Having become involved in a working project that was suffering co-ordination problems, Fulcro Engineering Services was able to use AutoCAD software to help put things right quickly.

Ron Bernstein reflects on what he perceives as the open-systems myth and provides a perspective on marketplace confusion in the quest for truly open systems.

Growing demand for sustainable buildings is creating increased demand for traditional building services skills, says John Miller, president of the Heating & Ventilating Contractors’ Association.

Gateshead has become the first local authority in the UK to recycle its redundant lighting equipment since the introduction of the WEEE Directive (Waste Electrical & Electronic Equipment) in July.

Pilkington has developed an insulating glass unit for windows that can be used with most frame materials to achieve a Window Energy Rating of at least C and easily exceed the requirement for compliance with Part L of the Building Regulations.

In a building with the right energy balance, using solar energy to produce domestic hot water can meet the 10% renewable requirement. Yan Evans gives practical advice how to get the best from this technology.

IES Consulting worked closely with consulting engineers King Shaw Associates (KSA) to provide independent validation of the design for the building that has achieved the highest-ever BREEAM score. The Green Office project at Thorpe Park, Leeds, has achieved a BREEAM score of 87.55%. The design was validated before construction began.

Exploiting thermal mass within a building can eliminate the need for air conditioning. Tom De Saulles explains how.

Monitored energy results for the first year of operation of the Archbishop Ryan School in Dublin indicate that its energy performance is twice as good as that of a school constructed to meet the good-practice targets outlined in CIBSE Guide F. Energy consumption was monitored by the Priva control system installed by Temperature Control Systems to optimise the operation of lighting and heating systems in response to the benefits of passive solar gain, daylight and natural ventilation.

OFTEC has brought together leading manufacturers and several industry bodies to research and define a clear British standard for liquid biofuel for the heating sector.

Glow-worm is entering the solar market with a range of products branded Clearly Solar. There are four products in the range.

Nu-Way’s EcoMass 75 range of biomass boilers is designed for commercial and industrial use, with five models providing outputs from 100 to 750 kW.

Keith Melton reflects on the thinking that is needed to deliver sustainable buildings.

Natural-ventilation systems that can respond fully to ever-changing outdoor conditions are much more effective than systems with limited response capability. Richard Arnott explains.

Helping companies moving into an office development at 15 Fetter Lane in the City of London reduce their carbon emissions is a lighting-management system from Ex-Or.

Two ground-source heat pumps provide heating and hot water for a development of 12 apartments and two penthouses on the Clipper Cove development at Praa Sands on the south coast of Cornwall.

DAB Pumps’ Aquaprof collects rainwater and uses it for purposes such as flushing toilets, washing machines, garden irrigation and vehicle washing. This water is delivered at mains pressure. If there is not enough stored rain water, the Aquaprof switches to an integral back-up tank containing mains water.

There is very little to be gain by improving the efficiency of pumps to reduce their energy consumption. Much more can be saved — about half — using speed control and the better design of systems, as John Veness explains.

It is over 60 years since a death was recorded in the UK in a building with a working sprinkler system. Glynn Williams cuts through the complexities of using pumps to protect against the risk of fire.

Replacing pumps in 12 plantrooms at Derriford Hospital in Plymouth with equivalent pumps from Wilo’s energy-efficient range will reduce energy consumption by £70 000 a year — a useful dent on the electricity bill of over £1 million a year.

Grundfos is moving into the third phase of its project to increase awareness of how using efficient circulators can significantly reduce carbon-dioxide emissions. The project started in 2005 with the launch of the world’s first A-rated domestic circulator — the Alpha Pro.

To help customers decide which pumps would best suit their needs, regardless of the application, Grundfos provides a range of selection tools —which have become industry standards. These aids are constantly reviewed and updated to keep them relevant.

Designing systems with duty and standby pumps that can both meet maximum demand is must not efficient. Wayne Rose explores other approaches.

Smedegaard has developed a range of electronic energy-saving circulators that use up to 60% less energy than a standard pump.

The Wilo-Stratos ECO high-efficiency pump has been given an 'excellent' rating by the German consumers’ association Stiftung Warentest. It came top in tests as the best in energy efficiency and ratio of price to performance compared to all other small circulating pumps.

