Refurbishing or upgrading existing heating plant provides the opportunity to deliver very significant increases in efficiency but there are a number of factors that need to be taken into account. Kevin Stones takes a look at the key considerations.

Multi-service chilled beams remove the need for suspended ceilings, resulting in greater room height and more usable space. But their benefits in refurbishment projects don’t stop there, as Terry Farthing explains.

As part of the comprehensive of the 2700 m2 Apollo office building in Ruislip, Space Airconditioning supplied equipment for a Daikin VRVII heat-recovery heat-pump air-conditioning system to replace a chilled-water fan-coil system.

Heather Jefferson explains how best to exploit the energy-saving potential of CHP plant in existing buildings to produce power, heating — and cooling.

The quality of lighting has been significantly improved and energy costs halved in the main distribution centre of RS Components at Corby by upgrading from high-pressure sodium to Venture Lighting’s pulse-start metal-halide lamps and Ventronic dimming system.

There are more benefits to be gained from controlling lighting than energy savings. The reductions in maintenance costs can be even more important. Mark Andrew explains how good lighting control can help slash maintenance costs.

The benefits of modern fluorescent tubes can be exploited without having to replace lighting fittings using Save It Easy components from ECSL.

The hot-water system servicing a prestigious hotel overlooking Loch Ness has been has been upgraded with an Andrews Hi-Flo LPG-fired storage water heater. It supplies the 15 guest room in the Inchnacardoch Lodge Hotel, the kitchen and all the hotel’s domestic hot water.

Despite the heating industry’s excellent response to Part L2 and L2a of the Building Regulations, which has seen the move towards high-efficiency boilers gather pace since April 2006, Graham Williamson argues that standard-efficiency appliances still have a major role to play in the non-domestic sector.

A windowless staff room in a Victorian school building has been transformed into a bright and attractive environment following the installation of two Solatube daylighting systems to replace flexible tubes that had been installed even though Solatube had been specified.

With the support of boiler manufacturer Glow-worm providing full training for all its engineers, Torfaen County Borough Council in South Wales achieved an almost perfect record for boiler servicing last year. All but a handful of its properties had their domestic heating boilers serviced on or before time — with a 99.9% independently verified score on a stock of over 7300 units.

Having waited for a school building in Coventry to be stripped of asbestos, Weatherite Building Service was able to install a new kitchen ventilation system at Westwood School.

Raychem electric underfloor heating systems have been installed in all 95 bathrooms of the Kempinski Hotel Charles V in Bruges, Belgium. The development involves the restoration and redevelopment of a former convent and a castle in the medieval city centre to create what will be Bruges’ only 5-star hotel.

Scorpion Power Systems has replaced a standby power system at the German Embassy in Belgrave Square, London, which was obsolete and unable to support the building’s growing infrastructure, with a technologically advanced power support system. It was the decision of Frank Bernhardt, engineer at the embassy, to replace the old generator with a back-up power system that would support operations facilities, telephones and essential services.

As part of the £10 million refurbishment of the student-union building at Brunel University, Kingspan’s pre-insulated ducting system was installed to distribute air throughout the building, including the student nightclub Academy.

Luminaires on 10 refurbished floors of the 36 000 m2 One Exchange Square building in the City of London are controlled under DALI protocol by Simmtronic systems using Tridonic ballasts. This 12-storey building has recently been acquired by KanAm Grund, one of Germany’s leading fund managers for open-ended real-estate funds and asset manager of international real-estate investment.

The newly refurbished dining room at Bolton Wanders’ training complex is heated by CM fan convectors from Dunham Bush. The units were selected for their small footprint, high heating capacity and low-noise operation.

Passive technology alone cannot meet sustainability objectives. Alison Nicholl explains why intelligence-based solutions are also needed.

Chris Wootton explains the benefits of intelligent buildings — and how to enjoy them.

To respond to the multi-tenanted patterns of occupancy of the 33-storey Bridgewater Place development in Leeds, Electrak has supplied a KNX intelligent lighting control system.

A range of passive infra-red occupancy switches for lighting control is made by Danlers. They are easy to install and can use existing wiring in a building. Applications include saving energy in offices, factories, schools etc.

Anders Norén explains how using a number of open protocols to bring together a host of building services is the key to interoperability.

The new Wembley Stadium is more than just a 90 000-seat venue. It is a huge building complex with a vast range of services that can interact with one another through the intelligent building system that has been installed.

The latest addition to the Siemens Desigo building-management system is the Desigo TX-I/O range of modules. They provide high flexibility, greater user friendliness and lower energy and capital costs.

Redstone Converged Solutions is installing converged IT and communications infrastructures for projects in Bristol and Leicester. A range of third-party systems will connect directly to the network — including security, CCTV surveillance, HVAC, audio visual and people counting.

LonMark has opened its first proficiency testing centre in the UK. It is at Echelon’s office at Watford and provides LonWorks training and examinations to enable participants to become LonMark certified professionals. This examination is recommended for any specialist engaging in the design, specification, integration or installation of Lon control networks.

The ‘click-and-go’ concept of the Lion controller for HVAC control and energy management from CentraLine by Honeywell dramatically reduces the time and cost of system installation and commissioning.