2015 October

How does the rest of the world view us?

A training course by BSRIA on 1 December will cover the main principles of pre-commissioning as set out in the BSRIA guide ‘Pre-commissioning cleaning of pipework systems’ (BG 29/2012). This publication provides guidance on pre-commissioning cleaning and reflects the latest British and European standards.

Hydraquip has launched a new range of double-shut-off couplings for the commercial H&V and air-conditioning sectors. Hydraquick couplings can be connected and disconnected without having to shut down or drain the system. Terminal units can also be looped out during the flushing process.

Des Dolan of Durapipe answers some frequently asked questions about catering for thermal movement in plastic pipes.

Marflow Hydronics reports that its Xterminator valve set is increasingly being used with a variety of different terminal devices, showing it to be a highly diverse product.

Grundfos Pumps offers a range of diagnostic tools on its web site, Including ‘Energy check’ and ‘Pump audit’. Not only will they establish the performance of a current pump system, but they also provide reports with details on potential savings and payback period, as well as various pump options.

Simply adding chemicals to water in a closed system can do more harm than good. Understanding the chemistry is all-important, as Peter Bowles of Airmec explains.

Why, and how, does a supplier choose do go down the specification route? And what are the benefits for a project? Dave Dickson of Conex Bänninger gives a perspective.

According to Grundfos, changing to high-efficiency pumps that incorporate advanced motor technology can reduce an average pump’s energy consumption by up to 60%. Pumps account for 10% of global electricity consumption, and many are said to be needlessly inefficient.

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.

Trend Control Systems has extended its range of control systems with a range of pressure-independent control valves (PICVs). These valves are well suited to variable-flow systems in new builds. They provide constant flow under varying pressure conditions. One unit replaces three separate components that would traditionally be used — a differential-pressure regulator, a maximum-flow limiter and a temperature control valve.

The conversion of hot-water services at the De Vere training centre at Latimer Place near Cheshunt in Hertfordshire to use Stokvis Econoplate packaged plate heat exchangers is the latest in a series of such projects by this hotel and conference chain. The De Vere training centre provides 40 bed places for the personnel of a corporate client, together with fine dining and other back-of-house services in this historic landscaped setting.

The noise of soil stacks in operation is distasteful to many people, especially in hotels and apartment blocks. Victoria Willis of Geberit shares some practical ideas on minimising the issue.

Atag XL boilers have been installed at Keele University as replacements in heating and hot-water systems servicing the IC1 and IC2 science block. One of the key selection criteria was low lifetime costs. The boilers were supplied by Atag Commercial and installed by the main contractor for the work, Climate Heating & Plumbing Services.

As part of major renovation of the heating-distribution and complex ventilation system of the Happyland leisure centre in Klosterneuburg, Austria, 45 Belimo EPIVs (electronic pressure-independent control valves, the orange units in the picture) were installed on eight distribution circuits during operation to avoid loss of revenue.

Commercial now offers its KalGuard system for preventing limescale formation as a 22 mm package suitable for most small commercial buildings. It includes a zinc anode unit, water meter and controller that is set to a 22 mm commissioning mode to create a true plug-and-play solution.

With BSRIA’s recent prediction that the market for PICVs (pressure-independent control valves) is set to grow rapidly, it seems that the strengths of PICVs are finally being acknowledged across the industry. Nick Martin of Marflow Hydronics looks at what benefits PICVs really bring to piped services.

Photon Energy has installed a solarPV system for one of the largest speculative office developments in the Thames Valley — 1 Forbury Place, Reading. It comprises 292 Upsolar 250 W modules to give a maximum power output of 73 kW. The project annual carbon saving is over 26 000 t. Five Huawei inverters convert the DC power from the solar panels into AC.

Rinnai’s continuous-flow water-heating solutions can work with renewable-energy sources such as solar-thermal and air-source heat pumps. The concept is that the water heater tops up the temperature of stored water heated by renewable energy — but only when required.

