2007 March

As 1 April 2007 approaches and the transitional period for the implementation of the new Building Regulations comes to an end, advice and support on implementing low carbon buildings is at hand for both building professionals and their customers says Hugh Jones of the Carbon Trust.

EC Power moves to boost take-up of small-scale CHP

One of the first UK installations of a Viessmann Vitolig biomass boiler is in a house in Cheam.

Priva Building Intelligence has eliminated the need for boilers and chillers in its new headquarters in The Netherlands by integrating an underground thermal storage system (UTES) into the design for the 8200 m2 building. Previous installations have shown that such a system can reduce energy costs by 40 to 80%.

Tony Barnes believes the British are hot on the heels of ground-source heat-pump technology.

A reliable and cost-effective method of satisfying the boiler bypass requirements of Good Practice Guide 302 to Part L1 of the Building Regulations for England and Wales is provided by an automatic bypass valve from Honeywell.

Derek Duffill reflects on the role that building-management systems can play in saving energy and reducing a building’s carbon footprint.

For some time, major boiler companies have been exploiting heat-pump technology to develop new approaches to heating. Now a major air-conditioning company has done the same — and produced assessments of the potential of this technology for reducing carbon-dioxide emissions.

Some 50 to 60% of the annual requirement for domestic hot water in a nursing home at Doncaster is met by a Vaillant solar systems — significantly reducing carbon emissions.

Two oil-fired condensing boilers have been installed in a Grade 2 listed building in Yorkshire to provide space heating and domestic hot water. Supplied by Atlantic Boilers, they use outside air for combustion and achieve an annual efficiency of at least 92% and up to 99%. which is said to be 40% better than conventional modern boilers and up to 20% better than conventional condensing boilers. Flue-gas temperatures are always below 50°C, so low-cost plastic flues can be used.

A variety of low-to-zero-carbon technologies and equipment to exploit renewable energy for domestic heating is available from Applied Energy with its Creda and Stiebel Eltron product ranges. The company also offers design and support services for specifiers, developers and installers.

The efficiency of modern air conditioning and its ability to exploit renewable energy make it part of the solution to reducing carbon emissions — not part of the problem. Philip Ord explains.

Contributing to the stunning restoration of an architect-designed pub refurbishment on the banks of the River Dee in Chester is air conditioning installed by local contractor Bostock Air Conditioning.

Applied Energy offers a design application service for the Stiebel Eltron range of solar systems for generating hot water that can be used to help supply central heating and domestic hot water. The service aims to maximise efficiency and ensure that the full benefits of solar thermal heating are realised through SAP and the latest Part L.These solar collectors exploit both visible and infra-red light from the Sun with a thermal efficiency of over 80%.

Building on over 25 years’ experience in Europe, Dimplex has introduced its range of heat pumps into the UK. The company has been selected as one of only three approved suppliers of ground-source heat pumps for public-sector grants under Phase 2 of the DTI’s Low-Carbon-Buildings Programme.

In a campaign to reduce electricity consumption, Boots is working with utility-monitoring specialist Parasense to improve energy management in 500 shops.

Airedale’s OptiChill range of large-capacity, high-efficiency air-cooled screw chillers are said to break new ground in energy efficiency.Components are selected for optimum operating efficiency, so these chillers can achieve an EER of 3.0 or more at Eurovent conditions and ESEER values above 3.5 (for seasonal performance based on Eurovent’s part-load index).

Exploiting the capabilities of simulation software from the earliest stages of the design of a new headquarters for the Irish Office of Public Works in Eire has halved energy consumption compared with other possible designs.

Dimplex has been appointed an approved supplier of ground-source heat pumps under the second phase of the DTI’s Low Carbon Buildings Programme. £50 million is available over the next 18 months to help fund the installation of ground-source heat pumps and other micro-generation technologies for schools, public-sector and not-for-profit buildings, as well as local-authority and housing-association housing projects.

Installers, specifiers and manufacturers in the building services industry must do more to educate their end-user customers on the benefits of installing energy efficient and cost effective equipment in their premises, according to Daikin Airconditioning UK Ltd.

While high-efficiency motors and variable-speed drives have a role to play in reducing the energy used by pumps, system design is much more important. Roy Henderson explains.

A strong demand for air-source heat pumps designed principally for space/water heating is predicted by Space Air, which distributes Daikin products.

Samantha McDonough, CIBSE’s director of policy, discusses the vital role that CIBSE register of low-carbon consultants has in realising the objectives of the latest Building Regulations.

To meet the growing demand for testing the airtightness of buildings, as required by the latest Building Regulations for commercial buildings above 500 m2 and dwellings, BSRIA’s service now operates from four locations — Bracknell, Swansea, St Helens and Belfast.

The energy costs of the swimming pool hall at Oundle School in Northamptonshire have been halved following the installation of a ventilation heat-recovery system designed by Calorex heat pumps.

The technology for reducing carbon emissions can be more readily available then finance. Peter Walker explains how this dilemma can be resolved.

