Everyone who needs to keep up to date with developments in the HVACR industry must make sure they visit H&V07 and RAC07 from 27 February to 1 March.

A new approach to increasing the thermal inertia of buildings, which can also be retro-fitted, has been developed and tested by DuPont.

Energy efficiency seems to be the only game in town at the moment, but that doesn’t mean we can ignore health, safety and productivity issues, says NIGEL EDWARDS-HUGHES.

RICHARD WALKER, explains why the changes to Part L of the Building Regulations were necessary and how they affect the selection of boiler plant.

Sales of condensing boilers to in the commercial market are approaching 50% — but STUART PURCHASE is concerned that they are not able to realise their full potential.

Do you fancy reducing your heating bills by 20 per cent? PETER JENNINGS believes he has the answer.

There are undoubted benefits to installing condensing technology in existing buildings, but it is a much more complex matter than simply swapping over the boiler says STEPHEN LAWS.

As part of its obligation to meet the Welsh Housing Quality Standard introduced by the Welsh Assembly in 2002, Torfaen County Borough Council in South Wales is working with boiler manufacturer Glow-worm to replace boilers in its housing stock of some 8500 units.

CCL Lindab now offers a stainless-steel flue system for commercial and domestic applications. It can be used with gas- or oil-fired boilers and industrial air heaters.

Integrated into the environmentally aware services of Fifteen Cornwall, the restaurant inspired by Jamie Oliver at Watergate Bay near Newquay, are high-efficiency boilers and calorifiers from Clyde Energy Solutions.

A total of 19 Hoval gas-fired condensing boilers have been installed at the Emirates Stadium of Arsenal Club to serve heating and hot-water systems. Key factors in the specification of the Ultragas AM-c 500 boilers by consulting engineers Buro Happold were their high efficiency and compact design, optimising the use of plant-room space.

Viessmann has expanded its capabilities in the market for biomass-fuelled boiler and CHP with the acquisition of Austrian manufacturer Mawera. This company has a turnover of E30 million and has been awarded prizes for innovation by the Austrian and Bavarian state governments.

To simplify installation, Hamworthy Heating has improved the water manifold kits used with its Wessex ModuMax range of gas-fired boilers.

Social housing in the north west of England is being refurbished using high-efficiency boilers supplied by Ferroli. The company is working with the property services division of Progress Housing Group and is supplying condensing combination boilers from its Optimax and Maxima ranges, together with a service package that includes next-day call out, free training for Progress’s gas heating engineers and sponsorship of its apprenticeship scheme.

The Dimplex Ascari fully modulating electric boiler for domestic heating systems does not require a flue and is said to be ideal for heating smaller properties — especially in multi-occupancy buildings where the design does not allow for gas ventilation but wet radiators are the preferred choice. It is said to be ideally to areas offering Economy 10 and other similar tariffs.

As part its Decent Homes programme, the London Borough of Greenwich has installed Vaillant ecoTEC plus high-efficiency combi boilers to modernise 36 maisonettes. They were installed by K&T Heating services and flued using Vaillant’s variable termination kits, enabling the flue outlet to be resited away from the boiler to reduce the impact of nuisance pluming.

Modern, well insulated large-space buildings require lower heat inputs to their warm air heating systems — but heat distribution must cover much wider areas. ERIC FENTON explains how this can be achieved without extensive ductwork.

Refurbishment work is affected by the Building Regulations more than ever before. It can be a minefield, but IAN ADAMS explains how to chart a safe path.

Annual energy savings of over 1000 MWh are expected at Belfast International Airport following the refurbishment of a number of air-handling units. The work includes the retrofitting of variable speed drives to the fans of these AHUs. Carbon emissions will be reduced by over 500 t a year.

Replacing the lighting system provides a wonderful opportunity for giving an office a fresh look and increasing productivity and well being. Hugh King’s health check will help you consider your refurbishment options.

Faced with retrofitting air conditioning into a prestigious central-London address, Air Conditioning Solutions (ACS) replaced the existing cooling-only system with five Mitsubishi Electric PURY-P City Multi heat-recovery units. Gloucester Place Business Centre in London’s West End is an elegant 5-storey period building which combines old with new. Each office of this multi-tenanted building still has the original Edwardian fireplaces, for example.

