2015 June

Steve Marr considers the latest wiring regulations.

Looking forward to the 2015 Climate Change Summit.

The difference between a newly installed air-conditioning system working perfectly or not at all can be down to a methodical commissioning process, says Martyn Ives of Fujitsu.

Toshiba Air Conditioning recently joined forces with installer BL Refrigeration to host a 2-day training event at Toshiba’s new state-of-the-art training centre in Manchester. It was attended by staff from consultants Arup, Cogan & Shackleton and WYG, all based in Belfast.

The first installation of Carrier AquaForce chillers equipped with variable-speed inverter-driven screw compressors delivers air conditioning for two office developments at 1 and 2 New Ludgate in central London. The 30XAV 950 chillers are equipped with Greenspeed intelligence to help deliver excellent part-load performance.

Refrigerants have been an environmental issue for many years. Having dealt with CFCs and HFCs, the pressure now moves on to HCFCs, with R32 being seen as solution. Ken Sharpe reports.

The latest stage of the long-term programme to replace HVAC systems to improve energy efficiency at the aviation headquarters of GE Aviation involved the installation of Panasonic’s recently developed PACi range of indoor and outdoor units. Eight PACi Elite 14 kW units were installed outdoors, with four under-ceiling units and four wall-ducted systems indoors. A further 28 kW of PACi cooling technology has been installed in the factory. R410A is the refrigerant.

Airedale and AHU manufacturer Barkell worked with the M&E contractor to design and engineer an energy-efficient and resilient cooling solution for the latest addition to ACC Liverpool, currently home to BT Convention Centre and Echo Arena.

Even though using prefabricated valve sets in water distribution systems saves time and money and can make life a lot easier for those on site, they’re still not the obvious choice for many contractors and installers. Oliver Jones of Marflow Hydronics tries to find out why.

Attention to the seasonal energy efficiency and accurate sizing of climate-control systems is one of the keys to meeting the requirements of Government legislation and energy schemes, says Graham Wright of Daikin UK.

Reznor has launched its first packaged HVAC set. The P125 packaged unit provides heating, cooling and ventilation for commercial and industrial applications. It is a complete standalone solution that provides energy-efficient cooling and heating with the ability to supply fresh air and extract air.

A major Chinese manufacturer is demonstrating how to use solar energy to power large-scale air conditioning. Roberto Mallozzi and Tim Mitchell of Klima-Therm look at the significance.

Mitsubishi Electric’s Scott McGavin looks at what legislative changes mean for building operators and manufacturers, and how improvements in design and controls are helping increase seasonal efficiencies and performance.

Underfloor air conditioning based on the AET Flexible Space approach is proving a flexible and modular approach for heating and cooling the Aberdeen headquarters of Centric Energy, a leading oil and gas company in the UK. The £45 million IQ building provides 13 766 m2 of office accommodation. It has a 4-storey atrium and double-height atrium with large, flexible floor plates.

Panasonic Smart Cloud is a cloud-based control solution that enables businesses to manage their cooling and heating systems remotely via a smartphone or PC. It can optimise operations and performance across multiple sites. Automated alerts and error messages are provided in real time

Unlike much of the world, the UK air-conditioning market was buoyant last year, but there might be a tough year ahead. David Garwood of BSRIA looks at the statistics.

The skills required of a commissioning manager continue to evolve and become more complex. Chris Parsloe gives an insight.

As part of its prefabrication product portfolio, Marflow Hydronics offers larger, more bespoke items made to detailed specifications and more-compact standard items for a much quicker turnaround time.

BSRIA has published new guidance to help designers avoid problems with the selection and application of control valves and assist with the design of energy-efficient variable-flow systems. The guidance is called ‘Selection of control valves in variable flow systems’ (BG 51/2014).

Albion Valves (UK) has prepared a pocket-size guide to help ensure the industry is talking the same language when it comes to hydronic-balancing and related products. The guide explains the difference between static and dynamic systems. It shows how a typical installation might work and demonstrates how components function to ensure an even flow of energy across heating and cooling systems.

