Construction orders in the 12 months to January 2006 rose by 8% compared with 2004, according to figures from the Department of Trade & Industry. There was a 16% rise in orders for the three months to January compared to the same period a year earlier. Orders in the three months to January 2006 rose by 6% compared to the previous three months.

Specialist contractor Thermal Transfer has completed a £1.85 million turnkey project at the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel. The company’s Swindon office had total responsibility for the design, build and validation of the pharmaceutical production site (PPS) in the new £52 million pharmacy and pathology building constructed by Laing O’Rourke.

Briggs & Forrester has won a gold award in the RoSPA occupational health and safety awards for the fourth consecutive year.

The Government is to strengthen the Code for Sustainable Homes to address climate change. The announcement coincided with the approval of the new Building Regulations by ministers last month before it was laid before Parliament to come into effect on 6 April.

In its sixth season of supporting the Hawk Kawasaki Superbike team, Andrews Sykes will supporting the team throughout the British Superbike series. For the first time, the team will be running separate liveries for each bike. One will sport the Sykes Pumps logo, while the other will run under Andrews Air Conditioning colours.

Gemma Martland, a mechanical apprentice with SES, completes some final inspection checks before the installation of modular pipework systems at Bridgewater Place in central Leeds. Time savings of around 50% are being attributed to the extensive use of offsite prefabrication systems for this £11.6 million project. Modules are delivered at weekends due to the restricted access and tight storage conditions at this city-centre development.

An important step forward in reducing carbon emissions from new and existing buildings has been taken with the launch of a register for professionals trained and able to comply with the new Part L of the Building Regulations. It is run by the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers and supported by the Carbon Trust.

Denco’s new headquarters and air-conditioning factory has been opened by TV personality and engineering enthusiast Johnny Ball. He is an ambassador for the Campaign to Promote Engineering and told guests that the new complex on the outskirts of Hereford gave a very positive signal about the healthy state of the air-conditioning industry.

Consultants White Young Green increased its order book by 27% to a record £280 million in the six months to 31 December 2005. The corresponding period for the previous year was £220 million.

Two-thirds of construction managers are in favour of developing nuclear energy, according to an online poll by the Chartered Institute of Building. Over 400 construction managers were polled.

H&V07, the national event for the H&V industry that takes place every other year, will be fully supported by three leading trade associations. FETA (Federation of Environmental Trade Associations), HVCA (Heating & Ventilating Contractors’ Association) and ICOM Energy Association (Industrial & Commercial Energy Association) have all declared their support.

Arsenal Football Club has appointed Hoare Lea Consulting Engineers to provide mechanical, electrical and specialist building-services design advice for the conversion of the art deco Highbury Stadium to a major mixed-use residential development.

Advanced Ergonomic Technologies reports a 50% increase in sales for its Flexible Space Concept over the last 12 months. It comprises Hiross Flexible Space underfloor air conditioning, Nesite raised floor and Movinord full demountable partitioning.

Contractor SES has been received the Investors in People award for the seventh year running. The award recognises organisations that have improved their business and realised goals through the management and development of their people.

Addressing the issue of growing carbon-dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere is a key driver in the future design of buildings, and was a principal focus at last month’s CIBSE conference ‘Engineering the future’.*

Building models that incorporate design data and online collaborative management are just two ways of enabling professionals in the construction industry to work more closely together, as PETE BAXTER explains.

MARTIN PREESE discusses the benefits of using groundwater to heat and cool buildings to deliver sustainable advantages that will reduce carbon emissions and stave off spiralling energy costs.

The potential for boiler inspections to identify inefficient systems and reduce emissions is limited by practical constraints, as ALAN SILVESTER explained to a recent conference.

Heating and hot water for the club house at Romiley Golf Club near Stockport are provided by three Ferroli Tempra system boilers, installed to replace life-expired large floor-standing boilers.

Ideal Boilers has added two new models to its heat-only Icos HE range of high-efficiency boilers.

Glow-worm’s Flexicom high-efficiency condensing boilers are said to be the only condensing boilers on the market with a direct rear flue option. Combined with their compactness, this feature enables them to be installed in a kitchen cupboard.

ROBERT HUGHES explains why prefabrication is the way forward for building services and how the management of such projects is developing.

Following its acquisition of Microflex, Watts Industries now offers the Microflex range of thermally insulated pipes.

The rapid installation of pipes on site without welding has a long history — which is just as valid today. DAVID SNODGRASS tells the story.

Despite the huge installation-time savings possible with plastic pipe, MARTYN ROWLANDS is concerned that these benefits might be squandered by poor installation practice.

