Difficult Times, Not So Much

Posted on 20/05/2013 by Electrical Training News

ECA Chief Executive Steve Bratt, has commented on recent figures released by the Construction Product Association, which predicted that the construction industry upturn would take 12 months to happen.

Steve Bratt says that in the meantime the construction industry should be given short term boosts to help aid this recovery.

With things being difficult for many UK industries over the last few years, the construction industry is not alone.

However, the Chancellor’s pledge to invest five billion in infrastructure should help revive the education and healthcare sectors which are important big markets for the construction industry.

While these measures are being implemented Bratt claims that a short term boost is needed to help lift things much more quickly and while the Government pledges are welcome, there is still a need for a short term solution.

However, things aren’t as dire as they may seem for the construction industry, with new markets and industry sectors coming out all the time.

Those electrical industry professionals who embrace these new markets and diversify to add skills for these markets to their CV will inevitably be the ones to benefit the most and see the least problems.

Two such markets have come about from January’s launch of the Green Deal  and the Renewable Heat Incentive. Both new schemes provide opportunities for electricians and this combined with the Government’s commitment to carbon reduction will see opportunities for the electrical industry continue to develop and especially for the areas of repair, maintenance and improvement.

Written by Sara Thomson

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Manufacturer Fine Proposals

Posted on 17/05/2013 by Electrical Training News

The Electrical Safety Council, ESC, has called for manufacturers to be given fines if they are slow or badly manage product recalls.

This has been suggested as a solution to increasing concern over the effectiveness of current recall systems and a number of serious incidents involving the public and recalled products.

Currently, manufacturers who don’t take action, which is considered to be appropriate, for the recall of products are fined £5,000. ESC is calling for harsher fines and penalties for manufacturers and has suggested a system of fines which are based on a percentage of profits from the recalled product.

ESC is saying that a system such as this would ensure that manufacturers respond to recalls much more effectively and faster. They have also suggested that Trading Standards should highlight clear guidelines on manufacturers requirements in these situations.

Research says that of all recalls only10-20% of products are actually traced, which means that millions of people are using products daily which could potentially be dangerous and put them at risk of fire or electrocution.

What’s your opinion of these proposed changes, do you think manufacturers should be made to take product recalls more seriously and deal with them in a more efficient way?

Written by Sara Thomson

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Electrical Intake Positions Fire Concern

Posted on 13/05/2013 by Electrical Training News

The Electrical Safety Council reported recently on their increasing concern over fires in homes which originate in electrical intake positions and have in some cases caused serious damage and deaths.

A Hampshire coroner wrote to a series of organisations, including ESC, asking of their intentions regarding the prevention of such deaths after an inquest revealed that the death of an elderly resident was caused by a fire which originated at the electrical intake position in the property.

The coroner in this case also brought attention to an incident which occurred the previous year from similar problems. A report produced by the East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service detailed the results of an investigation into the cause of this fire and a number of others in similar properties which started in the area around the electrical intake equipment.

The results of the investigation concluded that the likely cause of these fires was the resistance heating at deteriorating cable terminations and fuse contacts.

The number of these types of fires occurring yearly is fairly small, however those that do, pose a real threat to lives because of the circumstances, how these fires occur and the location of the electrical intake equipment.

ESC say that whilst electrical equipment is designed to contain such things like the thermal effects of faults, they can still ignite things close to the equipment.

Written by Sara Thomson

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Approved Document P

Posted on 10/05/2013 by Electrical Training News

In December of last year the revised edition of Approved Document P was published and applies to work carried out after the fifth April this year.

The revised edition applies to electrical work carried out in dwellings in England and changes from the previous version include the following:

  • A reduction in the range of electrical installation work which is classed as notifiable
  • Any installer not registered as competent themselves can use a registered third party certifier to certify notifiable electrical installation work
  • Technical requirements are connected to BS7671:2008 incorporating amendment one.

The content has been revised and reduced and now notifiable work only includes the following:

  • New circuit installations
  • Replacing a consumer unit
  • Addition and alteration of existing circuits in particular locations

These particular locations are referred to in the document as ‘special locations’ and this means zones one and two of a bathroom or a room with a sauna or swimming pool.

One of the interesting changes is that registered third parties can now certify work, which falls under the notifiable category, when the installer is not registered him/herself. This is instead of contacting a building control body.

In making these revisions the Government are hoping that the benefit of using a Part P registered electrician will compensate for the risk of reducing the scope of notifiable work.

However, recent figures confirmed that only 20% of consumers are aware of the requirements of Part P. This lack of awareness could potentially cause issues and it is expected that campaigning will take place to increase public knowledge of Part P and what work falls under it.

What are your thoughts on the revisions?

Written by Sara Thomson

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How Does the Green Deal Work?

Posted on 03/05/2013 by Electrical Training News

The Green Deal is sponsored by the Department of Energy and Climate Change and is being dubbed the Government’s flagship environmental policy.

It is offering home and business owners a way of saving money on energy bills by installing energy saving improvements. The price of having these improvements installed is then added to their energy bill which should be lower than before the measures were installed.

How it works is a Green Deal Advisor will assess a property initially to identify if there is the potential for installing energy saving measures to the building. Certain aspects are taken into account when this assessment is being carried out and an Energy Performance Certificate is produced.

The next step in the process is that the GDA will recommend to the customer the measures which are suitable for their particular property. The measures recommended will be made purely on the basis of the individual building and its needs, and could range from insulation, boiler replacement, lighting to Solar PV. The recommendations are then put into an individual report.

Next the owner of the property will give the report to a Green Deal installer who will provide a quote to carry out the necessary work. The cost of this work is provided by a Green Deal loan which the customer then needs to arrange. The loan will pay for the agreed energy efficiency measures and the repayments to this loan should be less than the money saved on energy saving measures. This specification for the loan to be of less cost that the energy savings is one of the Government’s rules and is required to qualify for the funding. Repayments are then made through the regular electricity bill of the property.

The final step in the process is to have a Green Deal registered installer carry out the work on the property. Once completed, another Energy Performance Certificate is issued through a third party.

Customers having work carried out under this scheme will see benefits in energy savings as soon as the measures are installed which will benefit them from rising energy bill prices and also help with the Government’s commitment to reduce the UK’s carbon footprint.

There is also a cashback fund for householders in England and Wales. The amount of this cashback will depend on what measures have been installed.

The opportunities for contactors are varied and will depend on how you want to get involved, but there will be opportunities to get involved and become one of the following:

  • Authorised Green Deal Installer
  • Green Deal Advisor
  • Supplier to an Authorised Green Deal Installer
  • Provider of Ancillary M and E work to other Green Deal Installers

For further information on how to get involved or to get some of the measures installed on your property, visit the Department for Energy and Climate Change website.

Written by Sara Thomson

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