2019 January

At Modern Building Services we know that marketing managers in our sector are looking for multiple options for their budgets.

Karen Fletcher reports on a recent seminar that highlighted the links between our need to decarbonise heat while transforming our approach to constructing high-quality, efficient dwellings.

A report from the department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Select Committee has backed the building engineering sector’s call for tougher action on late payment.

As the building services industry faces a shortage of skills, Generation Z, born between 1995 and 2010, are the people the sector needs to attract if it is to grow and modernise.

The construction industry needs to adopt modern methods to reach UK government targets on decarbonising heat, as well as housing provision.

NG Bailey’s Services division celebrates a year of success, after acquiring FM specialist Freedom Group, securing client contracts worth £80 millions and relocating their offices in London.

The Scottish Government’s Deputy First Minister, John Swinney has announced a further £1 billion for rebuilding and refurbishing the country’s schools.

The East Midlands is tackling staff shortages within the construction industry though the government’s funding initiative. Partners in Nottingham has been given a slice of a £22 millions funding pot, which will launch construction academies with Nottingham College. 

Graham Wright takes over as president of the Heat Pump Association as Mike Nankivell steps down from the role in early 2019.

Trevor Hursthouse OBE, chair of the SEC Group, has called for a regulatory authority for the construction sector.

Air pollution is blamed for 40,000 premature deaths in the UK every year and almost half a million across Europe. It costs our economy upwards of £20 billion a year, largely due to the additional burden on the NHS. 

The government is investing £320 million in district heat networks. For some, this may be a new technology so it can in many cases be misunderstood and this lack of understanding means that some potentially efficient systems are delivering under par performance figures.

In the building services world, use of offsite fabrication equipment and techniques is gaining traction as a means of achieving improved quality and on-site safety through greater efficiency.

With 2018 temperatures dipping to a stark -15oC and peaking at 35.5oC, building owners need to ensure they have sophisticated measures in place to manage the comfort of their employees, especially as there is currently no upper temperature limit for workers.

In the world of commercial boilers, the traditional rules of engagement are well documented: Manufacture a highly efficient unit that meets the expectations of the market, remove the old product from the range and sing the virtues of the new model’s features. It has been a successful strategy for many years, with incremental improvements delivering major developments over a decade.

William Grant started his Scottish whiskey distillery business in 1887. Today, this well-known brand is still a family run business, which has earned an enviable reputation for the quality of the spirits it produces and distributes internationally.

Hattersley Hook-Up Elite Prime manifold assemblies have been selected by M&E contractor Integral UK for the heating and air conditioning system of the Newcastle University Learning and Teaching Centre.

Dunham-Bush Panther fan coil units have been installed in the new Square Kilometre Array Headquarters at Jodrell Bank in Cheshire. With 135 staff from around the world, the new HQ will be home to the inter-governmental organisation set up to build, manage and remotely monitor the operation of what is the world’s largest telescope, which is located at sites in South Africa and Western Australia.

Panasonic has worked in collaboration with architects, engineers and local crafts people to create an unfiltered, unique and comfortable luxury living experience in bubble style Domes to bring a 180-degree transparent window on nature.

The success of a boiler upgrade project at Tower Bridge relied heavily on close collaboration within the project team.

Elco Heating Solutions has supplied two Thision L ECO 70kW condensing gas boilers to the headquarters of Curver UK – the international company and European market leader in the production of home and leisure products.

The latest addition to the growing Stelrad Radiator range is the Silhouette with versions available in the Vita and Softline Series. It features vertical lines on the fascia creating a clean, bold appeal. The Vita has flat grille and side panels; the Softline features curved side panels and grille.

The Grundfos Product Centre (GPC) is an online search and sizing tool that will help users choose the right pump to meet their needs, whether it’s for a new or a replacement project, or even to locate information about pumps users already have.

Trend Controls will soon launch IQ Vision 2.2, the latest development of its IQ Vision software. The update delivers a range of cutting edge improvements including extended controller support, faster device discovery and reliability, as well as simplifying the engineering and operation of a BEMS by widening the technical scope of the tasks that it can perform. IQ Vision is configured using the state-of-the-art Tridium Niagara 4 interface.

