A warm-air heating system from Reznor positioned to create a cyclonic rotating air-distribution effect is maintaining comfortable temperatures in Ensign Buses’ large depot and maintenance facility.

LARS FABRICUS describes how central energy plant can be used with local hot water generators in dwellings for maximum efficiency

Keston Boilers has supplied two SEDBUK A rated high-efficiency C55 boilers for the new £34 million Nugent House annexe of Eastbourne College. For speed of installation, the boilers were built into a bespoke floor-standing rig. Savings in installation costs were also made possible by the small-diameter flue system, which can run up to 45 m vertically or horizontally.

Stiebel Eltron has won a contract to supply heat pumps for 41 houses on the Isle of Skye. They will extract heat from the ground.

Comfort levels, space restrictions, interior design — the arguments for underfloor heating are endless. REX INGRAM gives advice on the planning and design of underfloor heating system.

Comfort and safety for children in a new primary have been achieved using a Robbens underfloor heating system. The new Church of England primary school at Yaxham in Norfolk replaces a building dating from the nineteenth century.

The Econo-Air 3000 series of direct-fired gas heating and ventilating system from Stokvis Energy Systems incorporates high-efficiency burner and controls to optimise energy usage, minimise the effects of draughts and cold penetration, and instantly respond to falls in internal temperature.

Energy-efficient underfloor heating systems are being installed in the Piers Arts Centre in Stromness, Orkney, to provide background heating. The museum is being renovated and regenerated, with an extension to link the two existing buildings. The Raychem systems are being used extensively, including the entrance, galleries, lobbies and cloakroom areas.

Heating for a luxury penthouse created during the conversion of a church into 12 apartments is provided by an Even-Heat underfloor heating system.

The heating range of Dimplex includes products for most commercial, light-industrial and domestic applications — enabling the creation of fully integrated heating systems or the provision of localised room or spot heating.

The Redring Hotbox electric boiler provides economical heating where space is limited or gas is unavailable. These boilers drive sealed wet systems in light-commercial or domestic situations. They can deliver a flow temperature of 60°C to eight radiators against an outside temperature of 0°C.

14 engineering upgrades suggested by extensive customer feedback are incorporated into Ferroli’s new Optimax HE combi and system boilers. Almost all involve making life easier for the installer and service engineer by giving all parts and connections more hand and tool space — without increasing the size of the boiler.

Electric heating itself does not emit carbon dioxide, and nor need the generation of electricity from renewable and nuclear sources. DAVID RUMBLES reflects on a new future.

A reduction in heating costs of up to 30% is claimed by Airflow Developments by using its Economiser to take warm air from the roof void in large buildings and redirect it back down to floor level. This claim is substantiated by an independent investigation carried out by BSRIA. The product lends itself to use in retail warehouses, factories and community leisure facilities.

Nearly 2500 m2 of underfloor heating has been installed at Young Options College in Shifnal, Shropshire. Unusually, the tubing was installed by fixing it directly to the reinforcing mesh within the slab by Thermo-floor rather than installing onto the slab and then covering it with a screed.

UHMA (the Underfloor Heating Manufacturers’ Association) has launched the UK’s first independent training course in the design and installation of underfloor heating.

BSS has added a new range of tubular radiant heaters to its portfolio of BOSS-branded products.

Autron’s range of LST (low surface temperature) radiators has been independently tested by BSRIA for heating output and casing temperature — ensuring that specifiers, contractors and users can be confident of quoted performance data.

Coverad has developed a range of induced-airflow electric heaters for commercial applications that meet the needs of current legislation and cater for a market where safety, electrical efficiency, ease of installation, low maintenance and robust construction are required.

Osma Underfloor Heating has published a new guide for professional heating installers. It describes the wide range of solutions from the company and provides best-practice advice for working with underfloor heating systems in commercial and domestic applications.

PETE MILLS looks at some key considerations in designing commercial heating installations to maximise the potential of gas-fired condensing boilers.

NICK CULLEN stresses that value engineering should be solely focused on the interests of the client.

The speed of installation of LindabSafe ductwork in the new stadium of Doncaster Rovers has helped reduce the risk of the project moving into extra time.

Value engineering can offer significant benefits for organisations looking to improve energy efficiencies from their building systems, argues LEE TABBATT

Considerable reductions in installation time for cabled services in the new £87 million cancer-treatment centre in Glasgow have been achieved using Cablofil steel-wire cable tray.

Operational savings of over £50 000 a year are being achieved following the installation of long-life, maintenance-free Endurance luminaires from Chalmor. These luminaires have been installed in the new warehouse and factory of Knauf Drywall in South Humberside.

An outstanding price/performance ratio is claimed for the fifth generation of digital, dimmable lighting controls from TridonicAtco. The PCA T5 ECO lp range combines DSI technology, switchDIM and intelligent protection mechanism in a plug-and-play solution.

