Standards are important for new technologies to be implemented safely and using industry best practices. But, Gary Busbridge asks, what happens when the technology or market lead the way?

In recent times there has been a lot of grief between electrical contractors, consultants, manufacturers, regulators and standards. Basically, there is a contradiction (or clash, even) between standards requirements and the products that are available to market.

Continually these groups have queries about how a certain product or installation could possibly comply with the standards as written.

It has always been a concern of members of standards development committees that the standards keep up with the state of the market, whether it is in installation practices or new products. In fact, at most times we are chasing our tails due to the procedures required in developing standards. This is not a criticism on the standards procedures, as there are required due processes to ensure the integrity of those standards. Sometimes we just get caught out!

Product ranges and installation practices affected at the moment include photovoltaic products and installation, electric vehicle plugs and sockets and lighting, especially LEDs. Believe me; the committees working on these standards are moving through them as quickly as possible so as to help the industry overcome the problems they are encountering.

The reasons for this out-of-sync position we find ourselves in, though, comes from two sources. One is that technology is moving at a huge speed and products are finding their way into the market quicker than the standards process. The second issue is that entrepreneurs are finding new niche markets and are putting product into the market that, we could say, are of somewhat dubious quality and performance, to satisfy those markets.

Technology is the best example of market driven innovation and the products are usually only taken on by sectors of the market that want to be at the forefront of innovation. Luckily, this is somewhat controllable. But what if unscrupulous persons work out that a standard does not exist or hasn’t been updated and that they can use this to their advantage, to get around the provision of quality installation or product?

Then we are in trouble.

New niche markets don’t always involve new technology. Most find an application and then market direct to that either through installation or product to satisfy a hole in the market. Most times this can lead to the unscrupulous finding the cheapest and easiest solution, and not always the safest, for that market. This is the issue that can cause the standards people and regulators the biggest headaches as the market can become saturated by less than desirable product or installation in a relatively short period of time.

Let us take some examples that I am sure all of the readers are aware of, and try to explain.

LED lighting is one such case of the technology leading the standards. The LED technology certainly is stacked up to provide energy efficiency and a light output that is second to none in the domestic and light commercial markets. Since the old incandescent globe was given its last rites, in most countries lighting manufacturers have been screaming for a technology that could push the boundaries. I can’t really say that CFLs set the world on fire, as their performance was a bit lacking and the light output… well, let’s just say I never liked them.

Then along came the LED and all of a sudden there was an answer, albeit an expensive one. But if a customer wants quality, performance and excellent light output to help in energy efficiency, then that cost is completely warranted. Ask any reputable lighting manufacturer and they will show you the facts. Unfortunately the standards for these LED lamps are still under construction.

This is where it went pear-shaped. There were plenty of entrepreneurs that could see that standards were lacking and that could get on-board this technology and provide a cheaper LED to the unsuspecting market. I say ‘unsuspecting’ because with less cost often comes poorer quality, lower performance and a light output that is marginal to say the least. Worst of all is the performance of LED lamps in the MR16 format for the replacement of MR16 halogen lamps when used with reputable brands of electronic transformers. A recent test was undertaken and the MR16 LED lamps that are in our market performed very poorly.

Essentially the lamps were being driven by a high number of strikes in the AC wave form rather than by a smooth AC wave form. Just picture the true AC wave form, nice rolling wave, isn’t it? The same picture for those lamps looked more like a fishbone disguised as an AC wave form. This high number of strikes caused the electronic transformers to overheat considerably thereby reducing performance of the LED lamp.

As the old adage states: ‘you get what you pay for’.

Well the standards are almost completed for the performance of LED lamps and the industry is waiting with baited breath so that that the under-performing, ‘entrepreneurial’ lamps can be sent on their way.

The next case is about opportunity, I guess. Solar generating systems, or PV, is one part of the market that was intentionally targeted by entrepreneurs. Don’t get me wrong, the good guys in the industry were as happy as Larry to see those Federal Government grants come their way and those reputable firms kept plugging away as they always had in providing a quality product and installation for their customers. Unfortunately the standards were a little old and needed to be updated to provide a safe outcome for all the market.

But the cowboys saw an opportunity, they lowered their costs for both installation and product quality and performance. Unbelievable deals were on TV every night and a lot in the market seized it with both hands. Now we are seeing the results of that speedy introduction; circuit breakers or isolating switches that are not suited to DC currents or fault scenarios and can cause fires; solar panels that are of poor manufacture and can cause fires; and don’t forget some very shoddy installation practices.

Fortunately we haven’t seen any major fire issues with the inverters, which is a good thing. But they now represent a major issue for the regulators and the energy distributors because of high grid injection voltage and very poor harmonics. They are now affecting electronic devices in your home, your neighbour’s home or that guy around the corner due to those high voltages and crappy harmonics.

The suite of renewable energy systems is now under major reconstruction to provide safe, quality outcomes in regard to product and installation. These should be ready by the middle of this year.

This next example is one that is just starting to roll out and fortunately there has been no traction among entrepreneurs as yet. Electric vehicles are only a small part of the vehicle market at the moment, but any self-respecting builder or developer wants to ensure that their house designs offer energy efficiency and all aspects of being green. So there are now new housing developments that are asking the question about EV charging plugs and sockets so that the estate is prepared for the future.

Unfortunately, standards development has stalled in Australia due to State Government changes but there is word that it will all be up and running again shortly. Luckily, the standards will reflect European international standards for EV plugs and sockets.

Here is the clincher though; tests in Europe on their socket outlets have shown that there are substantial temperature rise issues when a socket is subjected to a full 10A or 15A load over a period of 8-10 hours, seven days a week. The high temperatures don’t happen straight away but can start to occur four to six months down the track if the socket is continually used day-after-day to charge the vehicle. Unfortunately the temperature continues to climb from then on.

A word of explanation here is required. The European socket outlet has socket contacts that can use the plastic moulding to provide the necessary resilience for a recommended contact force on the plug pin. In Australia, we do not allow this with our socket outlets – our socket contacts are to be resilient enough to support the necessary contact force without using the plastic moulding as support. Some initial tests, on this endurance requirement, by reputable Bakelite manufacturers, have shown that there should not be a problem with our socket outlets. As long as reputable socket outlets are used!

The mass infiltration of two dollar socket outlets in our market makes me feel a little uneasy about this, though. Will the socket contact force be maintained over a period of time if these socket outlets are installed?

For all intents and purposes it looks as if the standards will address this by making it a requirement to have dedicated socket outlet (in the form of a socket outlet with plug retention means included) on a dedicated circuit for charging of your EV. The use of any old socket outlet in your home or garage for charging the EV will be actively discouraged so that we don’t get situations as discussed above. Maybe we can live with those old socket outlets just for emergencies, you know, when you are around the mother-in-law’s and you need to charge the car for a quick getaway!

So there you have it, some sort of explanation of possible exploitation or confusion on behalf of the market because standards may be seen as dragging its heels. One common theme is the real fact that you only get what you pay for, so it is important to view that never-to-be-seen-again deal as just that… it should never be seen. Be prepared and ask questions of the reputable manufacturers, regulators and standards committees to make sure that your choices are in line with standards developments.