2008 August

Energy savings of up to 50% for maintaining the temperature of domestic hot water in distribution pipework are expected to be achieved using a single-pipe system with Raychem HWAT trace heating compared with a conventional recirculation system in the redevelopment of Epping Forest College Campus..
In addition, eliminating the need for secondary pipework achieves cost savings in space, material and installation and savings in installation time.
Aqua Mechanical Services, M&E contractor for the project, commissioned Astec Mechanical Services to supply and install the system to maintain water temperatures at 60°C and deliver instant hot water throughout the complex.
Astec, a distributor partner for Tyco Thermal Controls, which makes the Raychem system, supplied and installed 1800 m of trace-heating cable and 15 HWAT-ECO ‘smart’ controllers in the 3-storey academic building and in technology and theatre buildings which rise to five storey

JCC Lighting has prepared a catalogue dedicated to low-energy lighting products.

A management buyout led by managing director Nick Gaunt of Nottingham building-services specialist Hiltons has been completed.

MK Electric has introduced a range of controls for lighting to save energy and manage the use of lighting. MK Sensors are said to offer shorter paybacks than replacing diffusers and changing lamp type in commercial environments.

Paul Murphy explores the many benefits of the KNX standard for building automation — and includes a look at some major projects, including Terminal 5 at Heathrow Airport.

Paul Bolton suggests that a BEMS will become inefficient within two to three years unless it is actively monitored and that the customer will miss out on valuable information that can saved energy, man hours and money — problems that can be avoided with the help of a BEMS bureau.

Doug Robins explains why technology needs to be user friendly if controls are to deliver their energy-saving potential.

Space Air has revamped its popular residential showroom to include fully operational models of Daikin’s residential range of products. They include the Altherma air-to-water heat-pump system, heat-recovery ventilation and air-to-air split and multi-split systems.

ABB has launched an online calculator that shows how much energy and carbon emissions can be reduced by controlling electric motors using variable-speed drives.

John Staunton discusses the role of chilled beams in delivering comfort cooling efficiently and how they contribute to a building’s BREEAM rating.

To help achieve the energy efficiency and reduced overall cost of ownership required by Robert Wiseman Dairies for its new £68 million production site in Bridgewater, consulting engineers AE Robb & Associate specified Chalmor’s long-life, energy-efficient Endurance lighting fittings in the cleaning-in-production (CIP) room.

While you cannot avoid using energy in the built environment, it is perfectly possible to take control of those energy costs — and benefit the environment into the bargain. Philip Ord looks at the potential of heat-pump VRF systems — and explains the significance of the headline.

David Whitfield explores the central role that multi-energy thermal storage has to play in the design and delivery of an energy and cost efficient building system.

Ray Edwards shares his experiences of huge and extremely cost-effective energy-saving potential of variable speed drives for fans and pumps.

Passivent’s mixed-mode cooling system can help a building achieve a Class A Energy Performance Certificate, based on experience of real-life projects.

Brian Phillips considers whether commonly held concerns about free-cooling systems in the UK have any validity.

Never can so many sustainable technologies been gathered together into one building as in Wolseley’s Sustainable Building Centre. Ken Sharpe jumped at the opportunity to be shown over it.

The time is right for members of the Heating & Ventilating Contractors’ Association to emphasis the positive contribution they make to life in the first decade of the 21st century — according to the association’s new president Gareth Vaughan.

The Government of Canada has reported the completion of 500 Super E energy-efficient houses in the UK, which it claims to be more than all the alternative eco-housing systems such as PassivHaus, Huf Haus, Light House, BedZed and RuralZed, combined.

Briggs & Forrester has won a £5 million contract for the Southern Criminal Justice Court in Leamington Spa, working in partnership with Galliford Try.

Water-heater and boiler manufacturer Lochinvar has donated a 4-figure sum to the National Energy Foundation to support its work in helping individuals and organisations reduce carbon emissions.

Waterloo Air Products claims to be the first company in the UK to meet a European for testing and rating active chilled beams.

Havelock, the specialist controls division of BSS Industrial has given flexible and unlimited access to its expert knowledge by launching its own website. The company specialises in commercial HVAC controls.

LG And Siemens are entering into a global partnership to increase both companies’ sales of commercial air-conditioning products and building-management systems — and to increase their respective market shares. The companies have exchanged a memorandum of understanding for the co-operative development of commercial air-control solutions, with immediate effect.

BSRIA, the Usable Buildings Trust and Darwin Services have launched an initiative to extend the duties of project teams beyond practical completion. Called ‘Soft Landings’, it was launched at a luncheon of the All Party Parliamentary Group.

Capita Symonds has acquired M&E engineering consultancy Pearce Buckle (Design Engineers) Ltd for an undisclosed sum. Pearce Buckle is a leading engineering consultancy in the custodial sector, with key alliances on the HM Prison Service Constructor Framework Agreement. It also has a strong reputation in the healthcare sector, having worked for a large number of NHS Trusts and a partner on the ProCure21 framework.

Carillion in joint venture with Igloo Regeneration Fund has been selected as the preferred bidder for the development of the international broadcast centre and main press centre to serve the London 2012 Olympics. The estimated construction cost for the new centre is £300 million.

