2018 May

This year’s finalists in the Commissioning Specialists Association CSA) Awards have been revealed after judging on the 2^nd May. 

In this month’s MBS round table discussion, sponsored by LG, our panel of experts considers the topic of wellbeing and the contribution of building services to the health and happiness of occupants at work and at home. By Karen Fletcher

The KNX building control system is over 25 years old, yet for many people it’s still a new idea. Here Iain Gordon explains the concepts behind the technology and considers why it is gradually gaining more ground with controls engineers and clients.

Dave Lapsley considers the connected future and points to new approaches which are making integration for smart buildings much easier.

Jon Belfield, President of the Building Controls Industry Association (BCIA) explains how joined-up thinking throughout the supply chain enables the connection of building services to a BMS.

Mark Stanton explains the benefits of investing in connected services to create truly intelligent buildings, and what to consider when doing so.

The new Rapid Scene Control solutions from CP Electronics, the UK leader in lighting control, gives the ability to customise lighting in offices and commercial buildings on a room by room basis using voice recognition and through cloudbased apps via a tablet and smartphone.

Panasonic’s Nanoe technology has been upgraded to provide enhanced air purification for an even healthier, cleaner environment, making it ideal for many applications including hospitals, schools and hotels. Nanoe X technology is currently available with Panasonic’s new R32 Floor Console and MU2/PU2 90x90 indoor cassette units compatible with VRF, PACi and GHP heating and cooling solutions.

Grundfos Pumps are a proven reliable, innovative, end suction pump manufacturer. In their 40 years of delivering these specific pump models, they have introduced many improvements that have enhanced both the product line-up and its application span that today includes water supply, industrial pressure boosting, industrial liquid transfer, HVAC and irrigation.

Cable management specialist, Unitrunk, has secured a trio of accreditations as part of a continuous improvement programme intended to formalise systems within the business and lay consistent foundations for growth.

Pegler Yorkshire, is introducing a mechanical grooved piping system to its portfolio. Under the brand VSH Shurjoint, this new range will complement the company’s renowned brands such as VSH XPress and VSH Tectite offering a fully integrated piping solution.

Geoff Peters’ Applied Energy building services consultancy was founded in 1988 and has been working with Stokvis Energy Systems for 30 years.

Riello has recently extended its RX range of premix packaged burners. Building on the RX range with outputs up to 1500 kW, Riello has now offers variants up to a 3 MW model, whilst still achieving NOx levels of less than 30mg/kWh, combined with very low noise output.

Field staff at Toshiba Air Conditioning are bringing a new level of safety to customer sites with a near-miss reporting tool, helping to reduce the risk of accidents and injuries in the United Kingdom and improving safety for employees, customers and the public. Toshiba Air Conditioning UK is a part of UTC Climate, Controls & Security, a unit of United Technologies Corp.

SAV’s AirMaster Smart Ventilation Units (SVUs) incorporate key design features to tackle the common problem of draughts from ventilation systems in classrooms, offices and many other workplaces. These include close control of inlet air temperature and exploitation of the Coanda effect (illustrated on the left) to ensure comfortable conditions in the occupied zone.

Breathing Buildings has supplied its controlled hybrid ventilation system for East Yanton YMCA nursery. The project was originally designed for mechanical ventilation, but the client had concerns about the energy use and maintenance.

When Grundfos wanted to create an on-line hub for engineers, they knew the best place to start was by speaking to a number of specialist engineers, from different backgrounds, all of whom had one thing in common - their roles meant they needed to specify pumps.

Panasonic has unveiled an app which gives users instant access to product information to support quick and informed maintenance of its heating and cooling solutions.

Fire safety equipment manufacturer Actionair has secured prestigious preferred supplier status for the NHS procurement framework ProCure22 (P22), which is administered by the Department of Health.

Warm air heaters are subject to Lot 21 of the directive and radiant heaters Lot 20. Minimum efficiencies for warm air is now 72% and radiant heaters is now 74%. Crucially, these minimum criteria are applicable for both new installations and when replacing existing products. Our ErP compliant range includes the PREEVA EC (heating and ventilation unit).

Resource Data Management has upgraded their Intuitive Controller range. The new controllers present optional colour LCD, extended temperature range, dual Ethernet ports, four PWM outputs and increased processing power and memory. The flagship controller in the range, Intuitive TDB, is incredibly powerful making it suited for all HVACR applications requiring PLC control strategies, with the added benefit of communicating across open protocols. Intuitive TDB also comes with the added benefit of built-in and desktop editing, license free PLC software.

Siemens Building Technologies new fine dust sensor for buildings addresses IAQ issues and the health and wellbeing of occupants. The sensor can monitor and visualise particle pollution and is easy to integrate into a BMS. The sensor uses laser technology to measures particle pollution of the air in two categories: PM 2.5 and PM 10. The fine dust sensor is ideal for use in a variety of buildings with a high number of occupants, such as offices, schools, universities, hospitals and public buildings.

