At Test Instrument Solutions we take great pride in being respected within our industry.
Internally, we know that our products are amongst the best available on the market, so it is fantastic when this is recognised externally by our peers in the electrical testing industry. With this in mind we were delighted when it was announced that our TIS 570 AC & DC leakage clamp meter won the Tools/Testing Product of the Year Award at the recent ECN Awards.
ECN – Electrical Contracting News – is one of the most respected and widely read industry journals and their annual awards have become an important and valuable benchmark of where industry testing standards are. At Test Instrument Solutions, we were delighted to have the TIS 570 nominated in the Tools/Testing Product of the Year category, although we should add that one of its finalist competitors for the award was another of our products, the TIS 819SIKIT voltage only complete safe isolation kit. In this category we were also up against two other major competitor products from Megger and Brother, but the TIS 570 triumphantly won out.
How the TIS 570 won the product of the year award
The award winners were announced at a ceremony held at the Heart of England Conference and Events Centre in Warwickshire, on November 30th. In winning the award, the TIS 570 was lauded for its time-saving qualities. The TIS 570 is the only combined AC and DC leakage clamp meter currently available on the UK market, and this is becoming increasingly important given the fact that more and more DC currents are being generated through the use of electric vehicle batteries and solar PV system battery storage. This of course can lead to leakage and if more than 6mA of DC leakage flows in a circuit then this can lead to RCDs not functioning properly and therefore severe safety issues.
A leakage clamp meter is used to detect and document leakage current readings over time, so that you can monitor circuit conditions, prevent unplanned downtime and identify why intermittent RCD trips are occurring. Leakage current is essentially any unwanted current in a circuit and is usually a consequence of faulty or damaged insulation, or imperfections in your electrical elements. While current leakage can be very small, it can accumulate over time to cause significant problems, and hence it is important that you regularly monitor circuits for current leakage with a test instrument such as the TIS 570.
The importance of testing for both AC and DC current leakage
At the ECN Awards the TIS 570 was also commended for its time-saving qualities, in terms of changing boards and finding what is causing those irritating RCD trips due to AC current leakage. All in all, the TIS 570 is an adaptable and practical, hand-held test instrument, but clearly an industry leader in enabling the user to test for both AC and DC current leakage. It is perhaps this innovation alone that attracted the interest of the awards panel, but nevertheless, we are extremely pleased that the product was commended for other features also.
It is a shame that our TIS819 tester did not win the award, but it is a very proud moment to have two of our products nominated in such a competitive category, and we look forward to competing for the award again in 2024. If you want to learn more about the award-winning TIS 570, then contact our team at Test Instrument Solutions today.