Behind the headlines
Comment
Potential
The revised document also includes new approaches to the fire rating of ductwork; looks at new techniques for supporting ductwork; and out- lines changes to galvanising and spot welding procedures. The potential of the new approach to specifying steel thickness will not be lost on the wider construction industry in the wake of new research by the University of Cambridge, which suggests buildings contain double the amount of steel and concrete they actually need.
The construction industry uses half of the 1.5 billion tonnes of steel produced every year for UK consumption, but according to the researchers, this could be reduced by more than half without any detri- mental impact on safety. Although the research was pri- marily concerned with struc- tural steelwork, its conclusions about reducing materials to minimise the carbon footprint of buildings and cut construc- tion costs would equally apply to the steel used in ductwork. Over-specification of materi- als is often a symptom of ‘safety first’ designs, but as raw materials become increasingly rare and, therefore, expensive engineers are being encour- aged to design for minimum material rather than simply minimum cost. Avoiding over- design could provide the same amount of built space with just 20 per cent of the materials and, therefore, 20 per cent of the carbon emissions, the Cam- bridge research concluded. B&ES Ductwork Group technical committee chairman Peter Rogers said the savings from using re- duced steel gauges in some types of ductwork could be passed on to end users and would also cut the cost of manufacturing and transporta- tion for the industry. “It took a lot of blood, sweat and tears, but the new DW/144 was certainly worth waiting for,” he said. “It brings the industry’s specification into the digital age by better re- flecting modern working prac- tices and aligning it with the emergence of Building Infor- mation Modelling (BIM).” The 200-page document,
which has been aligned to all current British, European and international standards, covers ductwork application, materials, classification and air leakage rates. It defines the technical information to be provided by system designers to ductwork contractors; and looks in detail at rectangular, circular, and flat oval ductwork. The content has been expanded to give more detail on hangers and supports, smoke and fire dampers, ex- ternal ductwork, internal duct linings, thermal insulation, air terminal units, connections to builders work, as well as re-af- firming the importance of the provision of a clean, dry envi- ronment into which sheet metal ductwork should be in- stalled. It also contains a large number of reference tables.
Anniversary
The first ductwork specifica- tion was published by B&ES (then HVCA) just over 50 years ago and Mr Rogers said the group was delighted to mark the anniversary with such a “fresh and modern” re- vision of the sector’s seminal design document.
Special emphasis has been placed on the inclusion of access panels in ductwork installations to make it easier for systems to be properly cleaned and maintained in situ. Often access panels are left out to save upfront costs at the long-term expense of the end client.
“Things have been very tough for this industry during the recession and collectively we have not made the progress we should have in the past five years in terms of investment in skills and inno- vation,” said Mr Vaughan, who is also managing director of ductwork contractor E Popple- ton & Son. “Therefore, the tim- ing of the new DW/144 is perfect as it heralds a new era for our specialist sector and hopefully, in light of recent market trends, will mark an upturn in all our fortunes.” DW/144 is available in hard copy for £80 (£40 for B&ES members) by contacting B&ES Publications on 01768 860405; Email: b-espublica-
tions@welplan.co.uk
For more information on the B&ES and its members, contact Val O’Reilly on 020 7313 4907 or email
val.oreilly@b-es.org
Daily news update at
www.heatingandventilating.net
Time to smarten up
THE BUILDING services industry must move quickly because those smart
future
tech people have their eyes on our territory, says David Ridg- way (pictured right), product manager at Baxi Commercial. Everyone is talking about the
‘Internet of Things’ – that amaz- ing connected universe where thousands of ‘smart’ appliances are connected to the web and are, therefore, much easier to use, install and control. Nest Labs emerged from
Apple and was recently bought by Google for $3.2bn. This makes it one of the biggest players in the ‘future tech’ world based in California’s Sili- con Valley. However, it is not in- volved in the ‘glamorous’ end of the IT sector at all – no iPads or fancy phones there. No, it specialises in smart household appliances like smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, and heating controls. Rumour has it they are also working on an internet-connected fridge. So, why the interest in such seemingly ordinary items? The answer: money – and lots of it. There is huge potential for smart technology in buildings and we, the traditional building services sector, should take advantage of that.
Universe According to Nest’s CEO Tony Fadell, everyone who uses one of their smart thermostats can cut their energy bills by 20 per cent. This is possible because the intelligent devices allow already installed heating and cooling technologies to be controlled more easily and more intuitively. Nest is making that missing link between the ever-present smart phone and our buildings. The app in our hand is the centre of our uni- verse and the logical place to put the controls for our boilers and air conditioning systems. The fact that Google sees the potential in ‘our’ sector should
make us all sit up and take notice. Why would a company that has got everything else right want to put $3.2bn into improving the control of heating and cooling unless it sees huge profits there? The presence of Google in
our marketplace means many of the things our industry has been striving for are now tantalisingly close. Its web-based,
digital
access can revolutionise how we control systems and also how we monitor and maintain them, which is a huge leap for- ward because ongoing building performance has always been the industry’s Achilles’ heel. Nest’s thermostat uses tiny
sensors to monitor patterns of energy consumption in a build- ing. It then ‘learns’ about usage patterns so it can take decisions on behalf of the building occu- pant including shutting down the heating when it is not needed. The rumoured fridge will turn itself up when there is no-one at home because it ‘knows’ its door will not be opened for a while – thus saving electricity. It may sound a little bit like Big Brother, but ultimately it gives the building owner far better control, something we are all striving for.
HVR | July 2014 | 17
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