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A new basement was dug beneath a four storey Victorian property in London and waterproofed with Isola Platon cavity drain membranes and Triton’s TT Vapour Membrane. Providing space for a home cinema, large bedroom suite and plant room, the property is being used as a showcase for similar projects by developers, Michael James Gallagher Projects Ltd.

R & D Management Ltd specified a Platon cavity drain membrane system to the walls with Aqua Channel drainage conduit around the perimeter discharging to sumps to the front and rear of the property. Cavity drain membranes work on the principle of allowing water to continue to penetrate the structure but control it in the air gap and divert it to a suitable drainage point. They do not allow pressure to build up against the internal construction and the air gap behind the membrane allows the structure to breathe. Once the membrane has been fitted, wall surfaces can be dry lined or plastered directly and floors can be screeded or a floating dry board system installed. The Platon system was installed by MGA Contracts Ltd. As an alternative to using a membrane to waterproof the floor, and to facilitate the installation of under floor heating, two coats of Triton’s liquid-applied TT Vapour Membrane were laid to the floor slab. Sand blinding of the surface provided a key for the subsequent levelling compounds before the installation of the heating system and the feature wood floor.

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Mitsubishi Electric has launched a new Run Standby (RS) panel that replaces existing models to control up to eight systems on the Mr Slim or M Series range of air conditioning products.

The new RS_SMS Panel replaces the RS1 / RS2 / RS3 panels in one solution yet is both smaller and up to 33 per cent less expensive than previous models, whilst offering an optional SIM card facility to give full control from a mobile phone and allow the system to send text messages to report errors.

RS Panels are ideal for air conditioning systems serving computer rooms as they help maintain and control the constant temperatures required in the most energy efficient way possible. The panel allows operators to programme the operation of the systems allowing up to seven to act as a standby while the other systems operate.

This has the benefit of ensuring that units act as a back-up if any system should fail, or it can rotate the operation and share the workload between units to help prolong equipment life, or switch on additional systems if capacity is not achieved by the units running.

“We have looked to improve the panel in every area including making it easier to install with a 2-core cable connection for each indoor,” explains Philip Ord, Product Marketing Manager for Mitsubishi Electric. “At the same time, we have brought a product to the market that is smaller and offers more functions whilst being available at a lower price than previous models.”

The panel will monitor the connected systems and warn of errors or discrepancies, sending an SMS text message to an operator’s mobile phone and operators also have full control of the SMS panel via text.

“We have designed the new panel to offer complete flexibility for operators in how they control their standby configurations,” adds Ord. “The optional SMS text feature provides fault monitoring and remote control via a mobile phone.”

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Metstrut worked closely with Phoenix Electrical to design a steel gantry with cantilever supports for their cable ladder system capable of carrying loads up to 151kg/m.

Because the steel framework of the gantry could not be drilled a complex arrangement of cantilever arms and strengthening brackets was needed to support cable ladder, tray and trunking.

Metstrut has supplied nearly 6km of cable ladder for the project.

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At Ecobuild, Bona will be encouraging architects and flooring contractors to swap learning about sustainable floor finishes for trees! The company has long supported an agroforestry project in Africa and has promised to plant a tree for every person employed by a contracting company or architectural practice which books a Bona training course or CPD seminar during the exhibition period!

Comprising a complete range of high performing, compatible products, the Bona System is unique on the market as all the company’s finishes and adhesives supplied in Europe are now completely waterborne. The Bona System covers everything a wooden floor needs throughout its lifetime – sanding, finishing, fastening and maintenance products – and is the obvious choice for architects looking to specify a totally sustainable and environmentally sound system. Eight Bona finishes were recently awarded the German EMICODE® EC1 classification for their very low emission – the first in the industry to show the EMICODE® trademark. Several of Bona’s adhesives already hold the ECI classification.

