www.heatingandventilating.net


and can be used alongside a solar photovoltaic system. And because the Vitotron 100 needs nothing more than a power connection, it’s easy to install – no gas connection, no flue and no need for a boiler room or fuel store. By combining heat storage with free energy from solar PV, we are able


to deliver extraordinarily low running costs. Without PV, it’s still a desirably affordable heat source: actual efficiency is 99.4%, and the weather-compensated control unit allows the user to set a range of automated functionalities to keep operating costs down. These include regulation of the water temperature in the heating circuit at settings between 20 to 85°C; automatic heater power modulation; temperature programming; and a ‘time of use’ tariff for reduced overnight charges or new smart energy tariffs. Modern electric boilers won’t be right for every household, of course. Heat pumps are set to play an increasingly important role in home heating, and so too could hydrogen boilers. But the future will see a mix of heating technologies and solutions working in tandem, and electric boilers are another option in the installer’s bag.


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Looking after health & safety risk is looking after your business


ver a number of years there’s been a significant emphasis placed on assessing the level of health and safety risk associated with work activities; the risk assessment process being a key requirement of


many pieces of current health & safety legislation including areas such as – • General workplace risk • Hazardous substances • Legionella In this feature we’ll try and cut through the some of the often complex descriptions that are attached to it and emphasise that for most small to medium sized plumbing and heating businesses, it’s not too difficult a process to apply and use in your business. The benefits to your business in looking at risk in the workplace can be huge in terms of the potential outcomes and avoidance of significant financial claims as a result of workplace injuries to either your employees or customers/member of the public. As an example there is less widespread use of general ladders across construction than there was a few decades ago, with the preference now being for fixed and mobile tower scaffold alternatives to gain access to work at height. This change being brought about through considering and assessing the risk associated with ladder use.


What is risk?


Put simply the risk is the chance, high or low, that somebody could be harmed by workplace hazards such as the use of chemicals, working from height, working with heat producing equipment, and so on; coupled with an indication of how serious the harm could be. Legislation doesn’t t expect you to eliminate all risk, but you are required to protect people as far as ‘reasonably practicable’.


BOILERS


The Vitoplanar EI2 electric infrared heater with mirrored glass surface has a very shallow installation depth


There are a few methods of


carrying out a risk assessment, some very complex to reflect the complexity of the work activity. The work activities carried out in smaller properties can usually adopt a relatively simple approach.


What is risk assessment?


A risk assessment is simply a careful examination of what, in your work, could cause harm to people, so that you can weigh up whether you have taken enough precautions or should do more to prevent harm. Employees and your customers/ members of the public have a right to be protected from harm caused by a failure to take appropriate safety actions How to assess the risks in your workplace - • Step 1 - Identify the hazards • Step 2 - Decide who might be harmed and how • Step 3 - Evaluate the risks and decide on precautions • Step 4 - Record your findings and implement them • Step 5 - Review your assessment and update if necessary If you run a small organisation and you are confident you understand what’s


involved, you can do the assessment yourself. You don’t have to be a health and safety expert. If you work in a larger organisation, you could ask a health and safety advisor to help you. If you’re not confident, get help from someone who is competent. In all cases, you should make sure that you involve your staff. They will have useful information about how the work is done that will make your assessment of the risk more thorough and effective. As an outcome they at least should know how to use the findings of your risk assessment and apply them in the workplace. But remember, the business owner is responsible for seeing that the assessment is carried out properly. At APHC we produce a fully developed model health and safety management


system for a small plumbing and heating business that can take a lot of the hard work out of starting this process from scratch. For further details of the benefits that APHC membership can bring please contact one of our membership advisers on 0121 711 5030. www.aphc.co.uk


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