2017 September

For the past 3 years, EMEX (www.emexlondon.com), organised in partnership with the Energy Managers Association (EMA, www.theema.org.uk), has helped thousands of businesses from all sectors to increase their energy efficiency and reduce their operational costs.

Siemens Building Technologies Division is expanding its range of OpenAir damper actuators for heating, ventilation and air-conditioning applications with spring-return models having 4 Nm of torque.

Spirotech vacuum degassers and dirt separators have been specified for 100 Bishopsgate, a 37-floor office block in the City of London. This mixed-use building, with major pre-lets to major world banks, is being developed by global real estate investor Brookfield. The Spirotech equipment will have a key role to play in maintaining the condition of the water in the building’s heating and cooling systems, helping them to operate to optimum levels.

The thermal mass of new teaching buildings at the University of Northampton’s new £330 million Waterside Campus will play a key role in achieve comfort conditions through the incorporation of Rehau’s TABS (thermally activated building structure) system into the concrete floor slabs. The TABS cooling and heating system uses the large thermal mass of concrete in a building’s structure to adjust the environment inside the building during the day.

Lochinvar has developed a ‘smart’ app-based controller for its Herald range of gas-fired condensing boilers. The Con-X-us system enables users of smart devices such as phones and tablets to connect to the on-board boiler controls so that they can monitor and adjust system operation and heating parameters.

Stokvis Energy Systems’ Econoflame R600 Evolution range of floor-standing gas boilers comprises seven models with outputs from 142 to 540 kW and are designed for installing in confined spaces in retrofit or less-accessible new installation.

When operating heat sources in cascade configuration it’s important to design and configure the system to get the most from each source. Kevin Stones of Hoval explains.

Stevie O’Neill of EOGB Energy Products Ltd, looks at the effect that new heating technology such as O2 and CO trim has on the efficiency of commercial heating systems and the benefits of automatic trim control.

The Murelle One HE 25 kW wall-hung combination boiler from Sime features the elegance of the company’s signature Italian design. Premium-quality components include Giannoni’s condensing evolution stainless-steel and alloy heat exchanger with larger waterways. It is described as the most compact and energy-efficient boiler in the Murelle range.

As part of a 10-year £43 million refurbishment of The Central Criminal Court for England & Wales [the Old Bailey] Remeha floor-standing boilers have been installed to replace oil-fired steam boilers. The building is managed by the City of London Corporation and houses 18 courts and 52 cells over three floors. For the last 50 years, it has relied on four ornate steam boilers.

Not only did the improvement in the performance of Plymouth Argyle Football Club last season lead to promotion to Football League Division One, but the performance of the heating and hot-water system has also been boosted with equipment from Vokera.

These boilers at a high-profile Government site in Swansea have been given a new lease of life and brought up to the standard of any new boiler on the market with the replacement of their burners with dual-fuel burners from Riello. The site is managed on behalf of Telereal Trillium by Arthur Portelli of Oakbury Building Services Consultants..

Teaming up CHP with gas-fired condensing boilers offers the potential to maximise the efficiency of both technologies. David Sadler-Smith of Elco Heating Solutions discusses how to maximise the benefits of CHP when incorporated with gas condensing boilers.

Atag Commercial’s XL Series of gas-fired boilers is complemented by an extensive selection of modular installation and cascade options. Multiple sizes and configurations are available, so a suitable boiler configuration is always available. Up to eight boilers can be configured in cascade with a total output of up to 960 kW.

A Spirotech vacuum degasser and a SpiroTrap dirt separator are key elements in the replacement of cast-iron boilers serving an open heating system with modern boilers and a sealed vent system at Exeter Civic Centre. The previous heating system had been in use for nearly 40 years.

Elco’s Trigon XL range of floor-standing gas-fired boilers achieves ultra-low NOx emissions complying with Class 6 (2018) requirements with emissions as low as 34 mg/kWh. The rating helps specifiers when assessing project criteria under BREEAM, with three credits available if a building achieves less than 40 mg/kWh.

Replacing an existing commercial boiler of up to 400 kW with a condensing model will meet the requirements of the Ecodesign of Energy-related Products Directive (ErP), but as Steven Evans, national sales manager at Potterton Commercial, explains, there is more to consider if you want to achieve the most energy-efficient solution.