Ease of integration with building-management systems has led to ABB HVAC drives being installed at the new Cheshire & Merseyside NHS Treatment Centre based at Halton Hospital.

ANDREW KEOGH discusses the benefits of different heat-exchanger technology on chiller design.

Following an analysis of whole-life costs for heating its new garage, Simonds, which operates coach and bus services, has chosen an Ambi-Rad radiant-heating system.

PAUL DAVIDSON explores a range of approaches to reducing longer-term lighting costs.

CIBSE’s campaign to reduce carbon emissions this summer was an outstanding success. The outcome shows clearly just how much can be done for a small effort and investment. Our coverage of this campaign highlights the achievement of some of the award winners, with useful lessons for readers keen to mimic their success.

A long-term energy strategy for the Peacock Group includes a simple approach to preventing electrical equipment being left on overnight unnecessarily.

United Business Media mounted a good carbon-saving campaign at Ludgate House in London, but it is clear that there is far to go.

Even with five years of energy-saving initiatives under its belt, the Copthorne Hotel at Cardiff was able to embark on enough new measures to scoop the award for the most carbon saved.

Everyone in the Exeter office of a firm of architects is more aware of

energy-conservation opportunities.

In even moderately tall buildings, measures to clear smoke in the event of a fire take up valuable floor space. A new approach by Colt considerably reduces that space requirement.

To maximise the use of daylight in new accommodation units and laboratory for the British Antarctic Survey at Bird Island, South Georgia, Monodraught SunPipes have been installed. The site has continuous daylight for about 10 weeks of the summer and very long days for about six months. In the winter, it is either dark or the Sun does not appear above the horizon.

Weatherite Building Services has installed a new air-conditioning system at the Magistrates’ Court in Dudley, West Midlands.

Steinel’s third-generation lighting controller switches are controlling lighting in and around the new control tower at Terminal 5 at Heathrow Airport.

Centralised hot-water services for two prestigious residential developments in West London are provided by installations based on Andrews water heaters. Consultants Chapman Bathurst specified the equipment for The Phillimores (the redevelopment of Queen Elizabeth College in Duchess of Bedford Walk) and Phillimore Square (a project on the Sir John Atkins site, which formed part of King’s College and includes the creation of a new residential square).

Vokera’s recently launched CondexaPRO boiler has been installed in the head office and warehouse of the New Charter Building Company as part of the upgrading of the heating system.

A tailor-made backup-power solution has been devised by Scorpion Power Systems to support the expanding IT network of Servebase Global Card Solutions. Servebase is a significant player in EFTPOS and card-processing software and wanted to ensure that it could always respond to customer demand, even during a mains power failure.

Star Refrigeration has now completed the installation of an Indigochiller cooling system to serve the headquarters of BSkyB in London. The Indigochiller uses R134a and has electromagnetic bearings in the compressor to eliminate the leakage of refrigerant. It was development in direct response to proposed F-gas regulations.

Carrier has added to its list of museums using its equipment for air conditioning with an installation for the a new exhibition hall at the Deutsche Historische Museum in Berlin. It was designed by Chinese-American architect leoh Ming Pei and houses a permanent exhibition depicting German history in images and eye-witness reports. Other Carrier museum projects include Tate Modern in London and the Uffizi in Florence. The frescoes of the Sistine Chapel in Rome are also protected by Carrier air conditioning.

The moisture-free environment that is vital to the preservation of one of Brunel’s iconic projects, the ss Great Britain, is delivered by ductwork based on LindabSafe presealed spiral ducting.

Computer server rooms supporting the administration of the whole of Derbyshire are being kept at the required temperature by a strategic combination of Toshiba 2-pipe and 3-pipe VRF systems. The SMMS and SHRM systems use R410A.

Instantaneous hot water to meet the requirements of the LyonsDen Fitness Centre at Bagillt in Flintshire is generated by three Rinnai Infinity HD50i water heaters.

Cooling for the club shop of Arsenal FC in the new Emirates Stadium is provided by an LG VRF air-conditioning system.

The new £64 million Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital in Brighton has enabled building-services company SES to demonstrate key examples of onsite innovation, coupled with the extensive use of off-site construction and prefabrication contributing significantly to financial and time savings.

The Palestra landmark office development in London is providing an early example of compliance with the latest Part L regulations for the conservation of fuel and power. Although the design was drafted before the new regulations came into force, the client requested it to be compliant anyway, a challenge taken up by the design team of Buro Happold.

Hot water for the newly renovated 166-room Ramada Hotel & Suites in Coventry is supplied by a low-storage system comprising two Lochinvar CFW water heaters and two LST 250 storage tanks in a rooftop plant room.

Four VRF air-conditioning systems with a total cooling capacity of 200 kW have been installed at Informa Plc, which publishes the daily Lloyds List newspaper.