Econo-Air air-handling units have been supplied by Stokvis Energy Systems for projects at three schools in the West Midlands to enable the use of sports halls to be increased.

New Government regulations place increasing pressure on a building’s owners or users to control and reduce energy use, coupled with stricter requirements on indoor air quality. How do they affect building services in the renovation and conversion markets, and should you replace an ancient air-conditioning system that still seems to work well? PHIL ORD explains more.

As part of the comprehensive refurbishment of the British Film Institute’s National Film Theatre complex on London’s South Bank, Daikin VRV inverter-controlled heat-recovery systems have been installed in many of the new features and special areas.

Managing the maintenance, repair and operations of any commercial building is a balancing act for the engineers, facilities managers and contractors involved. Tom Wilson discusses the value that distributors can bring to the maintenance and repair operation.

F-gases (HFCs) do a wonderful job inside chillers, but they are very unkind to the environment if they escape. ADRIAN TREVELYAN explains the forthcoming regulation to contain F-gases — and how they are an opportunity rather than a threat.

As part of the upgrading of halls of residence at the University of Wales Aberystwyth, Parkersell is rewiring the halls and inspecting and testing the fixed wiring. Parkersell is also carrying out emergency-lighting work.

OCS Engineers has won a new 3-year care contract to maintain the headquarters of the London Chamber of Commerce & Industry. The deal builds on a 3-year relationship which began when OCS’s predecessor (BES) won the initial LCCI contract.

Weatherite Building Services Group has completed the refurbishment of air-conditioning system for Supernews shops in Keighley and Sheffield. The projects were part of a major facelift programme of more than a hundred T&S Supercigs shops acquired from Tesco two years ago.

AMEC is to manage a multi-million programme to redevelop two stores for Marks & Spencer in Liverpool and Edinburgh. The work follows the completion this year of seven remodelled stores in Bury, Dumfries, Handforth, Blackpool, Darlington, Workington and Pudsey in time for the peak trading period before Christmas.

Had you realised that an air-conditioning system installed 10 years ago is around 75% less efficient than today’s state-of-the art systems? Likewise, had you realised that many general lighting systems can readily be upgraded to reduce their power consumption by 20% or more by replacing luminaires or improving lighting controls?

Modern Building Services is exploiting the communications capabilities of the Internet to help readers find new positions to further their careers — and, at the same time, help employers fill vacancies more quickly than ever before.

School leaver Rachael Calland has joined Cruden Mechanical Services of Warrington as an apprentice plumbing and heating engineer. She was one of two apprentices recruited this year from a shortlist of 10 school leavers who applied for apprenticeships with the company during the summer.

Working with Anneka Rice in an area in Sri Lanka devastated by the Tsunami on Boxing Day in 2004 is ‘possibly the hardest thing I have ever done’ — says Dave Woodcock, an area co-ordinator and member of the Institute of Plumbing & Heating Engineering.

Despite sudden and sharp falls in new construction orders in the private-commercial and private-industrial sectors for the 12 months to October 2006, these sectors still display strong long-term growth — according to figures from the Department of Trade & Industry.

The Stern Review and the Climate Change Bill are both on the agenda of CIBSE’s national conference for 2007. With the theme ‘The business of change’, the conference is at The Hotel Russell in central London on 24 and 25 April.

A perceived demand for sustainable solutions has prompted the Heating & Ventilating Contractors’ Association to develop an agenda for action on sustainability. Its primary focus is on the design, installation and maintenance of low- and zero-carbon (LZC) technologies.

A series of free seminars on the phase out of R22 as a refrigerant is being run by wholesaler HRP. Over half of refrigerant used in the UK is R22. Production will be dramatically reduced by December 2009 and from 2012 the use of virgin R22 and refrigerants based on R22 will be banned.

MITIE has boosted its association with Surrey Education Business Partnership with Andy White from MITIE Engineering in Farnham volunteering as a mentor to pupils at Ash Manor School in Ash, Surrey.