The efficiency of heating systems can benefit enormously with the use of advanced condensing boilers and appropriate control, as Chris Meir of Remeha explains.

Sentinel Commercial’s KalGUARD device for controlling limescale uses electrolytic technology to achieve overall cost effectiveness, performance, ease of installation and low maintenance. The device comprises a zinc anode unit, copper cathode, water meter and controller. It permanently conditions water by dosing it with a very low level of stable zinc from the anode.

Studor’s Trap-Vent for installing under sinks combines a water trap and air-admittance valve (AAV) and is designed to prevent the water in the trap being lost by, for example, siphonage. These water traps can easily be retrofitted to an existing bathroom and are also ideal for group venting in, for example, hotels, care homes and hospitals.

Replacing a failed chiller in a crisis could take months. Trevor Dann of ThermOzone describes how resolving such a problem can be achieved in little more than a month

For the last 30 years, centrifugal fans have been a central component of air-handling units (AHUs). However, with the pressures of the ErP Directive and energy efficiency under increasing scrutiny, building owners are now upgrading these units to plug in fans for greater efficiency and longer AHU life — as Chris Jones of Fläkt Woods, explains.

Potential energy savings of over 1 GWh for a large purpose-built conference centre were predicted by an energy check carried out by Grundfos Pumps on pumps that had been in situ for many years. The savings could be achieved by exchanging a number of circulators for energy-efficient Grundfos options, with a payback of two years.

Helping to provide a comfortable welcome to the 5-storey West London Audi car dealership on the Great West Road in London is a purpose-designed Airbloc vertical air curtain. It protects doubling sliding doors that provide the only vehicular access to the building; they hinge forward to maximise the available space.

Viega now offers its Megapress press-in connection in the UK. The system makes it a simple job to add extra sensors, thermometers, drainage valves or pipe connections to thick-walled pipe. A press-in connection can be installed in a couple of minutes, with an estimated time saving of 80% compared to welding a connection.

Using data from a building-management system can quickly identify strategies for improving energy efficiency of building-services systems. Andy Devine of Synapsys Solutions explains its capabilities.

The F-Gas Regulations are about to get much tougher as we move into 2018. Modern Building Services brought together a panel of industry experts to examine the issues facing the sector as gases such as R410A surge in price and R32 enters the UK market. Andrew Brister reports.

The BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) environmental assessment method and rating system for buildings is the most widely used such method in the world and dominates the European green-building market. Kerri-Emma Dobson of BRE explains the reasons for its success and how it is preparing for the future.

Making buildings smarter isn’t just about digital technologies, it’s also about getting smarter with construction processes. Mark Redfern of Wieland Electric discusses the benefits of structured cabling.

With energy costs rising, concerns over resilient energy supplies, and statutory obligations connected to emissions and climate change policies, facilities managers will have to face many challenges. Andy Lewry and Cameron Steel discuss how facilities managers can face them

Tony Anderson of the Commissioning Specialists’ Association highlights the important and often overlooked issue of using previous problem-solving solutions to address challenges in new projects.

CentraLine completes the NX product family by introducing the powerful HAWK 8000 controller for efficient and safe integration of building applications.

The DATA is one of six HIUs tested in 2017 independently to the new UK HIU standards, and demonstrated beyond doubt to offer greater efficiencies than any other system.

Rinnai, which specialises in continuous-flow water heaters, offers a site sizing service designed to deliver the amount of hot water to meet existing and planned needs. The service is available over e-mail, iPhone and site visit. It is designed to give contractors and users the right mix of products and system that meets the needs of the site, rather than a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach seen with traditional hot-water systems.

Grundfos has boosted the scope of its on-line Ecademy to include a new audience whose focus is on larger applications. This now means that consultants/specifiers as well as relevant distribution partners working on large projects and applications will be able to get access to a range of on-line training modules.

Marshall-Tufflex has published a 75th-anniversary issue of its cable-management catalogue, drawing together details of important milestones in its history. The catalogue runs to 328 pages and includes recently launched products.

With the role of building-services engineers constantly diversifying due to technological development and economic change, Pipe Center (part of Wolseley UK) has launched a new valve guide to aid specification on the job. This guide is specific to Wolseley’s range of Jet valves.

