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Product Recall – 6 Lamp Chandelier

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The product presents a risk of electric shock as the basic insulation of the wiring was in contact with accessible metal parts. The ceiling cowl also had no provision of earthing and class II construction had not been met.

The instructions supplied with this sample were also considered to be inadequate as they do not contain adequate safety information and details to ensure the correct and safe use and installation of the product.

The product does meet the requirements of the Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 2016.

The rewire of Buckingham Palace

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We were recently looking online and found some information regarding the rewire of Buckingham Palace, this started a few years ago in 2018 but the information is still relevant as they reckon it will take 10 years to do all the required work on this building !

The work is to rewire the building, but remember this is not your typical 3 bedroom house.

From what we understand there is 775 rooms. It has 6500 plug sockets and 5000 light fittings. An estimated 100 miles of electrical cabling.

The electrical cabling and heating have not been updated since shortly after the Second World War in the 1940s.

Work is currently underway to remove a further 1.5km of VIR cabling from State Rooms including the Picture Gallery, Blue Drawing Room, Music Room, White Drawing Room, and Throne Room.

It’s also surprising to find out there is no maps or plans that show where any of the original cables go.

The below image is from a blog post on the Royal UK website and shows the work been undertaken.

Image via the www.royal.uk website

The below video has some interesting facts and video footage from the rewire at Buckingham Palace.

What are IP Ratings ? [RESOLVED]

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The IP Code, or Ingress Protection Code is a standard which classifies and rates the degree of protection provided by mechanical casings and electrical enclosures against intrusion, dust, accidental contact, and water. It is published by the International Electrotechnical Commission. The equivalent European standard is EN 60529.

For example a typical Wiska IP66 junction box like this https://amzn.to/3x5nAzP will provide complete protection against dust and powerful waterjets or heavy seas.

The chart below shows what each number means.

How to spot the fake IET books

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According to the IET website they are aware of several counterfeit versions of its books in circulation.

BS 7671, the On-Site Guide, Guidance Note 3 and the Code of Practice for In-Service Inspection and Testing of Electrical Equipment are all known to have counterfeit versions in circulation, with varying numbers of mistakes in each.

Adhering to text in counterfeit electrical books can lead to non-compliant installations, which could be potentially very dangerous. BS 7671 exists to ensure that electrical installations are safe and to reduce the risk of fire or electric shock. Using corrupted information undermines the safety of your work.

To help combat this issue, current and future copies of BS 7671, the On-Site Guide and Guidance Note 3 all contain a hologram. This currently contains the IET logo in two sizes and the word ‘GENUINE’ as well as a number of additional features.

Although this can help you to identify a fake, it is not foolproof, as counterfeiters can produce similar versions of the hologram. The only way to be certain of buying a genuine copy of our books is to buy directly from the IET, or from one of the approved suppliers (Amazon been one example)

The IET is a charity, and the dissemination of information is part of our charitable remit. Any surplus from the sale of the books is re-invested into producing guidance for industry, through our publications programme and Wiring Matters magazine. The proceeds from the sale of fake books do not support the industry in any way and harm the IET’s ability to fulfil its remit.

If you think you might have mistakenly purchased a fake copy of an IET book, please get in touch with the IET with as much information as possible about the book and where you bought it.

Unfortunately, the IET cannot reimburse purchases bought from suppliers of counterfeit books, nor assist with the resolution of disputes, but they are working to shut down any counterfeiters that they find and take legal action against them to reduce the risk to the industry.

Links to the books listed above (via Amazon)

Amazon – Code of Practice for In-service Inspection and Testing of Electrical Equipment (Electrical Regulations) – https://amzn.to/3x64f1t

Amazon – On-Site Guide (BS 7671:2018) (Electrical Regulations) – https://amzn.to/3jtKNaP

Amazon – Requirements for Electrical Installations, IET Wiring Regulations, Eighteenth Edition, BS 7671:2018 (Electrical Regulations) – https://amzn.to/3x6PeMC

Amazon – Guidance Note 3: Inspection & Testing (Electrical Regulations) – https://amzn.to/3qwlkyU

What are the main changes in the latest Part P 2013 edition of the Building Regulations?

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There are two main changes in the latest version of Part P of the Building Regulations. The first change relates to the range of electrical installation work which requires notification. The range has been reduced, previously work in kitchens and outdoors was notifiable. Under the new regulations, unless the work requires the provision of a new circuit and is not in a special location it will not require notification.

The other major change is regarding the use of a registered third party to certify notifiable work. In the previous edition of the Building Regulations, an electrical contractor carrying out work covered by Part P but not registered with a competent persons scheme was required to notify Local Authority Building Control (LABC). It would then be down to LABC to consider if the proposed works were acceptable under Building Regulations. Under the current edition of Part P, any installers which are not registered with a competent person scheme, are required to get work signed off by a registered third-party.