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The new £28m flagship Joseph Rowntree Secondary School in York will be a showcase for many of REHAU’s building solution products, including a ground-air heat exchanger, underfloor heating and cable management system.

A One School Pathfinder project built as part of the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme, its construction and specification will inform the overall plans for York secondary schools in the future.

The REHAU AWADUKT Thermo ground-air heat exchanger system serves the Demonstration Theatre, a focal point of the school’s science and technology based curriculum. The system will provide a low energy source of ventilation which is increasingly recognised as being essential to maintain pupils’ attention and comfort levels in schools.

A 12m x 14m array of 15 runs of REHAU’s 250mm optimised polypropylene pipework has been laid at a depth of around 1.5m under what will eventually be part of the school’s main entrance. The system operates by drawing air in through the pipes and using the natural 8-12ºC temperature of the earth at that depth to either pre-cool or pre-warm the air – depending on the season – before it is delivered into the building via an AHU. The pipe size and grid layout has been designed by REHAU to meet an airflow requirement into the school’s Demonstration area of 3.2m3/hr.

Alongside the REHAU AWADUKT Thermo system, REHAU is also supplying underfloor heating for installation by its Authorised Partner B&K Systems across the school’s 12,000m2 floor area and the cable management system required for the Cat 6a/7 data cabling to be installed throughout.

The REHAU AWADUKT Thermo system was specified on the project by consultants Buro Happold on the basis of the quality and proven performance of its ground – air heat exchanger system both in the UK and Europe.

Joseph Rowntree is a design and build project by Carillion working on behalf of City of York Council. Architects are The Bond Bryan Partnership.

Once complete, the state-of-the-art design of the school will include a central high street with learning clusters, flexible spaces and personalised learning areas. A site classroom has been constructed so that pupils at the existing school on the site can gain an insight into the new project and engage with the sustainable elements of the construction

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In a major new initiative, taps, fittings and valves specialist Pegler Yorkshire is launching a new range of Commercial Valves. Known as Pegler Commercial Valves, the range will be marked by a wide selection of products and will incorporate the company’s latest advances in innovative end-connection technology.

Traditionally, the commercial valves market has been dominated by screwed steel and compression connectors and while the new Pegler range will offer these tried and trusted versions of valve technology, the excitement will come from the company offering its Push-Fit and Press-Fit know-how into a sector historically dominated by more staid products.

The introduction of this new range means specifiers will now be able to take advantage of Pegler Yorkshire as a ‘one-stop shop’ for all their commercial valve requirements, which will have the added benefit of ensuring product compatibility, no matter what valves or pipes are selected. This level of product delivery and customer service available all under one roof will be a first for the commercial valves sector and strong interest in the service and products is anticipated.

The range will include a comprehensive selection of valves, from the traditional to the more innovative plus a selection of brand new product launches within the range as the year progresses. The initial launch of products will include commissioning, isolating, venture (FODR), globe, check valves and many more that will be showcased both on-line and in a comprehensive new brochure.

Pegler Yorkshire product market manager Barrie Plant said, “Everyone at Pegler Yorkshire is excited by the launch of Pegler Commercial Valves. It has been some time in the planning, but we wanted to get this right. It would have been easy to jump on the bandwagon, but our approach has been to ensure we can deliver something innovative that the market has not seen before and we are very confident people will like what they see.”

The big story is on the connectors. For the first time, screwed, press-fit, push-fit, threaded, compression, flange and weld ended will all be available and will remain competitive on price.

The launch will be backed up with road shows to highlight just how much the new range has to offer, class leading sizing software will be available for the Ballorex valves and a comprehensive brochure will make it easy to select the products required.

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Burton-on-Wolds, 30th April, 2008 — The cost of generating electrical energy continues to increase, and, as we are learning, generating this energy from fossil fuels is unfriendly to the environment. Thus, alternative means of generating power are being developed, and that requires new methods of circuit protection.

Alternative systems generating power from solar panels was once considered impractical due to initial start-up costs and the cumbersome equipment required to sustain the continued supply of electricity, and to convert the dc generated electricity into ac electricity for optimised use. However, the rapid improvement of solar panels and systems has made this alternative means a more viable solution in the generation of clean power.

One popular design is the use of photovoltaic (PV) strings, which consists of solar panels connected in series, or parallel. Either single strings or a combination of strings, or modules, can be utilised depending on the power generation required. Inverters have been designed to accommodate the use of either single or modular installations.

