2006 October

The first company to successfully undergo BESCA’s competent-persons scheme registration criteria is M. D. Enertech Ltd, a design-and-build mechanical-services contractor and a member of the Heating & Ventilating Contractors’ Association.

Partnering used to be a good idea. Now it’s a necessity. That is if you want to deliver a major construction project on time and to budget, according to one of the industry’s leading strategic thinkers.

The student-bursary scheme operated by the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers to encourage more people to embark on careers in building-services engineering has a vital role to play in helping to provide the expertise needed for the future. The latest Building Regulations give much more responsibility and greater opportunities for imaginative engineers to reduce the carbon footprint of buildings in the UK and tackle the issue of Climate Change.

Stimulating interest in building-services engineering as a career and supporting students through their degree courses are two long-term strategies of the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers. An important element of this work is the award of student bursaries. LYNNE BEATTIE explains.

With the plethora of competent-persons schemes that have sprung up in the HVACR sector, BILL BELSHAW clarifies some of the most commonly asked questions to help dispel the myths and bring some clarity to the issue.

The control of energy use in buildings is becoming a key element of planning regulations and this will now affect anyone involved all aspects of both new builds and conversions. PHILIP ORD explains more.

Manufacturers have a major part to play in responding to climate change says GERRY STAPLEY.

Conventional air conditioning may not be the best way of delivering comfort in buildings as ambient temperatures rise.JOHN STAUNTON discusses an alternative.

RICHARD SCOTT explains why sustainable energy is no longer an option but a necessity — and looks at heating and hot-water innovations for the 21st century.

British business wasted nearly £600 million through poor energy management this summer. If nothing else gets efficiency changes made, then greed will, says HVCA president MIKE McCLOSKEY

To speed up the installation of photo-voltaic systems by up to 90%, Wieland Electric has developed a specialised connection system.

The Thermia Diplomat heat pump is now available from Eco Heat Pumps and can extract heat from a variety of sources — ground loops, lakes and outdoor air.

Effective and energy-efficient heating for a village church in Gloucestershire is provided by an air-conditioning system — used purely for heating. Such is the efficiency of Toshiba’s Super Digital Inverter Split heat-pump system with a COP of over 4.0 at full capacity that it provided an effective replacement for electric radiant heaters in this Methodist church, which has no gas available. The system was suggested by local air-conditioning contractor Eesicool.

A small village in North Yorkshire is a working model of the effective application of renewable-energy technologies.

Over a hundred heating engineers have qualified for the BPEC certificate in solar domestic hot water by participating in Vaillant’s training programme. This certificate gives candidates automatic entry to the Government’s Clear Skies Scheme, which is now part of the Low Carbon Building Programme managed by Energy Savings Trust. The scheme gives householders access to grant funding for fitting solar heating.

Stiebel Eltron offers a range of solar systems for generating domestic hot water. They are available exclusively through Applied Energy, with a nationwide after-sales services and approved-installer network.

Tucked away in the north-east corner of Wales is a factory producing photo-voltaic solar panels and being installed in a rapidly growing number of substantial projects in the UK.

When a fixed-speed pump is preferred over a variable-speed unit, there is no need to compromise energy efficiency, as ROY HENDERSON explains.

Pump specialist Smedegaard UK is developing a new corporate image following the recent appoint of Chris Barrett as general manager. Smedegaard is a Danish company and makes pumps in Denmark and Switzerland. The UK operation at Bridgewater makes pressure and boosting equipment covering commercial/domestic, industrial and fire-fighting applications.

Their ability to save energy is just one benefit of applying variable-speed drives to pumps. BRITTA FRANK explores other possibilities.Variable-speed drive (VSD) has become a familiar term, and many have embraced this technology to reduce energy consumption and keep costs down. VSDs have been extensively tried and tested with pumps and pumpsets for a number of years, but further technological improvements continue to provide benefits for the end user.

AquaTech has extended its range of VariMatic water-pressure booster sets, based on combination of Smart Logic controller and variable-speed inverter technology.

A whole-house heat-recovery system from Xpelair is said to be up to 92% efficient. The Xcell 150 unit is designed for smaller dwellings and is the smallest in the Xcell range. It can be installed in existing buildings.

By exploiting the latest in pump technology, Grundfos is moving to reduce the energy consumption of domestic circulators by up to 80% compared with today’s average.

Lindab, which specialises in circular-duct systems, has agreed to acquire CCL Veloduct, a leading UK supplier of ventilation and air-movement products. The deal will give Lindab major penetration of the UK market and enable CCL to expand its branch network and product range at a greater rate.

Briggs & Forrester has added to its range of charity fund raising with a team of 11 cyclists participating in the ride from Oxford to Cambridge for the British Heart Foundation. This firm of building-services engineers has presented over £60 000 to various organisations over the last five years.

The strengthening in the sales of construction products over the last three months exceeded manufacturers’ expectations, according to the latest figures from the Construction Products Association. The association’s activity barometer records a score of 68, well above the no-change mark of 50.

There are two aspects to be considered in responding to climate change — and here we are considering the how, not the why. One is reducing the consumption of fossil fuels that generate the carbon dioxide which increases the greenhouse effect of the Earth’s atmosphere, leading to global warming. The other is achieving comfortable buildings in the warmer climate that we are assured is inevitable.

