RENEWABLES
how a properly installed and commissioned ASHP can deliver reliable heating. Before installation, the accurate design of the heating system is crucial in the first instance. Without a well-designed and sized system, the ASHP may not function as efficiently or be fit for purpose. This is where services such as Baxi Design can support specifiers by taking into account the specific building scenario, potential usage and the seasonal variations in weather and temperature conditions the ASHP will operate within.
District heating
Functioning as a heat distribution system of insulated pipes from a centralised energy source to numbers of domestic or non-domestic dwellings, heat networks are growing more popular for multi-occupancy buildings. These can be small multi-unit dwellings, like apartment buildings, multiple block districts and housing developments, all the way up to city-scale districts. Reducing heat waste across multiple properties, heat networks allow for a better balance of supply and lower costs of heat for households and businesses alike. Just as the buildings they serve can be of various sizes, so too are heat networks’
centralised energy sources. These range from individual plant rooms to larger scale infrastructure and full-scale plants. Each of the dwellings or designated spaces in the building has its own heat interface unit to control comfort settings and the heat used. The benefits of this centralised plant room are servicing and maintenance for multiple homes is reduced to one easy access location, as well as allowing upgrades with new and improved technologies as they come to market. With commentators suggesting that upwards of 20% the UK’s total heat demand
could be met by heat networks in 2050, it is in the interest of specifiers, contractors and developers to ensure that district heating is a consideration in the future. In fact, to increase uptake, Government incentives like the upcoming Green Heat Networks Fund may help larger projects set the precedent for heat networks as a viable method for new build developments in the UK.
Decisions, decisions
As Government targets continue to pave the way to reach net zero, all professionals in the heating industry will need to plan and futureproof to meet the challenges of decarbonisation and the phasing out of natural gas heating. In answer to this challenge, Baxi Assure products and services have been established to ensure that specifiers, contractors and developers have the right options and added-value support to make the best and most compliant decisions to reach the efficiency targets required for new build homes.
boilingpoint C
hanges to Building Regulations, announced in the Queen’s Speech back in May, will mean developers of high-risk buildings will have to demonstrate they’ve considered fire safety across their entire land from August 2021. Graeme Dryden, Deputy chief executive and technical services manager at the Association of Plumbing & Heating Contractors (APHC) discusses what these developments mean for the industry. In the wake of the Grenfell Tower disaster, the Government asked the
Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to establish a new Building Safety Regulator. The new regulator, named as Peter Baker, will oversee safe design, construction and occupation of high-risk buildings. It will be independent and give advice to local regulators, landlords and building owners, the construction and design industry and residents. The Building Safety Bill, which gives power to this new regulator, is likely to take between 18 months and two years to pass into law. What is classed as high-risk? The definition of high-risk buildings is still causing confusion, as the description is particularly generic and can be applied to a number of scenarios. Some MPs and safety experts (including the fire brigade) have called for student accommodation and care homes of all types, regardless of size, to be included in this scope. For now, we will have to wait to see what this means, and at APHC we will continue to push for clarity. What does this mean for the industry? Firms are going to have to not only follow the new regulations but also demonstrate to the HSE that they are following them. This is why organisations are being encouraged to prepare for the process in advance to allow for the smoothest transition. In the future, it won’t be as simple as turning up to a job to carry out work on a high risk building if an occupant has called a plumber, for example – even if their property is privately owned and occupied, they will still have to comply with the overall building management. How this will be managed is an area that APHC is currently working through alongside the HSE. What are the next steps? Companies employed to carry out work in these
buildings will have to follow previous legislation and rules in addition to the new procedures. Currently the information we have around these new procedures is still vague and the Government, the HSE and industry bodies such as APHC, are working together to pull together the final detail on how the future will look. We do know that working in high-risk buildings, such as high-rise
buildings, will require individuals to prove their competence in their technical trade area, as well as additional competency to cover the high-risk environment (e.g. a plumber being asked to work on a sanitary system inside a high-rise building will not only need technical competency around the sanitary system, but will also need to understand the impact of doing work that may jeopardise its fire protection/safety features). This means a focus is needed now to plan out how all relevant health and
safety legislation can be followed in the future. From APHC’s perspective, it’s great to see that ways of improving the safety of high-risk buildings seems to be at the top of the Government’s legislative agenda. That said, we urgently need clarification on the definition of high-risk buildings and a commitment to consult and carefully plan out any extension to the scope of the types of buildings included within this definition. At APHC, we stay abreast of the
latest developments in industry legislation, including health and safety issues within construction projects. For more information on APHC, please visit:
www.aphc.co.uk
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