Clyde Energy Solutions has helped bring Bromley Council up to speed on condensing boilers with a CPD session on Part L of the Building Regulations and the replacement of old boilers with condensing boilers.

Fuel bills at a country house near Basingstoke are expected to be reduced by 15 to 30% following the installation of two Calorex heat-recovery units. Payback is expected within two years.

Measures to reduce solar gain at the 167 000 m2 Chiswick Park office development have made it possible to use displacement ventilation to deliver comfort cooling.

As part of refurbishment work at Thorpe Park in Leeds, the performance of the lighting has been enhanced with the installation of CP Electronics’ Rapid lighting-control system. The system also addresses variable usage patterns in offices and associated areas.

To meet the client’s requirement for energy-efficient air conditioning for the 1600 m2 Gateway Guildford office development, a Daikin R410A VRV system has been installed. The project was commissioned by Dungate Property Group and provides the only new office space in Guildford. It is designed to be let as a whole or in suites from about 3000 m2.

Underground water provides the heat source for a new country house near Hertford. It is situated in 27 acres of parkland and six en-suite bedrooms, sauna, gymnasium, full-sized snooker room, cinema, swimming pool, kitchen, laundry and wine cellar.

The refurbishment of the BBC West One offices and editing studios at Langham Place in central London includes a £300 000 order for Trox to supply chilled beams. The company also supplied a wide range of grilles and diffusers.

The CentraLine Tiger controller has 76 inputs/outputs, enabling it to manage all the HVAC needs of small to medium-size buildings. It can control a variety of energy sources, including solar heating.

AMS Pumps, the specialist pumps division of BSS, now distributes the Armstrong Holden Brooke Pullen range. The agreement enables customers to purchase Armstrong variable- and fixed-speed pumps, circulators, accessories, booster sets, expansion equipment and heat exchangers from 57 branches in the UK and Eire.

Danfoss reports high levels of sales for a recently introduced valve for balancing and controlling heating and cooling units such as fan-coils, chilled ceilings and air-handling units. The AB-QM dual-purpose valve can be used as an automatic flow limiter or, when fitted with an actuator, as a combined flow limiter and temperature-control valves.

A new version of Lochinvar’s CP-M high-efficiency condensing boiler for commercial use has the ability to include on-board options, including control of up to four different zones.

A Cash-Management module from Estimation is believed to be the first software in the UK for cash book and cash-flow forecasting to fully address the special requirements of the construction industry.

Ventilation manufacturer Xpelair has introduced 33 new product ranges in response to the latest revision to Parts L and F of the Building Regulations and the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD). The new legislation has created a surge of interest in energy-saving ventilation solutions, and Xpelair has geared its new-product development accordingly.

Ventilation manufacturer Xpelair has introduced 33 new product ranges in response to the latest revision to Parts L and F of the Building Regulations and the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD). The new legislation has created a surge of interest in energy-saving ventilation solutions, and Xpelair has geared its new-product development accordingly.

The first wireless building-management system launched by TAC Satchwell is said to offer an 80% reduction in installation costs. Simply by eliminating the need to install cables between every control point, Andover’s Continuum can save miles of wiring on major installations.

Autron has introduced an anti-microbial finish to its range of low-surface-temperature (LST) radiators.

An integral 6-stage air-filtration process is used in Toshiba’ latest high-wall indoor air-conditioning units. The filtration process includes the use of products based on Sasa, Zeolite and vitamin C. Research in Japan shows that this filtration technology gives exceptional anti-virus, deodorising and anti-oxidant characteristics.

A reduction of at least 80% in heat flow through walls, roofs, ceilings and walls is claimed for Glidevale’s Protect VC Foil membrane compared with conventional vapour-control barriers.

Colt International’s has added a larger size to its Caloris range of low-noise horizontal concealed units to heat and cool larger spaces.

Design software for VRF air-conditioning systems from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is available from 3D Air Sales. This is said to be the first software to enable 2-pipe systems to be converted to 3-pipe — and vice-versa. The software is available free from 3D and HRP.

Marshall-Tufflex has launched a cable-management system with a distinctive curved profile. Odyssey is said to be the first 3-compartment uPVC system on the market with a completely curved outer profile.

A new closed-circuit cooling tower from Baltimore Aircool can operate in three modes: combined dry/wet; adiabatic and fully dry. HFL cooling towers have an intelligent controls package to switch between these modes to match requirement and minimise water consumption by operating in adiabatic or dry mode as much as possible. Capacities of up to 2 MW are available from a single unit, with water consumption being reduced by 40% compared with conventional cooling towers.

EncaSeal has been developed by Apollo Energy Research to completely encase and seal most types of insulation used in the HVAC sector, such as ductwork, pipework and storage vessels.