The development of these sophisticated solar panel systems has accelerated the demand for highperformance fuse-links. An area of concern had been the limited current condition in the event of a solar panel fault. The short-circuit condition associated with solar panels did not allow for sufficient current to open a standard fuse-link in a way that effectively isolated faulted strings.

Cooper Bussmann, leader in developing innovative circuit protection solutions, has designed a range of fuse-links specifically for protecting PV strings. Due to the sensitive nature of components incorporated into the inverter and the introduction of legislation permitting the inclusion of the inverter into semiarduous positions, a redesign of the fuse-link to protect the solar panel system components was required.

Fuse-links with full range low-fault current operation have been recognized by design engineers as the tried and tested means of protecting PV arrays. With ratings from 8A to 15A at 1000Vdc, the new Cooper Bussmann® PV fuse-links are ‘gR’ category and are manufactured to meet global standards of 4″, 5″ and 6″ solar cell panels. The fuse-links are tested and approved to IEC 60 269 and provide full range protection including over-loads down to 1.3 x IR and short circuits.

The specific performance of the Cooper Bussmann PV fuse-link is designed around the operational, environmental and potential fault conditions of PV strings. The fuse-links are manufactured in the popular 10x38mm cylindrical package allowing the use of off-the-shelf modular fuse-holders, PCB clips and open style fuse blocks, and packaged in material which is 100% recyclable.

These unique Cooper Bussmann PV fuse-links will assist design engineers in ensuring worker safety and equipment protection without sacrificing performance in alternative energy applications. Cooper Bussmann is continually investing in the design of fuse-links for the protection of emerging technologies utilising power electronics. Close global cooperation among the product and engineering teams ensures continuous component improvements including fuse-links to protect the next generation of “clean energy” equipment.

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When you are developing a new brand of upmarket sandwich shops for the heavily fought London lunchtime market, you need a unique approach that will bring customer loyalty and attract business from traditional High Street outlets. And, when you have set up your business based on ethics and sustainability, you need building services that can help support these values.

That was the challenge for Mark and Lindsay Lilley when they started Abokado in 2005 and they have carried through their ethical philosophy into all aspects of the business, including the heating and cooling, with the installation of Mitsubishi Electric Mr Slim air conditioning at their City Road branch by Maidenhead-based Degrees of Comfort Air Conditioning.

Abokado was set up by the Lilley’s who were inspired to develop this unique eatery on their honeymoon in Australia, after realising that the fresh smoothies and take away sushi they dined on was like nothing else they could get in London.

They opened their first shop in Covent Garden in 2005 and now have five shops across the capital. The brand is now one of the fastest growing chains offering a unique choice of sushi, noodle soups, salads, wrap and fresh juices.

Ethics and sustainability are very important to Abokado, with the company removing both yellow fin and blue fin tuna from its menu in 2007 over concern about depleting stocks of these fish.

The same goes for energy use and in the City Road store, Degrees of Comfort Air Conditioning installed three Mr Slim PCA-RP-HA 12.5kW stainless steel air conditioning units to deliver stylish comfort combined with complete energy efficiency.

“The brief for this project was to fit a cost-effective, energy efficient, contemporary design,” says Kevin Rowe, Director of Degrees of Comfort Air Conditioning, who service and maintain heating and cooling equipment in all of the restaurants.

The internal air conditioning units are ceiling suspended with casing made of durable stainless steel that is resistant to oil and smoke, ensuring that the unit can be easily cleaned at all times. They offer heating capacity of 13.80 kW and cooling of 12.50 and deliver average COPs of 3.41, which is very important as Rowe explains: “The advanced inverter technology in these air conditioners means the units provide energy savings of up to 70% annually when compared to previous models and this was an important selling point.”

Degrees of Comfort are accredited Mitsubishi Electric installers and are able to offer clients full design and installation of new equipment and also service maintenance contracts for existing installations.

Operating noise has also been reduced thanks to improvements in fan design, while for retro-fit projects, existing pipe work is reusable for easier maintenance and installation. “In the case of the City Road shop, all the interconnecting pipe work and services have been installed on open baskets and is exposed on display to complement the contemporary installation,” adds Rowe. The condensers are located in the basement car park.

This year, Abokado received the Gold Award for Independent Sandwich bar of the Year and the company is continuing to open more shops, slowly and steadily. With the support of Degrees of Comfort and the advanced energy efficiency of Mr Slim units, the Lilley’s can be confident that their building services will help enhance the central ethics of both the company and the brand.

