Story

Arena Coventry Limited, a total facilities management company, which manages all the facilities at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry, has reduced water consumption and achieved significant cost savings. The company’s original investment in Micronics meters was a Heat Meter installed in 2008 to establish and monitor the energy costs associated with underground heating of the pitch. This was a success and following a later meeting with Seven Trent, triggered by a reduction in water consumption, the valuable information gained and clarification that the water used for the pitch heating does not go to sewage led to a reduction in water charges.

Energy management to reduce consumption and costs are a key function of Alan Pickering’s role as the Ricoh Arena’s Deputy Facilities and Energy Manager.

He said: “Water consumption is a big issue on the site, which led us to invest in the installation of three Micronics Ultraflo 2000, Clamp-On, flow-meters in 2009, which we use with an on-site Monitoring and Targeting system to manage the significant water consumption on the site.”

The three meters were supplied and installed by Micronics, and provide individual half-hour consumption data for the north concourse, arena and southern concourse areas. Within three weeks of installation, the investment identified intermittent continuous flushing periods of some WCs in the southern concourse area, which when remedied reduced the site water consumption by 50%, providing a payback of one month!

In addition to the above, Micronics meters have also been installed in the new Exhibition Hall to provide consumption data for automatic billing of water consumption for this area, which is shared between the on-site G Casino and the Ricoh Arena.

Having considered various measurement alternatives, Clamp-On Ultrasonic meters were selected due to the installation and maintenance/service benefits associated with the non-invasive technology including low cost and minimum disruption installation with no system drain down required plus dry maintenance and service. And Micronics were selected as the supplier due to Alan’s previous experience with them and a combination of their long-term experience with Ultrasonic Clamp-On technology; competitive pricing and product performance i.e. best value!

Micronics’ Clamp-On flow meters in conjunction with Alan’s effective use of the on-site Monitoring and Targeting system has delivered a significant reduction in water consumption and reduced overall costs by 50%! He has been very pleased with the performance of the Micronics products and says the pre and post order service support has also been very good.

Alan believes there is significant potential for ongoing savings on-site and the project has demonstrated how Clamp-On – Ultrasonic technology can be successfully implemented as a cost-effective solution to improve heat energy measurement and water management on similar sites.

View Micronics's profile:

Story

Building services contractor John N Dunn Group has become the 25,000th licensee of AMTECH’s FastTest Test & Inspection software

In extending its use of AMTECH Power Software’s FastTest software, fast-growing building services contractor John N Dunn Group has recently purchased the 25,000th licence for this market-leading Test & Inspection software.

John N Dunn Group Director for Leeds, Mike Simpson said: “As a leader in the industry we are delighted to be using AMTECH’s Test and Inspection software. This enables us to provide detailed cable calculation and test certification allowing us to be sure we are offering a professional service to our clients.”

John N Dunn Group has offices in Newcastle, Leeds, West Lothian and Teesside and in recent years has expanded its traditional mechanical and electrical operations to include renewable energy solutions. It has also recently formed a new commercial department and a reactive maintenance division.

As the company has grown it has continued to make wide use of software within the business to maximise efficiency and customer service, using a range of packages from AMTECH group brands. As well as FastTest, these include ProDesign electrical design software from AMTECH Power software, Estimating Systems from Estimating and pricing data from TSI Luckins.

“AMTECH Sales Director James Cooper commented: “We are delighted to be able to celebrate this milestone in the growth of FastTest with a company that has deployed so many of our products within its business. It’s also a pleasure to be working with a dynamic company that is clearly enjoying significant growth in a challenging market.”

View Trimble MEP's profile:

Story

For Ecobuild 2011FAKRO GB will be highlighting its patented topSafe® system. TopSafe provides the highest level of safety and security in standard roof windows today – a minimum Class 3 EN13049. Other products on display will include the Balcony Window and High Pivot Window. The Balcony Window has two sashes, the top-hung upper of which opens through 45° while the lower one slides out to reveal built-in balustrades. The High Pivot Window enables overall glazing height to be extended without taking the window into the wall or relying on additional width.

FAKRO will also be exhibiting its SKW Solar Thermal panel system for the first time. Systems for 2, 3, 4 or 5 person homes can provide up to 70% of normal hot water needs. Panels can also be used in a modular approach with FAKRO roof windows, using any of four standard panel sizes and flashings. The lightest, at 78 x 140cm, weighs just 21kg. A patented fixing system allows adjustment to suit rafter / batten spacing while couplings are housed in a specially designed upper cover plate.

View Fakro's profile:

Story

Three treatment rooms and a recovery ward within an Exeter hospital’s new dermatology and lymphoedema unit have been fitted with an antimicrobial and fully curved profile trunking system from market leading cable management specialist Marshall-Tufflex.