Lee Tebbatt explains how variable-speed pumps very quickly repay their extra capital cost in vastly reduced running costs.

Over a hundred HVAC drives with native BACnet capability have been installed in the new Blackburn Hospital to control water pumps and motors for air-handling units. One of the key benefits was a significant time saving during commissioning.

Leading bodies in the construction industry have endorsed the Office of Government Commerce’s Fair Payment Charter, which commits public-sector clients and their principal contractors and supply-chain members to formally adopt fair-payment principles in future construction projects.

During his visit to the new premises of Andrews Water Heaters at Erdington, Her Majesty’s Deputy Lieutenant for the West Midlands, Colonel Anthony George, MBE, presented the company with the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in the Innovation Category and Grant of Appointment for development of the MAXxflow condensing water heater. He also opened the company’s commercial-heating training academy.

To promote the wide range of services available from the HVCA group of companies, the Heating & Ventilating Contractors’ Association has launched HVCA Business Plus. This initiative is aimed at building-services-engineering contractors.

Kimpton Building Services in The Wirral in north west England has teamed up to with a building contractor and an electrical contractor to pool the expertise of each company and offer clients a single point of contact across the three trades. The consortium is called TKR, and its single point of contact eliminates the involvement and costs of using sub-contracted operatives. The other members of the consortium are building contractor The Trustland Group and electrical contractor The Rosebery Group.

Dame Ellen MacArthur, the record-breaking round-the-world yachtswoman, launched CIBSE’s 100 days of carbon clean-up campaign at the Energy Event last month. She has become a champion of the campaign, thanks to her on-going partnership with the campaign sponsors E.ON, represented in the picture by Tim Pyke (right), head of climate change at E.ON.

National air-conditioning distributor Oceanair UK teamed up with Sanyo Air Conditioner to sponsor Lee Jackson and Glen Raven of Lee Jackson Air Conditioning in the 2007 Cannonball Run Europe rally. They drove their Porsche turbo cabriolet through 11 European countries, starting from Sandown Race Course in Surrey. Stops included Lake Garda in Italy, Slovakia, Budapest, Berlin and Antwerp — to finish in the UK in 18th position in a 60-strong field.

Building on its Green Gateway Initiative launched earlier this year, Mitsubishi Electric Living Environmental System UK is no longer promoting cooling-only air-conditioning products in the UK — and is phasing out all existing models from its stock.

The new Serpentine Solar Shuttle operated by BlueBird Boats in London’s Hyde Park is entirely powered by solar energy. On the canopy of this 14.3 m catamaran, which can carry 40 passengers, are solar cells that can generate up to 2 kW of power and which are used to charge batteries. The batteries supply two 3-phase drives via an inverter system. These drives have a total output of 20 kW, enabling the boat to reach 15 km/h.

There are estimated to be 20 000 unfilled jobs in the consultancy and engineers sector, according to a new report by the Association for Consultancy & Engineering (ACE).

The Manchester office of consultants White Young Green has been selected to act as M&E consultant for an innovative £58 million project for St Helens College in Merseyside.

Johnson Controls has reported its biggest-ever order for York chillers. 46 water-cooled chillers are destined for a project in Pearl Island, Qatar to cool 15 000 residential and commercial units. These chillers will deliver over 130 000 t of chilled water each day. Each has a cooling capacity of 8.8 MW and uses R134a.

Briggs & Forrester has been awarded a £2.7 million contract to design and install the M&E for building 101 on Cambridge Science Park, with Shepherd Construction.

Following the recent merger of CCL Veloduct and Lindab, the company is to be known simply as Lindab. The name change marks the last step in a programme begun a year ago with the acquisition of CCL Veloduct by the Lindab Group of Sweden in a £27 million deal to create a major company in ventilation and air movement.

Axair Climate is changing its name to Walter Meier (Climate Solutions) Ltd. The change takes effect on 1 January 2008 and is the new name for all companies in the Walter Meier Holdings Group. The move is intended to provide greater recognition of the complementary areas of expertise within the group and the synergies between them.

HVCA president John Miller has challenged the Government to enforce important changes introduced last year to Part L of the Building Regulations.

AMEC has sold its building and facilities-services business (BFS) to SPIE SA for a cash consideration of £117 million.

