Mark Grayston, Product Strategy and Delivery Manager at Mitsubishi Electric, explains why efficient cooling for buildings must be a core focus.

Ruth MacEachern, Product Manager at EnviroVent, addresses the challenges faced in integrating mechanical ventilation systems in ever more airtight homes, including Passivhaus.

Alex Hill, Managing Director at international building services design consultancy, Whitecode Consulting, looks at new government regulation to reduce overheating and the best solutions to prevent overheating in our homes, hospitals offices and schools.

The European Union wants to lead the world in the transition to low global warming potential (GWP) substances, but it cannot ignore other factors – not least safety, according to Graeme Fox of the Building Engineering Services Association (BESA).

Condensation forms when the humidity level in the indoor air reaches saturation point and that air comes into contact with a cold surface, turning into liquid water.  This can lead to damage, mould and respiratory problems. So what be done? Paul Williams of Domus explains. 

For the best part of 30 years, chillers were in danger of being left behind as the growth and popularity of VRF solutions began to dominate the market for comfort cooling in commercial settings. Darryl Smith, Managing Director of AUK Distribution, explains why chillers contain the technologies to now fight back.

Coolair Equipment Limited has won a four-year legal battle to secure the rights to the ‘Coolair’ name.

Humidity control specialist, Condair, is launching a new 8-hour rapid response service as an optional feature to its humidifier planned preventative maintenance contracts.

Hitachi’s newest 4-way cassette unit design panel, the Silent Iconic, has already picked up three international product design awards – the iF Design Award 2020 in the Product category, the Good Design Award 2020 and the Red Dot Best of the Best Product Design 2021 – and is now available in the UK.

If your system hasn't been used in months it's an important question. 

The Coronavirus outbreak has increased awareness of hygienic room climate issues, ventilation and air-conditioning systems in public buildings. If planned poorly or not serviced properly, air conditioning units can quickly turn into transmitters of disease-causing germs.

Focusing on project-completion trends in 2016 provides evidence for what drove sales of large commercial air-conditioning products such as VRF and chillers and explains why there was only marginal growth, as David Garwood of BSRIA explains. He then gives an outlook for the years ahead.

Advanced Air can now deliver fan-coil units that are pre-commissioned in the factory with the setpoints for water and airflow established so there is no need for any on-site commissioning. The company has entered into an agreement with Belimo and Advanced Air’s control specialist to design and develop a simple EPIV/Delta control package (EPIV is an electronic pressure-independent valve).

Cooling and heating for the refurbishment of the Heal’s building on London’s Tottenham Court Road to provide offices over five storeys is provided by the Panasonic ECOi VRF system. Occupants include companies such as Netflix and Deliveroo. Consultants Cundall worked with Easy Air Conditioning to design and install the system.

Toshiba has developed an online commissioning and warranty system for air-conditioning installations which will deliver significant cost and time benefits to end users, installers and service companies. It is administered by Toshiba, and customers and installers can log onto the system from a smart phone, tablet or PC to access comprehensive data on installed equipment at individual plant or building level right up to a national estate.

Chillers are the backbone of commercial and industrial cooling systems across the country. However, they are not a ‘fit-and-forget’ solution, Brent Hall of ICS Cool Energy highlights some easy ways to look after a chiller to ensure it lasts 10 years and more and performs as efficiently as possible.

Not only is the global-warming potential of R32 much lower than the refrigerants it is designed to replace, but a smaller charge is needed — two wins for the price of one refrigerant. Carl Dickinson of Mitsubishi Electric discusses why R32 is the logical fit for the HVAC industry.

Among a series of fan-coil designs from Advanced Air is a remote display module (RDM). It is mounted on the cover of the control box for easy access without having to remove screws or bolts. Commissioning is made much easier, and the fan coil can be commissioned without the BMS being completed. It also provides a cross check between what the BMS is displaying and what is actually happening within the fan-coil unit.

The build-up of frost on the outdoor coils of air-conditioning systems in heating mode can interrupt the provision of heating and use a significant amount of energy to melt it. Neil Wooldridge of Toshiba Air Conditioning explores the issue.

Air-conditioning installer Coolair Equipment used Reflok’s aluminium piping and compression-jointing system to install a Mitsubishi Electric VRF system to provide heating and cooling for all 360 bedrooms of the Sheraton Grand London Park Lane hotel. This approach avoided the brazing operations association with copper tube.

Mitsubishi Electric is preparing to launch R32 versions of its Mr Slim range that will be available at the same price as the equivalent R410A units. R32 has a GWP (global warming potential) of 675, compared with 2088 for R410A, and the new Mr Slim units are also more efficient. The new range will be available from July 2017.

Johnson Controls has responded to concerns about a rise in counterfeit oils for compressors being placed on the market by offering a range of branded authentic York lubricants. Lubricants are a key component of chillers and mechanical cooling systems, protecting wear surfaces, ensuring long life, maintaining leak tightness and, not least, ensuring proper performance and efficient operation. They also play a vital role in reducing corrosion, which can quickly result in serious internal damage and/or mechanical breakdown.

Cardiff University has upgraded chilled-water air conditioning in one of its buildings with the installation of a Mitsubishi E-Series chiller by Cooltherm. The Cooltherm team in Wales designed a bespoke turnkey chiller plant to provide the most efficient and low-carbon system as possible.

Hitachi Air Conditioning’s CS Net control system prevents the temperature of air from System Free indoor units used as part of a Set Free VRF system creating cold draughts in by not letting the air flow become too cool. This off-coil protection feature works with System Free indoor units which have an air-on thermistor, air-on thermistor, liquid thermistor, gas thermistor and electronic expansion valve.

The launch of Toshiba’s latest 3-pipe heat-recovery VRF air-conditioning system, SHRM-e, builds on the success of the SMMS-e VRF system, which had an ESEER (European Seasonal Energy Efficiency Rating) of over seven for all capacities. Developments in key technologies in the latest system include the compressor and intelligent control system — supported by incremental improvements in almost all system components. R410A is the refrigerant.

LG multi-split air conditioning provides the primary heating source as well as cooling in the warmer months of the year for the imaginative refurbishment of a Victorian detached home in the south of England close to the M25. Other features of the refurbishment include triple-glazed windows, condensing-boiler back-up heating system, underfloor heating downstairs and high levels of insulation. There are also solar panels on the south-facing roof.

The universal truly reversible fan-coil unit developed by Advanced Air can have its handing easily changed in the factory or on site and now incorporates further refinements to speed up the process. Prewired looms for right-hand and left-hand mounting of the control box are included as standard. Push-fit connections ensure that electrical connections are easily and quickly made in production or when changing the handing in the factory or on site.

Luke Bigg of Waterloo Air Products explains the benefits of putting variable air volume (VAV) at the heart of a building’s air movement system.

Whichever market sector David Garwood of BSRIA looks at, especially in London, he sees growth in the air-conditioning sector for the next three years.

Lindab’s Solus chilled-beam system has been chosen to deliver energy-efficient climate control for a landmark building in Sweden — the Round House in the Munksjöstaden district. Pairing Solus with renewable-energy sources such as free cooling and ground-source heat pumps can achieve energy savings of up to 45%. The system includes nearly 600 Solus chilled beams and the entire ducting system. Pascal VAV system are being used in areas where the heating load can change very quickly, such as conference rooms.

Climate Center claims to be the first distributor to stock the low-GWP refrigerant R32 in every branch — amounting to 45 branches nationwide. R32 is a single-component refrigerant with a GWP of 675, considerably lower than the 2088 for R410A. The investment coincides with Daikin and Toshiba launching R32 air-conditioning ranges.

The EC (electronically commutated) motors in Advanced Air’s horizontal fan deck have a chip developed by Nailor, the company’s American parent, which gives a pressure-independent unit and makes the fan-coil self balancing so that no commissioning is required on the air side.

Since their introduction to the UK in the 1970s, fan-coil units (FCUs) have provided air conditioning to thousands of commercial buildings. However, there is another option to consider, which delivers energy efficiency and, importantly, flexibility — namely the chilled beam. Yan Evans of Fläkt Woods explains why it’s time to move on from the FCU.

Despite being a relative newcomer to the air-conditioning market, VRF continues to make significant advances. Neil Wooldridge of Toshiba Air Conditioning takes up the story.

Laboratories with fume cupboards can benefit from demand-controlled ventilation — with major savings on the volume of air handled and conditioning it. Ian Thomas of Trox UK explains.

Facilities-management provider Cloudfm can offer a 10-year warranty on Mitsubishi Electric air-conditioning equipment managed on behalf of its clients. The service comes after Cloudfm became a business solutions partner with Mitsubishi, which enables it to offer an extended 7-year warranty. Cloudfm will underwrite a further 3-year warranty on all new equipment and parts for Mitsubishi Electric air-conditioning products in the UK

Active chilled beams are finding increasing use in office and commercial buildings. They use a variety of solutions for air diffusion, adjustability and efficiency. By combining these in a smart way and adding new thinking, the optimal chilled-beam design can be achieved. Professor Göran Hultmark of Lindab explains.

Hitachi’s RCIM FSN4 range of mini cassette air-conditioning units has heating outputs from 1.9 to 8.5 kW in a VRF system. The air panel has a new, simple and stylish design. Its dimensions have been reduced by 80 mm compared with the previous 620 mm square, so it can be installed into a 600 mm-square ceiling opening.

As part of the full structural reconfiguration and refurbishment of 33 Glasshouse Street in central London, AET Flexible Space is supplying underfloor air conditioning. The building has a Grade 2-listed facade and is being refurbished to form larger, open-plan floor plates and Cat A office accommodation on floors three to seven.

Trane’s Sentesis eXcellent range of air-cooled chillers use HFO R1234ze as the refrigerant, which has a GWP of less than one when used in this design. These chillers offer capacities from 500 to 1260 kW. Applications include data centres, hospitals, and large office buildings.

Refurbishment projects often require effective control of comfort conditions within strict aesthetic constraints. Rinus Groenewald of Unico explains why small-duct high-velocity air-conditioning systems can offer a discreet alternative to other solutions.

Toshiba latest generation of luxury residential air-conditioning systems are based on refrigerant R32, which has a much lower global-warming potential (GWP) than the commonly used R410A. The GWP of R32 is 675, compared to 2088 for R410A. In addition the charge of R32 can be 30% less than for R410A for the same cooling capacity.

In response to growing legislative pressure to use refrigerants with lower GWPs, Johnson Controls has made the decision to enhance its HFC product lines by confirming that all screw and centrifugal chillers (air-cooled and water-cooled) will be fully future-compatible with R315A. This refrigerant is an HFC/HFO blend and has a GWP of 631. It is suitable as a drop-in replacement for R134a, which has a GWP of 1430. It has a low toxicity and is not flammable.