Consultant engineers Terry Hearne & Partners opted for Marshall-Tufflex’s curved Odyssey Bio cable containment in order to ensure clinical areas within the new unit at the Royal Devon & Exeter hospital at Heavitree are as hygienic as possible.

“Preventing the spread of infection is a major element of the work we do within healthcare buildings and we are increasingly looking for building products that can play a part,” said Simon Cuthbert, of Terry Hearne & Partners, which designed the mechanical and electrical aspects of the project.

“We used standard Odyssey for the circuit housing voice and data structured cabling in consulting rooms and associated administrative areas, and installed the antimicrobial Odyssey Bio in the treatment areas. Even though there are no regulations, we considered Odyssey Bio to be the best course of action available to us. It provides us with peace of mind and the hospital is extremely happy with it.

“Undoubtedly infection control was the over-riding factor in the specification of Odyssey Bio but it is also is a good-looking trunking,” concluded Mr Cuthbert.

Tony Adkins, of Royal Devon & Exeter NHS Foundation Trust’s estates service, said: “Having successfully used Odyssey Bio in the dermatology and lymphoedema units we now looking at other clinical areas within the hospital where this cable management system can be applied.”

Electrical contractor for the installation was Beale & Cole of Exeter with product supplied by Harding Walsall, also of Exeter.

Silver-formulated, antimicrobial cable containment systems such as Odyssey Bio are playing an important role in fighting the spread of hospital-acquired infections by neutralising bugs such as MRSA, E-Coli and Salmonella, and are a proven method of neutralising some of the most common and dangerous bacteria found in hospitals, care homes and other locations where infection control is an issue. Untreated trunking systems can harbor harmful bacteria and, if touched, be a source of cross-contamination.

Odyssey Bio is, however, different to other anti-bacterial cable containment systems: not only does it have a uniquely all-curved profile, its active ingredients are embodied in the PVC-U itself rather than applied as a surface coating. Surface coatings can become ineffective if scratched or damaged whilst Odyssey Bio will go on doing its job even if it is scratched or damaged. Odyssey’s sleek curved lines not only look good but are also impossible to clutter, allowing necessary regular cleansing operations to be easily maintained.

Odyssey Bio has been tested to the quantitative standard ISO 22196:2007. Results show the survival rate of tested bacteria to be less than 0.1%. Cat 6-approved Odyssey Bio will remain completely effective even if scratched or damaged without a reduction in performance over time. It is also registered with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and compliant with the European Biocidal Products Directive (BPD).

View Marshall-Tufflex's profile:

Story

For Ecobuild 2011, rolled zinc market leader VMZINC will be exhibiting its new G3 range of standing seam ridge and eaves flashing accessories. Also being shown are standing seam, interlocking panel and overlapping panel systems in 5 pre-weathered colours. These include PIGMENTO® green, blue and red, all of which are used with the compact warm roof VMZINC PLUS system which will be a further product displayed. VMZINC PLUS needs no underside ventilation and is available in conjunction with cellular glass, mineral wool, PIR insulation or composite boards in straight or curved profiles.

View VM Zinc's profile:

Story

– PLASTIC PLUMBING SYSTEMS, ABOVE GROUND DRAINAGE AND UNDERFLOOR HEATING – ALL INCORPORATED IN ONE STUNNING PROJECT!

If the bowling green on Plymouth Hoe had been waterlogged at the time of that famous bowls match, and Sir Francis Drake had needed somewhere impressive to shelter whilst he waited for the Spanish Armada, he couldn’t have found a more impressive place to stay than ‘The Grand’ on Plymouth Hoe – with its perfect views out to sea!

Polypipe Building Products is delighted that not just one, but several of its impressive products is featuring in a massive £8 million renovation project that is seeing one of Plymouth’s ‘stand out’ buildings converted from one of its favourite hotels into one of its favourite addresses – featuring 24 elegant two and three bedroom apartments for discerning buyers!

The Grade II listed Grand Hotel has stood sentinel on the world famous Plymouth Hoe since it was built back in 1879 and it was run as a hotel right up until 2003. It forms part of Plymouth’s grandiose parade of Italianate buildings that are so recognisable along the seafront. A huge fire in 2003 rendered the hotel unusable and despite the roof being replaced, it stood empty and unused until 2009 when Devington Homes, renowned in the area for its exciting new homes and renovation projects took on the task of restoring it to its former glories – but with a change of use from a hotel to a high class apartment building. The restoration work is being carried out by North Cliff Construction Limited under the eagle eye of Garry Hatton.

“The location of this development and the quality of the apartments we are building meant we needed high quality products to help us achieve the desired effect and finish,” says Garry. “So it was natural that amongst the huge number of products we needed to specify to get to where we wanted, Polypipe Building Products would feature. The building is a superb old building and was built to last – the fact that it survived the fire as well as it did is testament to that – but being a listed building, we needed to retain as much of the fabric of the building as we could and that meant looking for products that helped us to work with and around – quite literally in some cases – the contours of the existing building, and this is where Polypipe’s contributions have been very helpful.”

