2005 May

KATHRYN BOURKE and MIKE CLIFT discuss whole-life costing against the background of pressure from the Government for public-sector procurement to be based on this philosphy.

Multi service chilled beams can accelerate installation times, save energy and reduce maintenance, thereby dramatically cutting the whole life cost of an air conditioning system. GUY HUTCHINS explains.

Following a 43% reduction in energy used by fans in air-handling systems in Tesco stores in the south of England, the retrofitting of inverter drives in over 350 larger stores is nearing completion.

Strict planning constraints imposed by Westminster City Council for the InterContinental Hotel at Hyde Park Corner in London led to the installation of three large Daikin air-cooled chillers as part of a major services and upgrade programme. Supplied by Space Airconditioning, each EUWA 200MZ chiller has a cooling capacity of 575 kW. Their screw compressors will require overhauling only after about 4 1/2 years’ operation.

A networked smoke-ventilation system for the tallest residential building in the north-west of England has been designed and installed by SE Controls. Beetham Tower on Liverpool’s changing waterfront is a 29-storey building. It includes a 133-apartment block, a 4/5-star Radisson SAS hotel and a new office block.

The 40 000th person to be issued with an Engineering Services SKILLcard is a service and maintenance engineer with Johnson Controls at South Queensferry in Scotland. George Bridges was presented with his card by Mike Taylor, president of the Heating & Ventilating Contractors’ Association.

OCS Technical has acquired Building Environmental Services (BES) in a deal that will strengthen and consolidate OCS Technical’s share of the market in mechanical and electrical engineering. The expertise of OCS Technical includes maintenance, design and installation.

Airedale International has been acquired by Modine Manufacturing of the United Stares for around $38 million in cash. The purchase price is described by Modine as a ‘highly competitive 6.5 times Airedale’s 2004 normalised EBITDA’ [earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation]. Airedale’s financial position is described as ‘debt-free with strong balance sheet’.

Following a 10-week trial at Preston Crown Court, the jury failed to reach a verdict on seven charges of manslaughter against Gillian Beckingham caused by the outbreak of Legionnaires’ Disease in July and August 2002.

In our personal life, rather than our working life, few people buy anything on the basis of lowest price. CIBSE’s new president Donald Leeper neatly encapsulates the issue in his presidential address when he asserts that few of us use lowest price to decide which garage will service our car, let alone which surgeon will operate on our children.

Finding and recruiting the right staff is a problem in any industry — and one that particularly besets the building-services industry with its skills shortages and skills gaps. Ultimately, of course, the long-term solution is to attract more people into the industry and to develop training programmes that are in keeping with the needs of both employers and their staff.

MIKE DUGGAN explains why guidance is needed on the Waste Electrical & Electronic Equipment Directive and where you can find it.

As the power of computing equipment grows, so too does its power density. The consequence is that the capabilities of computer-room air conditioning are reaching their limits.

Three new Armstrong end-suction fire pumps have received LPCB/BRE approval. All have been specifically designed to comply with the LPC Technical Bulletin for ESFR installations.

A multi-stage water-booster pump unit supplied by KSB to Trinity Hall, Cambridge, provides domestic hot water to showers in the sports pavilion at the college.

One of the key products in the newly defined range of pumps from Armstrong Holden Brooke Pullen is the Series 4300 vertical inline pump, fitted with suction guide and Flo-Trex valve. Key features are described as better life-cycle value, faster installation and easier maintenance. Flow rates are in excess of 630 l/s. Traditional base-mounted end-suction pumps are said to require up to three times more floor space than the Series 4300 equivalent, with extra time and cost incurred to create the inertia base.

Hamworthy Heating has launched a range of Biral pumps using permanent magnets. The P range of pumps is said to achieve energy savings of 30% at full load and up to 60% at part load. This feature makes them particularly for boilers and systems that modulate, have weather compensation, or condensing boilers.

AquaTech has launched the first generation of its 2020plus micro-processor for controlling variable-speed pumps. The software is sufficiently adaptive to be used with stand-alone inverter drives, panel-mounted drives and the latest motor units with integral inverters. Users thus have complete flexibility and preference for choosing drive and pump manufacturers.

With widespread reduction in mains water pressure, the demand for pressure boosting is increasing. PETER REYNOLDS explores the issues involved.

Sophisticated lighting technology for multi-service chilled beams installed throughout BT’s new Internet Protocol Management Centre building at Adastral Park, Martlesham, was designed and made by Cooper Lighting & Security. This is believed to be the first time that such sophisticated lighting technology has been built into chilled beams.

The economic and effective operation of showers can be achieved using an automatic flow limiter from Arrow Valves. These devices are designed to be fitted to a standard shower hose or head to save water and energy.

A new guide to ‘Achieving whole life value in infrastructure and buildings’ could play a key role in helping the construction industry answer the challenge laid down in the National Audit Office’s report on ‘Improving public services through better construction’, published in March.

Baxi Group has outlined its commitment to launching a product based on micro CHP (combined heat and power) within the next three years.

Air conditioning to provide both heating and cooling for the new premises of the Weather Shop In Eastbourne is being provided with 30% lower power consumption than traditional system using heat-pump systems with inverter drives. They also use use the ozone-friendly refrigerant R410A.

