ViewPoint BESA’s Indoor Air Quality group has been working with Rosamund for some
years now. She has become a familiar fi gure at industry events and a captivating speaker at the Association’s annual conference and awards. She has been hugely infl uential in raising awareness of the role of ventilation and air fi ltration in improving indoor environments for health & wellbeing reasons. However, while awareness of the issue is high, progress on the remedial
works needed to address the problem is frustratingly slow. In fact, IAQ has dropped down the list of public concerns since its high point after the pandemic.
Financial problems
As a result, many of the fi rms who sprang up to serve the burgeoning IAQ sector have run into fi nancial problems, according to IAQ group chair Adam Taylor. Rosamund believes this will not change without legislation because money
talks and there are so many other demands on maintenance budgets. Air quality remains the world’s biggest “silent killer”, responsible for more deaths than cancer, heart disease, and mental health combined (as discussed on the latest BESA ‘Behind the Built Environment’ podcast) but unless targets are made mandatory other fi nancial priorities will prevail. “Schools, hospitals, care homes, and social housing are all key areas
desperate for IAQ improvements, but they are desperate for other upgrades too. So, legislation will be needed to move air quality from the discretionary investment box to the essential,” said Taylor. The Association has also welcomed the government’s commitment to “repair
our broken planning system” to smooth the path of infrastructure, housing and renewable energy projects through a new Planning and Infrastructure Bill. BESA added that it was also encouraged to see that the new government
was framing the debate about renewables and green engineering in terms of economic growth. It aims to set up the Great British Energy company with an initial budget of £8bn, and the new venture will be headquartered in Scotland to help achieve “energy independence”. “The previous administration seemed to regard addressing climate change as a bit of an expensive inconvenience rather than an opportunity to create wealth and employment opportunities. As a result, they fl ip fl opped on policy which left us in the slow lane,” said Frise. “Hopefully, the tenor of the new policy announcements represents a change of
mindset.”
The Association also off ered its support to the planned Skills England Bill, which aims to bring together businesses, training providers, unions and industry bodies to give added momentum to technical training, including apprenticeships, in a bid to tackle skills shortages. “Clearly, the devil will be in the detail as there have been many attempts to
address the widening skills gap,” said Frise. “And while this is a national policy, it is often a regional problem with diff erent parts of the country facing their own specifi c challenges when it comes to accessing training and funding.” BESA was also pleased to see that the proposed Audit and Corporate Governance
Bill referred directly to the Carillion scandal and the need to avoid similar corporate failures in the future, but it noted there was no timeframe mentioned for addressing ongoing late payment problems in construction supply chains. The BESA Annual Conference on October 17 at the Brewery, London will
feature an expert panel session on the future of air quality in social housing and the need for a national retrofi t programme. Full programme and registration details can be found at:
www.thebesa.com/ the-besa-annual-conference
T
he launch event heard from Neil Watson, Chair of the ICOM/ MEHNA Water Treatment
Group along with representatives from each of the events sponsors – Adey, Fernox and Sentinel. Heat networks are now included in the guide for which MEHNA members have given advice. It also now covers the principles of Train, Assess, Control, Prove - a best practice approach to water treatment. This comprehensive document deals with
all aspects of water treatment for a non- domestic heating system or heat network. The industry bodies responsible for the guide trust that by studying the contents and following the freely given advice, non-domestic heating systems and heat networks systems will operate trouble free, safely, and more effi ciently. It has been divided into four sections covering the TACP best practice
approach to water treatment. These are: Train: The competency of individuals carrying out maintenance of heating systems and the responsibility of heating system owners Assess: Where the system is analysed, the incumbent water treatment if present, is assessed and appropriate methodologies are considered. Control: Whereby the water treatment is installed, and an appropriate monitoring and ongoing maintenance scheme is established. Prove: To record and document that all the maintenance and monitoring requirements have been undertaken. The guide is intended to be read and understood by plant operators, engineers, and personnel with limited or no knowledge of water treatment chemistry or physical devices, to help them understand what eff ect system water and its subsequent treatment will have on their heating system. “Water treatment plays a crucial role in minimising energy consumption
within residential and commercial heating systems and is essential for maintaining the validity of equipment manufacturers’ warranties, says Dr Watson. “This comprehensive guide, developed through a true collaboration of industry experts—including appliance manufacturers, water treatment specialists, consultants, product suppliers, system design and maintenance engineers, equipment manufacturers, and training providers—covers all commercial treatment processes currently adopted in the UK market.” Following the TACP (Train, Assess, Control, and Prove) best practice
approach, this guidance is a defi nitive resource for the industry. To get your own copy of the new guide head for
https://www.icom.org.uk/resources/industry-guides.
Revised water treatment guide launched at Installer Live
The revised ICOM/MEHNA water treatment and conditioning of commercial heating systems guide was relaunched at Installer Live ’24 at the NEC in Birmingham at a breakfast networking event on the second day of the show. The event was sponsored by Adey, Fernox and Sentinel.
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August 2024
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