eFixx TV is a bit like Top Gear for electricians – if you haven’t already, get involved!
The livestreamed events feature a panel of experts and regular guest talking all things electrical installation, covering the latest industry insight with the News at Pen, the Tool Wall where tools are rated great or gimmick, live competitions and more – including the Electrician’s Challenge!
GTEC’s MD, Griff Thomas, appeared as a guest presenter on the latest episode – The Dark Side of Solar – providing expert insight on the challenges and opportunities of Solar PV Installation and Battery storage, busting myths and helping electricians to avoid common pitfalls.
Griff’s still got it!
The Electrician’s Challenge tests the skills level of guests through a timed plug re-wire to see where they rank on the cut-throat leader board.
Despite being ‘someone who knows a lot but isn’t on the tools’ and going first in the challenge, Griff managed to come out on top with a time of 3 minutes 51 seconds, beating Mark Coles and Graham Kenyon from the IET to get into the top third of the leader board.
Rush for Solar
Resident ‘tame’ electrician Ross explained like how many business savvy electricians, he is moving with the times and upskilling to solar.
After training to be an EV charge point installer, Ross realised that his customer base could benefit from solar PV, particularly in the face of rising energy prices, so his next move was to train for this growing and lucrative sector.
His advice is get the right training, knowledge and assurances in place, including the all important MCS, and get ready to go!
The panel discussed the challenges of rapid growth, including opening-up the market to ‘cowboys’ and poor-quality installations that do not stand the test of time.
eFixx’s Top 10 mistakes electricians make when installing solar panels:
The team rounded up a list of the common mistakes seen in solar PV installations:
- DNO notification paperwork
- Live working with dc isolator
- Solar cable labelling
- Slipping panels/clamping zone
- Shading
- No battery fuse
- Unsupported batteries
- Badly fitted brackets with leaky fixings
- No EP estimates
- Loose joint MC4 connections
The episode expands on many of these pitfalls and features Griff’s demo video of what can happen when MC4 disconnection goes wrong. Spoiler alert: it’s not good news!