To maximise the performance of its 30 kW solarPV system and to be instantly aware of any problems, George Spencer Academy in Stapleford, Nottingham, has taken out a remote-monitoring and reactive-maintenance packages with Navitron. The contract runs for five years.

Commercial buildings must take an increasingly energy-efficient approach if they are to meet the standards required by ever more stringent Building Regulations and planning requirements. Clare Campbell of Dimplex looks at how heat pumps can help a project to tick all the right boxes — and cut costs too.

The adoption of solar PV on commercial buildings in the UK is well behind other countries. Brian Smithers of Rexel UK highlights the huge benefits solar can offer the UK’s commercial premises and why it’s surely time to join the solar revolution.

The expertise of Dimplex’s renewable-heating design team came to the fore in the application of two ground-source heat pumps to use waste heat from transformers at a major National Grid sub-station to provide space heating and water heating for two adjacent buildings. The heat pumps heat the main sub-station building and a neighbouring environmental education centre.

Hitachi has brought free cooling to the split air-conditioning market with its Econofresh system. It can use outside air to provide free cooling when the temperature of the outdoor air is lower than that of the indoor air, enabling the compressor of the air-conditioning unit to be stopped.

Mitsubishi Electric’s entire range of Ecodan air-source heating pumps has achieved A++ ratings under the first Energy-related Products (ErP) Directive ruling for heating products across Europe. The labels for heat pumps also indicate the three different climate zones in Europe, all of which occur in the UK. The directive came into force on 26 September.

The capabilities of fan convectors as heat emitters make them well suited for use with heat pumps in maximising the use of renewable energy. Jim Bennett of Smith’s Fan Convectors explains.

The Mistrale 75 series of louvres for natural ventilation from Gilberts of Blackpool is claimed to offer some of the lowest air-leakage rates and U values of its kind. It is also very slim — just 200 mm thick— and is designed for ease of integration into the external envelope of the building.

The Premier Plus range of unvented hot-water cylinders previously branded Santon is now part of Heatrae Sadia’s product line. Made from corrosion-resistant Duplex stainless steel, Premier Plus cylinders are available with capacities of 100 to 300 l, with direct and indirect variants. They come with a 30-year parts and labour warranty.

By capturing critical data from across your estate, the user-friendly ActiveFM interface from Resource Data Management allows you to manipulate large volumes of complex data into an easy-to-digest, interactive format.

Tridonic, which specialises in light-management solutions utilising the latest LED technology, has invested in a permanent display at the Building Centre in London. The display will showcase the company’s latest developments in the management of light, with a particular focus on its cloud-based lighting-control systems, connecDIM, and how it manages lighting energy, lighting faults and emergency lighting.

Panasonic’s range of 3-way heat-recovery control boxes for VRV air-conditioning systems is available with four, six and eight connection ports to give installers considerable flexibility on site. These control boxes have connection tubes for the main refrigerant circuit line on both sides of the unit

Schneider Electric has refined its Spacial SFM range of compartmentalised floor-standing steel enclosures to meet more stringent global standards and provide a complete solutions for motor control centres. The upgraded Spacial SFM provide a modular system for switchgear with form separation up to 4b in motor control centres designed for motor feeders up to 250 kW.

Robur’s full range of gas-fired warm-air unit heaters is now available in the UK through ESS. The G series of condensing space heaters has modulating burners and airflows and efficiencies up to 105%.

Albion Valves (UK) has introduced a new range of pressure-independent control valves (PICVs). The Art 20C range has a compact design and is designed for the automatic balancing of heating and cooling systems. It is particularly compatible with fan-coil units and chilled beams and can withstand temperatures from -10 to +120°C.

Daikin UK claims that its Mini VRV IV S-series outdoor unit is the shortest on the market, with a height of just 82 cm — enabling it to be placed behind low walls or concealed on balconies. Operating costs are up to 28% less compared to the previous VRV series.

Nortek has amalgamated the service operations for AmbiRad, Reznor, Benson, Nordair Niche and Airbloc branded products to create a unified improvement of its service. The merging will dramatically improve response times by having engineers covering all areas of the UK reporting to one internal service team managing all enquiries.

