The low profile of two Tricool chillers installed as part of the replacement of the air-conditioning and ventilation systems for the Hilton London Green Park Hotel in Mayfair was a key element in obtaining planning permission.

Easicult dipslides from Kamco provide an easy way to determine the total bacterial count in cooling-system water without having to send samples to a fully equipped laboratory. These dipslides can be used, for example, to check water for bacterial activity in cooling towers, evaporative condensers and hot and cold water systems.

Fuel costs for boiler plant at Withington Girls’ School in Manchester are expected to be reduced by up to 40% following the replacement of 30-year old boilers on the recommendation of Belfry Maintenance Group, which had maintained the old boilers for many years.

Trox has supplied and installed exposed multi-service chilled beams in the refurbished office of hydrocarbon contactor M. W. Kellogg Ltd in Greenford. The initial contract was for one floor, with a potential rolling programme covering four buildings and 30 storeys.

The benefits of condensing water heaters have been brought to a school in York by upgrading an outdated boiler room using two Lochinvar TurboCharger 88-380CE condensing water heaters. They provide hot water for a kitchen serving the main dining hall of St Peter’s School and were installed by Connaught Gasforce.

The refurbishment of a building provides the opportunity to improve its energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions. Kevin Pennycook explains how new guidance can help.

Tesco is investing in none-invasive technology to check the performance and efficiency of refrigeration systems in its stores as part of its environmental programme to ensure that stores operate as efficiently as possible and the company’s carbon footprint is minimised.

The Boots Group is systematically replacing steam traps in its energy centre at Beeston near Nottingham with Gardner Energy Managements’ GEM traps. This programme of work follows the successful installation of these traps on hot-water calorifiers. Since then, some 30 GEM traps have been installed on boilers, super-heaters and in the steam-distribution system.

Retrofitting a modern approach to controlling airflow in VAV systems has enormous energy-saving potential, according to Michael Wild.

Keraflo Aylesbury K type float valves are being installed to control water levels in tanks throughout the PFI Allenby/Connaught project. Over the course of this 10-year build and refurbishment programme, some 600 valves are to be supplied.

The refurbished Devonshire Spa training facility on the Buxton campus of the University of Derby includes the installation of a Lochinvar LBF balanced-flue water heater to provide hot water for hand washing and showers.

Decentralising the heating in a 6000 m2 factory in Burnley has transformed comfort compared with what was previously provided by central boiler plant supplying steam to radiators around the building.

The maintenance of building services can be realistically prioritised, accurately budgeted for, and reliably delivered, as Peter Excell explains.

The refurbishment of three floors of the office building at 225 Bath Street in Glasgow includes the installation of Daikin VRV heat-recovery air conditioning on three floors. The systems were specified by consultants K. J. Tait and installed by Brevel Environmental of Glasgow.

Two vertical stainless-air curtains from JS Air Curtains have been installed as part of the refurbishment of the entrances of Aldwych House in London. JS worked with property specialist King Sturge to incorporate motion detectors and lighting into these units, whilst at the same time complimenting the stainless-steel architecture of this development.

The key to minimising life-cycle costs is to think about maintenance at the design stage. Wayne Rose shares some ideas.

Planned maintenance increases energy efficiency and provides a cleaner environment, says John Wright.

The last 10 years have seen the efficiency of heat pumps for air conditioning improve so much that refurbishment becomes extremely cost effective. Philip Ord describes how.

Inviron has successfully completed the extensive and comprehensive M&E installation for an historic building in Manchester’s up-and-coming Piccadilly Basin. Carvers Warehouse is being redevelopment by Town Centre Securities into a stunning, contemporary construction.

BSRIA has published a new guide on CHP for existing buildings. It runs to 79 pages and provides guidance on the retrofitting of small-scale CHP systems, but many of the technical and operational issues are similar for a first time installation.

As part of the process of upgrading over 2000 homes to high-efficiency boilers, Ceredigion County Council and its training section, Ceredigion Training, are partnering boiler manufacturer Glow-Worm in a new training centre. Glow-worm is supplying high-efficiency boilers and cylinders for the authority’s domestic heating engineers and the county’s NVQ apprentices to receive practical hands-on tuition and assessments.

A cleaning agent for coils in air-conditioning units and air handling units comes in granular form for ease of handling. Pro-Universal granular coil cleaner is being brought to the UK market by Diversitech and being made available through over 200 specialist distributor outlets.