Nearly a third of construction refurbishment sites inspected by the Health & Safety Executive put the lives of workers at risk — according to the HSE’s head of construction, Stephen Williams.

The latest of Honeywell’s technical solutions guides deals with security. It is the second in a series of publications designed to offer design tips to steer new and experienced industry professionals towards the best working practices.

The fourteenth edition of Bitzer’s series of refrigerant reports has received CPD (Continuing Professional Development) accreditation.

The second edition of BSRIA’s guide to HVAC building-services calculations has been expanded to include new and revised sections and provides practical, easy-to-follow methodologies for a range of calculations used in the design and sizing of heating, ventilating and air-conditioning systems.

Roof-Pro’s support systems and components for building-services equipment installed on rooftops are detailed in a new products, systems and design guide. These products are designed to facilitate flexible and efficient installation of a wide variety of roof-mounted services and fixtures.

Spirax Sarco has published a comprehensive practical guide to steam systems. ‘The steam and condensate loop’ is described as a superb training and reference resource to help engineers optimise plant operations and save energy.

Saunier Duval has prepared a technical guide to its comprehensive range of SEDBUK A rated domestic heating boilers.

Cooper Lighting & Security has produced a new guide to central battery systems. It is aimed at anyone involved in specifying emergency lighting for medium or large installations.

Three more ranges have been added to the extensive plumbing section of the latest Screwfix catalogue. They are Endex, Tectite Sprint and Yorkshire solder-ring fittings from Yorkshire Fittings.

Chloride’s extensive experience and expertise in providing power protection for mission-critical applications was called on for the design and installation of a robust system for Diamond Light Source — the largest scientific facility to be built in the UK for 40 years.

An extension to the 4-star Stafford Hotel in London St James’s Place, regarded by hotel connoisseurs as one of the capital’s most sought-after hideaways, is air conditioned using top-of-the-range Daikin VRV heat-recovery systems.

New and more efficient lighting has been installed in the new factory of Tower Doors in Glasgow with interest-free finance from Loan Scotland, designed to support energy-saving investments.

Controlled natural ventilation using the WindowMaster ventilation system and Windcatcher units from sister company Monodraught is part of the environmental strategy for the Innovation & Business Base in Luton.

Heating and hot water for the separate areas of old City of Derby jail complex that has been completely refurbished as a destination venue is provided by a range of Buderus boilers.

At the heart of the building-management system in the new headquarters of Chevron in Aberdeen is the ability to contact security staff anywhere on site to immediately advise them of any critical alarms. It uses SMS (short messaging service) to contact security staff via their mobile telephones while they patrol the site. That message provides sufficient information for them to take immediate remedial action or contact the site’s provider of service and maintenance.

Trox UK has supplied fan-coil units for a Land Securities development in London. The contract is worth around £2 million and is for airside FCUs for New Street Square mixed-use estate on a prominent site in New Fetter Lane.

The installation of HCP ceiling-mounted radiant-heating panels in the new £60 million cardiothoracic centre at Basildon Hospital maximises the use of floor space and provides a heating solution that is easy to clean.

Continuing a relationship with St Dominic’s Sixth Form College in Harrow, Argent is now responsible for ongoing maintenance of all the building’s services. The scope of the contract includes biannual servicing of the college and chapel boilers, visual inspection of all plant and 24/7 emergency call-out.

Following the £340 million redevelopment of Westfield in Derby, integrated air-conditioning systems from Carrier are providing the cooling for the vast public circulation spaces, as well as ventilation for the food concept Eat Central.

High temperatures at VDC Group have been curbed by evaporative cooling

Four Buderus 200 24 kW combi boilers have been installed in a central boiler room in a new office development in Easingwold near York to serve provide heating and hot water for separate 100 m2 office suites.

Following the installation of Broag boilers in a number of buildings on the campus of the University of Plymouth, two Remeha 310 eco boilers have been installed in the new Roland Levinsky Building. It houses the Faculty of Arts and also provides the new base for Plymouth Arts Centre.

To ensure that the temperature in the dispensary of a GP practice of five doctors at Fordingbridge in Hampshire is kept below 25°C, a Carrier XPower split air-conditioning system has been installed.