PETER MARSH highlights research that emphasise the technical and commercial benefits of copper for pipework systems.

JOHN COOPER explains the advantages of using an automatic approach to HVAC balancing.

With efficiency of gas-fired water heaters approaching 100%, PAUL MARSDEN discusses how considering the total system can further enhance efficiency.

Among a wide range of Oventrop valves installed in heating and cooling systems in the new Withington Community Hospital in south Manchester are Cocon 4 multi-functional control valves for fan-coil units.

The Grundfos Hydro Multi range of packaged booster sets for clean-water applications maintain a constant pressure by continuously adjusting pump speed and switching pumps on and off as required. The pumps operate in parallel and are automatically changed over on the first-in/first-out principle.

Honeywell’s Smart-T thermo-electric valve actuators are designed for small linear valves such as those used on fan-coil units, induction units, small re-heaters and re-coolers using hot/cold water as the controlled medium in an electronic temperature-control system. Movement is produced by expansion and contraction of a wax element heated by electrical resistance.

Yorkshire Fittings offers push-fit and press-fit jointing systems for a variety of pipe materials in wide range of sizes. The company also offers a range of commercial valves, Proflow.

MHS Boilers has simplified the design of its Hydra packages for generating domestic hot water. They are based on stainless-steel plate heat exchangers and available with single- or twin-head primary pumps. These units have an anti-legionella function and built-in volt-free alarm contacts.

Most modern building management systems (BMSs) have provision for remote access. This opens up the possibility of remote diagnostics which, as STEVE LOUGHNEY of Siemens Business Technologies explains, offer facilities managers big benefits.

Clients and politicians are stepping up the pressure on the industry to improve the lifecycle running costs of buildings. MALCOLM LINSLEY argues that professional collaboration is the best approach.

Energy metering should be more than simply complying with the latest Building Regulations.

MIKE CAHILL explains its importance as part of a strategy for automatic monitoring and targeting that can help reduce energy consumption.

Clarity, an accredited data collector for the half-hourly electricity market, has introduced a metering service for the non-half-hourly electricity market and for all gas and water supplies.

Climate Pipework Systems is distributor for Roth products in the UK. Systems offered include Alu-Lasertec for hot/cold/potable water and connecting to radiators. Heating requirements are met by the Roth X-PRT S5+.

Carolyn House in Croydon has become one of the first UK projects to be air conditioned using Daikin’s water-cooled VRF system.

Centralised boiler plant serving 40 homes in Orkney is provided by a Compri HX3 controller from Priva Building Intelligence.

High-efficiency heating for a primary school in Derbyshire is being provided by a Ferroli modular boiler installation that has replaced an old cast-iron sectional boiler. Heating & Process Engineering Services installed four linked Econcept 100 condensing double-boiler units at St George’s Romany Catholic Primary School.

A displacement ventilation system developed by Lindab for the new Copenhagen Opera House was designed to meet the exacting PNC15 standard. Acoustic tests by Arup Acoustics on the finished project show that the system has indeed met this standard. PNC15 is the background noise level required in a good recording studio and is imperceptible to human ears.

A copper-clad, custom-built roof terminal to marry in with the grass roof of a new-build plant room at the Betteshanger Development at Sholden in Kent tops out a complex flue system serving three pressure-jet gas boilers and two bio-mass boilers.

When a heating system comprising a combi boiler and radiators was proving inadequate to heat 300 m2 of activity area for children in Clown Around in Chorley, heating contractor Walker Adamson of Bolton proposed replacing the old system with a single Powrmatic NV heater.

Marshall-Tufflex Series 2 PowerPoles in aluminium have been used as part of this his project for Michelmores Solicitors in Exeter. The PowerPoles (horizontal in this photo.) blend in with existing steel columns and carry power and low-voltage lighting in a way that harmonises with the existing steelwork.

Wireless controls and sensors are being used with an oil-fired range cooker to provide heating and mains-pressure hot water for a stone-built cottage in Cornwall.

Lochinvar has scored again at Arsenal Football Club with the supply of water-heating equipment for the Emirates Stadium. Two copper-fin water heaters and two storage tanks have been supplied. The two water heaters were stacked in a purpose-made MSF frame. They have a combined recovery rate of over 7000 l/h and were installed by MJN Colston Services of Croydon and will provide hot water to the players’ changing area.

Fully addressable digital lighting controls for the 50 000 m2 Land Securities’ office development at Cardinal Place in London were supplied by Simmtronic. The SPECS3 system for the full Cat A fit-out of this office complex has been completed and commissioned. Simmtronic is now enhancing the backbone system to provide each incoming tenant with a customised lighting-control scheme.

