Alternative Technology Assn Forums

1. 

   guy
   Member

   The Federal Government has announced that the owners of every home installed with foil insulation will have the choice to have it removed or have a safety switch installed.

   http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/03/10/2842245.htm

   if anyone has doubts about this product they should opt for total removal

   NOT

   having an rcd installed

   RCDs are recommended to be replaced every 10 years - for good reason, they can fail

   this means in just over 10 years you will start having the next wave of deaths caused by this product. if the rcd fails (which they can - sometimes explosively - i've seen a switchboard with a myriad of burn marks where over time they have failed), it means that you are back to square one and most dangerously everyone will have forgotten about this problem in the first place

   again it will take multiple deaths in succession for something to be done

   i wish the government would take the advice of an electrician rather than an advisory panel of papershufflers.

   all i'm saying is that you have been warned

   ps

   feel free to warn people of this danger - the government never will (who ever they are)

   Posted Wednesday 10 Mar 2010 @ 8:42:52 am from IP #
2. 

   Russell Moore
   Member

   As a member of a local SES unit, we were discussing this very thing last night at training. We are going to be issued with a voltage meter that looks like a pen that glows red when it detects electrical current. Also we have been advised to turn off the main powerboard switch when working in roofs regardless.

   Posted Wednesday 10 Mar 2010 @ 8:56:25 am from IP #
3. 

   guy
   Member

   thats a good idea

   by the way

   if you switch off at the main switch, if the person is stealing power, the main switch might not help you.

   the volt stick is definitely helpful but if you see cables wave them all around the cable not just on one side (i have seen some volt sticks not register a live wire before if they weren't near the "right" conductor, the volt stick is plastic so you should be able to hold it on the cable as long as you can make sure insulation is still on the cable)

   you might be better having two volt stick one strapped near your wrist to register if you are coming near anything live.

   use the volt sticks to give a general guide

   by rights only a voltmeter (that is regularly calibrated and tested before and after use) should be used.

   the volt stick should give you a good idea of whats goign on though but don't trust it 100 percent.

   wave the volt stick around anything conductive if you are unsure.

   Posted Wednesday 10 Mar 2010 @ 9:04:40 am from IP #
4. 

   greenvalue
   Member

   When I heard this on the news yesterday (or was it the day before?) I thought: another irrational decision with not much thought, regarding it's repercussions, invested into it!
   Though: I support the alternative: install safety switches (which will work perfectly well once you connect an earth to the foil insulation). I believe in this day and age it's crazy to not have a safety switch in your house! (So I wouldn't listen to this advice against safety switches.)

   I have been recommending to most of my HSA clients to research foil insulation, to get the one with bubble plastic inside (like Silvercell or Air-Cell), find a local company/installer who has been around before the rebate came into being, and finally ask them for references when getting a quote.

   I honestly believe foil insulation is the better product for subtropical and tropical regions!

   Now this?!?

   As I can see the problem lies more so with shoddy and lazy work done by electricians in the first place! [The reason electricians are doing this is probably caused by the way cabling is done here, with all lights on separate circuit to power points, so you need a lot of cable per room to start with - hence every foot of cable you can save you will to keep the costs down... I'm a trained electrician from Europe, and house wiring the Australian fashion would cost you your license in Europe!] Renovating houses I have seen so many roofs where cables were crossing the ceiling joists in such a williy-nilly manner that it was near impossible to move around without getting hooked in a loose cable (no cable ties used either). At the same time they then cross copper water pipes with their cables (water and electricity don't mix). Of course you run the risk to hit a cable, with your staples, if the roof is in such a mess when you start installing insulation...

   Posted Wednesday 10 Mar 2010 @ 11:22:10 pm from IP #
5. 

   Daniel Boon
   Member

   Simple, don't use foil in a retro-fit, the success rate of no gaps is small ....

   Posted Thursday 11 Mar 2010 @ 6:23:02 am from IP #

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