2019 March

Building services have a significant part to play in improving the wellbeing of occupants in offices. 

The Why of commissioning

04 March, 2019

CSA expert Keith Barker explains why today's complex buildings need commissioning more than ever.

Climate Change Committee, CCC, UK Housing: Fit for the future?, gas grid, heating, Energy Networks Association, Biomethane, Hydrogen, National Grid, Industrial Strategy's Construction Sector Deal

The carbon problem

01 March, 2019

Government has pledged to cut carbon from the UK’s domestic and commercial heating system. It’s a noble objective, but one that poses a series of challenges, says Karen Fletcher

Stephanie Gregory, Clean Air Strategy, greenhouse gas, GHG, CO2, Greater London Authorities, GLA, Etude, communal ground loop heat pump,Target Emission Rate, TER, Kensa Heat Pumps

Stephanie Gregory looks at the alternative approach to heating for a decarbonised future.

heat pump, Ground Source Heat Pumps, GSHP, ASHP, Russell Dean, Mitsubishi Electric

Times are changing for the heating sector. Russell Dean maps out the route from harmful fossil fuels to clean energy.

data centres, IAQ, Mark Taylor, blade SErvers, air filtration, particulate, gaseous contaminants, Power Usage Effectiveness, PUE, Camfil UK

Blade runner

01 March, 2019

Mission-critical data centres require high security and reliability, and indoor air quality plays a crucial role in keeping blade server racks and electronic components fully functional. Mark Taylor explains

Dave Marshall-George, evaporative cooling, daga centre, direct, indirect, Direct evaporative cooling, indirect evaporative cooling, Legionella, Condair

In the air

01 March, 2019

Dave Marshall-George examines the different ways humidifiers can be used in data centres to provide low-cost evaporative cooling.

Mike Hefford, hospitals, Combined Heat and Power, CHP, low NOX, Cygnet Hospital, Remeha

Mike Hefford, looks at how a high-efficiency technology like CHP can help hospitals reduce energy costs, improve environmental performance, and increase energy security

Ian Ellis, building management systems, BMS, building information modelling, BIM, data analytics, integrated infrastructure, Siemens Building Technologies

Medical Marvels

01 March, 2019

Ian Ellis explains how innovations in building technology will change the way consumers experience healthcare in the future.

adiabatic ccoler, University of Plymouth, Transtherm Cooling Industries, PUE, 2bm, data centre, adiabatic

Cool results

01 March, 2019

How one university successfully updated the cooling and capacity for its data centre.

Lightening the load

01 March, 2019

Dave Cooper looks at the heavy load of documentation, legal obligations and standards to be reached at the varying stages in the life cycle of a lift and shares his experiences in the field of lift maintenance.

Paul Collins, maintenance, Carbon Trust, air conditioning, Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, EPBD, Non domestic Energy Performance Certificate, EPC, renewable energy, refrigerants, Panasonic Pump Down System, Panasonic

Active approach

01 March, 2019

Paul Collins highlights the importance of proactive maintenance for saving energy and running costs.

Hattersley, Hook-Up Elite Prime, pressure independent control valve, Venturi metering

The Hattersley Hook-Up Elite Prime is a lightweight and modular valve system that includes the Elite Prime pressure independent control valve (PICV) for accurate flow, temperature and pressure control.

domestic booster pumps, Grundfos, WRAS

At Grundfos, we may be better known for our range of circulators, however pumps are also part of our wider DNA and we offer many other specialist ranges, including domestic booster pumps. These products are designed to deliver the water pressure to a shower and other bathroom fittings, they will also provide the boost required to overcome insufficient mains water supply, to guarantee the demands to match any home or building’s needs.

Chillers, Kappa Sky, Sky, Swegon

Swegon has introduced a new range of high-performance chillers onto the UK market.

i-BX air cooled, inverter driven conpressors, i-NX air-cooled, Mitsubishi electric

Mitsubishi Electric has expanded its chiller offering with two new additions to its Climaveneta portfolio. The new i-NX air-cooled chiller range is offered in both standard and low noise options, whilst the smaller i-BX air-cooled chiller range is available in both single and three phase variants, making both ranges ideal for a wide variety of comfort and process cooling applications.

Ecademy, Grundfos, training

Grundfos on course

01 March, 2019

Finding the time to fit in everything that we’d like to achieve, can be a real challenge. At Grundfos we know that you are busy, but that you are also keen to find time to learn more about pumps, so we have put our efforts into finding some solutions.

condensing hot water heater, LPG, Rinnai

Rinnai condensing hot water heater units using LPG deliver lower carbon emission figures, greater energy efficiencies and are more economic to run than other sources such as oil or electric - making them the first choice for off-grid installations and sites.

communal heating, Heat Interface Units, R40 Evolution, R600 Evolution, Stokvis

There is a rapid uptake of communal or district heating schemes, and Stokvis’ range of energy systems are suited to these types of project.

Lochinvar, SELECT, water heater

Boiler and water heater manufacturer Lochinvar has upgraded its Select digital hot water sizing programme.

gas, domestic heating, CCC, Institution of Gas Engineers, heat pumps, electric heating, housing design

CCC targets gas heating

01 March, 2019

The Committee on Climate Change (CCC) has demanded that no new homes be connected to the gas grid from 2025. In its report UK Housing: Fit for the future, the CCC also says that existing homes should be retrofitted for efficiency and use of heating technologies such as heat networks or heat pumps.

JTL calles on SMEs to take on apprentices with 'Trade Up' campaign.

CIBSE recognises the best in building performance at its annual Award ceremony.

energy efficiency, smart buildings, controls, smart metering

BEIS launches a £4.4 million competition to develop energy saving tech.