Belimo’s EPIV pressure-independent characterised-control valve is available in sizes from DN15 to DN150. These valves combine the four functions of measuring, controlling, hydraulic balancing and bubble-tight closing. They provide real-time information of the measured flow rate.

Commissioning of buildings services has seen the importance with which it is regarded grow over the years — in no small measure due to the efforts of the Commissioning Specialists’ Association since it was set up 25 years ago. Vice-chairman Andrew Watkin shares his reflections.

Barkell, which manufactures air-handling units, has launched its new web site. It is designed to provide a better user experience for customers and business partners with a wider range of tools and resources as a basis for more-informed unit selection — with a focus on simplicity, reliability and fast download speeds.

Power-management company Eaton has developed an online energy calculator to help businesses find out what cost savings can be achieved on energy bills by switching to more-efficient lighting. It provides a lighting report to help increase efficiency.

Daikin UK has published guidance on the EU ecodesign rules and energy labelling for space and water heaters to shed light on the impending minimum energy-efficiency requirements for Lot 1 and Lot 2 under the ecodesign framework and the extended energy-labelling obligations.

In line with the company’s new branding, Potterton Commercial has given its web site a complete transformation to improve navigation and functionality throughout. It provides instant access to detailed product information and guidance through the responsive interface.

Advanced has developed an online savings calculator to show how much time and cost can be saving using its Lux Intelligent testing system for emergency lighting compared to manual and other addressable systems. An example follows.

Marflow Hydronics has enhanced the product section on its web site to provide customers with a wealth of information. Following feedback from customers, the product information available online has been increased.

A report from Kingspan Insulation shows that pre-insulated ductwork fabricated from its KoolDuct System can achieve a weight saving of up to 75% compared to traditional ductwork systems. That reduction in weight offers the potential for significant savings in time and costs. The report concentrates on cooling and dual-purpose ductwork that is commonly used in the uK.

Smart buildings have the potential to respond to a host of issues that will improve the efficiency and effectiveness of a business. Matthew Eastwood of Honeywell Building Solutions explains the benefits for business and the substantial cost savings that can be achieved.

Combining low carbon technologies with renewable energy technologies and having an overarching single integrated control system maximises run cost savings and reduces payback times, explain Stuart Lawrie and Tony Amis of GI Energy.

Desigo Touch and Web is an operating solution for the Desigo building automation system. Two intuitive touch panels offer significantly more convenient and efficient operation of building plants than conventional solutions. A newly developed interface adds browser-controlled plant operation of multiple plants.

The dmTouch from Resource Data Management is an award-winning, intelligent control system front end with a 10 in multi-touch screen. It collects high volumes of complex data from multiple sites in real-time and processes it into easily interpreted actionable insights that can be accessed remotely on a PC or mobile device. In an industry first the dmTouch will be available with fibre-optic communications, allowing data to be transmitted on-site over extended distances of up to 2 km, removing the need and cost of a repeater switch.

Elco UK’s Thision WH gas-fired condensing hot-water generator has received WRAS approval. The approval was granted following rigorous mechanical and water-quality testing that showed this water heater complies with the Water Supply Regulations 1999 and the Water Supply Byelaws 2014.

Grundfos pumps with permanent-magnet MGE motors have been accepted onto the Energy Technology, so they qualify for Enhanced Capital Allowances (ECAs). Enhanced Capital Allowances enable companies to claim 100% first-year capital allowance on their outlay, including installation costs.

Sontay’s Smart Sensor can monitor a number of variables and communicate the collected data through Modbus RTU or BACnet MS/TP. The variables include temperature, CO2, relative humidity, light level, air quality and fan speed.

Panasonic Smart Cloud is a cloud-based control solution that enables businesses to manage their cooling and heating systems remotely via a smartphone or PC. It can optimise operations and performance across multiple sites. Automated alerts and error messages are provided in real time

As part of its approach to providing a complete turnkey water-heating system solution, Rinnai has tested on site a bespoke solution that has now been adopted as the preferred water-heating choice for a high-profile global brand. Chris Goggin, associate director with Rinnai UK, says, ‘Legislation and standards create an over-complicated message when it comes to procurement, and this is where specifiers and designers for commercial and domestic projects need help to select the right products for the job.’