Variable-speed pumps from the Grundfos TP range play a key role in the UK’s largest ground-source heat-pump project to date. It serves the £19 million PFI headquarters and training centre of Gloucestershire Police and provides 650 kW of heating and 750 kW of cooling.

Visitors to a sustainable community project in Leyton, London, can see the benefits of a DACHS mini-combined-heat-and power unit supplied by Baxi Technologies and an array of photo-voltaic panels on a display panel in the reception. Signals representing the amount of electricity from both sources will be fed to the panel, which will show the amount of carbon dioxide being saved.

Background trickle ventilators that minimise noise penetration from the adjacent A40 Western Avenue in London have been installed on most of the windows in the new £80 million Brent Emergency Care & Diagnostic Centre. 350 Passivent frame vents and acoustic grilles have been installed on most of the windows of this 30 000 m2 hospital, particularly all those throughout the three storeys of habitable space.

Ducted warm-air heating supplied and installed by Watkins Hire has replaced 28 hired portable heaters in the train-maintenance shed of First Great Western at Plymouth.

Full standby power to ensure that the main IT department of the University of East Anglia will continue to function during power failures has been supplied by Scorpion Power Systems. The company provided a complete turnkey solution — including consultancy, installation and commissioning.

The decision two years ago to install ATAG modulating condensing boilers in a number of Anchor Trust’s sheltered housing and residential homes is now starting to pay dividends. The installation of these boilers and centralised monitoring is leading to significant cuts in energy costs and reduced maintenance, with no loss in comfort levels.

An standby power supply based on fuel-cell technology has been installed by UPS Systems for its mainstream business-critical IT applications. This installation of an APC fuel-cell system is believed to be the first of its kind in the UK.

Chillers to provide air conditioning and refrigeration for the recent Winter Olympics at Turin were supplied by York, as well as snow guns for the Alpine slopes.

Critical power protection for the new catheter laboratory of Cheltenham General Hospital is provided by a Socomec Sicon 160 kVA Delphys Elite UPS system.

Broag’s Rem commercial gas-fired storage water heaters are described as highly resistant to corrosion, benefiting from safe light-up operation and anti-legionella.

York’s Tempo range of energy-efficient air-cooled scroll chillers is now on the Carbon Trust’s Energy Technology List.

Toshiba’s Mini-SMMS VRF air-conditioning system operates from a single-phase power supply and bridges the gap between Multi-Split systems and large-scale VRF.

Drive parameters from ABB motor drives can be copied and set in just a couple of seconds using the new FlashDrop technology — without even powering up the drive.

ACO Building Drainage has introduced a range of systems to protect vulnerable properties from flooding caused by storm surges in the main sewerage system.

Apollo Fire Detectors has extended its AlarmSense range of conventional fire detectors and alarm products with a new sounder base, updated relay module and a sounder beacon base. These new products increase the scope of AlarmSense for houses of multiple occupation

York’s Flexsys underfloor air-conditioning system can now be installed in floor voids as shallow as 150 mm, making it well suited to the refurbishment market.

Vokera’s Linea Max HE floor-standing combination boiler is rated at 25 kW and uses an integrated 60 litre thermal store to boost the delivery of hot water to 18 l/min — 55% more than a conventional combi boiler of equivalent output. There are plans to introduce a 35 kW version.

Toshiba has added new indoor units to its VRF air-conditioning range.

Daikin Europe has introduced a range of inverter-controlled water chillers with cooling capacities of 5, 6 and 7 kW. These chillers are offered as heat-pump and cooling-only versions and use R410A. Uses include comfort cooling, swimming pool and small process applications.

TAC Satchwell has announced significant developments to the hardware and core operating software of the Satchwell Sigma solution for building and energy management, which incorporates state-of-the-art communication and integration technologies.

Dimplex has introduced a range of air-to-water heat pumps with applications in the commercial and domestic sectors.

Thermal Technology has updated and revised its range of Recupovent ventilation/heat-recovery units.

Cooling systems for data centres with cooling capacities from 3 to 24 kW per rack are offered by Liebert in its X-treme range.

Elcomponent’s SPCmini data logger and its associated software PowerPackPro can monitor electricity use at one-minute intervals for over a month.

Acoustic panels are incorporated into the Foil suspended luminaire system from Whitecroft Lighting to solve the problem of poor acoustics that is often associated with suspended ceilings.

Air-to-water heat pumps for heating and hot water are offered by Atria Heat Pumps. The Thermia Atria range is quick and easy to install. Potential applications range from social-housing units to private homes of all sizes and swimming pools.