EC fan coils are energy efficient, flexible and very popular with consultants and end users.  Andrew Sargent, General Manager for Advanced Air, explores what changes have been made in fan coil technology recently and how they can impact on the market.

Danny Phelan, Sales Manager at Panel Systems, looks at an innovative new solution for enhancing the thermal performance of buildings during refurbishment.

To meet the ever increasing need for greater thermal performance, specifiers and developers are constantly looking for new ways to enhance the energy efficiency of a building. As many apartment blocks and retail outlets now have underground car parking facilities, this opens up new opportunities for insulating the semi-exposed concrete decks that form the ceiling of these car parks.

Grooved-end mechanical piping systems reduce the mechanical room footprint, enhance system performance and save time and cost on installation, says Kris Holvoet, Product Engineer at Victaulic.

Controlling costs and compressing schedules without sacrificing quality are key concerns for contractors responsible for mechanical room installations. Clients are looking for on-time, on-budget delivery of high quality systems that work well and are easy to maintain.

The commercial retrofit market represents a major business opportunity for HVAC contractors and consultants. Andy Legg, Sales Director at Coolmation, explores the particular challenges in replacing old air conditioning equipment with new high efficiency chillers and looks at how tailored chiller solutions can play a significant role in growing retrofit business.

The UK retrofit market for commercial buildings is estimated to be worth some £20 billion. As fuel prices continue their inexorable upward trend at the same time as the UK Government has committed to binding carbon targets which reduce emissions by 80% by 2050, then improving the energy efficiency of equipment in existing buildings remains a key market driver.

Building and facilities managers are responsible for ensuring compliance with the Associated Code of Practice from the Health and Safety Commission. This states that all mechanical ventilation systems should be regularly and properly cleaned, tested and maintained to ensure that they are kept clean and free from anything which may contaminate the air. Gary Nicholls, Managing Director of Swiftclean Environmental, highlights the risks of non-compliance and what cleaning procedures and protocols need to be put in place to ensure that regulations are met.

The days when building services engineers could simply concern themselves with meeting the necessary criteria to maintain comfort conditions are long gone. Quite rightly, other issues such as energy efficiency and sustainability are now considered just as important.

Energy efficiency, of course, has the highest profile but increasingly more emphasis is being put on the environmental impact of buildings and their services throughout the whole life cycle. In this respect, it makes a lot of sense to consider both the commercial and environmental impact of buying new plant when existing plant can be refurbished. This is something that applies to all items of plant, but air handling units (AHUs) illustrate the principle very well.