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Installations designed from the 1st July 2008 must comply with the 17th Edition Wiring Regulations.

This has major implications for all Electrical Contractors, Designers and Consultants.

Hager has created the Junction Box Guide to the 17th Edition to help you through these changes.

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Polymer specialist REHAU has launched a new range of pre-insulated flexible PE-Xa pipework for use in external plant rooms, biogas plants, swimming pools, district heating schemes and for connections to ground source heat pumps.

Branded RAUVITHERM, it is designed for projects where pipe flexibility and durability are of paramount importance. It features a flexible corrugated outer sleeve and open cell insulation allowing tight bending radii to be achieved around corners or when pulling into house inlets.

The outer sleeve is constructed from robust HDPE to cope with tough on site conditions and the outer layer of insulation is bonded to the sleeve ensuring that the pipe is both watertight and longitudinally stable.

RAUVITHERM uses REHAU’s renowned Everloc compression sleeve jointing system, which has been proven over a million times in underfloor heating and plumbing applications, to deliver a permanent leak free joint. Fitted easily using a compression tool, it can typically be fitted in half the time it takes to install a conventional joint.

RAUVITHERM is available in single pipe versions up to 125mm and twin pipe up to 63mm, and in coil lengths of between 100m and 300m.

RAUVITHERM is an addition to REHAU’s range of pre-insulated pipework which already includes RAUTHERMEX, a closed cell insulated alternative which is designed to deliver optimum thermal insulation for longer heating distances and larger distribution networks

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There’s still eight months to go and the organisers of this year’s National Painting and Decorating Show tell us that 80% of the stand space has already been sold.

Last year’s event attracted a record number of visitors, and all of the industry’s leading suppliers have signed up again. These include Akzo Nobel ICI Paints, Crown Paints and PPG. The principal stockists of decorating materials – Crown Decorating Centres, Dulux Decorator Centres, Johnstone Leyland Decorating Centres, and Brewers – are also exhibiting in their own right.

The exhibition takes place on 9th and 10th November at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry. Call 020 8645 2433 for more information and register for free tickets on www.paintshow.co.uk

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A forthcoming and important European Commission Directive drawing up new requirements for calculating and expressing air conditioning equipment performance has already been pre empted by Daikin Europe and incorporated in its new Seasonal Inverter RZQ-E range.

The performance of air conditioning equipment, generally expressed in terms of nominal performance, merely hides the significant differences that exist between rated and actual performance. The new EuP Directive seeks to reduce the environmental impact of energy using products within the EU and establishes a framework for their Eco-design. Since more than 80% of a product’s environmental impact is established at the design stage, Eco-design ensures improved environmental performance throughout the life cycle by the incorporation of environmentally conscious systems at the earliest stage of design. All such products will also require a new ‘seasonal efficiency’ rating to be quoted that takes account of multiple cooling and heating temperatures as well as unit operation at partial load instead of just full capacity. It will also consider the power consumed by equipment in auxiliary mode when the compressor is off. This ‘seasonal efficiency’ rating will eventually appear on a new energy label giving users a better idea of anticipated real life performance. The new regulations will come into force around 2013 at which time, all units unable to meet EuP requirements will be banned.

The new Daikin Seasonal Inverter RZQ-E therefore, has been redesigned ‘from the ground up’ with the result that its performance in terms of seasonal efficiency is 20% greater than the current series in real life situations with a 50% improvement over contemporary non inverter systems. Furthermore, it already meets the EU Commission’s 20-20-20 target (20% saving in total energy consumption, a reduction in CO2 emissions to at least 20% of 1990 levels and a 20% use of renewable energy by 2020). The Seasonal Inverter is scheduled for introduction in April 2010 in single and 3 phase models with capacities between 7 and 14kW and offers all the features of the current RZQ Super Inverter range.

Under EU legislation, a total ban on the use of R-22 comes into force in 2015 but prior to that, the use of virgin R-22 is also banned from January 2010. From then on supplies will obviously become increasingly scarce and the growing lack of availability will severely compromise certain maintenance operations such as compressor replacement, leading to longer system down time.

Like the current RZQ range, the new Seasonal Inverter, based on zero ODP and reduced CO2 emission R-410A refrigerant, incorporates all the features of the current Super Inverter range, including the use of Daikin ‘filter less’ technology, offering users of R-22 models a cost effective and efficient replacement and the re-use of existing piping.

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