An updated and improved range of Grundfos Magna 1 Model C pumps are now available in both single and twin-head circulator options. These circulators are suitable for use in a wide range of light commercial and commercial applications such as heating, air-conditioning & cooling and hot water circulation. Additionally, they offer the perfect solution in a refurbishment situation where there is a need to either replace a Grundfos UPS product or one of the smaller models from the original Magna family.

Toshiba Air Conditioning has published a new suite of brochures with up-to-date information on its latest R32 refrigerant-based Mirai, Shorai & Daiseikai residential air conditioning systems, as well as the full range of Digital Inverter and Super Digital Inverter light commercial split system range. Toshiba Air Conditioning UK is a part of UTC Climate, Controls & Security, a unit of United Technologies Corp.

Lochinvar’s Knight range of water heaters now features a new type of low NOx burner. Available in four models, these water heaters provide storage capacities ranging from 108 to 358 litres with recovery rates of 140 to 290 litres per hour based on a temperature rise of 50°C.

Lochinvar has adapted its ‘smart’ app-based boiler control system for use with its EcoShield range of commercial water heaters.

Mitsubishi Electric has added new 150kW and 180kW modules to its existing advanced range of high efficiency, inverter-driven, e-series modular chillers to expand its the ‘off-the-shelf’ offering to the UK market.

At the beginning of 2018, there were very few expectations that the year would turn out to be a memorable one for English football fans. However, as soon as the whistle blew in Russia on the world’s most watched sporting tournaments, the expectations along with the temperature, rose dramatically.

The Stokvis Econoplate BV Series presents specifiers with a wide choice of sizes and outputs to suit premises with modest plant room space and medium levels of hot water demand. These are met by combining one of the manufacturer’s Econoplate plate heat exchangers with different sizes of storage vessel. Crucially, the hybrid unit takes up less space than installing a separate Econoplate PHE and could typically cut capital cost by £2K or more.

The upgraded Purewell Variheat mk2 from Hamworthy features the advanced Siemens LMS controls platform, already used in all of the popular condensing, pre-mix Hamworthy boilers.

The roll-out of LG Electronics’ (LG’s) newest central controller, the ACP 5, is kicking off in key markets throughout Europe including the UK. A fifth-generation control solution, the ACP 5 incorporates a number of upgrades that respond directly to users’ feedback. With LG’s innovative technologies onboard, the model boasts an exceptionally smart management system, expanded capabilities and features designed to increase operational efficiency.

Rinnai Infinity Solo condensing and low NOx water heater combines the advanced technology of low NOx wall-mounted continuous flow water heaters with a stainless steel storage cylinder in one compact footprint.

Desigo Control Point is the new embedded building management station from Siemens. It consists of touch panels in several sizes and of web servers that enable remote control of buildings from any smart device. Installation and operation are straightforward.

At EMEX 2018, panellists spoke about of the importance of Generation Z and the need to be aware of what they’re looking for in a career. Renu Chopra reports

Apprenticeship training organisation JTL had a highly successful night at the recent Asian Apprenticeship Awards in December held at Edgbaston Cricket Ground. JTL’s Jon Graham (pictured) collected the Learning Provider of the Year Award for 2018 and one of its apprentices – Shabeeb Mohammed from Rotherham - won Apprentice of the Year in the Construction sector.

Commissioning Specialists Association (CSA) chairman Mark Todd offers a thoughtful piece on why we as a sector need to engage more with our local communities - and why CSR is about more than simply looking good.

Building regulations specify that sheet metal ductwork leakage testing “should be carried out in accordance with the procedures set out in B&ES DW/144” for new buildings (ADL2A) and for existing buildings (ADL2B).

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).

BSRIA has launched its 4th Inspiring Tomorrow’s Engineers publication which was written by workplace student Abigail Teekaram (pictured). This insightful report looks at the careers of some successful engineers at BSRIA, among its membership and in the industry.