In an age when prefabrication and modularisation is increasingly applied to services design and installation, the futuristic Riverside Transport Museum in Glasgow demands a traditional approach — as described by Derek Sanders and Gordon Ferguson.

Not only is it important to validate the results of energy-saving projects, it is also essential to ensure that the validation is meaningful, says Tony Willis of Sabien Technology.

Climate Change Minister Greg Barker has launched a partnership to ensure the UK has the right skills to implement the Green Deal, the Government’s flagship policy to improve the energy efficiency of buildings. The Green Deal aims to enable private firms to offer consumers energy improvements to their homes, communities and businesses at no upfront cost and recoup payments as a change in instalments on the energy bill.

The Peel Group has announced plans over the next 20 years for further phases of MediaCityUK at Salford Quays. The group is seeking outline approval from Salford city Council for an additional 459 000 m2 of development, with the ultimate aim of creating a new town centre for Salford Quays.

Social-housing providers are installing renewable energy without a full knowledge of its potential in a ‘fit-and-forget’ approach to fuel poverty, according to a report by Dr Fin O’Flaherty and Dr James Pinder of Sheffield Hallam University. The Centre for Infrastructure Management at the university says that renewable-energy technologies such as photo-voltaic arrays, solar-thermal panels and ground-source heat pumps are increasingly being used by social-housing providers to help alleviate fuel poverty and reduce carbon emissions. However, to date, it is not clear which technologies are most effective.

Bob Shelley, president of the Heating & Ventilating Contractors’ Association, has described the recently announced name change and rebranding and repositioning exercise as better indicating the diverse, sophisticated and highly complex nature of the work members now undertake. The new name, which takes effect from 1 March 2012, is the Building & Engineering Services Association — abbreviated to B&ES. The suggested pronunciation is B ’n ’ES (like fish ’n’ chips).

Charlie Mullins, founder and managing director of Pimlico Plumbers and star of TV’s ‘Secret millionaire’ has backed calls from the UK radiators industry for a zero-tolerance approach to manufacturers which provide misleading information on the power of their products. He believes the plumbing industry has to be able to have confidence in the products being installed in customers’ premises, especially in terms of efficiency. His company employs over 150 plumbers and heating engineers and is a leading campaigner for improving quality and levels of customer service in the plumbing industry — including eradicating cowboy tradesmen.

Graham Manly, business-development director with Gratte Brothers and a former president of the Heating & Ventilating Contractors’ Association and the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers, has been awarded an OBE in the New Year Honours List. He is a fellow of CIBSE.

The measurement of building energy performance is not simply about keeping track of your utility expenditure. Buildings are an important financial asset. If you want to ensure good return on investment, careful monitoring and control are essential.

Upgrading air-handling units at Manchester Airport with ABB low-voltage drives and high-efficiency motors is savings 4 GWh a year and reducing CO2 emissions by around 2200 t a year. The project involved replacing drives and motors in 95 AHUs throughout three terminals Each AHU has a supply drive and motor and extract drive and motor, with motors ranging from 3 to 90 kW.

A major contribution to the provision of services for the Co-operative’s new £100 million 46 500 m2 headquarters in Manchester is being made by risers made off site by Pipe Center’s Modular Engineering business for contractor Rotary North West. The building is due for completion in Summer 2012 and will have a BREEAM ‘Outstanding’ rating. It will bring together 12 Co-operative businesses occupying eight separate buildings.

R22 chiller plant at the London offices of a global investment bank has been replaced with bespoke plant from Star Refrigeration using Turbocor compressors. Star designed, built, installed and commissioned air-cooled LPR refrigeration plant comprising four 600 kW chillers using R134a. The project was completed within six months from order to commissioning with no adverse effect on the bank’s business activity or interruption to HVAC services.

Unlike computers, pumps are not out of date before you get them out of the box, but they are out of date when the time comes to replace them. Glynn Williams puts the case for a rethink when that time arrives.