Plastic plumbing systems are now recognised by most professional heating engineers and plumbers to offer the ideal response to most projects but particularly in complex older buildings where much thicker walls and a myriad of nooks and crannies make working with copper pipe a time consuming, tedious and frankly very expensive option. With totally secure plastic plumbing systems such as those from Polypipe available, utilising polybutelene pipework that offers the flexibility to easily bend around obstructions in older buildings and to run inside new walls formed within the shell of the building – and of course to provide the water carrying system for the leading underfloor heating systems available – even in complex older buildings, renovation becomes that much more attractive and simple.

Polypipe offers underfloor heating systems (UFH) for every application and in The Grand, with floating floors, the Polypipe Floating Floor UFH system has been the obvious response to the requirement for top quality, evenly spread heating throughout the apartments. Many of the apartments benefit from higher ceilings than modern homes can offer, so it’s vital that effective heating is available – that’s exactly what they get from Polypipe UFH – with the floating floor plates laid, and then the polybutelene pipework fitted into the pre-formed grooves of the heat spreader plates to ensure that the available heat traverses the whole floor area giving maximum comfort levels to the occupants of each apartment.

In new apartments such as these, the purchasers expect the highest quality finish and this is equally true for those things you can’t see as those you can. And the heating and hot water is something you take for granted as being Ok when you buy a new home – so as well as top of the range high efficiency boilers, these apartments benefit from Polypipe’s Polyplumb plastic plumbing systems to distribute the hot water to the underfloor heating manifolds and to the hot water outlets around the apartments – in the luxurious bathrooms, en-suite’s and quite beautiful kitchens.

And of course if you’re paying upwards of £300,000 for an apartment, you expect all the grey and waste water to be taken away from your home effectively and this is where Polypipe’s above ground waste products come into play quite perfectly carefully positioned to accept all that’s thrown at it and channel it out to the below ground systems outside the building.

“We’re always pleased when a prestigious project such as this features one of our products but when one features products from three different areas of our business, it’s even more rewarding,” says Polypipe’s Building Products Darren Cockayne. “ It’s clear from the project to date that this will be a landmark project for the Plymouth seafront and we’re all looking forward to seeing the finished building.”

‘The Grand’ should be complete and ready for occupation by summer 2011 and the first sales of apartments have already been completed: “Interest levels are already very high as you would expect from new apartment development with a location like this,” says Devington Homes Lawrence Butler. “It’s the incorporation of quality products like those from Polypipe, within the renovation, that make this the exceptional opportunity it is for potential purchasers of these apartments.”

View Polypipe's profile:

Story

ABB Limited, global leader in power and automation technology has appointed Mike Crawford to the position of Country Service Manager – UK and Ireland, in addition to his current role of Senior Vice President for ABB’s Service, Marine and Turbochargers business in the UK.

Towards the end of 2008, ABB’s Executive Committee launched a global service business strategy to capture the growth opportunities associated with service. The aim is for ABB to have a single service organisation in each country where they operate. In this new UK and Ireland position Mike Crawford will be responsible for defining the strategy and setting up a service organisation aimed at ensuring that ABB maximises the opportunities for growth in line with the UK service activities, working closely with all of the UK’s divisions; Power, Automation and Robotics. He will also ensure that the local divisions use common processes, tools and share best practice.

ABB’s service business serves business and industrial companies across the UK and Ireland maintaining and upgrading a wide range of equipment – including control systems, switchgear, transformers, drives, motors, instrumentation and robotics – on which some of the UK’s most demanding industries depend. Mr. Crawford will now be working across all of ABB’s divisions heading up a 500 plus strong workforce across multiple locations in the UK and Ireland.

Mike Crawford is based in Aberdeen which is one of several strategic service centres represented geographically across the UK, with management, sales and service personnel. The service organisation is focused on delivering a comprehensive range of lifecycle services to maintain the performance of ABB’s large installed base of products.

Since joining ABB as a service engineer in 1977, Mike has held a variety of roles in service, projects and general management, where he has developed and deployed a strong portfolio of service products.

ABB’s UK Country Manager Trevor Gregory commented: “I am delighted that Mike has taken up this role. He will focus on the development of a country service organisation that will include the implementation of best practices across the UK business that will enhance customer benefits and improve the overall business performance.”

View ABB's profile:

Story

For Ecobuild 2011, Klober will focus on the issue of airtightness of roofs in relation to research undertaken to demonstrate the U-values, levels of airtightness and other measures needed to comply with Approved Document L1A and Level 4 of the Code for Sustainable Homes. As the first roofing product manufacturer to publish literature examining the principles of building fabric air permeability, Klober will use Ecobuild to launch its updated 'Taking Control of Air Leakage' brochure and 'SAP Analysis Supplement'. This will outline the benefits of building to low levels of air permeability and examine specific improvements that can be achieved over the TER by using an air permeability of 3 m³/hr per m² as distinct from 10 m³/hr per m² (the default value for TER in England and Wales).

