DEREK DUFFILL describes a cost analysis that shows how integrated building controls slashes both capital and running costs.

The energy consumption associated with an air filter can be 10 times its initial costs. COLIN HITCHdiscusses the implications.

Life-cycle costing is an important element in value-engineering exercises that seek to minimise whole-life costs. STEVEN HENRY suggests that life-cycle-costing exercises for lighting are becoming increasingly complex.

MIKE NANKIVELL has doubts about some perceptions of value engineering — and suggests that products on the Carbon Trust’s Energy Technologies List offer the route to value.

TERRY FARTHING explains how applying a system approach to designing and selecting fan-coil units and their associated equipment automatically leads to delivering value engineering.

Those distinctive orange Belimo direct-coupled actuators that abound in so many building-services installations and characterised control valves offer the potential for value-engineering opportunities.

COLIN PAVEY highlights the benefits that are making underfloor heating the system of choice for commercial and public-sector buildings.

Radiant tube heating is among the most economical forms of space heating on the market. It is clean, energy-lean and responsive. HOWARD MARFLEET looks at the options and applications for radiant heating.

With financial support available for both commercial and domestic projects, TERRY SEWARD examines the technology of heat pumps for space heating.

DAVID WHITFIELD explains how the built-in modulation and control capabilities of modern condensing boilers should be utilised to achieve more efficient underfloor heating systems.

A low-surface-temperature (LST) fan convector has been developed by Biddle Air Systems in response to customer demands for a fan convector with a surface temperature no greater than 43°C.

Coverad, which makes and fits LST radiator and pipe covers, has expanded its service for cleaning radiators and covers to all existing and new customers, regardless of the make of cover or radiator type. The cleaning system was developed with estates and infection-control departments in top UK hospitals.

A bank of four Broag Quinta wall-hung condensing boilers serve the space-heating system for a new mosque in Bradford. They were supplied complete with cascade kit for the 30 m-square Madni Jamia Masjid, which has been built and furnished in stages over the last three years as the money was raised.

Following serious damage to the Wellington Hotel in Boscastle, Cornwall, by flash floods in August 2004, the heating and hot-water requirements are served by a Hamworthy Milborne 502 wall-hung modular condensing boiler with an output of 100 kW.

Tests carried out for Nu-Heat by BSRIA on the effect of carpet on the performance of underfloor heating have shown that much heavier carpets can be used than is generally recommended.

Who at the beginning of October would have dreamed that the European Parliament would, by the end of the month, have been voting on an issue that could have seen the end of HFC’s (F-gases) being used for air-conditioning and refrigeration?

The rejection by the European Parliament of proposals that would effectively have banned the use of HFCs for air-conditioning and refrigeration applications has been welcomed throughout the industry.

Two leading associations representing contractors have signed a commitment to work together on a range of key health-and-safety matters to improve safety on site. They are the Heating & Ventilating Contractors’ Association and the Electrical Contractors’ Association. They jointly represent nearly 4000 member companies.

Growth in new construction orders in the public sector in the year to September were more than offset by sharp declines in the private sector — according to figures from the DTI.

Following the recent acquisition of the Invensys advanced-building-systems business by Schneider Electric, Derek Duffill, managing director of TAC Satchwell in the UK, has set out the new organisation’s business strategy in this country.

GSH has won a 3-year facilities-management control with the operator of Amsterdam Airport, Schiphol Nederland BV. The contract covers ‘hard services’ at Terminal 3, Schiphol Plaza and piers E, F and G — totalling 275 00 m2 of floor space. The two key priorities are to maximise plant operating efficiency through excellence in technical engineering and maintain a comfortable passenger environment.

Mitsubishi Electric has signed a new 3-year agreement with air-conditioning and refrigeration wholesaler Dean & Wood to help the manufacturer provide choice in how customers purchase its products. By supporting customers directly or through Dean & Wood, Mitsubishi Electric believes it offers the market a service that places the choice with the customer.

Denco has moved to a new, purpose-built factory and headquarters near Hereford. The move marks the 60th year of this air-conditioning manufacturer and building-services-engineering company, which has a turnover exceeding £40 million and employs over 500 people worldwide.

Samsung appoints air-conditioning distributor

SummitSkills has moved into permanent offices in Milton Keynes. The executive team, development managers and support staff are based there. The team of operations managers continue to work from offices around the UK.

This new training centre in Southampton has the capacity to provide plumbing and electric courses for a hundred people at any one time. It has been set up by New Careers Skills, a nationwide training provider for mature career changers, and Apprenticeship Training.

