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‘The importance of Good Ventilation in the Indoor Workplace’

Vortice ‘Brand Leader’ Interview Podcast – Transcript to support learning

Every effort has been made to flawlessly transcribe the interview to support learning but please consider the recorded audio of the interview as the actual source of information for learning purposes.

Hi this is Mick de Leiburne and welcome to this special edition of the BNE Product News ‘Brand Leader’ podcast for the Construction & Building Services industry, where we look at product innovations that meet the evolving specification needs for product specifiers.

Well, as the ‘new normal’ starts to take shape, lockdown eases and people are encouraged to return to the workplace, there’s a huge emphasis on how to make buildings healthier places to be and nothing more so, than how important good ventilation in indoor spaces is to mitigating the spread of airborne viruses, micro-organisms and bacteria and also to the wellbeing of the occupants helping people to feel more invigorated in the workplace. Better for workers and better for employers with everyone feeling protected and revitalised by a constant flow of clean air in the room.

Well, one way, dependent on where your workplace may be, is to open a window or vent or alternatively you can tap into the possibilities that advances in technology offer, like Vortice, a brand that is focussing on Air Purification as a solution – and we are lucky enough to have Jennifer Quinn, Marketing Manager at Vortice with us today to explain how that works and how effective it can be in making people feel safe and great in the workplace environment.

Jennifer joins us on the phone….

Hi Jennifer, thanks for joining us today for this BNE Product News ‘Brand Leader’ podcast – I know how busy you are

Hi Mick, thank you for inviting me today to talk about ventilation.

Well Jennifer, let’s start with ‘Why is ventilation in our indoor spaces important’?

At Vortice, we’ve always had a strong focus on the health benefits of good ventilation, people spend around 90% of their time indoors and unless we take steps to ventilate our homes and workplaces correctly, the quality of the air we breathe can be 50 x more polluted than outdoor air, with all the associated health risks. Symptoms like dizziness, watery eyes, fatigue, headaches coughing.

We also only need to contemplate the number of cleaning products we use within our houses, hair sprays, paints, air fresheners, carpets. All of these things we bring into our buildings that are feeding our indoor air quality. This can cause issues like condensation and mould which can worsen skin allergies and possibly respiratory conditions. Also, today’s new build buildings tend to be extremely airtight, which has its benefits in terms of heating bills and insulation, but does cause issues with fresh air coming into the property.

And why now, in particular, would you say – it is more important than ever – in the indoor Workplace?

As everyone is aware at the minute, the current pandemic, with Covid, its never been more important now to think about the air you breathe, especially indoors and the Government have given a raft of information supporting the needs to ventilate properly, and they explain things like in poorly ventilated rooms the amount of virus in the air can build up increasing the spread of Covid, especially if there is a lot of infected people in the room. The virus can also remain in the air after the infected person has left, so bringing fresh air into a room and removing older stale air that contains virus reduces the chance of spreading Covid 19. The more fresh air that is brought inside or [older stale air] extracted out of the room the quicker any air borne virus will be removed.

What are the key products that can help to achieve these goals would you say?

Vortice believe there are 3 fundamental factors in helping reduce the spread of Covid 19. They are Ventilation, Purification and Sanitisation. So first stage is to make sure your room is well ventilated by means of an adequate fan to remove the stale air or to open a window. The next stage would be to make sure the air is purified, so we have a range of air purifiers called the Depuro Pro and these include HEPA filters which are able to retain up to 99.995% of pollutants and reduce the risk of pathogens such as virus and bacteria There is also a version with a photocatalysis UVC lamp which also sanitises by removing bacteria and virus which makes this extremely effective against the spread of Covid and other viruses. We’ve had excellent feedback from these units used in hospitals, care homes, gyms, nurseries. And then the third stage would be to sanitise. Other than having a range of hand dryers and soap dispensers we’ve recently launched a UVLOGIKA SYSTEM, which is a germicidal UV-C lamp, which is ideal for disinfecting surfaces. Its radiation quickly eliminates up to 99% of bacteria, virus and other pathogens that are deposited on surfaces.

Well that’s a fantastic range that seems to cover all the bases. And finally, how do you see this product range developing in the next few years – the increasing focus on the need to improve the quality of the air that we breathe indoors, in such a variety of settings, must provide a great scope for product development ?

Yes, so we are always continually looking at expanding our ventilation, purification and sanitisation range and we are looking always to grow our product ranges in Domestic, Commercial and Industrial. We have recently just acquired a Spanish company, Casals Ventilation, which is going to enable us to expand our industrial offering on the market, so going forward we really want to be innovative and pro-active in regards to product development to the environment and issues that surround us.