A report prepared for HM Treasury recommending moving further towards an employer-led education and skills system has been welcomed by SummitSkills as a ‘major turning point’ for the building-services-engineering sector.

A total of 5000 to 8000 qualified handlers of refrigerants in air-conditioning systems will be required to meet the requirements of the F-gas Regulation which comes into effect on 4 July 2007 — that was the message of Graham Hendra, technical manager with LG’s air-conditioning division in the UK to nearly 200 contractors, consultants and property managers at its recent series of road shows in Manchester, Birmingham and London.

The vision of the Chancellor Gordon Brown of zero carbon emissions from every new home in the UK has thrown into the spotlight a range of Government initiatives. Clarification by the Treasure after the pre-Budget statement defined a zero-carbon home as one that does not make an overall contribution to global warming. One incentive is for zero-carbon homes to be exempt from stamp duty.

Robertson Construction North East England Ltd has reached financial close on the second tranche of a Local Improvement Finance Trust (LIFT) project in Newcastle and North Tyneside.

The Heating & Ventilating Contractors’ Association has become a signatory to the construction commitments charter developed by the Strategic Forum for Construction in relationship to the 2012 Olympic Games.

To advance its strategy for developing its chilled-water business, Marstair has consolidated all chilled-water products under the Quartz brand and dropped the Airking brand.

PME, the facilities services company of Carillion, has been re-awarded a major contract by leading financial organisation ABN Amro in competitive. tender.

A continuing trend towards clients working more closely with M&E contractors has seen procurement based on lowest cost almost halve from 31% in 2001 to 16% in 2006, according to the latest Key Performance Indicators compiled by BSRIA.

Recent rapid growth in the market for unvented water heating has seen sales of Heatrae Sadia’s Megaflo cylinders pass the half-million mark since the company started making them in 1994.

Buderus has added to its range of intelligent controls for its boilers with the RC20 wired combined room thermostat and programmer. It is especially suited for combi installations.

IQID chilled beams from Fläkt Woods are available as basic models but can also be equipped with features to provide multi-functional chilled beams. They include comfort control, two rows of holes for high air flow, flow-pattern control, control and regulation equipment, lighting and provision for a sprinkler system.

Energy-efficient and comfortable heating and controlled ventilation for a new classroom block at a school in Swindon is provided by the oXygen air-refreshment system from Jaga Heating Products. The system was specified by Swindon Borough Council for the classrooms at Haydon Wick Primary School to avoid problems caused by inadequate control of temperature and poor ventilation associated with steel panel radiators and opening windows.

Faced with the requirement to heat full fresh air to around 150°C to heat the Turkish baths at Ironmonger Row in the City of London to about 85°C, Reznor developed a bespoke solution.

Among the features of Vaillant air-conditioning units installed at Bankfield Surgery at Elland in Yorkshire is a health setting, which ionises particles and filters the air to remove airborne contaminants and bacteria — a feature that is said to be well suited to medical establishments.

Faced with a brief for the new Student Services Building at the University of Leeds that included the harmonisation of building and services to reduce energy usage and lower the carbon impact, Hoare Lea Consulting Engineers combined a range of measures.

An unusual application of an Airbloc chassis type air curtain installed over the main entrance doors of the Pomme D’Or Hotel in Jersey is proving very effective in blocking the prevailing winds off the English Channel and creating a more pleasant climate in the large lobby.

Lighting for the impressive new building of Matthew Boulton College in Birmingham is provided by newly 1500 fluorescent luminaires supplied by Cooper Lighting & Security. The building includes a wide variety of lecture rooms, laboratories, study areas and walkways — all of which are lit by products from the Crompton Lighting range of luminaires.

With the help of an interest-free loan from the Carbon Trust a printer in Feltham has installed evaporative cooling to reduce temperatures in the print area from over 35°C to around 24°C.

Chloride Power Protection has been chosen as the preferred supplier by the T5 buying club for the supply of all critical power-protection systems for Terminal 5 at Heathrow Airport. The wholly owned subsidiary Chloride Harath is responsible for on-going service and maintenance — supported by Chloride’s LIFE.net remote monitoring and diagnostics. package.