Carlo Gavazzi’s VMU-Y EM gateway provides a scalable solution for monitoring a single site or multiple sites and installations. This device is enclosed in a 2-unit DIN module and can aggregate information for up to 10 VMU-C EM units within a single centralised interface. This effectively enables up to 320 meters to be monitored and the information accessed from any computer using a web browser.

A wireless energy-monitoring system can provide real-time energy-consumption statistics for light to enable the benefits of replacing a traditional lighting system with LEDs to be assessed. The savings that could be achieved by adding controls such as motion sensors can also be accurately projected through the software.

Marflow Hydronics’ Filterball is a compact combined isolation valve and strainer that is purpose designed for easy access for cleaning and maintenance. The built-in strainer eliminates the need for the separate isolating valves that are required either side of a traditional Y strainer, saving time and cost.

Sentinel Commercial’s Condensafe C4000 device is designed to neutralise condensation from commercial condensing boilers. It is designed to fit into a standard 40 mm ABS/PVCu waste pipe drain and is fitted with universal couplers to accommodate all makes of plastic pipe with a diameter of 40 mm.

Flex Connector’s flex7 lighting controls now include specially made relays for the high inrush current created by LED fittings. LED lighting is growing in popularity and has many advantages over other types of lighting. However, designers and installers must consider the higher inrush current of LED devices compared to incandescent lighting.

Condair’s RS resistive steam humidifier has a patented scale-management system that enables easy removal of limescale, reducing maintenance and extending operating periods between major services. It incorporates touchscreen control technology and has BMS connectivity as standard. This humidity uses water treated by reverse osmosis and offers ±1% control of relative humidity.

Hitachi Air Conditioning’s Samurai RCME-WH series of air-conditioning units is designed to achieve high seasonal efficiency in small- to large-scale commercial and industrial applications. There are four basic modules (140, 180, 220 and 260 kW), which can be combined up to a maximum of eight to achieve a chiller combination of up to 2080 kW.

Elco UK’s Aerotop S air-source heat pump has noise emissions of just 46 dB(A) and is specifically designed to be installed within a property. There are five models from 5 to 15 kW, and they can achieve COPs of up to 4.77. Flow temperatures of up to 65°C can easily be achieved by using enhanced vapour injection (EVI) to inject evaporated coolant from the return flow directly into the compressor.

Trimble’s Rapid Positioning System (RPT600) works directly from a 2D drawing or 3D building model to help lay out building-services systems in a building. The device projects a highly visible green laser mark onto surfaces to show where attachments should go. The operator then marks the location and moves on to the next one. Accuracy is to within a few millimetres.

Kamco now offers its SystemSafe-DM Concentrate corrosion inhibitor in larger packs for speed and convenience when treating larger heating systems. The 2.5 l Five Pack contains enough corrosion inhibitor to treat a cooling system with over 40 radiators. the 10 l value pack will treat 2000 l of water in a heating or cooling system. Reduced packaging costs are passed on to customers.

Micronics’ U1000 HM heat-energy-meter device can be used straight out of the box with no programming or specialist engineering required. It is described as a cost-effective alternative to installing in-line meters and does not require pipes to be drained down or cut.

Rinnai’s Infinity Solo Re-Circulator water combines the technology of the company’s wall-mounted continuous-flow water heaters with a stainless-steel storage cylinder — all in one compact unit. These condensing water heaters have low NOx emissions.

Heat from the biomass district-heating scheme at the newly restored 18th-century Hestercombe House estate in Somerset is carried from the centralised plant room to the various buildings by Rehau’s Rauthermex flexible polymer pipework. 650 m of heat mains have been laid, including a 350 m run to the main house and art gallery and shorter runs connecting the visitor centre and other estate buildings. The largest-diameter Rauthermex Duo 63 mm pipework has been used throughout at a depth of about a metre.