Energy savings of more than £3000 a year are being achieved following the replacement of five shell-and-tube calorifiers at Stafford General Hospital with Spirax EasiHeat engineered systems. The work has improved the supply of hot water to the main kitchen, and further savings are expected as more calorifiers are replaced in the future.

Good energy-management practice not only reduces energy spend but also delivers buildings that are more productive to work in. IAN BUDD explains.

JOHN LANGMAID puts the concept of whole-life costing into context against other evaluation processes that need to be undertaken during the design phase of a project.

Mark Ford of Capital Air has won LG’s Love Golf tournament. He beat competitors from over 40 major air-conditioning installers in the finals in the Quinta de Lago resort in Portugal. Runner-up in a sudden-death play-off was Paul Vasconcelous of Advance Air, who edged Mike McCole of Kool-It Services into third place.

Pre-tax profits for the Grundfos Group grew by 14% in 2004 compared with the year before. Turnover exceeded £1 billion. The growth is attributed to increased sales, improved efficiencies and continuing growth in established markets such as the UK and new markets around the world.

Mace is continuing its association with the CityPoint building in London with a construction-management contract for the offices of Macquarie Bank. Mace managed the fit out of law firm Simmons & Simmons in 2000.

Space-saving heating and cooling for a conservatory recently supplied by 21st Century Conservatories is provided by a radiator-size console unit from Carrier’s XPower range.

Comprehensive ranges of non-metallic and metallic flexible-conduit systems are covered in Adaptaflex’s latest price list. It includes concise information on product type, descriptions and order details.

Touch-screen technology is an option with controls packaged for Toshiba’s Super Modular Multi (SMMS) R410A VRF air-conditioning range. Commands available include on/off, network control of mode, temperature and central/local monitoring of six functions — plus energy usage using a power meter. Fault codes can also be displayed and data logged.

With over 70 truck loads of material being delivered each day for the refurbishment of the HM Treasury building in London’s Whitehall and space for only two vehicles at a time, the Zone Manager solution for managing vehicles and cranes played a vital role in ensuring smooth operation. It was developed by The Logistics Business.

A free valve-sizing program, HORASet, is included on the product and price-list CD-ROM from Hora. sThe increased selection of products include larger control valves up to 300 mm, as well as data sheets, circuit diagrams and operating instructions.

Details of Bitzer’s full range of semi-hermetic reciprocating compressors have been brought together in new literature (KP-100-5). It provides technical and performance information of the range and operational details with R134a, R404A, R507A, R407C and R22.

Toshiba Air Conditioning’s scheme for product and technical training is described in an 8-page leaflet.

Kingspan Insulation has updated its web site to make it easier to get information about its KoolDuct pre-insulated and lightweight alternative to galvanised sheet-metal ductwork. The site also includes information about pre-insulated lightweight Prelite plenum boxes.

Mita (UK) has redesigned its web site to meet the on-line requirements of specifiers, distributors, installers and end-users of cable-management products. It includes fast-find buttons to request brochures and locate product details, data and specifications, view recent case studies and the most recently launched products.

Whitecroft Lighting’s comprehensive 376-page catalogue features over 50 innovative new products and includes cross-referencing to the Whitecroft web site so that users can download information for uses such as pasting into specifications. This catalogue has been created by drawing on feedback from customers to achieve ease of use for designers, purchasers and specifiers of lighting.

Newey & Eyre has published a new 500-page catalogue of what it describes as the UK’s widest range of electrical products. It contains thousands of Newlec products and other big-brand favourites.

Six pre-designed packaged plant rooms specifically for educational sites have been developed by Armstrong Integrated Systems.

Hager has launched a range of Euro standard data face plates for its Ashley New look range. They accept any manufacturer’s data modules in the industry-standard format.

Mitsubishi Electric’s water-cooled City Multi VRF air-conditioning, first launched in 2000 using R407C refrigerant, is now available with R410A. New features, combined with water cooling, enable extremely energy-efficient installations to be achieved.

By re-engineering its range of fire and smoke dampers, Gilberts of Blackpool has significantly reduced the cost, without compromising quality.

Neptronic actuators and actuated valves are now distributed in the UK by JS Actuators. The range includes direct-coupled electronic actuators to provide precision control for applications such as dampers, VAV systems, fan-coil units and air-handling units.

CentraLine’s Command family of wall modules provide for measuring and adjusting room conditions such as temperature, humidity, carbon-dioxide levels and air quality. Designed for small and medium-sized buildings, these modules provide intuitive and versatile control.

Designed to provide flats and apartments with independent fast-recovery hot water and high-efficiency heating is the Modusat package from Geminox.

CCL does not use solvents as the principal bonding agent in its Tecflex 800S range of flexible ductwork. A new manufacturing process has reduced the amount of solvent used in the production of this ductwork by over 90%.

Low noise levels are a key feature of the Kappa V Echos series of air-cooled chillers made by Blue Box and available through Axair Climate. Noise issues have been addressed by using generously sized exchanger elements using condensing coils with corrugated fins (which optimise thermal exchange without impacting pressure drops) and dry expansion brazed plate or shell-and-tube evaporators.

A new range of 4-way- blow heat-pump and cooling-only ceiling cassettes from Daikin Europe has very high efficiencies. Cooling EERs range from 3.59 to 4.10, depending on the model. Heating COPs are from 4.06 to 4.38.