2005 August

Neil Dady of air-conditioning contractor EPM (left) has won the prize draw run by LG at this year’s RAC Show. He was presented with this customised Nissan Primastar van by Tony Gittings of LG. The competition was based around the LG stand at the RAC Show in March, but carried on afterwards to give all air-conditioning contractors the chance to enter.

Four intrepid oarsmen from Daikin Airconditioning, 360 Engineering and Eventemp (Midlands) and cox Hazel Shackleton, of Daikin, won the men’s 500 m sprint in the recent corporate regatta organised by 4-times Olympic gold medallist Sir Matthew Pinsent. The event was held at Dormey Lake near Windsor and gave competitors from companies in the south east first-hand knowledge of the training and teamwork required to succeed at this exhausting sport. The event was open to mixed teams with no previous experience.

An outstanding performance at Snetterton has seen Space Air sponsored motor cyclist Jay (Fandango) Fernadez powering back into the lead of the 2005 MRO Supertwins Championship. Riding his 998 Ducati, he left all challengers in his wake. At the halfway stage, the team is back on track for a triumphant season following a setback at Silverstone in May when mechanical problems cost Jay his championship leading position.

The competition to design the Halley VI Research Station in Antarctica has been won by Faber Maunsell and Hugh Broughton Architects. The new prefabricated modular research station features a central social and recreational module (red in this graphic). The station is designed to adapt to the changing external conditions and future science needs of BAS.

York chillers made in the UK at Basildon have gained Eurovent certification. Eurovent is a third-party organisation that independently tests and verifies product ranges against published literature and data supplied to customers.

White Young Green has been appointed to provide design services for a £13 million extension to the chemistry laboratory of the University Manchester. The practice’s Manchester office was awarded the commission as part of its involvement in a framework agreement with the university. It is one of a number of major education-section commissions being handled by the firm.

Mechanical-services contractor Sharp + Howse has secured contracts worth nearly £3 million.

The first solar panel to form part of Europe’s largest vertical photo-voltaic project was installed in July on the tower of the Co-operative Insurance Society in Manchester.

The first presentation of the Commissioning Specialists Association best student award has been won by Anthony Anderson of H&V Commissioning Services. The award was present at the annual CSA dinner in London by the association’s chairman Alun Baylis.

Marty Wilson, a regional sales manager with Lennox, has become amateur kickboxing world champion in the 67 to 71 kg class with three international organisations.

Daikin’s new air-conditioning factory in Pilsen in the Czech Republic was officially opened on 14 July. The 32 200 m2 plant produces residential units for the growing market in southern Europe and will significantly reduce lead times. The factory has 650 employees, which is expected to grow to 1800 over the next few years.

Kingspan Insulation is meeting the sustainability requirements of legislation or best practice in most areas of its manufacturing operation — and moving beyond best practice in some. Those are the key findings of an appraisal of its site at Pembridge in Herefordshire carried out by Arup using its SPeAR tool (Sustainability Project Appraisal Routine).

What is believed to be the largest order for fan-coil units placed with a UK manufacturer has been won by Trox. The 4000 units with water-side control will be made at the company’s Thetford factory and delivered over 14 weeks during the next few months.

GSH claims to have become the first major player in the facilities-management sector to join forces with the Forum for the Future as a foundation corporate partner. Business partners of Forum for the Future are selected for their commitment to continuous improvement of their environmental and social performance, in line with the charity’s focus on accelerating the transition to a sustainable way of life.

To support the future development of high-efficiency condensing boilers, Baxi Potterton is to invest £3.5 million in a new aluminium production cell at is factory at Alfer in Lancashire. The new facility will produce aluminium heat exchangers.

Canary Wharf Group has received planning permission for its highest quality site remaining on the River Thames. The Riverside South scheme will comprise nearly 300 000 m2 of office and retail development.

The promotion of best practice in awarding the contracts for the £2.4 billion-worth of construction projects for the Olympic Games in London is being promoted by SEC Group to the authority delivering the games. SEC Group, which represents specialist engineering contractors, will be advising the authority to adhere to the recommendations of the recent report of the National Audit Office ‘Improving public services through better construction’.

While the erratic progress of the new Part L of the Building Regulations, which is not now expected to arrive until April 2006, may delay the legislative framework for reducing the energy consumption of buildings, this issue is one that should always concern building-services engineers. That, indeed, is the topic of the main feature in this issue of Modern Building Services.

The new web site of CHAM, which specialises in the computer simulation of fluid flow and heat flow, includes access to the PHOENICs on-line facility to assess this computational-fluid dynamics tool. Also on the site are brochures, news items, product updates and case studies. This site update is part of a planned development that will include an interactive forum to facilitate co-operation between the company’s academic and commercial customers.

RIBA Enterprises is developing a product selector for building-services engineering. It will be free to all professionals in the building-services sector. A copy can be requested online.

The environmental performance of polybutylene pipe is described in detail in a document from Warmafloor. Pipe characteristics compared to alternative plastics are explained.

Heatstore’s new brochure for 2005/06 provides specifiers and electrical contractors with the latest in electric showers, space- and water-heating products.

As well being presented with information on floor heating and cooling systems, visitors to Velta’s new web site can enter a prize draw for 40 flying lessons. To enter the draw, they are required to fill in an online comments form.