Well Jennifer, thank you again for joining us for this BNE Product News ‘Brand Leader’ podcast today. Vortice are clearly one of the leading lights in the world of ‘clean air’ ventilation ‘product research, design and development’, with an innovative range of products available – that are designed to help us all to stay safe and feel good – as we return to our shared indoor workspaces!

Thank you Mick – thank you for your time.

It’s been an absolute pleasure.

For more information about the Vortice range of products, please go to www.vortice.ltd.uk

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Original Crittall windows have been replaced and upgraded on the main street frontage of one of Leeds’ most historic quarters.

Briggate is a pedestrianised principal shopping street in the city centre containing many historic buildings including, tucked away from view in Lamberts Yard, the only remaining Elizabethan timber framed property in the City dating back to circa 1600.

The walkway leading to that heritage enclave passes through No. 162 Briggate, a 1950’s

 vintage commercial and residential block where Think Architecture has installed replacement Crittall steel windows.

“No.162 had original Crittalls and, as with all the buildings around Lamberts Yard, things were in various appalling states,” said Simon Smithson, director of Pudsey, West Yorkshire-based, Think Architecture.

The original single glazed windows in the three-storey no.162 were replaced with double glazed lookalike Homelight windows. The building now houses new apartments and a ground-floor commercial premises.

“I have to say,” added Mr Smithson, “ that the Crittall windows are a wonderful system. Several years ago we did a job and used what was described as a ‘Crittall-like’ system. Well, that was very disappointing whereas the Crittall system is a great system, so well made.” www.crittall-windows.co.uk 

 

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BusinessNet Explorer is an evolving bite-sized learning platform – delivering product news and information for product Specifiers and Buyers in the Construction & Building Services industry and associated Manufacturing and Energy sectors – in engaging Audio, Visual and Audio/Visual formats – via its Virtual Exhibition and Podcast Channels.

Specifiers and Buyers can learn about new products, product range updates, branding updates, exhibition appearances, explore case studies and application stories, find out about new CPD’s and Webinars – and listen to the BNE Product News ‘Brand Leader’ interview series of podcasts – to hear manufacturer thought leaders discuss state-of-the-art product innovations – designed to meet and often exceed the latest industry product specification requirements.

A spokesperson for BusinessNet Explorer revealed how the BNE platform can also support Continuing Professional Development for specifiers and buyers ”BNE is a hub of bite-sized / micro-learning product news and information content that allows Manufacturers to reach ‘on the move’ multi-workspace based specifiers and buyers via its Virtual Exhibition and Podcast Channels in engaging ‘easy to digest’’ educational chunks, that in many cases, such as the ‘Brand Leader’ interviews that are also available in Audio podcast format on Google Podcasts, Apple / iTunes and Spotify and the case studies/application stories that can also be found in our Audio/Visual podcast library, could go toward meeting any targets that may be set for annual ‘Reflective CPD / Passive Learning and ‘Self-Directed / Unstructured Learning’ CPD points. Each podcast has a transcript to support learning and CPD”

Dave Marshall-George, Sales Director at Humidification specialist manufacturer Condair, interviewed recently by Mick de Leiburne for a BNE ‘Brand Leader’ podcast explains, “Podcasts are a great way for engineers to listen and learn whilst in their car or on their way to work. We wanted to engage with this bite-sized learning channel to deliver useful information on a topic we are seeing more and more interest in from consultants and AHU companies. Our short podcast on evaporative cooling is very easy listening and perfect for a 10-minute coffee break escape.”

Click to hear the Condair Podcast: https://soundcloud.com/businessnetexplorer/construction-building-services-bne-product-news-condair-brand-leader-interview

To catch up with the latest industry product news and information in ‘easy to digest’ bite-sized learning formats – wherever and whenever you are available – just visit www.BusinessNetExplorer.com

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‘Exploring The Evaporative Cooling Opportunity For HVAC System Specifiers’

Condair ‘Brand Leader’ Interview podcast – Transcript to support learning

Every effort has been made to flawlessly transcribe the interview to support learning but please consider the recorded audio of the interview as the actual source of information for learning purposes. 

Hi this is Mick de Leiburne for BusinessNet Explorer and welcome to a special edition of our ‘Brand Leader’ interview series.

Well, Evaporative Cooling is not a new Air Conditioning technique. Its use can be traced all the way back – to ancient Egyptians – wafting air over water filled pots. However, its popularity for providing high capacity, low energy cooling has recently exploded, largely due to its use in modern data centres.

