In case you weren’t aware, here’s one of the many ways unregulated electronics bought online can be dangerous. A regulation Australian IEC cable must have 3x 0.75mm²+ double-insulated stranded copper conductors. This cable appears to meet that requirement at first glance — it’s marked that way on the outside, and cutting in, the PVC colours are wrong but otherwise appear okay.
But then, scrape some of the copper, and it suddenly turns silver. It’s CCA, or Copper-Clad Aluminium. A sneaky and cheap but worse conductor. The aluminium holds up much worse to corrosion and bending, and will crumble to powder inside the cables over time. Through this process it will increase its resistance, turning into a fire-starter. Very dangerous and invisible without destroying the cable to examine it. #safety #psa
@kravietz Sorry, no, I don't believe half of UK homes are wired with alu. I've never come across it and I'm pretty sure I'd have heard if it was at all common. There might be a few older houses with it but if there are any it's quite rare.
Things which are weird and questionable in UK house wiring: a) ring final circuits and b) older lighting circuits without a protective earth.
@kravietz at least there is/was an argument to be made that permanent wiring isn't as much of an issue with constant bending, and larger strands won't corrode and fall apart as much. But the issues with junctions between dissimilar metals certainly are enough danger on their own.