Vent-Axia, which specialises in air-management technology, has announced a new series of CPD- and CIBSE-accredited training seminars for H&V engineers, consulting engineers and architects. They cover combating allergy in the indoor environment, electric-heating compliance routes for dwellings, energy-efficient commercial ventilation, low-carbon ventilation, Part F energy-efficient solutions, and ventilation solutions for the code for sustainable homes.

Operon has created a partnership agreement with Aston University and Bank of Scotland Corporate to finance, build and operate over 3000 new en-suite student rooms in a £214 million scheme.

It was three in a row for Grundfos Pumps when David Bellamy presented the company with a Green Hero Award from the Green Organisation. This is the third year in succession that Grundfos has received this accolade, which recognises organisations whose green credentials act as an example to others in the business community.

The industry has been quick to welcome the recommendation to the Government by the Business & Enterprise Committee that a new post of ‘chief construction officer’ should be created to tackle the problem of fragmentation in construction policy and procurement across Government. The call is made in the report ‘Construction matters’.

HRP Group has established a new 1850 m2 technical centre in Slough in partnership with air-conditioning manufacturer Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. It offers a comprehensive range of courses developed with the Grimsby Institute of Further & Higher Education in a hands-on environment. The first courses offered cover air conditioning and refrigeration, and will be expanded to other building-services trades in the future.

Low-carbon energy assessors are reporting high volumes of workload for energy certificates as demand increases ahead of the deadline of 1 October. It is estimated that 40 000 buildings will require a Display Energy Certificate by October and that a further 10 000 Energy Performance Certificates will subsequently be required every month from October. Since the legislation came into force earlier this year, CIBSE Certification has accredited over two thirds of all energy assessors as CIBSE low-carbon energy assessors.

The construction phase of the new £35 million City Centre Campus of the University of Wales, Newport, has been officially launched by legendary film director Ken Russell, who made his mark on the riverside site by leaving his handprints and autograph in concrete. This campus will provide a home for the Newport Business School and the digital, media, film and design elements of Newport School of Art, Media & Design.

The Olympic Delivery Authority has awarded the contract to build, finance and operate the energy centres and community energy networks for the Olympic Park and Stratford City to Elyo, a subsidiary of Suez Energy Services. The contract follows the news that planning permission has been secured for the Olympic Park Energy Centre, which will provide sustainable heating and cooling for the Olympic Games and to local communities in legacy.

The world’s aviation industry meeting at Farnborough in July expects a comfortably cool indoor environment. Enter Carrier Rental Systems — as Ken Sharpe describes.

BSRIA has prepared a guide to whole-life costing specifically written for clients, contractors, consultants and product manufacturers to understand the long-term economic implications of their proposals and decisions. It will be invaluable to those without financial expertise or a track record in life-cycle analysis.

A highly efficient evacuated-tube solar collector is used by Stokvis Energy Systems as part of a solar-energy package that also includes boilers and plate heat exchangers.

A comprehensive range of passive infra-red occupancy switches from Danlers provides automatic on/off control of lighting. The range includes the popular ceiling flush-mounted version pictured.

Radiant ceiling panels from S&P Coil Products have been accredited with the European standard EN14037 for their output. The accreditation is for the Thermatile Plus range, which was tested by the WSP Lab Stuttgart in Germany.

Merlin Power Management is expanding its rental fleet of electrical generators by around 20% following another successful year by the company’s rental department.

Over half of discarded luminaires entering the waste stream in the UK are handled by the Lumicom scheme, which fully complies with the WEEE Directive.

The centrifugal oil-free Turbocor compressor is used in a new series of Eurovent-certified chillers made by Rhoss and available in the UK through Coolmation. These chillers use R134a and are available in capacities from 150 to 2100 kW. The Turbocor compressor has an EER of up to 4 at full load and in excess of 8 at part load. These chillers also qualify for Enhanced Capital Allowances.

SPEL Lighting & Fire Detection’s Geneva emergency lighting fitting is offered with a choice of 8 W fluorescent or LED light sources.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries has introduced a new wired controller for its KX6 compact VRF air-conditioning system. The RC-E3 controller is an established component in the KX4 system portfolio and is not available for the KX6 range.

Passivent is now marketing the Sunscoop range of tubular rooflights, Metro modular rooflights and domes, and Litevent Airstract combined rooflight/ventilator. These natural-ventilation and daylighting solutions are an accepted means of achieving BREEAM and NEAT (NHS Environmental Assessment Tool) credits.

Greenstock is now the principal supplier of Aura long-life lamps to councils and street-lighting divisions in the southern part of the UK.

Glow-worm now offers a full 2-year parts and labour warranty as standard on all its SEDBUK A boilers. The warranty applies to all combi, open-vent and systems appliances, including Ultracom, Ultracom cx, Flexicom and Ultrapower models.

Flir’s i5 infrared camera for thermal imaging costs less than £1990 and has a wide range of applications in identifying and locating faults in buildings.

ICS Cool Energy offers an alternative to the purchase of equipment for heating and cooling at a time when companies prefer to hold on to their cash reserves rather than invest in new systems.

Purmo’s Vertical range of radiator panels use proven convection technology which is said to ensure a particularly high output compared to vertical decorative radiators — which are often vertical radiators turned on their side.