Bona offers a range of training courses for contractors at its HQ in Milton Keynes and two RIBA approved CPD seminars for architects. Trees will be planted in return for any courses or seminars booked during the show period via the Stockholm based organisation, Vi-Skogen. Bona has supported this non government organisation for several years, as it works to stop the spread of the desert in Africa by planting over ten million trees each year in the Lake Victoria basin. This work prevents soil erosion and rehabilitates large areas of degraded land which can be used again by small scale farmers and families to produce fuel and food; improving their livelihood and environment now and for future generations.

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Mitsubishi Electric has launched an addition to its website to focus attention on the energy saving potential of well controlled air conditioning systems, with a warning from the Carbon Trust that almost 90 per cent of all building controls are inadequate and may be costing the UK over £500 million a year in additional energy costs.

“The Carbon Trust also state that premises with well-controlled systems can reduce heating fuel consumption by between 15-35 per cent,” explains Sebastien Desmottes, Mitsubishi Electric’s controls expert.

Mitsubishi Electric has set up this special section of the website as part of its Green Gateway Initiaitve™ and which aims to encourage everyone to reduce energy consumption in the built environment. All of the information is available under a special ‘Energy Saving Controls’ section in the Tools & Resources menu available at www.mitsubishielectric.co.uk/aircon.

The site offers advice on which control system is best suited to your building; outlines strategies to get the most out of controls; provides information on how to use control systems to reduce energy use and costs, and gives detailed information on the advanced range available from Mitsubishi Electric.

“Almost every building can make a significant reduction in both running costs and environmental impact through the use of better controls and the ongoing savings can lead to a very short payback period,” adds Desmottes.

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Local shower designer and manufacturer Aqualisa has been awarded one of the UK’s most coveted business awards – a Queen’s Award for Enterprise. The award, which has been conferred in the scheme’s innovation category, recognises Aqualisa’s revolutionary and highly successful digital showering technology. This year, only 11 awards have been conferred upon companies in the South East and Aqualisa is the only bathroom company to have triumphed in the innovation category.

Aqualisa’s managing director Harry Rawlinson commented,

“The award is the culmination of over a decade’s research and investment, backed by our fervent belief that digital technology is the future of the bathroom. We are so proud that Aqualisa’s commitment to innovation has been recognised at such a high level. It is a real triumph for everyone at Aqualisa who has supported our ‘digital revolution’ over the last 10 years.”

The Queen’s Award recognises Aqualisa for its outstanding achievement of creating an entirely new kind of showering technology. Since Quartz Digital was launched in 2001, Aqualisa has established a new benchmark for showering sophistication and intelligence in the bathroom industry; leading the development of the digital showering genre and positioning digital as the hottest product sector in the bathroom market.

Easy to use and just as easy to install, the key benefits of Aqualisa’s digital showers include a simple start/stop push button, which makes fiddling with unwieldy shower dials and controls a thing of the past, an illuminated LED display on the shower’s control, which indicates when the water has reached the right temperature – meaning the user knows exactly when to step into their shower – and, for some digital variants, the option of a wireless remote control, which allows the user to turn their shower on and off from up to 10m away. In addition, there is complete compatibility with all types of home plumbing systems, the option of concealed or exposed designs and a remarkably straightforward fitting procedure, which can take as little as two hours from start to finish.

Digital for the Consumer

Digital technology transforms the experience of taking a shower. With digital, it is possible to…

• Achieve the perfect temperature without struggling with stiff, limescale clogged controls
• Switch your shower on from outside the bathroom using a wireless remote control or dual switch

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BV Dairy, one of the country’s leading manufacturers of dairy products, has taken a major step forward to protect its manufacturing process and reduce its energy costs with a revolutionary air curtain from Airbloc.

The Airbloc air curtain, which will save the company “significant amounts of money”, is used to reduce heat loss from to doorway of the dairy’s huge walk in oven. It has been designed to keep hot air from escaping into the food processing plant where it is vital that food, predominantly milk based products, are kept chilled.

One of BV Dairy’s top sellers is clotted cream, produced by heating and cooling cream at specific temperatures under controlled conditions. The cream is cooked to produce an award winning product and needs a consistent temperature to produce the best results. The dairy found that the temperature of the oven varied due to door opening. .

