its collaboration with EO charging.
The clear line is a compact seven kilowatt
wall mounted socketed unit with built-in
solar power matching.
It's aimed at the new home market as it's expected
that they'll increasingly have solar PV panels
and EV charging as standard.
In product news this week, the big story is the unveiling
by Schneider Electric of a complete home energy package.
The company has brought together a home battery,
a high power solar inverter, a smart electrical panel,
an EV charger, and a range of connected sockets
and switches, all controlled by a single app.
Schneider says the system allows homeowners
to see all their power use in real time
and control how it operates.
They can seamlessly switch between power sources such as
solar, home batteries, or the grid, to keep costs down.
The firm claims to be the first to
bring all its kit together in this way.
The UK's top supplier of cable management kits,
Marshall-Tufflex, has announced that it's now stocking
metal and PVC cable trays,
as well as its popular wire basket range.
The trays, of course, enable the safe and simple
routing of both power and data cables.
The metal cable trays available in light
medium and heavy profiles and has a pre galvanized finish.
The product is fast fix.
You simply connect and bolt the units together
without the need for any separate couplers.
The range also includes an adjustable riser allowing
for angles between zero to 90 degrees to be formed
to the exact height and angle required.
The PVC cable tray range is suitable
for harsh outdoor environments where
a non-corrosive solution is required, such as
for water treatment plants, chemical and mining facilities
as well as for shorefront areas.
They're available in five different sizes
up to 400 millimeters wide.
The tray is also corrosion free and 100% recyclable.
The company is, of course,
also able to supply other base or products
including those that are not part of the standard range.
You may also want to have a look at our most
recent CPD made in association with Marshall-Tufflex,
on the subject of Dado Trunking.
I popped a link to the product and the CPD,
in the show notes.
A smart junction box, which promises to
make your lighting intelligent, has been unveiled
by All Led.
You just wire it up the way you would a normal box.
It's called the Smart-E Smart System,
which we think is the best name we've heard
for an electrical product this year.
It allows you to keep all the existing light switches,
while bringing sophisticated control for the homeowner.
It connects to the company's IQ platform and even fits
through a standard spotlight hole.
It can be programmed from the light switch,
or by asking a smart home hub system like, 'Alexa,'
to do the hard work for you.
Finally, and also in lighting, we welcome
the world's tiniest light fitting.
The Nick, from Minimis Lighting, is said to be
the world's smallest recessed directional luminaire.
It measures am mere 21 mill by 21 mill with an aperture
of just two millimeters by nine millimeters.
I did a quick calculation to find the hypothenuse,
and discovered that the distance from corner to corner
of the fitting is just under 30 millimeters,
truly tiny and in elevation, it's just 500 microns.
That's the thickness of just six human hairs
or the opening in Gordon's wallet when it comes to
ponying up for a Friday night curry Mastab's.
The luminaire is made from hand mill titanium,
and is rated at IP 67 for outdoor use,
and is designed to graze walls and stair treads.
It features either a 27 degree or 125 degree beam angle,
and a dimmable output of 94 lumens,
and comes with a five year warranty.
In eFIXX News, time is running out to get
your nominations in for the EFI awards.
January the 31st is the closing day for nominations.
So if you've got a nomination in mind,
either yourself or someone else, please don't delay.
Click the link in the show notes and get your nomination in.
We've let Team North loose with the matches again,
as they investigate the fire resistant properties
of a special SCAME isolator.
And on this week's live stream
we welcome the team from Ev ChargePoint Maker, ZECK.
They're a really fun team,
so this is sure to be a really special show.
Make sure you subscribed
and set a reminder so you won't miss it.
If you think you know the words I've smuggled
into this week's show, pop you 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: 'Balderdash,' and 'Shuttlecock.'
And quite frankly,
I can't believe that anybody didn't get them.
But the first person to get the right answer was Red Snappa,
who kicked back against Blue Monday by correctly
guessing our challenge words and winning themselves a prize.
Click the link in the description below 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.