Consequential improvements was a new line of thinking in the latest Building Regulations. Malcolm Jeary offers guidance on what it all means.

Alldales variable-speed drives have been fitted to the master extract system of the O2 leisure and entertainment venue in London. They were commissioned by building-automation consultant TAC Systems as part of an upgrade and refurbishment arising from the fitting of a new integrated Building Management System and bring to 16 the total number of inverter drives supplied by Alldales since the former Dome site reopened.

The low profile of two Tricool chillers installed as part of the replacement of the air-conditioning and ventilation systems for the Hilton London Green Park Hotel in Mayfair was a key element in obtaining planning permission.

Durapipe’s SuperFLO plastic pipework system has been installed as part of the renovation of a data centre owned by ATOS Origin, avoiding the need for hot works.

Easicult dipslides from Kamco provide an easy way to determine the total bacterial count in cooling-system water without having to send samples to a fully equipped laboratory. These dipslides can be used, for example, to check water for bacterial activity in cooling towers, evaporative condensers and hot and cold water systems.

Fuel costs for boiler plant at Withington Girls’ School in Manchester are expected to be reduced by up to 40% following the replacement of 30-year old boilers on the recommendation of Belfry Maintenance Group, which had maintained the old boilers for many years.

With the involvement of CIBSE, the scope of facilities management is growing to include operational and engineering aspects — and Geoff Prudence, chairman of CIBSE’s FM Group, believes that the time is ripe for further progress.

A downtime of just half a day was achieved when boiler plant serving the heating system in sheltered housing in Alnwick, Northumberland, was replaced. That feat was achieved using a Paraskid 120 condensing packaged boiler plant from Potterton Commercial to replace the previous plant.

Guidance on regulations governing the use of ozone-depleting substances, such as some refrigerants, is available from the British Refrigeration Association. This guidance has been prepared as there is critical timing associated with phasing out refrigerants under the ‘Ozone depleting substances regulation’. It is important that everyone involved with the distribution and use of HCFCs, including R22, is fully aware of the issue.

Trox has supplied and installed exposed multi-service chilled beams in the refurbished office of hydrocarbon contactor M. W. Kellogg Ltd in Greenford. The initial contract was for one floor, with a potential rolling programme covering four buildings and 30 storeys.

To reduce the cost of replacing existing boiler plant with a fuel-efficient condensing model Broag-Remeha has introduced the Gas 110 Eco floor-standing boiler which has been specially developed to fit into the same floor area as one of the most popular traditional boiler designs of equal output. One of the major savings is avoiding much of the cost of modifying pipework and associated fittings. These boilers also pass through a standard doorway. Their footprint is 600 x 663 mm, the difference in output being due to height. The range of features of these boilers also makes them ideal for new-build.

The occurrence of a problem with a building-services system is not the time to start finding a specialist to put it right. The appointment of a service and maintenance provider is a much better approach — as Chris Trotman explains.

One of the first installations of Vaillant’s ecoTEC SEDBUK A rated condensing combination boilers installed in Scotland is a replacement for a boiler in a private Victorian property in the Lenzie district of Glasgow — and has reduced the gas bill by 42%.

The small size of a range of Rhoss chillers from Coolmation is said to make them especially suitable for retrofitting in replacement projects where space is at a premium. Their footprint is little more than half that of their predecessors.

John Wright, general manager of specialist servicing and maintenance company EWS, has warned against the dangers of cutting corners on service and maintenance in the current economic climate.

Daikin distributor Space Airconditioning has a dedicated and experienced spares department to support all Daikin equipment, both current and older models. Space has over 27 years’ experience with Daikin equipment.

Architectural and design practice BDP specified Krantz active chilled beams during the refurbishment of the Strand Building of King’s College London. Nearly a kilometre of these beams were supplied for open-plan office areas and cellular office spaces in the reconfigured interior of the building.

Glynn Williams is concerned that like-for-like pump replacement fails to exploit the benefits of modern pump technology.

Controls company Resource Data Management has developed a drop-in replacement for the aging Tuscan refrigeration controller, providing a quick and cost-effective upgrade of existing installations to the latest technology.

Chubb Fire is now responsible for servicing the extensive fire-safety system of the most popular museum outside of London — the National Media Museum in Bradford, which draws over 735 000 visitors a year.

The benefits of condensing water heaters have been brought to a school in York by upgrading an outdated boiler room using two Lochinvar TurboCharger 88-380CE condensing water heaters. They provide hot water for a kitchen serving the main dining hall of St Peter’s School and were installed by Connaught Gasforce.

Retrofit work carried out by Alldales Drive Systems to fit inverter drives to air-handling systems at Sainsbury’s store support centre in London demonstrates how in-house experience can help overcome the challenges of introducing additional plant into existing buildings to improve energy performance.