Thermal Transfer has set up new regional bases in Devon and Kent.

Lorne Stewart has won a 5-year contract worth £7.6 million to provide M&E services for the Chase Farm Hospitals site of Barnet & Chase Farm Hospital NHS Trust and Barnet Enfield Haringey Mental Health Trust. The company has worked for the trust for the last eight years.

Mott MacDonald has won two health PFI commissions in Merseyside.

Buro Happold has been appointed environmental and building-services engineers for the Crescent Arts Centre in Belfast. This project aims to become the premier multi-disciplinary centre for community arts in Northern Ireland.

Building-services contractor Briggs & Forrester has completed the £2.2 million installation of mechanical and public-health services for the new 800 000 m2 B&Q warehouse in Worksop.

John Roper of Sir Robert McAlpine has been named Construction Manager of the Year. He won the award for his work leading the team that bid for and built the Paul O’Gormon Building for the Northern Institute of Cancer Research at Newcastle University.

The performance of the construction industry far exceeds its apparent investment in research and development. ANDREW EASTWELL shares his views on why — and how — construction research should be funded in the future for the benefit of the UK as a whole.

The whole building industry will be affected by the revisions to Building Regulations Part L2 — Conservation of Fuel and Power, and the European Energy Performance of Buildings Directive. Many of the changes these laws will bring are unfamiliar to designers, builders, building services contractors and building owners alike. RICHARD HIPKISS explains the implications of the new laws and offers advice on compliance.

The whole building industry will be affected by the revisions to Building Regulations Part L2 — Conservation of Fuel and Power, and the European Energy Performance of Buildings Directive. Many of the changes these laws will bring are unfamiliar to designers, builders, building services contractors and building owners alike. RICHARD HIPKISS explains the implications of the new laws and offers advice on compliance.

Contractors are gradually shaking off their traditional suspicion of off-site fabrication, and now they must it embrace it as the best way of meeting quality, cost and performance goals, says ROBERT HIGGS.

Seaton Court, the new buildings of Land Registry Information Systems in Plymouth, is one of the few projects in the UK to achieve a maximum score on the environmental-performance index of BREEAM. Designed by TPS, the design and project-management division of Carillion Business Services, Seaton Court provides office accommodation and other facilities for up to 500 Land Registry staff.

Fans from Airflow’s iCON range have been installed in the bathrooms of the newly opened easyHotel in central London for their aesthetics, ability to deliver powerful ventilation and the incorporation of an iRIS shutter to help reduce external noise.

Sanyo’s gas-fired GHP chiller system has been installed to provide heating and cooling for the new Nobu restaurant in Berkley Street in the Mayfair area of London. It was supplied by MacQuay UK, which has become the first British distributor to supply one of these systems.

Mitsubishi Electric’s heat-exchanging R2 VRF air-conditioning system has been proving itself at the innovative Gateshead International Business Centre, which was designed and built to provide one of the most energy-efficient office spaces in the north east of England.

The capabilities of Toshiba’s SHRM2 VRF air-conditioning equipment to serve large-scale applications is being demonstrated in a office building in West London. Accredited installer Metainy Building Services Group has installed nine systems to serve one floor of a 3-storey prestige office block. The fully glazed existing building needed a new system that could respond rapidly to high solar gain, without working time being lost during the refurbishment.

Exploiting free cooling as part of meeting the cooling requirements of an electronics assembly plant in Co. Durham is reducing energy requirements by 35% compared with using a conventional air-cooled liquid chiller.

Using Kooltherm pipe insulation and insulated pipe-support inserts in the £80 million redevelopment project at Broadgreen Hospital in Liverpool has minimised the space taken up and reduced fixing costs.

An Ethernet-based communications system developed by Wigan Borough Council and energy-systems supplier Ambiflex is enabling the borough to control energy consumption in its buildings through its own Intranet. Several of Wigan’s Ambiflex systems have paid for themselves in energy savings within six months.

Among the features of the Daikin air-conditioning system for an animal hospital in the West Midlands is the avoidance of cross-infection by positive fresh-air supply and extract ventilation. This is provided for the consulting rooms, pre-op room and operating theatre by Daikin VAM heat-reclaim ventilation units installed in the false ceilings of the new premises of Rosewood Animal Hospital at Coseley.

Following recent research reporting that the number of office workers employed past retirement age is set to double within a decade, Thorn Lighting has sponsored a study into how lighting could help make the workplace a better and healthier setting for the aging worker.