PETER NEARS explains why variable-speed pumps should be commissioned by a competent person to achieve effective operational performance, maximise energy savings and prolong life expectancy.

To simplify the installation of solar heating systems, Taconova has introduced a solar station combining pump, regulator and air vent. Designed for commercial, public-sector and domestic applications, the FV 70 Tacosol 3.0 enables hydraulic balancing, flow measurement and venting to be performed at the same point.

Clyde Energy Systems has helped bring Bromley Council up to speed on condensing boilers with a CPD session on Part L of the Building Regulations and the replacement of old boilers with condensing boilers.

Vaillant claims that its AuroTherm VFK 900 flat-plate solar collector is the highest performing available in the UK It joins the company’s total-solar-system solution launched earlier this year.

Rape-seed oil can now be used as the fuel for the R Series of condensing boilers from Atlantic Boilers. The rape-seed is stored like conventional fuel oil in an external or bunded vessel and piped to a pre-heat tank within the boiler, from where it passes to the burner. The rape-seed oil burns with the same maximum condensing efficiency as light oil and natural gas.

Occupants of a dramatic office building that has won a RIBA award can control the temperature of their surrounding office environment from their PCs — thanks to an innovative natural-ventilation system from SE Controls.

Calorex Heat Pumps is increasing manufacturing capacity at its UK factory by 20% as part of major expansion plans. The move coincides with a major investment in the in-house engineering department, which has doubled in size — stepping up the pace of research and development, with new and updated products constantly on the drawing board.

To reduce the cost of providing domestic hot water at The Stafford Hotel in St James’s Place, London, one of a very few 4 red star hotels in central London, two Ideal Super Plus boilers have replaced boiler plant that was over 20 years old. The new plant supplies hot water for the 81 luxurious rooms in the hotel, along with restaurant, bar and four private dining rooms.

Systems integrator OBS Ltd has completed the installation of a native BACnet building and energy management system at the Cheshire & Merseyside NHS Treatment Centre based at Halton Hospital. It is operated by InterHealth Care Services in partnership with the Cheshire & Merseyside Primary Care Trusts.

Part of the specification of this skid-mounted boiler system for Friarage Hospital at Northallerton includes a reverse-osmosis water-treatment plant instead of the standard water softener and chemical-dosage system. This method of water treatment reduces blowdown and the associated loss of heat and water and was adopted following a review of a water-analysis report of the area.

The Toshiba split-system heat-pump air-conditioning system installed in a small office development near Bristol was selected for its capability to provide efficient heating.

One of the UK’s leading interiors contractors, Cathedral Contracts, has enhanced the appearance and environment in its board room with the installation of LG Art Cool air-conditioning units.

Hot-water services for the UK’s first purpose-built, professional theatre for children are provided by an Andrews Hi-Flo storage water heater installation. The Unicorn Theatre in Tooley Street, London, close to London Bridge presents world-class theatre and education projects for children aged from four to 12. It will be used by 100 000 children a year.

When two prefabricated concrete flues serving multiple dwellings in Birmingham were found to be potentially dangerous, Vokera was able to devise a unique solution.

A novel application of presence detection to control lighting in the Victoria & Albert Museum in London plays an important role in protecting 150 portrait miniatures on display in 17 cases.

The problem of providing adequate cooling for the Lawn ticket office in Paddington Underground station has been solved by the longer pipe runs possible, up to 110 m, with Mitsubishi Electric’s City Multi Y-Series VRF air-conditioning system.

During the restoration of the Royal Devonshire Hospital by the University of Derby, these Atlantic boilers, originally commissioned in 1988, were found to be in such good condition that they were retained and given new controls.

Space-saving, quiet and energy-efficient heating for a new car showroom at Caldicot in Gwent is provided by two Powrmatic NV suspended gas unit heaters. The NV50F heaters were supplied and installed by Heatwaves of Gloucester for the Thompson & Thompson showroom of this prestige Seat and Kia dealership.

Lighting costs have been halved following the installation of Ex-Or lighting controls in the North Stand of Blackburn Rovers’ Ewood Park stadium. Presence-detection systems have been installation in offices, reception areas, function suites, ticket offices, walkways, spectator areas and concourses to automatically switch off lights in unoccupied areas. They are also to be installed in staircases and private boxes.

Domestic hot water for buildings on the island of Flat Holm in the middle of the Bristol Channel five miles from Cardiff is provided by Vaillant systems using solar panels. The island received the first ever radio message across water sent by Marconi in 1897.

Ferroli commercial boilers are delivering energy-efficient heating and hot water for Filton College’s new WISE campus, which provides state-of-the-art performing and creative-arts facilities — including an indoor pitch for football and rugby, 2250-seat theatre, rehearsal rooms and ceramics studio. Some 50 showers provide a high demand for hot water.

A fire has been prevented in an unmanned storage facility in Austria by Wagner’s OxyReduct system. The Roco automatic storage facility has a capacity of 3000 pallets and is unmanned during normal operation.

JS Humidifiers’ yacht Juliet Sierra finished 11th out of 29 places in the Class 7 Cruisers category of the Little Britain Challenge Cup out of Cowes on the Isle of Wight.

Daikin Airconditioning UK has opened a technology centre at Woking, close to its headquarters in Weybridge.