Mark Ferris considers the changing demands of floor standing boilers in modern commercial buildings, and outlines the key design considerations for specifiers.

Chris Caton offers advice on getting the most out of your boiler, highlighting some common commissioning and operation issues that building services professionals should bear in mind for better long-term performance.

Replacing inefficient boilers, adding effective control and ensuring regular maintenance can transform the energy performance and comfort of a building, while protecting national energy security. Chris Meir examines at the role of condensing boilers in helping improve energy efficiency.

Dan Martindale discusses how engineers can keep up with ever-changing requirements around commercial heating, and why lives may depend upon it.

Space heating systems for workshops need to address a number of criteria that may not apply to other applications. Brett Smith reviews the most important considerations.

Steve Lalyk explains why the growing use of mixed heat sources means the control strategy is increasingly important.

Paul Martin highlights the important role of flue design in ensuring condensing boilers operate at maximum efficiency

As the steel vs aluminium heat exchanger debate continues, Steven Evans argues that perhaps it’s time to look beyond the materials to focus on design and maintenance

Stuart Doggrell highlights the growing popularity of unvented internal expansion heaters and their impact on the UK’s changing property landscape.

One of the options for achieving low NOx emissions is to use premix burner technology. Bernard Dawson explains how this differs from traditional pressure jet burner technology.

As our other experts focus on heating, Dr Chris Ward considers the wider aspects of today’s building services that affect our health  and wellbeing

As the HS2 project takes shape, heating the rail sheds along the route is a significant challenge. Here Nick Winton explains why engineers need to get to grips with the knowledge of how to apply radiant heating for efficiency.

The UK has so far been successful in achieving interim targets for carbon reduction. But now the low hanging fruit is scarce, it’s time to tackle the big challenge head on - decarbonising our heat. Karen Fletcher looks at the options and the hurdles ahead.

Trox X-Cube air handling units have been chosen for an awardwinning new building at to the University of Huddersfield. Sustainability was a priority for the £28 million Oastler Building, and the Trox air handling units at the heart of the HVAC system contribute to the energy efficient building, which has achieved a BREEAM Excellent rating.

A boiler upgrade at Mylnes Court, University of Edinburgh has seen ageing Hoval boilers replaced with the company’s high efficiency SR Plus and UltraGas boilers. The new boilers were specified by Engright Engineering Consultants and installed by contractors Taylor and Fraser.

New Viessmann Vitodens 200-W 150 kW condensing boilers have been installed at Manchester Crown Court, by Viessmann partner Aston CordEnergy Services, to replace an outdated system. The 16 new boilers will provide better space heating, efficiency and control.

A prestigious hotel and golf club in County Durham has recently been fitted with a new boiler, including a BoilerMag XL magnetic boiler filter, fitted by Enright Environmental.

Fire Design Solutions (FDS) has secured its latest contract to supply smoke ventilation and corridor environmental systems to the new Paddington Gardens residential development. The award-winning fire safety systems contractor will provide full consultation, design and installation services.

Last month, MBS raised the issue that some building performance specialists view EPCs as ‘not fit for purpose’. Here Dr Andrew Geens makes the case for EPCs as an energy efficiency measurement and clarifies his position on why EPCs are a useful indicator for building owners and managers.

At the end of April, the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee, chaired by Lord Patel, took evidence for its inquiry investigating offsite manufacture for construction.

At the ICOM Spring Conference on 10th April, the focus was on decarbonising the UK’s heating. Conference content reflected the government’s 2017 Clean Growth Strategy, which targets decarbonised heat.

Modern Building Services magazine is 15 years old this month, and it continues to serve the largest readership of any UK building services title.

A group of industry experts has called for regulation on wellbeing in order to ensure that better indoor environments are delivered for occupants.

Dr Howard Porter, EURIS chair, responded to developments in negotiating the UK’s exit from the EU, saying: “Reaching agreement on the terms of the UK’s Implementation Period with the EU is an important step forward. The agreement provides our members with the certainty they have been calling for on the terms of this period and helps minimise uncertainties around Brexit for UK industry as a whole”.

A shortlist of 26 leading businesses from across the electrotechnical and engineering services sector has been selected by judges for this year’s ECA Industry Awards.

The Commissioning Specialists Association (CSA) Awards 2018 will take place on 14th June at The Mermaid Theatre in London.

Having recently already supplied a ramped access solution to this project, Pump House were approached by another contractor working on the project, to also provide the supports for all the rooftop services and an associated access solution for maintenance to these services.

Construction body the Specialist Engineering Contractors’ (SEC) Group has welcomed the Government’s announcement today that they will be introducing a package of measures to support SMEs supplying to government.

Speaking at this year’s FETA Annual Lunch on 19th April, FETA chairman John Smith highlighted challenges and opportunities for the sector.