ECA welcomes electrical testing for private rented domestic properties - and focuses on proper enforcement.

Carrier, Gatwick Airport, Jubill House, AquaForce, Puretec, Greenspeed Intelligence

Carrier has recently installed its latest chiller at Gatwick Airport, helping the building on its way to reaching carbon neutral status. The project is part of a major upgrade at Jubilee House, the administrative offices at Gatwick Airport. Carrier’s new ultra-low global warming potential (GWP) AquaForce 30XAV chiller, is a replacement for an ageing air-cooled screw chiller and operates on the company’s Puretec HFO R-1234ze refrigerant.

BESA urges government to avoid construction workforce shortages in the event of 'no deal' Brexit.

The CLC offers recommendations on labour and skills in post-Brexit construction sector.

According to the GIRI’s recent research project, the construction industry recognises that 21% of its costs is due to error.

domestic hot water cylinders, Viessmann, Vitocell 300

Viessmann has a range of domestic hot water cylinders on the market with an A+ rating. The two new floorstanding Vitocell 300-V DHW cylinders, with capacities of 160 and 200 litres, are twice as energy efficiency in terms of standby losses as the industry norm.

Siemens Building Technologies, ball valves

Siemens Building Technologies offers a selection of internally and externally threaded ball valves from 15mm to 50mm.Siemens offers a complete range of ball valves, suitable for applications in cold- and hot-water systems.

Reznor, ERP, RHeco

Reznor’s ERP-compliant range now includes the highly efficient RHeco series of energy saving condensing gas fired unit heaters. The RHeco range provides the highest efficiency levels and substantially reduced CO2 & NOx emissions (under 25ppm).

Wellness, BSRIA

BSRIA is staging a Wellbeing Network event in Manchester on March 29th.

IET, controls

The IET has opened its draft Code of Practice for Building Automation and Control Systems for public comment.

Artic, Park Academy West London, Artic Building Services

Artic Building Services has been awarded the full hard FM maintenance contract for Park Academy West London, in partnership with Komfort Services. The Academy is a school in Hillingdon, Middlesex for ages 11 to 19. It was built with modern education needs in mind and has a range of facilities from advanced design and technology workshops; and art and design suite; and video editing factilities .

Grundfos, wine, Verona, dosing pump

Grundfos is playing its part in one of the oldest professions in the world, winemaking. The history of Italian wine traces back to as far as 4000 BC and over the years it has built the reputation for the quality and variety that it offers globally.

Cooling, LG, Westminster Quarter, LG Multi VS heat recovery

LG has provided the air conditioning for the new Westminster Quarter in Monck Street, central London. The site consists of two buildings with a total of 102 residential apartments. The properties are designed to achieve ‘Lifetimes Homes Standards’ and ‘Code for Sustainable Homes Level 4’.

Toshiba, Sonority Design, bi-flow RAS, split systems, Ref-Sol

Audio engineers at hi-fi specialist Sonority Design have installed an ultra-low noise R-32-based Toshiba air conditioning system to ensure the best possible listening environment for its customers. 

Waterloo, V&A Dundee, air distribution products, air terminal devices

V&A museum which sits on the banks of the River Tay in Scotland, is part of a £1 billion waterfront transformation in Dundee. The museum has been described by its award-winning Japanese architects as a ‘living room for the city’ and has attracted world-wide publicity and thousands of visitors due to its futuristic exterior and impressive gallery spaces.

ZED Pods, modular low-carbon starter homes, Dr Rehan Khodabuccus, cross laminated timber

ZED Pods, the company behind a new concept in modular low-carbon starter homes, kicks off 2019 with 65 units in planning or pre-application at sites across the UK including Lincoln, Essex and London. This exceeds the company’s planned 2018 start-up target of 60 housing units.

Robur, gas-powered chillers, Embassy Gardens

 Faced with a shortage of electrical power and the cost of providing the necessary power, 128 Robur gas-powered chillers have been installed to provide comfort cooling to six residential apartment buildings at Embassy Gardens, the landmark development in Nine Elms, London. More than 2.3MW of cooling have now been provided across three phases of the residential build.

First things first

01 March, 2019

The headline news in February was that the Committee for Climate Change (CCC) has recommended that no new homes be added to the gas grid from 2025. And that our existing domestic building stock be weaned off gas in no short order.

gas fired, Steve Sherman, gas fired infrared heating, ErP, Schwank UK

The option of gas-fired radiant heating offers a solution for industrial and commercial projects.

Chris Harvey, low surface temperature, LST, radiators, Stelrad Radiator Group

Safe to touch

01 March, 2019

There are responsibilities that many building owners have for providing a safe environment. And safe heating is one of those obligations. Chris Harvey explains.

The future office is here

01 March, 2019

On arrival at their workplace, employees of the Farringdon-based design company Moo are greeted with an Instagram-worthy foyer. It sets the tone for the rest of the office—a modern and welcoming place to work.

Chris Davis, GLA, Low Carbon Heat: Heat Pumps in London, gas-fired CHP, heat networks, Evinox Energy

How low can you go?

01 March, 2019

Chris Davis considers changes to the carbon emission factors in the updated GLA planning guidance will have for the specification of heat networks and selection of heat interface units.




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New Sustainability Director for Wates Group

Wates Group, a family-owned development, building and property maintenance company, has appointed Cressida Curtis as its new Group Sustainability Director.

Domus Ventilation appoints new contractor sales managers

Ventilation systems manufacturer Domus Ventilation has announced the arrival of three new Contractor Sales Managers.