Today we are joined by Dave Marshall-George, Sales Director at humidity control specialist, Condair, to look at how humidifiers can be used in Air Handling Units to take advantage of this energy and cost efficient cooling strategy.

Dave joins us on the phone….Hi Dave thank you for joining us today on the BNE Product News podcast for the Construction & Building Services industry

Hi Mick and thank you for inviting me to explore the Evaporative Cooling opportunity for HVAC system specifiers

So Dave, let’s start initially with the science – could you talk us through the physics of Evaporative Cooling?

The physics of evaporative, or adiabatic cooling, as it is sometimes referred to, is based around a transfer of energy. As water transforms from its liquid state into a gaseous state, it consumes energy. And this energy is taken from the air, in the form of heat or thermal energy.

In order to evaporate one kilo of water at 15°C, around 680W of thermal energy is used. Which means that for every kilo of water evaporated into an atmosphere, 680W of evaporative cooling is achieved.

Now for a mechanical cooler to deliver 680W of cooling, it would consume around 220W of electrical energy. However, it’s possible for a single evaporative humidifier to deliver over 1,000kg of moisture and a resulting 680kW of cooling, while still operating on less than half a kW of electrical energy. Amazingly that’s over 500 times the cooling delivered from a mechanical cooling system, from a very similar amount of electrical energy.

But, the potential to use evaporative cooling is limited by how much moisture the air can absorb – and this comes down to its relative humidity. If the air is already very humid, evaporative cooling’s effect is limited. But not necessarily eliminated, as some AHU strategies will still greatly benefit from evaporative cooling even in very humid climates.

What are the main strategies for using Evaporative Cooling in Air Handling Units?

There are three. Direct evaporative cooling, In-direct evaporative cooling and another form of In-direct, which we call Exhaust air in-direct.

Now the first is quite simple. Direct evaporative cooling. The AHU brings in fresh outside air, it passes it through an adiabatic humidifier where it absorbs moisture and is cooled. This then cooled air is supplied into the indoor environment. A percentage of the indoor air is continually vented outside, thus allowing more cooled, fresh air in.

This strategy is ideal for warm dry climates and buildings that can have high levels of ventilation. However, its not so useful in very humid environments, as the evaporation of the water from the humidifier depends greatly on the incoming air being able to absorb it.

The second strategy is in-direct. The air handling unit in this strategy is operating with two airstreams. One that draws cool outside air into the AHU, and then passes it through a heat exchanger before venting it outside. Whilst the other air stream extracts warm air from the building, passes it through the same heat exchanger and then reintroduces it into the building. Neither airstream physically mixes, but the colder outside airstream is used to cool the warmer internal airstream via the heat exchanger.

Now this can cool a building even without evaporative cooling, but if you apply a humidifier to the external airstream prior to the heat exchanger, you can reduce the temperature of that external airstream and get even more cooling from the system. It does however, rely on the outside air being colder than the inside air, either before or after humidification. So again, in a very hot and humid climate, this may not be the most effective strategy.

However, in temperate climates, this strategy is ideal for data centres or other secure buildings, as it reduces the risk of introducing pollutants to a building from outside. It should be noted however, that this isn’t a ventilation system, so fresh air will still need to be introduced by some other method.

The third strategy is exhaust air in-direct. This method also uses a heat exchanger. Warm air is extracted from the room and passed through a humidifier, where it saturates as close to 100%RH as possible. This cools the air as much as possible before it’s passed through the heat exchanger and subsequently vented outside. Another airstream draws fresh air in from outside and passes it through the heat exchanger, where it is cooled by the humidified and exhausted room air.

The heat exchange can reduce the temperature of the incoming air by a few degrees, which doesn’t replace the need for mechanical cooling but can significantly reduce the requirement for it. This strategy can also be used in hot and humid regions, as the room air that the humidifier is cooling is always dry enough to be able to absorb moisture.

You have a new Webinar on this subject where one of the key benefits highlighted is Energy Savings. Could you describe one of the case studies presented in the Webinar and explain when and how – the Energy Savings are achieved?

Yes. Our webinar on the 29th September explains the psychrometrics of evaporative cooling, details each strategy and uses real life case studies to illustrate their potential. One such case study is a client we work with in the telecommunication sector. They were needing to replace mechanical cooling systems in rooms that suffered high heat gain from electronic equipment.

They developed an air handling unit that uses a direct evaporative cooling strategy. Rather than using mechanical chillers to cool the room, they brought in outside air and vented the internal air. During the winter, it can run in free cooling mode without any need for evaporative cooling, but when the outside temperature rises to around 20°C, the evaporative cooler switches on and increases the cooling capacity. This allows the AHU to successfully achieve the indoor target condition without ever needing mechanical cooling.

