"It’s been a tough week for the construction industry. Not only did we discover more about the awful management practices at Carillion, but Dame Judith Hackitt’s final report on the Independent Review of Fire Regulations and Fire Safety did not pull any punches when it came to our sector’s working practices: Ignorant; indifferent; inadequate.

As you’ll see from our front cover, MBS is celebrating 15 years of bringing its readers the broadest coverage of this sector, with insights from experts in all areas of building services - designers, contractors, installers and end-users.

"At Ecobuild this year, representatives of the Better Buildings Partnership were making it known that clients are fed up to the back teeth of buildings that don’t deliver what they want – efficiency, maintainability, operational effectiveness. These weren’t just general moans, but a clear message that enough is enough. (See our News Analysis)

One of the most topical areas currently for VRF installations is the specification of Hydro Kits, which extract heat from a VRF Heat Pump or Heat Recovery system, air-cooled or water-cooled; for the production of domestic hot water.

In our continuing Top Tips series, we offer an infographic of insights from experts who have written for MBS or taken part in our round table. This is a quick summary of some of the advice that leading engineers and consultants have offered in the run up to the introduction of MEES. 

In the March issue we are looking at a number of solutions to familiar problems – how to ensure that homes and businesses have affordable, reliable heat with minimal impact on the environment. Or how to keep temperatures in data centres within tight margins in the face of rising energy costs and planning requirements.