Letters
CHP-fired district heating is not necessarily the solution I refer to your August issue article (page 38) on CHP and heat pumps, in which the author shows by use of a Sankey diagram that (provided you ignore district heating pumping and heat losses) a combined heat and power (CHP) system with district heating and heat pumps can be almost as efficient as a conventional power station and heat pumps. It is refreshing to see some analysis
that compares CHP on a ‘same-fuel’ basis. However, I would come to a different conclusion to the author. If the CHP-fired district heating system only manages to equal the efficiency of a conventional centralised power system, then what is the incentive to incur the cost (and disruption) of installing the district heating, coupled with the increase in pollutants from the decentralised power station located in a dense urban environment? Proponents of district heating need
to design their systems to be ultra-low carbon if we are going to meet the UK target of an 80% carbon reduction by 2050. District heating based on fossil fuel-powered CHP is clearly not the solution. James Thonger PhD BSc CEng MIMechE
Young engineers do need hands-on experiences of M&E John Rose’s comment in the July issue of the Journal (Letters, page 22) that young engineers need real experience on site during the construction and operational stages of a project is spot on – particularly for young engineers who want to pursue their career as mechanical and electrical (M&E) designers. In the last few years I have been
associating with facilities maintenance management services in Oman, and have observed that some plants appear as if the concept of maintenance has not been considered during design stage. We find it very difficult to maintain these plants. This suggests to me the limited knowledge of the designers and project managers who were involved in these projects. I strongly support the statement that, before starting work on M&E facilities, design engineers
20 CIBSE Journal September 2010
should have a minimum level of hands-on experience in this area during their academic or initial training periods. It would also help if professional bodies globally required M&E design engineers to undertake continuous professional development. Dr M Ramaswamy CEng MCIBSE Muscat, Oman
must surely be time to accept that a single voice for engineering will not happen now. I strongly believe that the way forward for the profession is through a perestroika- style decentralization of the 36 professional engineering inst i tut ions current ly administered by the Engineering Council, together with licensing reform and the statutory regulation and recognition of engineers. Eur Ing Ian Brown MSc CEng CDir
Time to manage your waste In these days of austerity measures and concerns about a ‘double dip’ recession, environmental responsibility seems to have dropped off the political agenda somewhat and out of our collective cons c iousne s s . Si t e Wa s t e Management Plans Regulations have been put in force to help address the issue of the amount of wasted site materials being sent to landfill, and yet the problem continues. Instead of over-ordering on a
just-in-case or guesstimate basis, contractors should be looking to their suppliers to help them order only the amount of materials needed. Suppliers can help with this not only by offering technical support to help with specification and quantities but also by ensuring that their supply chain can provide a fast turnaround on orders, removing
A single engineering voice? Not in the current climate Andrew Ramsay’s valedictory remarks as outgoing chief executive of the Engineering Council (Letters, page 18, August 2010) seem a remarkable acceptance of blame. He unequivocally cites his own Engineering Council (EC), the Royal Academy and the leadership of the institutions for the lack of a coherent single voice for engineering. So where do we stand on this core issue?
Was a single voice for engineering just Monty Finneston’s ‘big idea’ or is there a realisable benefit for EC registrants? Running a complex, high-level bureaucracy
like the EC to provide a single voice for the profession only makes sense when it delivers results. But when the impossibility of the task is endorsed by the retiring EC chief executive with 35 years’ experience, then it
the need for anxiety about under-ordering. Managing waste effectively saves time, underpins a quality approach and reduces costs so, in reality, it’s not a fad that we can ill afford but a fundamental that we cannot afford to overlook. Tim Brown National sales manager, Cablofil UK
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