Prolojik’s Lightmatrix lighting system combines LED lighting with power-over-Ethernet (PoE) technology and data cabling combined with established DALI features to provide a single lighting-control system. Analysis is said to have shown that a Lightmatrix system can be up to 11% more energy efficient than a mains-powered LED system by converting the mains supply to the required of LEDs more efficiently.

Sontay has upgraded its range of differential-pressure sensors for air with the introduction of the PA-65 (pictured) and PA60 models. They replace the PA-500 multi-range air differential-pressure sensor, and offer more benefits. These sensors have a snap-fit cover and come with a duct fixing kit.

Sauter’s Vison Center software enables the entire building automation system to be monitored and optimised in any place, at any time, and on any device using any platform. Version 3 uses IT standards such as HTML 5 and is completely web-based.

Mitsubishi Electric’s Zen range of indoor air-conditioning units has received global recognition for its stylish design with the Red Dot Design Award. The judges of this international award commented that the Zen range ‘presents a convincing symbiosis of energy-saving technology and minimalist, elegant design’.

Toshiba’s IntesisHome network controller is Wi-Fi based and enables its air-conditioning units to be controlled using a desk-top PC, tablet or smart phone. This controller can be used with all Toshiba indoor units using infra-red remote controllers, and light-commercial and VRF indoor models. Settings and operating modes can be changed.

Tridium’s Niagara 4 Framework is described as the ‘operating system for the Internet of things’. It includes dozens of new features and enhancements to help Niagara developers, integrators and users increase operational and energy efficiency, reduce costs and maintain security.

Timoleon’s Omnie range of HVAC systems includes a comprehensive selection of control units. The Omnie range brings together heat pumps, mechanical ventilation with heat recovery (MVHR), surface cooling and underfloor heating systems.

Vortice’s HR250 Neti MVHR (mechanical ventilation unit with heat recovery) for homes can serve the kitchen and up to four other rooms. Its thermal efficiency ranges from 84 to 88% depending on how many rooms are served.

Rinnai now offers its HD50i heavy-duty high-efficiency continuous-flow water heater in the UK. These wall-hung gas-fired units can deliver 780 l/h of hot water at a 50 K temperature rise. These water heaters are modulating and can be installed in a manifold arrange to meet higher demands. Incoming water temperatures of up to 60°C are accepted, making this water heater suitable for secondary return systems.

BSRIA’s has published a guide to ‘Soft landings and Government soft landings’ to highlight the crucial differences between BSRIA’s soft-landings framework and those of Government soft landings (GSL). The soft-landings concept is increasingly being recognised as an important step in helping to ensure that actual building performance in terms of energy consumption and occupant comfort closely matches the design intent.

Ener-G Switch2 has published guidance on how to charge for communal heating.This free e-guide includes advice on new regulations and recommendations for metering and billing. The guide covers the steps that suppliers of community and district heating, such as developers and landlords, should take to develop compliant metering systems that adhere to best practice and which can help to reduce heating and hot-water bills by as much as 50%.

A code of practice for the design, specification, installation, commissioning, operation and maintenance of grid-connected solarPV systems in the UK has been prepared by the Institution of Engineering & Technology (IET). This code of practice has been published following widespread consultation.

Flir Systems has published a short but comprehensive handbook on ’12 things to consider before buying an infrared camera. It is a technical guide that explains, for example, why it is important to buy a model with the highest detector resolution and image quality the budget can afford.

The British Refrigeration Association (BRA) has to challenges posed by the new F gas regulation with the preparation of expert guidance on coping whit the changes to availability of common refrigerants and the need to use new refrigerants. It deals mainly with R404A (widely used in retail refrigeration) and R134a and is called ‘Putting into use replacement refrigerants’ (PURR)

With overhead infra-red heaters in the chapel of Priory School in Lewes not performing effectively, the school approached Vulcana to discuss the possibility of installing powered-flue fan-assisted gas heaters. Vulcana had previously installed a Temcana 6C heater in the organ loft.