Heating and Ventilation News
Adam Northcroft
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Baxi to unveil micro-CHP unit in November
7 March 2008
Heating equipment supplier Baxi has revealed it will launch a micro-Combined Heat and Power (CHP) unit at the beginning of 2009.The Ecogen unit will generate 1kW of electricity for use in the home while also providing heating and hot water.Baxi Group CEO Martyn Coffey (pictured left) said the company will have 150 units ready for November this year, and will launch the product for the mass market in 2009.The company expects the micro-CHP sector to represent ... -
‘Trust and faith still in short supply'
5 December 2007
Collaborative working offers major benefits for the construction industry but is still only working in part. According to Rod Pettigrew, head of legal and commercial affairs at the HVCA, the industry was moving in and out of partnering arrangements, but despite this many were uncertain about what it actually was while few were using it consistently. “If applied it’s clear it offers real advantages over a traditional approach,” Mr Pettigrew said at the H&V News conference Effective ... -
Customers see ‘spiky’ m&e as necessary evil
4 December 2007
Many main contractors and clients still regard the m&e sector with considerable suspicion and will often avoid dealing with it if they can. Two major customers for the m&e industry speaking at the H&V News conference said they found the sector a ‘black art’ and difficult to deal with. “I don’t like m&e because I don’t understand it,” said Tim Peach, managing director of Taylor Woodrow Construction. “M&E is a necessary evil that just gets in the way. Lots of main contractors feel ... -
M&E market turning away from collaborative working
3 December 2007
The m&e industry has significantly reduced its involvement in integrated working over the last year it has been claimed. Speaking at the H&V News conference on Collaborative Working Rudi Klein, chief executive of the Specialist Engineering Contractors Group, said use of collaboration had been on the slide since the beginning of 2005. “I’m not sure what’s going on,” Mr Klein told delegates. “But when you consider the value of the m&e sector this is quite shocking.” He said that ... -
‘CHP will take third of domestic boiler market'
6 November 2007
Combined heat and power (CHP) systems are set to enjoy strong growth in the UK over the coming years. According to Dominic Bowers, director of Energy Solutions at consultancy Parsons Brinkerhoff, the microCHP market could take up to 30 per cent of the domestic boiler sector by 2015. Speaking at the H&V New conference on Low to Zero Carbon Heating, he said Government estimates indicated there would be up to 400MW of microchip capacity within a decade. It had also been forecast ... -
Huge demand for efficient homes
6 November 2007
Almost three quarters of potential home buyers have claimed that water and efficiency issues will influence the next home that they buy. The statistics were revealed by Ted King, principle mechanical and electrical engineer for the Department of Communities and Local Government. Mr King claimed recent research had also shown that 64 per cent think sustainability options should be compulsory in a new home and 72 per cent want more information about the energy efficiency of the homes ... -
Management buy-out for Denman
3 October 2007
Denman Group, the £50 million turnover m&e and facilities provider, has been bought by its commercial director David Weaver. David takes over the role of group managing director from Mark Denton, who leaves the company although will continue to assist with business development on a consultancy basis to David and his management team. The deal has been backed by Grant Thornton Corporate Finance (Gatwick), ASB Law (Crawley), GE Finance (Reigate) and Wilkins Kennedy (Horsham). Since ... -
‘Boilers and heat pump firms mustn't have a war'
2 October 2007
A fight between heat pumps and boilers for the domestic heating market would be the worst possible result for the sector, the president of the Heat Pump Association has claimed. Tony Bowen told H&V News that while the heat pump market was growing rapidly, a headlong rush by contractors to install the technology could be the “worst possible scenario”. “Lots of things have been written about heat pumps versus boilers, but we don’t want this,” he said. “We don’t want to push the market ... -
HSE reveals major anti-legionella drive
26 September 2007
Two major initiatives designed to hit back at the growing number of legionella incidents in the UK were unveiled at the H&V News Combating Legionella conference. According to Dr Paul McDermott, a specialist inspector at the Health & Safety Executive, a nationwide inspection campaign will be launched within the next few months. He told delegates that while full details of the campaign were not yet available, it would focus on wet cooling towers, which are one of the most frequent ... -
Heating training ‘been inadequate’
14 September 2007
Baxi Commercial Heating has launched a training academy claiming that the standard of training throughout the industry needed to improve. “In my view, there has been inadequate training provision in the commercial heating and hot water industry for too long now,” said Yan Evans, technical director of Baxi Commercial Heating. “However, this situation should change for the better once proposed measures by ICOM Energy [the trade association] to redress the shortfall are in place.” Mr ... -
Smeg breaks into heating sector
6 September 2007
Smeg, the contemporary white goods manufacturer, has launched a range of flueless gas fires into the UK. The company is best known for its ovens and trendy fridges, and believes that the fires will appeal to the growing number of Britons who want a modern look in their homes. Smeg claims the catalytic converter in the fires converts all carbon monoxide from the combustion gas into carbon dioxide, so ensuring they are completely safe without a flue or chimney: “This is so effective ... -
Mitsi Electric to end cooling-only AC
4 September 2007
One of the leading suppliers of air conditioning in the UK has revealed it will no-longer promote cooling-only products in this country. A company statement said the move comes on the back of rapid advances in air conditioning and heat pump systems over the last five years. Mitsubishi claimed this technology was now often the most energy efficient and cost-effective way of heating and cooling a building. 'Air conditioning is now ideal as the primary source of heating and cooling ... -
Anger over plan to scrap Merton Rule
30 August 2007
A call to scrap the Merton Rule has unleashed furious protest along with allegations of 'scandal and skulduggery'. In last week's H&V News (August 25), the British Property Federation (BPF) claimed the rule was the result of blinkered thinking and was actually hampering the uptake of renewable technology throughout the UK. It said that far from enabling developers to generate up to 20 per cent of a building's energy from onsite renewables as intended, the Merton Rule left buildings ... -
OFTEC reveals new director general
22 August 2007
OFTEC, the Oil Firing Technical Association, has appointed Jeremy Hawksley as its director general. Mr Hawksley was previously managing director of the Builders Merchants Federation and takes over from Richard Gales. Glen Rae has also been appointed as OFTEC’s registration services director. -
BK wins £10m Liverpool deal
27 July 2007
Balfour Kilpatrick, the multi services company, has won a £10 million contract for the supply and installation of HVAC, electrical and plumbing services for the Paradise Project in Liverpool (impression pictured). The project is a £920m retail-led mixed-use development comprising over 30 buildings situated over a 42-acre site, and work is due to start in August. The ultimate client for the regeneration of the scheme is Grosvenor, with Balfour Beatty Construction acting as the main ... -
F-Gas training split into four
11 July 2007
The F-Gas Directive is likely to demand up to four levels of training for air conditioning service and maintenance, it has been revealed. Joop Hoogkamer, secretary general at the European air conditioning and refrigeration association AREA, outlined the likely requirements at the Sanyo air conditioning conference held in Hungary last week. He said that category one for applications using less or more than 3kg of refrigerant and covering leakage checking, recovery, installation maintenance -
‘Boilers will lose battle against heat pumps’
10 July 2007
Heat pumps are set to steal a significant share of the UK heating market from boiler manufacturers over the next few years.