Equipment for what could be the largest VRF air-conditioning project in the world has been supplied by LG for Star City in Seoul, South Korea. This mixed-use commercial and residential development comprises four separate buildings, the tallest being 58 storeys high. The total value of the project to LG was over £6 million and involved 1314 VRF systems comprising 7654 indoor units.

Valves for the upgrading of the heating circuits carried out as part of the £91 million refurbishment of London’s Royal Festival Hall have been supplied by Oventrop. The contract covered all valves for the LTHW variable-temperature heating circuits.

Absorption chillers have been supplied by McQuay for two hospital projects and a new development at the University of Southampton to provide environmentally friendly and cost-effective cooling. All three sites have a low-cost source of heat, as steam or hot water, to drive these Thermax machines, so their installation avoids the need for a substantial electrical supply.

Eaton Electric has extended its Mempower MP medium-power busbar range with a new 800 A rating. The company now offers an 800 A rating in its air-insulated MP range and its XP low-impedance range.

Brightwater Environmental now offers a range of waterless urinal troughs to complement its waterless urinals.

Luxo Lighting’s versatile Drop luminaire has been designed to provide low-glare, uniform illumination in classrooms and offices.

Daikin Europe has announced that its MC707VM air purifier has been approved to two testing institutions for restricting or removal high levels of nominated allergens.

Rinnai now offers continuous-flow water heaters for the domestic market — i.e. houses. The Infinity 16i and 16e models are said to have running costs up to 30% less than conventional stored hot-water systems and even more compared with electric showers. Both water heaters can provide hot water at near mains pressure for up to two standard shower heads at the same time.

HRM’s through-the-wall oil-fire boiler is now available as a condensing version in three sizes. They are said to be among the most compact condensing boilers available in the UK, which is achieved using a twin-chamber single-heat exchanger so that they have the same dimensions as non-condensing models.

Crabtree’s Platinum range of high-quality electrical accessories now includes a clip-on, screwless white finish. This moulded finish is said to be particularly useful at second fix on new builds as it can be easily and economically upgraded at a later stage. It can also be fitted by electricians to simplify and allow more profitable upgrades to customers’ installations.

Daikin Europe’s 2-port Multi heat-pump and cooling-only outdoor air-conditioning units are available in 40 and 50 classes and use R410A. Their energy efficiency has been improved, and they have Class A energy labels.

The PITR photo-thermal infra-red detector from System Sensor Europe has been developed to provide an efficient and environmentally benign alternative to the venerable ionisation detector.

Jordan Group’s Hybatt range of high-bay luminaires uses TL5 fluorescent-lamp technology to help achieve an attractive slim design and qualify for Enhanced Capital Allowances. These luminaires also achieve significant energy savings compared with conventional high-bay luminaires. A typical comparison with 400 W metal-halide and 54 W HO luminaires shows savings of around 50%.

GE Sensing’s Telaire carbon-dioxide transmitters are aimed at indoor-air-quality and energy-conservation applications. Duct-mounted Ventostat T8031/T8041 units and the wall-mounted Airestat T5000 Series are described as offering accuracy and versatility at an affordable price. They are easy to install, simple to use and retain accuracy over their expected life using Telaire’s patented automatic calibration technology.

Estimation’s QuoteMaster module for quotation management now includes advanced tools for managing the net price agreements that are increasingly used by suppliers to fix prices on key items for a pre-agreed term.

GAH Heating has improved its Dualstream unvented hot-water system with the addition of its patented water-control system.

IES now offers compliance solutions for the UK Building Regulations covering all regions of the UK. Addressing reductions in energy and carbon emissions, the accredited IES module offers routes for compliance with Part L of the Building Regulations in England and Wales, Part F in Northern Ireland and Section 6 in Scotland.

Chalmor has introduced two new versions of the long-life Endurance light fitting specially designed for the canopies of garage and petrol-station forecourts. Benefits include reduced energy and maintenance costs, minimal disruption from changing light sources and easier, faster installation.

Monodraught’s new Sola-Boost Residential natural-ventilation system is designed to be installed over the stairs of a central landing to provide solar-controlled natural ventilation. The product enhances the choices for providing natural ventilation in residential properties..

By offering automatic self-balancing valves factory pre-set to the specified flow and controllable electronically commutated DC motors with its fan-coil units, the Quartz Division of TEV addresses the problems of installation and commissioning that are normally experienced on site.

A site’s steam supply can be used to provide almost instantaneous hot water using the latest Stokvis steam-to-water packaged plate heat exchangers. There is a choice of 27 units to provide up to 850 l/h of hot water.

Honeywell describes its Excel 800 programmable controller as its most powerful control solution for heating, ventilation and air-conditioning to date. It is part of the Excel 5000 Open system and is price competitive, combining significant savings in installation, start-up and life-cycle costs. Capabilities include energy optimisation, free cooling, optimum start/stop and peak load limitation. Excel 800 has twice as much memory as the popular Excel 500 controller and is typically 50% faster.

Vapac Humidity Control has developed a range of electrode-boiler steam generators that provide uninterrupted output for processes and environments where even small fluctuations in humidity and time spent on drain cycles are not acceptable.

To overcome the problems of water stagnation and bacteria developing in supply pipes to taps, Tempomatic 3 electronic taps and mixers from Douglas Delabie incorporate an automatic flush device to activate an automatic 45-second flush each 24 hours after the last use.

Following an exceptional year, Zip Heaters (UK) is celebrating the opening of a national sales office and showroom in Chiswick, West London, where customers can see and experience the extensive portfolio of instant boiling and chilled water appliances available from Zip. The office and facilities provided will cater for an ever-increasing market in both the commercial and domestic sectors in and around London.

Two Remeha Quinta 115 boilers have been installed during the refurbishment of the South Bristol Sports Centre. Installers Cook & Harris chose the boilers as they were ‘a good product, reasonably priced’. The boilers will serve a wide range of updated facilities, including squash courts, a health and fitness suite, reception and social areas, as well as newly built changing rooms.

Trox UK has introduced a new range of aluminium roll-down grilles, principally for floor mounting.

Central heating control specialist Horstmann Controls has introduced a new and upgraded range of its ZonePlus motorised zone and diverter valves that combine proven electronic controls technology with the latest Horstmann design features.

New System X from Fireco Ltd is a smart communication system that uses the latest radio technology to automatically signal a fire alarm condition to all linked X products — Dorgard X and Deafgard X — with a 100 m site-specific range.

If you’re looking for exterior wall lights that deliver security, surround and accent illumination with style, look no further than Thorn Lighting’s redesigned Piazza.

Writtle College in Essex has installed Atlantic’s R-series boiler as part of its ‘green-classroom’ concept. A new 640 m2 glasshouse will be used for teaching and research and includes a variety of environmental features, including re-use of water, boiler efficiency and the type of fuel used.

Merlin Power Management has launched a new concept in generator servicing called Powercare Premier. Combining remote generator monitoring, refuelling and a rapid response 24/7 service package, Powercare Premier provides companies with a cost effective fully integrated solution for the care and maintenance of their standby diesel generator.

The new VRC 430 weather compensator from Vaillant is a programmable weather compensator and hot-water programmer, designed to be plugged into the boiler fascia or be wall-mounted in the home.

The tallest building in the north, Bridgewater Place in Leeds, has installed over 300 Mini Fire-Cryer Voice Sounders from Vimpex. Bridgewater Place consists of over 2100 m2 of office space, 200 high-rise apartments, retail outlets and leisure facilities.

Nothing beats an Aquaflow regulator for keeping water consumption under control, even if the pressure fluctuates wildly between 1 and 10 bar.

Pegler Yorkshire has introduced a unique Tectite Sprint socket depth gauge to complement the Tectite Sprint range. The 3-in-1 device has been designed for the Sprint range to make life for the installer as easy as possible and allows Tectite Sprint to be installed faster than ever.

LG Cassettes get collared

Ledaire Fabrication has developed a range of mirror-polished stainless-steel extract canopies for restaurants that have their kitchens on show to patrons.

Lochinvar has supplied its high-efficiency water heating equipment to Aston Villa FC’s new state-of-the-art training complex.

The Nexus Gas extinguishant voice sounder from Klaxon Signals is a fire alarm designed specifically to meet the requirements of gas extinguishant systems by supplying four stages of alarm, each with separate and distinct forewarning messages and tone.