“The decision to install an air curtain was taken to reduce the heat loss when product was both put into and removed from a walk in oven,” commented John Cooper, Engineering Manager at BV Dairy. “As well as keeping the processing room temperature down, it has also given the operator more confidence with the quality of the cooking procedure by keeping valuable heat in the oven to ensure it is cooked right first time. We have also seen some savings to steam energy and red oil usage!”

Airbloc’s air curtain – designed to produce a high velocity wall of air, which acts as a natural barrier – ensure that hotter atmospheres, like that of an oven room, do not penetrate into carefully temperature controlled climates. The high capacity ambient units are positioned over the outside of BV Dairy’s oven doors to prevent escape of hot air.

Airbloc’s energy efficient air curtains fully comply with advice from the European Food Safety Inspection Service and are wrapped in stainless steel, making them easy to wash down and wipe clean – essential for a food environment.

The air curtain is easily installed horizontally or vertically along a doorway. This is then controlled from a remote switchbox.

As well as maintaining the temperature in processing plants more efficiently than any other method available, Airbloc’s air curtains are proven to reduce energy costs by eliminating the need for chilling systems that work harder to regulate temperatures.

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Providing rapid, targeted response to changing conditions, Nor-Ray-Vac continuous radiant tube heating offered the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) the unique opportunity to maintain a consistent temperature for two of their helicopter hangars.

For the Osprey Hangar situated at Portland, Dorset and the Daedalus Hangar at Lee on Solent, Hampshire, this solution provided the MCA with the best maintenance and storage conditions. Developed by the leader in efficient heating systems, AmbiRad, it meant that even when the vast doors were opened, the primary heat source was not lost.

Each hangar has a door that takes up one entire side. As these frequently open to allow the helicopters to manoeuvre outside, the temperature inside can swiftly drop. In winter, this can leave maintenance workers in single figure temperatures, posing a serious hazard.

However, with the Nor-Ray-Vac system in place, this threat is eliminated. This is made possible as the advanced system emits low-intensity heat with even distribution, creating comfortable conditions for staff at all times.

It directs the heat to exactly where it’s needed, whilst by clever system design it diverts it away from the tops of the valuable aircraft. This affords them important protection and prevents heat from being directed straight onto workers working on top of the helicopters.

To ensure the systems covered the hangars’ exact needs, each were designed a bespoke solution. For Portland’s two bay hangar, six Nor-Ray-Vac were specified; four with 46kW LR burners and two with 38LR burners. At Lee on Solent a total of nine Nor-Ray-Vac 46kW LR Burners were installed to serve its three bay hangar.

As well as providing high quality heating services, the Nor-Ray-Vac system provides the structures with significant energy savings. Featuring up to 92% combustion efficiency, whilst reducing or eliminating heat loss, the AmbiRad solution maximises heating potential whilst minimising energy use.

Now completed, it is one of a line of successful projects completed by AmbiRad for aviation premises, including four hangars in Leicestershire at RAF Cottesmore.

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Swish has gained RIBA approval for its new CPD seminar which provides information about the sustainability of PVC roofline products.

All chartered members of RIBA are required to do 35 hours and 100 points of CPD per year and this approved presentation counts for twice the normal number of points.

The presentation is delivered by the Swish Technical Sales Force and lasts about 25 minutes. It gives a clear and concise overview of the advantages of specifying PVC roofline products over low grade timber equivalents.

Unlike timber, which requires regular maintenance to preserve a good appearance, PVC is a low maintenance product which is appropriate for exposed and inaccessible areas such as the roofline. This in turn keeps the lifetime costs to a minimum as opposed to the continuous expense that timber incurs.

Swish PVC roofline and cladding products are also highly recyclable and PVC construction products have been recognised by the BRE's Green Guide as having a significant contribution to make to the Government's sustainability drive.

Greg Wilde, Marketing Manager, Swish Building Products said: “We have delivered a number of seminars already and have had a very positive reaction from architects who had previously been unfamiliar with the sustainability of PVC products. We hope to deliver many more of these presentations.”

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