Experience with an underfloor heating system installed over 10 years ago led to the head teacher asking for it in a new children’s centre in County Durham. The new centre at Wingate caters for children from just a few weeks old up to five years, and 520 m2 of floor area is heated by a Giacomini underfloor system.

Renewable energy is used in more ways than one by a Dimplex heat pump providing space heating for a new visitor information and community resources centre at one of the National Trust’s most important industrial sites in Wales. Not only does the heat pump utilise energy from the air to produce hot water for the underfloor heating system, but it is also powered by hydro-electricity — so the installation has zero carbon emissions.

The cost of providing fire safety in a new London business hotel has been reduced using a powered smoke-extraction system.

Durable pipework solutions that were quick to install have been achieved at Manchester’s Beetham Tower using plastics systems from Durapipe.

Heat and electricity for a large residential complex in Altrincham are provided by two Turbec gas micro turbines from NewEnCo supported by a large thermal store to smooth out demand and enable the CHP plant to operate continuously. The installation can generate 200 kW of electricity.

Andrews has continued its ongoing supply of water heaters for Rock Barracks in Suffolk with two MAXXlfo condensing storage water heaters to supply showers in the sports hall.

Secure power for 35 servers at the London headquarters of Concorde Logistics, a specialist IT and medical-logistics company, is provided by a turnkey package from Scorpion Power Systems. The project included the installation of a state-of-the-art power support system, including consultancy, design, installation and commissioning.

Fujitsu has added a large-capacity 2-pipe R410A VRF air-conditioning system to its product line up.

Fläkt Woods UK has introduced a totally new ventilation system for supplying and distributing air in buildings. Known as Activent, it uses special ducts with a large number of small nozzles to evenly distribute air along the entire length of the duct. The system has been proved to function effectively in Scandinavia.

Simple instructions on the screen of Honeywell’s CM900 energy-saving programmable room thermostat are intended to make an instructions book unnecessary — but one is provided anyway.

Daikin Europe has introduced a new range of inverter-driven R410A Sky Air heat-pump units. There are three models in the RZQS series, offering cooling capacities from 7.1 to 12.5 kW with heating from 8.0 to 14.0 kW.

Xpelair has launched a new industrial range for both the new-build and refurbishment markets and focusing on energy efficiency. The range include innovations such as Xpress high-pressure inline fans, Airblade laminar-flow entrance air screens and the option of variable-speed drives on ModulAir air-handling units.

Apollo luminaires made by Pracht are designed for more aggressive environments — being waterproof, dust proof and chemical proof. They are available from Sill Lighting UK and have housings of white GRP-reinforced flame-resistant polyester resin, which is resistant to acid and alkalis.

Trials by ebm-papst with guide vanes fitted to the discharge side of axial fans have doubled or tripled their thrust range — depending on the size of the fan. The company carried out these trials as part of investigations into the efficient cooling of cold storage areas, which require an airflow that permeates to all areas of the room.

A climate-control unit that can also provide hot water is available from Cooling Direct.

A trench heater that is only 50 mm deep is available from SPC. The casing for these heaters is an aluminium extrusion with a new design of aluminium roll-up grille to match.

Dimplex has added new industrial and architectural air curtains and compact commercial fan heaters to its range of electric heating products for the commercial market.

Sontay has set up a partnership with Danfoss Randall to act as a distributor for its range of motorised control valves and automatic AB-QM series of HVAC balancing valves.

Schneider has added a power-factor-correction calculator to its web site. It is easy to use and requires three pieces of information that appear on every electricity bill (maximum demand, power factor and kVA availability charge). Using this information the calculator works out how much money could be saved over a year, how much carbon-dioxide emissions could be reduced and how much power could be made available for other loads.

The Econopress Mini pressurisation set from Stokvis Energy Systems is a compact, wall-mounted unit designed for connecting to heating or cooling installations in small commercial applications or large dwellings.

Following rigorous testing in an independent ASTA-accredited laboratory, Eaton Electric’s Ezybond earth clamp for metal pipework has been shown to meet all the electrical testing requirements of BS 951. It has also undergone additional tests for electrical short circuit and overload, aging, thermal cycling, heat resistance (glow wire and ball pressure tests), humidity and conductor retention.