INDUSTRY NEWS Inbrief
ACV UK has bolstered its sales team with Andy Devlin as business development manager for the North West and Trevor Betts as business support officer for the Midlands.
www.acv.com
Under a recent ruling not to allow transfer of current CE Mark test certificates, the majority of radiators on sale in the UK will be without a ‘valid’ test certificate, in a few months’ time – EUA.
eua.org.uk
Rinnai has called for a single body or council to represent all buildings, products and services sectors to create a ‘pragmatic and non-partisan pathway’ to achieve net zero goals.
www.rinnai-uk.co.uk
The benefits and potential of combined heat and power (CHP) technology are being increasingly recognised by UK manufacturers post-pandemic, according to a new survey by Aggreko.
www.aggreko.com
Eurovent Certification is set to launch the Energy Efficiency Classes for Summer Application (EECS) label for air handling units (AHUs), which includes cooling and accommodates warmer weather conditions.
www.eurovent-certification.com
The Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE) is offering a software verification assessment (SVA) service to provide independent testing of software systems used for specific design functions.
www.cibse.org
Polypipe Building Services has committed to taking care of the mental health of its employees by recently adding four more mental health first aiders.
www.polypipe.com
Manufacturer of designer towel rails and radiators, IRSAP, has promoted Andy Phillips to the position of managing director.
www.irsap.co.uk
Armstrong Fluid Technology has won a Queen’s Award for Enterprise for Sustainable Development.
armstrongfluidtechnology.com
IT’S TIME TO BELIEVE THE HYPE OVER HYDROGEN HEATING – TRADE BODY
T
he Energy and Utilities Alliance (EUA) has labelled calls for the Government to drop funding for hydrogen as shortsighted and ‘without
consideration of UK consumers. Isaac Occhipinti, head of external affairs, EUA (pictured
right) said: “Academics, policymakers, think tanks, environmentalists and industry all agree that tackling emissions from heating is ‘difficult’, ‘hard to do’ and that we ‘need to utilise all of the tools available’.” “Calls to cease funding of hydrogen feasibility studies
are without consideration of UK consumers. Independent analysis, carried out on behalf of EUA, and released last month, found that out of the 22.7 million homes using gas, eight to 13 million (37% to 54%) of them lack the exterior space and building fabric thermal efficiency to enable a heat pump to meet the space heating requirements of the property without the need for disruptive measures, such as solid wall insulation. “ “The Decarbonising Heat in Buildings report
recommends that use of heat pumps must be supported by a gas network carrying a decarbonised gas, such as hydrogen, which is net zero at the point of use and throughout its supply chain. Levels of disruption to people in their homes and high upfront costs mean heat pumps are likely to be a solution for a minority of properties only.” “There is no denying that we will need hydrogen to
help us decarbonise heating. Study after study has demonstrated its feasibility and effectiveness. With over 85% of homes being connected to the gas grid in the UK, the easiest and simplest way to decarbonise is to convert the existing network and
home products such as boilers, to hydrogen.” “To support this, the boiler industry has recently
committed to support any future UK Government legislation which mandates that all new models of domestic boilers be ‘hydrogen-ready’ from 2025. With this assurance, BEIS has commissioned wide-ranging trials on using hydrogen for heating homes, with plans for a neighbourhood, and eventually a whole town, to use the decarbonised gas.” “This is not a fringe experiment but a global initiative
to use a widely available and abundant resource to help us decarbonise. The UK has to be engaged in this transformation or it risks falling behind other countries which are already investing heavily in hydrogen and setting ambitious targets.“ “Tackling climate change is the most pressing and
critical challenge we face. Without a choice of different heat technologies for the UK’s diverse housing stock, decarbonisation of heat will not gain the support of consumers and will therefore fail.”
COVID-19, CLIMATE AND SLEEPING FROGS A
more diverse profession is essential to help us build resilience against
future crises and better respond to the pandemic and climate change, Kevin Kelly, incoming President of the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE) said in his presidential address. Mr Kelly pointed to the
analysing and responding to the threats posed by Climate Change he warned that our industry needs to take a lead in building strongest possible defence. In his view, this demands positive action to improve
Kevin Kelly, incoming President of CIBSE
“warning shots” of the SARS, MERS and Ebola outbreaks that should have spurred an international effort to prepare for a pandemic. Instead, lulled into a false sense of security by the containment of these warning shots, the world was woefully unprepared to deal with the arrival of COVID-19. Mr Kelly used the analogy of a sleeping frog – apparently
a frog immersed in water that is being heated simply sleeps until it is boiled – to describe this behaviour and speculated that climate change threatens to be the next and arguably most significant sleeping frog of all. Outlining the central role being taken by CIBSE experts in
inclusivity and diversity within the field of building services engineering. Mr Kelly outlined his own experience of combatting not just overt discrimination but unconscious bias and stated his commitment to using his presidential term to support positive change. As a university professor who started his career as an
apprentice electrician there could perhaps be no-one better suited to encouraging diverse routes to qualification and entry into a chartered profession. Mr Kelly warned that challenging the status quo will require a willingness “to have the awkward and difficult conversations ahead and lean into them in order to change our industry for the better by making it more inclusive and welcoming to all”. Mr Kelly succeeds Stuart McPherson as CIBSE President
and will be in turn succeeded by Kevin Mitchell, global practice leader – building services engineering – Mott Macdonald. The presidential address was delivered on 6 May via video-link and is available to watch at https://www.
cibse.org/president
6 June 2021
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