HIU Standard given testing boost in UK
The UK’s first test standard for Heat Interface Units (HIUs), which is managed by the Building Engineering Services Association (BESA), has been updated in response to growing demand from the industry.
Two UK-based test houses have now been approved to carry out testing to the standard – BSRIA and Enertek International – in addition to the Research Institutes of Sweden (RISE), which was previously the only organisation able to test to the new UK standard.
HIUs extract heat from district heating networks to feed individual buildings and dwellings.
Their performancy is central to efficiency of a scheme. The Standard was developed, therefore, to help developers of UK heat networks procure HIUs based on comparative performance data.
Testing to the standard is a two-stage process: The HIU has to achieve a UKAS or equivalent national accreditation through one of the three test houses and this result must then be verified by the Standard’s Steering Group before being published on the BESA website.
Image: An Evinox HIU which has achieved BESA accreditation