The Polybutene [sic.] Piping Systems Association has added a technical library to its web site. The site provides comprehensive technical information on the use, performance and environmental characteristics of polybutylene pipe in a wide range of applications.

Jasun Filtration has presented its product range on a CD-ROM. It is fully interactive and updatable and, once installed, can be used to obtain quotations, create schedules and order filters.

Mitsubishi Electric’s air-conditioning price list for 2005/06 covers the M Series, Mr Slim, City Multi and Lossnay products, as well as the advanced range of controllers.

A total solution for all ventilation requirements across commercial, industrial and domestic markets is provided in Addvent’s latest product brochure. This is the company’s biggest catalogue yet and includes a restyled professional fan range, new flush-fit humidistat fans and a range of new IP rated products which meet the requirements of Part P of the Building Regulations for installation in bathrooms.

Airedale has added larger models to its EasiCool range. The new models offer cooling capacities from 25 to 60, so that the entire range extends from 5 to 60 kW.

IPPEC has further developed its underfloor-heating manifolds with built-in mixer and pump. They now have a miniature single-piece all-in-one manifold mixer and pump.

Carrier now offers an integrated direct-expansion free-cooling system as a factory installed option in its Aquasnap Puron chillers. The system is available on models up to 500 kW of these R410A chillers.

Balancing valves offering cost-efficient and reliable solutions for circuits with relatively low flow rates are available from Axio. The WattFlow Enterprise range also makes it easy to check and alter flow rates long after the system has been commissioned. The compact design of these valves is especially suited to balancing fan-coil installations.

The Ace electric over-door heater from Diffusion is available with heating outputs of 3 or 6 kW. Both models can be run in fan-only mode. They are most effective in continuous operation and can be mounted up to 2.2 m high.

Sanyo has added a small, 2-pipe heat pump VRF system to its ECOi Mini range of small-capacity air-conditioning systems.

York International has introduced a range of air-handling units for ultra-sensitive hygienic applications and environments such as hospitals, pharmaceutical factories, petrochemical plants and food-processing lines.

Thyristors from Sontay for controlling electric heater batteries in air-handling units can control single- and 3-phase heating loads.

McQuay has introduced a range of water-source split-system reverse-cycle cooling units that separate the noise-generating compressor from the unit in the room and place it in a separate cabinet that can be located in a service area away from the conditioned room. This approach is well suited to hotels, offices and residential applications.

A range of heating controls for tenanted properties has features to help landlords and tenants know that a boiler service is due. Drayton’s LPSi allows landlords to set service intervals and alert tenants when a service is due.

Pre-insulated pipework from Armacell can be supplied with SAE flare fittings and other accessories. Armaflex Split and Duosplit pre-insulated pipework is designed for single-split and multi-split air-conditioning systems, reversible heat pumps, refrigeration systems and cold shelves.

The Trident modular radiating-heating panel from Solray is designed to fit into standard 600 mm ceiling grids. It can be specified in short or long runs in buildings such as hospitals, schools and offices. The heat source is hot water, and these panels provide heating without occupying wall space.

Daikin has added new heat-pump and cooling-only versions to its VRVII range of R410A air-conditioning systems.

Accurate control of pumped riser pipes terminating into header tanks is provided by Hydraquip’s constant-flow flange CFF range fitted into pipe terminating flanges. This enables the delivery to the header to be accurately specified and the maximum delivery at any one time can be calculated, with the CFF being able to self compensate within ±10% through a pressure range from 1 to 10 bar.

The Chameleon warm-air curtain from Diffusion is described as offering an aesthetic solution for lobbies and entrance areas.

Housings to hold all types of air filter in any configuration are available from Jasun Filtration. Designed for internal and external siting, Filbox filter housings are available in various models in a wide range of sizes and dimensions. They can hold a row of bag filters from 95 to 750 mm thick and can be bought with a row of panel filters installed.

The outdoor units of LG’s Multi M multi-split air-conditioning system uses two compressors operating at 40 and 60%, rather than conventional ones working at 100%. This approach allows for energy savings of up to 35%.

The ElectroVap MC electrode boiler humidifier from JS Humidifiers can now be used in a master/slave system of up to 11 units to deliver up to 900 kg/h of steam to an air-handling system.

The latest addition to Viessmann’s boiler range is aimed at low-budget projects.

A range of high-efficiency bag filters from Jasun Filtration for general heating and air-conditioning applications have low flammability. They are made from Class 1 fire-retardant media to meet DIN 53 438 Teil 3. These filters are available from grade F6 to F9 in a number of sizes.

Trane’s new range of CLCE air-handling units has been developed from the CLCP range launched in 2003 following research among consultants, contractors and maintenance companies. Among the improvements is the inclusion on name plates of motor power, external static pressure, and air flow.

Underfloor heating and cooling is being included in its most prestigious projects by Cheshire developer Hillcrest Homes.

Faced with the requirements when installing central-heating controls in family living areas of a stately home in Devon not to damage historic decorations, no cable holes and no visible wiring, Honeywell wireless programmable thermostats provided the solution.

The first phase of a renewal programme to provide up-to-date heating and hot-water for Preston City Council’s domestic accommodation has been completed with the installation of over 400 Remeha Selecta combi condensing boilers.