In total the new AHU strategy reduced the electrical energy consumption of the cooling system by an amazing 80% in comparison to the previous mechanical system.

The opportunity for the HVAC industry is clearly exciting – how can our listeners learn more – about Evaporative Cooling – and its benefits?

Alongside the webinar we have coming up, Condair also offers training on this topic in the form of a CIBSE approved CPD. We can offer these 1 hour training sessions either online or in-person. Anyone can request one from our website at www.Condair.co.uk.

In fact, our website has a lot of information, downloads and case studies on this topic for anyone wanting to learn more. It’s a great place to start. It was Condair.co.uk.

Another online resource is a Condair website called MyCoolBlue.com. That’s MyCoolBlue.com. The website uses historical weather data from over 300 locations around the world to accurately calculate how much cooling can be provided via evaporative, free air and mechanical systems for any exhaust air indirect cooling project. Simply input the parameters of the AHU and the desired indoor conditions, and the system will project the cooling capacity that can be delivered across the three different methods.

And lastly, I’d suggest if anyone wants to learn more, simply contact Condair. Our experienced sales team is always happy to talk to consultants, contractors or AHU companies about the potential savings AHU evaporative coolers can offer.

That’s great and we’ll include the link for the Webinar in the description for this podcast for our listeners. Well, Dave thank you again for joining us today on this special edition BNE Product News ‘Brand Leader’ interview podcast discussing why including Evaporative Cooling is such an exciting option to explore when considering ‘state of the art’ best practice in Air Conditioning in a variety of applications.

Thank you for inviting me Mick. I’ve enjoyed exploring the subject with you. GoodBye.

That’s a pleasure. Cheers.

For more information about Condair please go to www.condair.co.uk

 

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Video: If you’re looking for more evidence of how Saint-Gobain PAM’s Pre-Assembled Ensign range can help your next building project, take a minute to listen….

If you’re looking for more evidence of how Saint-Gobain PAM’s Pre-Assembled Ensign range can help your next building project, take a minute to listen to Lee Rouvray, Contracts Director of Fitzpatrick Mechanical Services who explains and shows how it made life simpler for his team on the site of the Peninsula Hotel in London.

Do not hesitate to contact our technical sales team for further information on 01952 262529 or visit our website www.pamdrainage.co.uk.

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Decorative specialist, Armourcoat®, was recently chosen to provide finishing touches to a unique and stylish dental and aesthetics clinic in the iconic Battersea Power Station development.

The striking interior was designed by LaVita Style and features Perlata providing a rich, yet elegant finish to the walls in the reception area and corridors. The design uses light and shade to reveal subtle textures and tones resonating a calm and reassuring atmosphere. Working to a soft colour palette the use of additional custom ArmourFX Granite polished plaster panels to the front desk creates a stunning first impression.

Lucy Walker, interior designer at Lavita Style Ltd comments “We chose Armourcoat for their specialist expertise and creativity and were absolutely delighted with the end results. We wanted to create a striking yet welcoming reception and waiting area and this was achieved using Armourcoat’s beautiful Perlata and Granite finishes on the walls and desk panels. Armourcoat realised our vision throughout the whole design process and delivered seamlessly. I would certainly choose Armourcoat for any future projects”.

The new dental practice, White + Co, is part of the innovative redevelopment work to convert the Grade II* listed legendary landmark into a unique blend of residential, commercial, and cultural spaces. Armourcoat has also been specified in various other projects within this exciting development including the Boiler House and Switch House West where Tactite was applied within various bathrooms, ensuites and powder rooms and Embassy Gardens which included Koncrete finishes to entrance areas and columns.

Client: White & Co, Battersea Power Station, London
Designer: La Vita Style @lavitastyleltd
Contractor: Apollo Interiors
Photography: Mark Bolton @markboltonphoto

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The Saniflo Sanicubic macerator pump is breathing a new lease of life into a highly-acclaimed piece of British heritage – a replica of the famous ship, the Golden Hinde, known for circumventing the globe during the 16^th century under the command of British explorer Sir Francis Drake. Sitting in dry dock, the replica ship, which has also sailed the seas worldwide, is now a stunning floating museum and events’ venue near London Bridge.