View Klober's profile:

Story

Daikin Europe NV has introduced a new air to air heat pump system for heating and cooling residential premises and small offices. Designated Nexura FVXG, the system comes in three sizes with heating capacities from 4.5 to 8.1kW and cooling capacities from 3.0 to 5.6kW.

Stylishly finished in white, the indoor unit is fitted with a unique front panel that heats up like a conventional radiator and releases warm air into the room at a reduced and even flow for added comfort. This innovative feature, of particular value during cold snaps, can be activated at the touch of a ‘radiant’ button on the easy to use remote controller. Operating noise is low at 22dBa in normal operating mode and just 19dBA in radiant mode. As a comparison, the ambient sound in a generally quiet room is on average, about 40dBA. Operational flexibility is ensured by the controller’s built-in weekly timer, which allows a 7 day schedule to be programmed with 4 different actions per day.

Far more energy efficient than fossil fuel based heating systems, Nexura has a COP of 4+ and can be used either in single room format with one indoor unit connected to one outdoor unit or in multiple room format with up to 9 indoor units connected to a single outdoor unit. Indoor units can be built-into enclosures or wall or pedestal mounted.

Extra energy efficiency is achieved via the ‘night set’ mode, which prevents over heating or over cooling and when the timer is switched on, the temperature is set at 2 deg C lower during warming and 0.5 deg C higher during cooling to prevent rapid temperature changes during sleeping hours.

Indoor air purity is ensured by a titanium apatite photo-catalytic filter, which traps microscopic dust particles, breaks down odours and absorbs organic bacteriological and viral contaminants. Overall system control and efficiency is achieved by renowned Daikin inverter technology, enabling compressor speed to be varied according to heating or cooling demand. This provides stable room temperatures, reducing energy consuming stops and starts, returns energy savings some 30% greater than traditional on/off systems and prevents overloading when other household appliances are in use.

View Daikin's profile:

Story

Eaton’s EMA wiring accessories and MEM Memera consumer units are being used exclusively on a project to upgrade 15,000 homes in Liverpool. The five-year programme by Liverpool Mutual Homes involves properties, some dating back to the 1920s, which are being fitted out to exceed the Decent Homes Standard for social housing. The electrical content includes individual RCBO protection of every electrical circuit.

The five-year programme began in April 2008 when the newly-formed housing association, Liverpool Mutual Homes, took over responsibility for the housing stock from Liverpool City Council. The programme includes roofing and external cladding, new windows and doors, upgraded thermal insulation, central heating, complete bathroom and kitchen refits and rewiring. Initially work concentrated on ensuring that all homes were warm and dry. The first electrical contracts commenced this year.

LMH and its Consultants, Tweeds, decided to opt for individual RCBO protection of all power and lighting circuits. This offers the maximum levels of user safety required under the 17th Edition of the IEE Wiring Regulations, BS 7671. If a device trips, all other circuits in the property will continue to function normally.

Eaton’s MEM Memera consumer units were selected to satisfy this requirement. These are supplied with the protective devices ready fitted. LMH standardised on an 11-way unit for all properties, regardless of size. The normal circuits – cooker, lighting circuits etc. – are always connected in the same configuration to simplify maintenance. They include a separate kitchen ring circuit. Spare consumer circuit ways are available for use where tenants have additional equipment such as electric showers or stairlifts.

An LMH call centre number is available; if a tenant calls, the operator will normally be able to instruct them on the correct procedure to identify and re-set a tripped RCBO. LMH believes that this will reduce the number, and cost, of call-outs significantly.

Eaton’s EMA moulded accessories are used throughout. These are stylish, robust and cost-effective accessories moulded from polycarbonate with tight-fitting plugs that cover the fixing screws and make for a smart appearance. Switches controlling major appliances such as hobs, fridge/freezers and central heating are engraved to indicate their function.

Eaton has also supplied pendant sets from its Circa ceiling accessory range.

LMH wanted a clearly-defined supply chain for electrical products. It was agreed that all the consumer units and accessories should be sourced from Newey & Eyre’s Liverpool branch via the Regional Distribution Centre in Warrington. Luminaires, smoke alarms and other electrical products were also supplied by Newey & Eyre, thereby offering a single point of supply for all electrical installation products. Eaton and Newey & Eyre each undertook to hold two months’ stock of product.

Consultants for the LMH refurbishment programme are Tweeds Construction Consultancy of Liverpool (a member of the WYG group). Contractors and sub- contractors are appointed on a project-by-project basis from the LMH framework of contractors.

View Eaton Electrical's profile: