2013 July

The refurbishment of the DHW system of the Premier Inn in the centre of Brighton is based on Andrews Maxxflow gas-fired storage water heaters. They were selected and installed by Whitbread’s (which runs Premier Inns) nationwide maintenance contractor Norton Commercial Gas Services to replace existing units located on the outside of the building.

Renewable energy from a biomass boiler is part of the installation that replaces a 30-year-old cast-iron gas-fired boiler at the Bells Hotel & Country Club in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire. Working with Hewer FM and Hamworthy, hotel manager Curt Green assessed the cost of biomass compared with a traditional gas boiler, taking into account the relevant Government incentives. He comments, ‘When we compared the proposals for both systems, it was a no brainer. The payback period is relatively short when claiming the Renewable Heat Incentive, so it made good commercial sense.’

Cofely has commenced delivery of a 25-year total facilities-management solution for the new Liverpool Central Library & Archive, provided by a 20-strong on-site team. The contract follows a major restoration and construction project by Liverpool City Council and Amber Infrastructure, including the restoration of the Grade 2 listed parts of the building.

New condensing boilers for the heating system of Wigan Town Hall showed a 22% energy saving over the year to May 2012 compared to the previous year — despite the heating remaining operational to the end of May, compared to 2011 when it was switched off in early April.

With the heating season officially over, now is the time for businesses to invest in energy efficiency refurbishments, says Mark Northcott of Remeha Commercial. Relatively simple, cost-effective improvements made in these summer months will bring welcome savings in the autumn.

The latest Euro-ban on copper/silver ion treatment to control legionella is no cause to panic but a timely reminder to review your due diligence on legionella control. Andrew Steel of Airmec clears the confusion.

Eclipse Magnetics’ BoilerMag XL is an easily cleaned filter that removes potentially damaging black iron oxide from medium-sized heating systems. heating systems. Along with BoilerMag domestic and BoilerMag XT, Eclipse now offers high-performance filtration systems for systems from small domestic up to large industrial.

Far from replacing like for like, or as near as possible, faced with the need to replace aging R22 equipment a complete rethink of services in a building in Windsor has brought major benefits for comfort and operating costs — Mike Nankivell of Space Airconditioning explains.

Murco’s range of refrigerant leak detectors are now UL 61010-1 approved, meeting the industry standard to provide adequate protection for end users against fire and shock. Among refrigerants that can be detected are R134a, R407C, R410A, ammonia and carbon dioxide.

As part of a wide programme of upgrading heating and hot-water systems at over 20 sites, NHS Surrey has installed three Hamworthy Purewell VariHeat gas-fired condensing boilers and two Dorchester direct-fired condensing water heaters at the 20-bed Molesey Hospital. This hospital required a full plant-room refurbishment.

Wieland Electric’s Metalynx structured wiring system was used for the refurbishment of 1A Wimpole Street in London to connect small power and lighting and to distribute the control cabling for the lighting management system. Built in 1912, this listed building is owned by Royal London Asset Management, and the refurbishment has created over 6000 m2 of modern office space occupied by a US multi-national food company.

Existing boilers at Woodbury Park Hotel & Golf Club near Exeter have been upgraded from oil to LPG using Ecoflam low-NOx BLU burners, each rated at 700 kW. They were installed by MAT Electrics, whose managing director Tim Jones comments, ‘The BLU units were perfect for this application and the conversion of the heating system to LPG. The technical service we received from Ecoflam throughout the project was superb and really helped make the transition much smoother.’

When the heating and hot-water services at St Cecilia’s Care Home in Bromley needed replacing, it was Mikrofill’s British designed and built equipment that was selected to replace the existing boilers and calorifiers. The home is run by the Leonard Cheshire Disability organisation, which aims to change attitudes towards disability and to serve disabled people around the world.

With new software technology to make more sense of facilities data, analysing it is vital to improving building performance and maintenance, says Charles Askwith.

The first stage of refurbishing domestic-hot-water systems in student accommodation at Loughborough University has seen the installation of three Rinnai condensing water heaters with a small amount of storage to cope with spikes at times of peak demand. They were installed in two blocks of Cayley Hall, which comprises 17 blocks of different sizes. The previous system was described as ‘guzzling energy’.

Geberit’s Mapress carbon-steel pipe system played a key role in the refurbishment of an antiquated system at Forest Hill School in Horsham. This comprehensive school has over a thousand pupils and is set in 20 acres. BSW Building Services undertook the heating refurbishment in two phases.

The new communal heating system for two high-rise blocks in Wolverhampton is served by Evinox packaged boiler skids that are more efficient than individual boilers. The £12 million investment to refurbish the buildings on the Hickman estate is part of the Wolverhampton Homes Decent Homes programme. Each flat has a ModuSat heat-interface unit equipped to provide accurate metering of energy consumption and billing.

In the face of conflicting pressures of maintenance expectations and budgets, Tony Byrne of Interserve discusses the latest trends in building maintenance and highlights some of the current models and innovative techniques being developed to help organisations realise both cost-savings and efficiency gains.

Bilco’s new generation of smoke vents now carries the CE mark, denoting compliance with the Construction Products Regulation under harmonised European Standard EN 12101-2. To achieve CE compliance, Bilco added wind deflectors to its smoke vents, enabling the size to be kept down while guaranteeing the required free aerodynamic area to disperse smoke from the building.

Hitachi’s Hi Efficiency Set Free VRF air-conditioning outdoor unit (FSXNH) now qualifies for Enhanced Capital Allowances. As such, these units achieve a COP greater than 3.7 and an EER greater than 3.3.

The OpenAir range from Siemens offers energy-efficient damper actuators with torque ratings from 2 to 35 Nm. They offer high positioning forces with low-consumption motors leading to energy saving operation. They can be either AC or DC powered and are available in 2-position, 3-position or 0 to 10 V DC control versions.

Adey Professional Heating Solutions, which specialises in magnetic filters for heating systems, is about to embark on its first nationwide tour. A £65 000 customised roadshow vehicle will tour major merchants and industry events to offer installers the chance to learn about best-practice solutions for protecting central-heating systems.

LG has appointed three new distributors — two for its air-conditioning range and one for air-to-water heat-pump products. General manager Nick Ryman (pictured) explains that the move is in line with LG’s strategy of expansion and strengthening its UK operations to provide comprehensive and accessible support for its installer partners.

Elta Fans offers a CPD-accredited seminar to provide the information needed to understand the new ErP Directive on fans. The seminar has been approved by CIBSE and is a guide to the legislation, the first tier of which was adopted on 1 January 2013 and which is being implemented through Parts F and L of the Building Regulations.

Marflow is to run free training courses on pressure-independent control valves across the country in September and October 2013. Aimed at consultants, designers and key influencers who want to improve their skills and specify, purchase or commission a PICV, the courses are designed to provide delegates with knowledge on how they work and how best to design systems and make them more economical.

Riello has introduced a free CIBSE-accredited CPD course covering the specification of pressure-jet burners and how to optimise combustion performance. The 2-hour course can be delivered as one session or as two sessions of an hour each at Riello’s training centre in Huntingdon or specifiers’ own premises.

BSRIA and the National House Building Council are now working together to provide comprehensive compliance and energy-related service for house builders. Under the arrangement, BSRIA will supply all on-site airtightness testing services to NHBC clients.

GDL has designed, manufactured and installed a natural-ventilation solution for the Hessle Road Health Centre and Bransholme Health Centre in Hull, working with client East Yorkshire Glass. The development of the two health centres is part of a wider scheme to develop better facilities and to maximise existing facilities among 13 health centres in the region by Citycare on behalf of the NHS trust.

Terra Therma, which specialises in underfloor heating systems served by renewable energy scooped two of the top awards in Channel 4’s ‘Grand designs’ best new house of the year for 2013, Not only was Terra Therma involved with the winner, but also with the highly commended runner up. Director Mark O’Brien explains, ‘We provided the underfloor heating, Daikin air-source heat-pump fed heating and a hot-water system. We used modern press-fit plumbing components to provide an efficient and clean heating system that will require little or no annual maintenance.’

CP Electronics’ EBDSPIR presence detector is now available as a surface-mounted version. It can be used for the automatic control of lighting, heating and ventilation. This versatile unit is self contained and easy to install via a back plate. it is also available as a flush-mounted unit for ceiling tiles.

LG’s Artcool range of indoor split and multi-split air-conditioning units ring the changes over conventional white wall-mounted units, combining aesthetics and energy efficiency for the domestic and light-commercial markets.

Kwix UK has designed and patented an efficient hand-held tool for straightening coiled tubes. The idea came to company founder Matthew Murphy when he was working on a heating system five years ago and noted that the tube was not fitting through holes properly because it was twisted. The device will straighten light-walled coiled tube such as copper, aluminium, stainless steel and brass.

A software update to Helvar’s Niagara driver is available as a free download. Supporting open technologies such as DALI and EnOcean, the Helvar IP driver integrates lighting control with other BMS components on Tridium’s renowned Niagara interface, providing freedom of choice for integration.

Schneider Electric’s SmartStruxure solution is designed to maximise the energy efficiency of buildings and reduce operating costs during the entire lifecycle of a facility. A SmartStruxure solution comprises hardware and software that is combined with engineering, installation and services to ensure facilities are energy efficient and effectively managed.