The owner of the Golden Hinde, Roddy Coleman, who has ensured the ship remains faithful to the original, first installed a Sanicubic a couple of years ago in the dock beneath the ship to take the waste from two WC cubicles used by visitors and staff. It discharges waste up and along the dock walls through 35mm pipes to connect to the sewers above at street level. During this time, it has provided faultless service, so when the team decided to install on-board facilities during the COVID-19 lockdown, he knew that a Sanicubic would fit his brief. Located underneath the floorboards in the bow of the ship, it is perfectly positioned to take waste from two new WCS cubicles and basins as well as a new kitchen area in the galley. A dishwasher, sink and icemaker are all plumbed into the Sanicubic thanks to its multiple outlets. The plumbing work was carried out by Toby Millinder, who is a full-time employee at the Golden Hinde and in charge of all the updates;

“The Sanicubic has enabled us to do our own catering on board for events rather than bring food on board. We also have children for overnight stays on board and it means they don’t need to alight to undertake night time ablutions. It was very straightforward to install and I have run it into the same lengths of pipework along the dock walls, which saved a lot of time and work. Since the installation we have had a wedding on board, as well as an overnighter for a group of children. It has made life much easier all round.”

Saniflo Head of Marketing and Product Management, Ann Boardman, says: “It’s wonderful to see pieces of British heritage being lovingly preserved and given a new lease of life ready to welcome back the public after COVID-19. Thanks to Saniflo, such national treasures can go on providing wonderful experiences to members of the public. There really is a Saniflo solution to suit all manner of quirky public and private establishments, even in places where there is no mains drainage.”

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A powerful black water pumping solution from Saniflo is helping to provide waste discharge solutions for buildings across Ireland. The floor-mounting Sanicubic 1GR is a product from the Zehnder Pump range, now part of the Saniflo SFA Group. Highly rugged and durable and available as a single or three-phase option, the 1GR is designed to pump waste up to 39m from domestic and commercial buildings. The compact unit has a capacity of 55 litres and multiple inlets for connection to up to four appliances and is IP65 verified. A hard-wired control box is supplied as standard for early warning of any issues.

Just 3-mins away from Dublin Castle is Restaurant 777. With restaurants closed to indoor diners through the Covid-19 pandemic, the owner of the restaurant decided to convert a yard space to gain extra tables for outdoor socialising. A Sanicubic 1GR was used to take waste from a new toilet block to an existing waste in the car park below the yard.

HSE Clinic Tallaght, South Dublin has also chosen a Sanicubic 1GR to replace an older, long-serving, Sanicubic model. A representative from Saniflo Ireland met a plumber and HSE Manager on the site of the health centre which was undergoing refurbishment. The pump was required to discharge from 3 x WC’s, wash basins and a shower located in the basement of the building with the mains drains located at street level.

The Beaumont Hospital is another healthcare setting that is now benefiting from trouble-free waste discharge thanks to the installation of the Sanicubic 1GR. Used to discharge waste from a WC in the accident and emergency department; the key benefits required by the hospital plumbers was eliminating the issue of blockages and reliability. The high quality Zehnder grinder performance helped to secure the deal and the unit is now working efficiently in the public hospital WC.

At Ryan Air’s HQ in Dublin the waste water from the staff canteen needed to be pumped up 3m and along 40m to reach the mains drains. Located in the car park below, the kitchen the waste is discharged through standard pipework to the Saniflo pump and then lifted away to the sewer.

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Humidity control specialist, Condair, has appointed James Hare as its new Installation Manager. James will be responsible for delivering the installation of Condair’s humidifier and dehumidifier systems across the UK and Ireland.

James has many years’ experience in the building services and environmental control sectors having worked at companies including Trend, Intech and ELPRO Global.

Tony Tullett, Service Director at Condair, comments, “It is with great pleasure that we welcome James to the Condair service department. We take pride in being able to supply our customers the manufacturer’s expertise on-site. Professional installation of our equipment is the first step in ensuring a successful humidity control project. As Condair’s Installation Manager, James is a single point of contact for our install customers, from order placement through to hand-over and product training.”

James Hare commented, “I’m very happy to have joined Condair and am greatly looking forward to supporting both our end-user customers, who frequently have little experience of HVAC install projects, as well as our expert contractors and FM clients. Condair is able to offer a complete service of design, supply and after-sales support, whether it is a full turn-key solution or simply informed advice on overcoming any install challenges.”

The Condair Group is the world’s leading specialist in humidification, dehumidification and evaporative cooling, with energy efficient, hygienic and innovative technologies for commercial, industrial and heritage applications. Condair is represented in the UK by Condair Limited, which offers system design, manufacture, supply, installation, commissioning, maintenance and spares. You can find out more by visiting the company’s website at www.condair.co.uk.

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For more information on how this drainage solution could help your business, please contact our technical sales team for further information on 01952 262529.

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