Armstrong Holden Brooke Pullen has launched a web-based product-selection software package. ACE Online covers Armstrong Group’s complete range of products — including pumps, expansion and engineered products to fire pumps and packaged systems.

CIC has published a new form of collateral warranty. It is for use with design-and-build contracts, where a collateral warranty is to be given by a consultant that has been employed throughout by a design-and-build contract, to the contractor’s employer.

Technical data and application descriptions for insulating pipes for HVAC applications feature in a 56-page guide from Pittsburgh Corning, which makes Foamglas cellular glass insulation.

With light-emitting diodes (LEDs) rapidly gaining popularity in architectural lighting schemes, BSRIA has published a guide giving their main performance characteristics so that lighting designers, specifiers, installers and building users can better understand the opportunities they provide.

The LonWorks Installation Handbook has been updated and amplified. It provides a practical introduction to decentralised LonWorks automation networks and described in detail its implementation in the most varied systems found in building automation, with particular reference to electrical installation.

Newey & Eyre’s 128-page specialist guide to lamp and control gear highlights the extensive range of specialist lighting products that are stocked by the company.

Fitzgerald Lighting’s ‘Lighting and safety solutions specifier’ covers the company’s comprehensive range of luminaires, lighting controls and fire-detection systems.

Wilo has launched a high-efficiency pump for domestic applications. Energy consumption is up to 80% less than conventional pumps, and they have been awarded a Class A energy label. They use electronically commutated motors.

Socomec Sicon UPS has launched a range of uninterruptible power supplies for use with PCs. NeTYS units provide single-phase backup, with a host of special features — depending on the model.

Monodraught SunPipes are now offered with ceiling diffusers with white, brass, chrome or satin-finish stainless-steel effect trims — with both single- and double-glazed ceiling diffusers.

Daikin Europe has added a ducted model to its range of 2- and 4-pipe fan-coil units. The FWB has nine cooling capacities from 3 to 13 kW. Airflows are from 500 to 1350 m3/h, with static pressures from 50 to 60 Pa.

Honeywell has introduced a thermostatic mixing valve that is TMV2 certified for use with the full range of bathroom appliances (showers, washbasins, bidets and bathtubs). It is certified for use with potable water.

Thorn’s MenloSoft SR luminaire enables lighting schemes for display-screen areas to be designed to comply with Lighting Guide LG3:2001 and LG7:2005 recommendations for the ratio of light on walls and ceilings — using just one type of fitting.

Cooper Lighting & Security has introduced an enhanced version of its Combiform Plus recessed luminaire, which has become a popular choice for complying with the LG7 lighting guide.

Cofathec’s Optimise energy-management service encompasses every aspect of energy management from administration and management through to plant operation, control and 24 hour monitoring to the procurement and supply of energy.

Ideal’s Icos system HE15 boiler offers the same benefits as heat-only models and also incorporates all the necessary components to enable it to be easily installed into a fully pumped sealed system. An integral factor for the success of all new developments, contractors need to consider detailing the potential life-cycle cost savings in their initial quote, because it is this long-term vision that is going to be winning contracts in the future

Carrier has launched a complete range of rooftop packing air conditioners with capacities from 7 to 120 kW. The launch marks Carrier’s return to this sector after 20 years.

Ability Projects has introduced its first airside 4-pipe fan-coil unit. Orion horizontal-chassis units are available in four models in AC and DC/EC format with sensible cooling capacities up to 8 kW and operating noise levels as low as NR25.

A mini-VRF air-conditioning system from LG can provide smaller sites with all the benefits of comfort and flexibility in system design and energy savings normally confined to larger systems.

Priva’s Compri HX range of controllers is now M-Bus (Meter-Bus) compliant. This universal protocol has been developed to read consumption meters remotely. This new feature can help building managers meet the Energy Performance in Buildings Directive by making more data available to controllers at meter level, so that users are better informed.

Freshly filtered chilled drinking water and boiling water for hot drinks are delivered on demand by the HydroTap from Zip Heaters.

Mitsubishi Electric has launched a mini VRF air-conditioning range to bridge the gap between the Mr Slim range and the City Multi line-up.

Excel Web from Honeywell is an IP-enabled controller for building automation that ensures a free choice in selecting HVAC plant vendors — now and in the future. It secures investment in plant.

Significant savings in installation time are claimed for Trend’s extensive range of direct-coupled damper actuators. The range includes spring-return and non-spring-return models.