With managing indoor air quality being an important factor in building design, Waterloo Air Products offers a course covering the principles of air distribution when using mixed-flow, displacement and VAV (variable-air-volume) systems. This day course is designed for building-services engineers, architects and building professional. It delivers knowledge of which system to choose and how to calculate the air-volume flowrate based on heat load and temperature differential.

Advanced Engineering, which specialises in cleaning air-conditioning and refrigeration equipment, has produced a video demonstrating the properties of its VerteX full-spectrum aqueous coil cleaner. This cleaner is slightly alkaline at pH 7.6, but adapts its pH value to more effectively combat different types of dirt without the detrimental effects of harsh cleaner.

Guardian Water Treatment offers a bespoke course for cooling-tower operators. It is designed for building/facilities managers and maintenance staff. Delivered on site at a client’s premises, training is tailored to the specific needs of a system and takes place over three weeks, allowing candidates to utilised their learning practically straight away.

CIBSE (Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers) has published its training courses and dates for the rest of 2017. CIBSE Training offers a wide variety of courses from one to three days from introductory to more advanced levels. They cover assessor training, building services and CPD courses — supported with a range of online learning modules.

Air Diffusion reports a dramatic increase in demand for its FlowBar range of high-capacity linear slot diffusers for their ability to fit discreetly into a stylish interior to provide both practical and aesthetic benefits. These diffusers are suitable for ceiling or sidewall applications.

Tridonic offers an ‘out-of-the-box’ emergency-lighting solution that combines advanced battery technology with the latest in emergency-lighting components. EM ready2apply is the company’s first stand-alone emergency luminaire in response to heightened awareness of the importance of practical emergency lighting.

A simple web-based quick-selection tool for fan-coil units (FCUs) developed by Ciat can produce fast and accurate project quotes for designers and installers. Dramatic improvements in the efficiency of FCUs has boosted their popularity in recent years, and refurbishments of offices and commercial buildings dating from the 1970s and 1980s has generated demand as old systems are replaced.

Rehau’s Rautitan universal 10 bar pipework solution comprises Flex and Stabil polymer pipes and is designed specifically for drinking-water and heating systems. The flexible PE-Xa Rautitan system delivers on durability, corrosion resistance and ease of installation. It is available in coils or as straight lengths and also as a pre-insulated pipe system.

Effective water disinfection is very important in all buildings, and the Grundfos Oxiperm Pro bespoke chlorine-dioxide generator provides clean water in potentially susceptible applications such as hotels, sports and leisure facilities, and hospitals. The generator has WRAS-approved components.

Warmafloor, a leading provider of underfloor heating and cooling systems for commercial, public and residential buildings, has upgraded its smart control system. Now branded Inteliq, this enhanced system offers an optimum balance of control and functionality in managing the temperature of the surroundings of building users.

Panasonic’s latest generation of gas-driven VRF systems offers a comprehensive heating, cooling and hot-water solution to large-scale commercial products with a limited electricity supply. The GE3 range produces DHW by capturing waste heat from the gas engine to deliver hot water at 65°C, with a DHW priority setting. Redesigned components have increased the SEER and SCOP, and heat can be delivered with an ambient temperature down to -20°C without requiring a defrost process.

Sontay’s RF-BXS-B SonNet wireless BACnet receiver automatically maps data from SonNet end devices into BACnet objects for transmission via the vendor-independent BACnet IP communication protocol. The receiver collects data from devices on a wireless network — including measurements from sensors, link quality, battery levels for battery-powered devices, hours run for all devices and the current status of all devices. A web-browser interface can be used to configure this receiver if required.

Drayton’s Wiser system of smart heating controls includes smart radiator valves that can be easily and quickly installed onto existing radiators. The valve adaptors make installation as simple as unscrewing the existing radiator valve head and screwing on the smart radiator thermostat to offer individual control for up to 16 rooms. Each radiator thermostat can have its setting adjusted by ±2 K for an hour.

Rinnai’s Infinity HDC 1600e continuous-flow condensing water heaters use natural gas or LPG. They are renewables ready and suitable for use as a temperature booster for solar thermal and heat-pump installations. These water heaters are described as ‘future-proofed against future regulatory and legislative changes.