Both maintenance and running costs of lighting at Blue Diamond Engineering in County Durham have been reduced following the installation of a new lighting system by Parkersell. The project qualified for a Action Energy Loan from the Carbon Trust; this scheme is targeted at SMEs in England and Wales and offers interest-free loans that are repayable over a negotiable period.

The heating and hot-water systems for Romford’s new £261 million Queen’s Hospital are powered by four Riello industrial burners with a capacity of 6 MW. These Monobloc dual-fuel burners are installed on 4.1 MW steel hot-water boilers. Riello also supplied four gas boosters.

The 2012 Olympic Games in London has already generated business for Integrated Controls Systems. The company has won the fast-track contract to design and install the controls for offices being used by the London Development Agency, the regeneration agency laying the foundations for the games.

10 years ago, Newcastle City Council began installing Oventrop Hydromat differential-pressure regulators in dwellings on its Byker estate to facilitate hydronic balancing and eliminate system noise. The valves are said to have given trouble-free operation ever since.

Boilers at the University of the West of England in Bristol are being replaced with Hamworthy Purewell VariHeat condensing boilers with cast-iron sections as part of a programme of upgrading plantrooms. Four of six plantrooms have been upgraded — and energy savings are already apparent.

A wireless analogue fire-detection system is providing temporary protection for the outpatients clinics at a hospital in Scotland while the clinics are being refurbished.

Energy-efficient air conditioning for the latest Abode hotel in the UK, in Glasgow, is provided by a Mitsubishi Electric City Multi system with units in bedrooms activated by the door entry system.

Precise environmental control for the production of £multi-million satellites at EADS Astrium is controlled by a Cylon BMS — along with lighting, ventilation, air conditioning and heating throughout the entire site.

With temperatures in the cutting area of BLP UK, a volume manufacturer of MDF wrapped profiles and membrane press cabinet doors, exceeding an ambient temperature of 23°C by 15 K, industrial heating and cooling company Air Plants recommending a Breezair evaporative cooler to improve thermal comfort.

Potential stars of the 2012 Olympic Games in London, along with university students and local school children, are already taking advantage of the flagship £7 million indoor sports facility at Brunel University. Their performance is matched by the Nor-Ray-Vac continuous radiant-tube heating systems from Ambi-Rad.

Two penthouses and 32 apartments in Baltimore House, part of the Battersea Reach residential and commercial development by St George Plc, include Daikin VRV heat-recovery air conditioning among their numerous facilities and fittings. The systems were installed by Daikin D1 installer Air Cool Engineering Systems.

Hotel company Travelodge is working with a manufacturer of scale inhibitors to optimise the efficiency of its boilers. WaterMATIC’s Kal-Guard+ electrolytic scale inhibitor is being trialled at the Travelodge hotel in Hemel Hempstead, an area with particularly hard water.

The most recent changes to the Twickenham stadium involve the redevelopment of the South Stand to increase capacity from 74 000 to 82 000 and provide new changing rooms, hospitality boxes, bars and restaurants. Grundfos Pumps worked with consultant Ove Arup and contractor Lorne Stewart to provide two booster sets to ensure there is sufficient water available to meets guests’ needs.

Hong Kong Airport Authority has awarded Colt International what the company believes may be the largest order for natural smoke ventilation in the world in the last year. Natural smoke ventilation designed and supplied by Colt replaced the mechanical system in the original design and gives significant performance and cost advantages.

Aire Serve, which specialises in heating, air-conditioning and refrigeration services, has unveiled its new and improved web site.

Grundfos has developed a UK-specific version of its WinCAPS CD-based electronic product catalogue and selection tool for pumps. It enables the user to:

Air curtains, radiant heaters, fan heaters, convectors and controls are all featured in Frico’s 2007 catalogue.

Jaga Heating Products UK has published a new set of photobooks to provide a quick and highly visual introduction to its collection of innovative heating solutions.

Carrier Air Conditioning has produced an 8-page brochure covering its Aquasmart Plus control system for controlling and managing chilled-water air-conditioning systems. Its capabilities include generating energy reports and using BACnet, LonWorks and other protocols.

Heating manufacturer Heatline has published a new brochure for 2007. The company’s product offering includes radiators, boilers, water heaters, towel rails and thermostatic radiator valves.

Dimplex has updated its commercial products brochure to give full technical information on its expanding range of heating products for the commercial sector. The brochure includes over 80 products in four categories and offers a heating solution for most commercial or industrial installations.

Toshiba Air Conditioning has developed a comprehensive A4 reference binder for HVAC specifiers. It covers all the company’s R410A VRF and split-system ranges and contains product descriptions and technical-specification data.

Hornagold & Hills has completed the construction of the new James Black Centre at King’s College, London. The company was responsible for project management, contract management and client’s representative support on this £30 million, 4-year project.

Designed to promote collaborative and integrated working, the new JCT/Constructing Excellence contract was formally launched by Sir Michael Latham earlier this month (March 2007). This new contract form has been developed by JCT and Constructing Excellent and aims to provide a single contract form to regulate all the relationships involved in a project — making the delivery of the project the joint mission of the entire project team.

The Newcastle office of Atkins is delivering architecture, engineering and project-management services for a £4.2 million innovative research facility at Durham University.