Victaulic has launched a range of flow-control products that can be used directly with its grooved piping system. The new range enables Victaulic to offer a complete piping-systems package for the first time.

Thermal Technology has completely revised and updated its Shallovent range of low-profile ventilation/heat-recovery units for installing in ceiling voids.

Ferroli’s AQUAcyl range of stainless-steel hot-water cylinders combine fast recovery with a 25 year tank guaranteed. The high-grade 316L stainless steel does not require a sacrificial anode.

A range of luminaires that simulates the appearance of skylights has been introduced by Whitecroft Lighting to deliver the illusion of outdoor light from standard suspended ceilings.

Not only has the 100 days of Carbon Clean Up campaign organised by the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers made a useful contribution to reducing the UK's emissions of carbon dioxide, but it has also shown how much can be achieved for just a little investment and how important it is for everyone in an organisation to be involved. An energy manager alone cannot achieve very much. With the support and involvement of everyone in an organisation, from the board downwards, success is assured — as the experiences of award winners in the campaign demonstrate (click the link below, "The 100 days stories').

Over 12% of construction work by value is no longer subject to the practice of retention, according to the latest assessment by the Specialist Engineering Contractors (SEC) Group. The latest additions to the group’s list of clients that no longer include retention clauses in their construction contracts includes the following.

An initiative by two major contracting organisations to help its members meet health-and-safety competencies has been welcomed by the Health & Safety Executive. The move by the Heating & Ventilating Contractors’ Association and the Electrical Contractors’ Association comes against a background of increasing prosecutions by the HSE as too many building projects and developments use contractors that flout relevant legislation, standards and good working practice.

LG’s air-conditioning division has reported a major upswing in orders for its ranges of VRF and mini-VRF systems. Orders have been received for a wide variety of sites — including commercial offices, health centres, sports facilities and retail malls.

Consulting-engineering practices are enjoying buoyant business, according to the latest state-of-business report from the Association for Consultancy & Engineering.

Air-conditioning specialist Mitsubishi Electric has created a new consultants sales team to offer a specialist service to architectural and building-services consultants.

The sustained growth enjoyed by the private commercial sector of the construction industry dipped in the three months to August compared with the previous three months, according to figures from the Department of Trade & Industry. Orders were down slightly by 4%. Year-on-year orders, however, were up by 40% and were 56% higher than the corresponding three months a year earlier.

Members of the seventh generation of York building-services company J. H. Shouksmith & Sons Ltd have been made Freemen of the City at a special ceremony at York’s Guildhall. It is 200 years since Jonas Shouksmith became of Freeman of the City of York in 1806. The latest members of the family are Claire, David and Edward Shouksmith.

Armstrong is rebranding its UK operations in line with the rest of its businesses worldwide. The move involves a name change for the HVAC equipment brand. This will be known simply as Armstrong, instead of Armstrong Holden Brooke Pullen. The legal name of the business is unchanged.

ADCAS, the Association of Ductwork Contractors & Allied Services, has embarked on a campaign to increases its influence and standing in the industry.

As part of a £2 million M&E contract at the Cascades Shopping Centre in Portsmouth, SES is undertaking comprehensive enabling works, including removing the existing outdated plant, equipment and ductwork. SES is working with principal contractor Henry Jones to complete an extensive 18-month, £20 million redevelopment of the ground and lower floors and is working closely with consultants and the centre’s management team to finalise plans for the project and ensure the day-to-day running of this shopping centre remains unaffected.

With the planned acquisition of OYL, Daikin Industries is poised to become the global number one in the air-conditioning field — according to Frans Hoorelbeke, general manager of sales for Daikin Europe. OYL’s interests include the brands of McQuay (HVAC), AAF International (air filtration) and J&E Hall (refrigeration and freezing).

Thermofrost Cryo Plc is the latest company to join Toshiba Air Conditioning as a distributor for VRF and split air-conditioning systems. A new distribution agreement becomes effective at the start of 2007.

Three apprentices employed by building-services contractor Skerritt in Nottingham have won awards.

The Heating & Ventilating Contractors’ Association and the trade union Amicus have agreed a 3-year pay deal for operatives. There are increases in hourly rates of 3.5% from 6 November 2006, 3.5% from 3 September 2007 and 4% from 6 October 2008. Corresponding increases have been agreed in overtime premium payments, responsibility and daily travelling allowances and weekly sickness and accident benefits. There is also an increase in lodging allowance.

AMEC has won two contracts worth £85 million to deliver new further-education colleges in eastern England.

Trox Group in Germany, which makes and supplies air-handling equipment, has restructured to guarantee its future and create the right conditions for continued expansion.

Ideal Stelrad is the main sponsor for a single-handed yacht crossing of the Atlantic Ocean from St Malo in France to Guadeloupe in the Caribbean. The challenge is being undertaken by international yachtsman and world record holder Ross Hobson and covers 3500 miles.