INDUSTRY COMMENT: BCIA
BCIA President Graeme Rees discusses some government announcements that will hopefully be beneficial in various ways.
B First shoots of spring
y the time you are reading this I hope that UK temperatures have increased a little and we’ve been able to switch off our heating for some of the time at least. March is
notoriously hard to predict weather- wise, with everything from snow to week-long heatwaves gripping the country within a matter of weeks. In my January column I mentioned that the Government’s response to the energy crisis had been rather slow. However, there has been some good news. The National Grid’s Demand Flexibility Service will allow households to claim a discount for using less energy at peak times in a bid to balance supply and avoid blackouts. While this is aimed at the domestic market, the principle of reducing energy consumption between certain hours is a viable solution for managers of commercial buildings looking to reduce their bills and something that building controls can help take care of. A new energy scheme for businesses, charities, and the public sector has been confirmed ahead of the current scheme ending in March. The new scheme will mean all eligible UK businesses and other non-domestic energy users will receive a discount on high energy bills until 31 March 2024. This will help businesses locked into contracts signed before recent substantial falls in the wholesale price manage their costs and provide others with reassurance against the risk of prices rising again. For eligible Energy and Trade Intensive Industries, the Government has announced that these businesses will receive a discount reflecting the difference between a price threshold and the relevant wholesale price.
Firms with primary operations in a number of sectors, including; manufacture of electronic components, manufacture of other electronic and electric wires and cables, manufacture of electric domestic appliances and manufacture of machinery for metallurgy, will be eligible for support under the Energy and Trade Intensive Industries (ETII) scheme.
The BCIA has also welcomed the news that the Energy Technology List (ETL) has announced updates to the Automatic Monitoring and Targeting (AM&T) Sub-Metering Systems and Building Energy Management Systems (BEMS) sub-technology groups. Both AM&T Sub-Metering Systems and BEMS play a key role in helping organisations make big savings on their energy bills. Now that these sub-technologies are listed on the ETL, organisations can easily identify the best products on the market. With the energy crisis and Net Zero high on the list of priorities for any building manager the importance of BEMS will continue to increase and this timely update will be extremely beneficial to manufacturers, installers and end users alike.
New additions
The BCIA recently announced some important additions to its personnel, with welcome Jen Vickers, Ron Purcell and Jason Harper joining the BCIA Management Committee. The experience and knowledge gained from their respective careers will make each of them a valuable addition to the team and I look forward to working with them. The BCIA’s Young Engineers Network YEN also took its next steps after its successful launch last year by electing a Chair and Vice Chair, with Greg Smith of E.ON Controls, and Abbie
Bewley, of InTandem Systems, taking on the roles respectively. The enthusiastic engagement shown by the Network’s delegates is very encouraging news for the industry. Better engagement has been a key aim for the BCIA and I am delighted to see these young engineers taking the initiative and leading by example.
Breaking the record
Entries for this year’s BCIA Awards closed on Thursday 19th January and I am delighted to say we have smashed the previous record for number of entries. Thank you to everybody who took the time to submit an entry. Judging took place in February and the winners remain a closely guarded secret – even from yours truly – until the night of the awards. I look forward to seeing the innovative products, ground-breaking projects and inspiring people competing for the prizes in May!
Compact, Energy Saving VFD for speed control applications
RVBS:
General purpose variable frequency drives.
• Power ratings: 0.55 kW/0.75 kW • Rated output current: 2.7 Arms/5 Arms • Configuration: via configuration software, remote keypad (optional) or via the PLC through the RJ45 port via Modbus
• RS485 serial communication port (MODBUS-RTU) • Cooling method: Heatsink (0.55 kW model) Heatsink + Fan (0.75 kW model) • 1 relay outputs: 1 for alarm
Carlo Gavazzi UK Ltd. - 4.4 Frimley Business Park, Frimley, Camberley, Surrey GU16 7SG - Tel: 01 276 854 110 -
www.gavazziautomation.com Carlo Gavazzi hp BSEE
Mar23.indd 1
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14/2/23 13:53 BUILDING SERVICES & ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEER MARCH 2023 9
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