INDUSTRY NEWS
OVERHEATING IS NOW A CRITICAL BUILDING SAFETY ISSUE, SAYS BESA
T
he Building Engineering Services Association (BESA) is calling for urgent action to tackle the growing number of buildings that overheat. “2022 might have seen more dramatic temperature
peaks but this year seems to mark a move into much longer and more relentless periods of heat stress,” said BESA’s technical director Kevin Morrissey. “This is signifi cant because it suggests we are experiencing a new long-term weather pattern which calls for a more concerted eff ort to adapt our built environment.” “There are multiple technical solutions available, including both passive and mechanical cooling systems,” said Morrissey. “However, to ensure these reach the most vulnerable in our society cooling must now become a central part of the UK’s push to decarbonise the built environment, which continues to focus primarily on how we heat buildings. “Adapting the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) to support wider adoption of heat pumps that provide cooling in summer as well as heating would be a positive and easy fi rst step.” BESA also believes overheating should be part of the wider building safety regime. It pointed out that the addition of fi re-resistant insulation was making many more homes liable to overheat, so this needed to be off set by better ventilation and cooling. “Overheating is the most overlooked building safety
issue,” said Morrissey. “Improving insulation to reduce heat loss and protect occupants from fi re is extremely important, but in many cases, this is exacerbating growing health problems caused by poor indoor air quality (IAQ) and condensation by raising temperature and humidity and reducing air change rates.” BESA, which manages the UK’s largest refrigeration and air conditioning registration scheme REFCOM, said that the UK’s increasingly intense summers were fuelling growth in demand for residential air conditioning. While this is a positive development for human health and comfort, it must be managed carefully to ensure installations met legal and technical standards, the Association warned. “People need to be appropriately qualifi ed and
registered to handle refrigerant gas and to install cooling equipment. There is a ‘cowboy’ element out there who could do untold damage to this industry and put both the environment and the public at risk of harm, if regulations are not properly enforced. “The Building Safety Act is beginning to make its
presence felt and is driving more responsible behaviour across the construction sector by focusing heavily on competence and compliance. The role of cooling needs to receive a similar level of scrutiny to ensure it can play its part in keeping building occupants safe and healthy.”
INSTALLERS URGED TO ACT AHEAD OF LOOMING LEGISLATION
I
nstallers are being encouraged to switch to effi cient secondary hot water circulators ahead of anticipated legislation that will ban ineffi cient versions of these domestic and commercial plumbing products. The callout comes from Wilo, amid a growing
expectation that directives aimed at making hot water circulators mirror the changes to legislation pertaining to heating circulators will arrive before the close of the decade. In recent years, changes to the Energy-related Products (ErP) Directive and associated Ecodesign regulations have been enforced to limit the energy consumed by heating circulators.
These include compliance with the minimum Energy
Effi ciency Index (EEI) requirement of 0.23 and the mandatory adoption of variable speed technology in new circulators. The latter adjusts pump speed in accordance with the changing demands of a HVAC system. With impending rule changes seemingly on the horizon, installers are being encouraged to adopt effi cient hot
Inbrief
The Building Engineering Services Association (BESA) has announced the death of “hugely popular and highly respected” former President Robert (Rab) Fletcher after a lengthy battle with cancer..
www.thebesa.com
The UK is lagging behind its European neighbours for installers working on heat pumps and solar panels, according to study by plumbing and drainage manufacturer, Wavin. The study found a 10% drop between Q4 2024 and Q1 2025 in HVAC installers working on heat pumps.
https://wavin.com/gb
The South East’s training provider for the trades, Logic4training, can now off er successful candidates on its LCL Awards Level 3 Air Source Heat Pump (ASHP) course access to a free heat pump for their home, plus product training, MCS certifi cation for the completed installation and even cashback to cover time spent installing the ASHP.
www.logic4training.co.uk
Domus Ventilation, a manufacturer of ventilation systems that save energy and improve indoor air quality, has become a corporate member of the Association of Ductwork Contractors and Allied Services (ADCAS).
https://domusventilation.co.uk
Wolseley Group welcomed Matt Western, MP for Warwick and Leamington, to its head offi ce last month for a behind-the-scenes look at its plumbing, heating, climate, and infrastructure solutions.
www.wolseley.co.uk
water circulators that incorporate similar control options to modern heating circulators. Andy Thompson, national sales manager – plumbing & heating at Wilo UK, said: “Effi cient secondary hot water circulators off er various benefi ts beyond energy savings, from maintaining hygiene to making the lives of installers much easier. With legislation expected to follow the trajectory of heating circulator reforms, now is the time to futureproof secondary hot water systems in homes.”
Baxi has announced its expanded partnership with purpose-driven, not-for-profi t organisation Primary Engineer to bring STEM into the classroom and inspire the next generation of engineers.
www.baxi.co.uk
BESA has launched the fi rst offi cial training course supporting the government’s Heat Network Technical Assurance Scheme (HNTAS). HNTAS will be phased in over time once policy proposals are consulted on and fi nalised.
www.thebesa.com
DOWNLOAD THE HVR APP NOW
September 2025
7
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36