The G120P range of variable-speed drives from Siemens Building Technologies covers the power range from 37 W to 90 kW. They are designed to suit the needs of pump installations and ventilation systems and offer numerous safety features such as detecting overloaded motors, pumps that are blocked or run dry, blocked fans, cracked belts etc. Responses to problems can include shutting down the pump or fan, triggering an alarm or starting a predefined process.

Danfoss’s RVA range of 3- and 4-way rotary valves are available in cast iron and DZR brass to regulate flow in light-commercial heating systems. They have a position indicator, ergonomically designed handle and low internal leakage; figures for the RVA 3-way brass valves are 0.02% of flow (diverting) and 0.05% of flow (mixing). In developing the RVA range, Danfoss recognised that many installers like the option of brass or cast-iron rotary valves.

The latest addition to the Riegens range of LED lighting solutions is the Cirrus LED suspended luminaire. These fittings are designed for office and commercial interiors and have a sleek, slim profile and a eye-catching appearance provided by a matt anodised aluminium border.

Grundfos offers a comprehensive range of commercial circulators for new and refurbishment projects with its Magna3 and Magna1 ranges. They are suitable for light-commercial and commercial applications — including heating systems, domestic water systems, air conditioning and cooling.

Purmo’s range of vertical panel radiators are specifically designed for vertical operation using lower water temperatures. There are four designs — Vertical, Kos, Faro (pictured) and Tinos. Six pipe connections allow maximum versatility and flexibility in siting, with discreetly hidden pipework. There is a choice of straight or angled valve kits, incorporating a thermostatic control.

MHG’s Teleheat range of heat interface units is designed to provide heating and hot-water services using energy from a centralised energy centre or district-heating systems. They include an electronic controller, temperature sensors, mixing valve and circulating pump. There is also a hot-water pre-heat function for instantaneous DHW in the summer when space-heating demand is low.

Lochinvar has expanded its range of indirect storage vessels for hot water in response to the growing use of renewable-energy sources with traditional gas-fired systems. These storage vessels can capture energy from a variety of renewable sources, including solar-thermal and air-source heat pumps, and/or working as part of traditional LTHW systems.

Aurora’s Sola Universal fire-rated downlighter and Firetec LED lamps can be covered in insulation and are available in long and short forms. Enlarged ventilation slots can reduce internal-can temperature by 20% to increase lamp life.

Grundfos Pumps has WRAS (Water Regulations Advisory Scheme) full product approval status for its range of Hydro MPC E/F/S booster sets. The scope of this approval covers Hydro booster families with from two to six pumps, up to 16 bar PN rating and pump models up to CR(E)90.

Pegler has added thermostatic mixing valves to its Tectite range of push-fit plumbing fittings. They can be connected to copper, stainless steel, PE-X and polybutylene pipes. These TMVs are available for pipes sizes of 15 and 22 mm and supplied with strainers and non-return valves. A tamper-proof cap prevents unauthorised adjustment of the temperature setting, which is preset to 43°C.

Airflow has introduced a new range of basic MVHR (mechanical ventilation with heat recovery) units for residential housing. Tunca Sekban, MVHR product manager, says, ‘MVHR in residential dwellings is becoming increasingly common, and units such our new BV range make this type of ventilation a much more realistic option for developers and social housing providers. The low running costs and high efficiency ratings mean payback times are significantly lower than several years ago when MVHR first came to the fore for ventilation.’

Mitsubishi has developed a cylinder for its Ecodan air-source heat pumps system that can work in tandem with gas, oil or other heating technology. This packaged cylinder and its controller can switch between the heat pump and other heat source to achieve the most cost-efficient and low-carbon heating all year round.

Electricity generated by solarPV systems can be stored in the Midnight Sun from Save Energy Group. The smallest unit can store 5 kWh and is 600 mm square and 300 mm high.

Myson has developed a heat emitter for wet heating systems that can operate as a traditional finned radiator or as a fan convector. It is particularly suited to systems with lower flow temperatures and can deliver the required heat from a smaller emitter than a straightforward radiator. Intelligent controls automatically switch between static and dynamic operation. During the summer, gentle air movement can be provided without heating.

The Climapac high-wall twin-duct air conditioner from Powrmatic is a complete packaged heating and cooling unit with built-in evaporator and condenser. There is therefore no need for an external unit and associated refrigerant pipework. They have a distinctive and modern appearance, with a polished black finish that will complement a wide range of decors.

Heatstar’s Gemini packaged unit for indoor swimming pooled includes an air-source heat pump to heat the air in the pool hall and the pool water. It also has a separation dehumidification heat pump to control humidity in the pool hall and extract latent and sensible energy, which is returned to the room air and pool water.

Rinnai’s Infinity 16i gas-fired continuous-flow water heater is suitable for all types of homes and light-commercial users, such as hairdressing salons. It provides a constant flow of hot water with precision temperature control, regardless of outlets being turned on and off. These units operate directly off mains water.