Efficiency - Expert Commentary
Energy bills for small businesses have become a major issue throughout 2023. As prices have risen drastically over the last twelve months, SMEs have been relying on the government’s Energy Bill Relief Scheme. Originally set up to support livelihoods, energy bills for businesses in the public sector were capped at £2,500 per year. However, in March, the government support scheme was replaced with the scaled-down Energy Bill Discount Scheme, leaving businesses and public sector organ...
Summer may not seem like the most opportune time to be selling heating products and solutions. The temperatures are already hot, so why would a homeowner need to worry about their heating source? For many HVAC clients, the idea of being proactive before the cold weather drops is foreign. That’s why contractors need to remind them of the importance of focusing on their heating units during the summer. capitalize on heating solutions There are plenty of opportunities available for contra...
Today’s HVAC contractors are acutely aware that they need visibility on the internet and in their community if they want the phones to ring with requests for new business. As a result, HVAC company leaders have become savvy about marketing and advertising and know that search engine optimization, direct mail flyers, and flashy truck wraps attract attention. Public relations But what they don’t stop to think about is that their competitors likely have a very similar marketing strat...
Any time you enter into an agreement with a business or partner, they may want to check that everything is shipshape. What Is a Certificate of Insurance? - If you own a business, chances are you have certificates of all kinds on your wall, whether they be your hard-earned college degree or the certification needed by your city to run your business. These certificates prove that you’ve passed your classes or have met the requirements set out by the city. A certificate of insurance is simil...
Patented new filtration technology proved it can upgrade AC units and Air Curtains to become highly effective Air Purifiers. Background and problem AC Split Units and Air Curtains employ coarse dust filters that are normally installed within the housing at the air return vent to allow for frequent filter cleaning. While this vital activity is generally performed on a regular basis in professional settings, it may be overlooked in home settings, leading to the clogging of these filters. This de...
With each passing year, more and more individuals are becoming conscious of the importance of sustainability. As a result, there has been a boom in the electric vehicle (EVs) market. According to the International Energy Agency, the sales of EVs doubled in 2021 with nearly 10% of global car sales being electric. Two million electric vehicles were sold in the first quarter of 2022 alone. It was estimated that 13% of new cars sold in 2022 would be electric. Gas-Powered vehicle For those who cho...
When your HVAC system isn't working correctly, it's often difficult to pinpoint the exact issue. Does your home have hot and cold spots? Do doors randomly close on their own? Is your A/C blowing warm air on a hot summer day? If so, your HVAC might have an uneven airflow. There are many symptoms of uneven airflow and many solutions. Amid the increasing demand for HVAC repair, homeowners need to learn how to keep their home system operating at its best. Understanding the potential causes of unev...
Each day we’re reading headlines about decarbonization ambitions for buildings while challenged with supporting day-to-day operational needs. Yet, we’re still tasked with delivering energy and cost reductions. Given the magnitude of energy consumption and the importance to occupant/tenant comfort, HVAC systems warrant significant attention. There are a lot of options with new equipment and controls to drive energy use down and enhance overall comfort that are very impactful, when bu...
The energy savings due to the lowering of heating temperatures during unoccupied periods can exceed 20% in the tertiary sector and 30% in the education sector. When buildings are not occupied continuously, the idling or even the optimized shutdown of heating systems is one of the main sources of energy savings. heating system consumption Indeed the heating system consumption matches the thermal loss of heated buildings. When we willingly let the internal temperature drop during a vacant...
With the UK experiencing increasingly warmer summers and more frequent heatwaves, we’re equally seeing more air conditioning units installed in both commercial and residential spaces. As the demand for air conditioning continues to increase, so too will the demand for copper pipes. Copper is a trusted and reliable material that air conditioning installers have been using for many years and, not only that, it’s also infinitely recyclable – making it a sustainable alternative to...
A preventive maintenance program could save 12-18% over reactive maintenance, as the U.S. Department of Energy predicted in 2010. For many businesses, the savings could be higher, considering the risks of downtime and today’s economic conditions pushing up costs across the supply chain. It’s also possible for a program to miss the mark. By one measure, 50% of the costs of a preventive maintenance program are often wasted. The question is, how do you know if your maintenance program...
The importance of caring for the environment has become a top priority both around the world and increasingly in the United States. As regulations and social expectations become more stringent, future-proofing our infrastructure - beginning with energy consumption in buildings - is a natural first step. There are four key strategies a building owner or facility manager can focus on to improve energy efficiency and reduce a building’s carbon footprint, all while improving building performa...
Achieving carbon neutrality has, once more, become a business priority. Whilst COVID-19 distracted attention away from the drive towards Net Zero, green issues are once more back on the agenda and rising to the top of it. Building specifications The built environment accounts for around 28-40% of global emissions, so there is a collective ambition to start specifying buildings with as low a carbon footprint as possible. This is particularly true of commercial office spaces where operational...
Following the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak’s Spring Statement on 23 March, several imminent and future changes were laid out by the UK government. This included VAT scrappage for residential energy-saving measures like heat pumps and solar panels, a 12-month cutting of fuel duty by 5p per liter, and to support the decarbonization of commercial premises, targeted business rate exemptions for eligible plant and machinery used in onsite renewable energy generation and stora...
As COVID-19 becomes endemic and hybrid working becomes the norm, a great deal of time and energy is going into managing a safe return to the office and a move to new styles of working. As hard FM systems are adjusted to suit new workplace expectations and futureproof sites, Johnpaul Pearson, Business Support Director at Anabas, talks about understanding workplaces and using technology to better design and plan a workplace of the future. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic struck, we were witnessi...
Energy consumption continues to be one of the primary contributors to a building’s carbon emissions and its operational costs. Around 40% of this energy is used to power HVAC systems. To improve sustainability and reduce operating costs, it’s in a building owner’s best interest to find ways to make their building’s heating and cooling systems more efficient. Identifying areas that will make the biggest difference starts with knowing which systems consume the most energy...
With COP26 behind us, the words ‘Net Zero’ still hangs heavy in the air as we look to make the most of the momentum gained by the summit. On the face of it, it’s a daunting task. However, like so many challenges in life, it becomes considerably more manageable when broken down into smaller steps. It’s now a widely accepted fact that lighting, heating, and cooling operating emissions account for a significant proportion (28%) of all carbon emissions emitted by building an...
There are several benefits to using unit heaters in a variety of locations. Whether they are in a home garage or a large commercial warehouse, unit heaters can provide space-saving heating options that can be installed quickly and easily with the right preparation. Unit heaters can be used as a primary or secondary heat source, and the directed warm air of a properly installed unit can make a noticeable difference in the overall comfort level of a space. Unit heater installation Unit heaters...
AI (Artificial Intelligence) is a smart buildings’ biggest ally. Without it, a building could hardly be classed as smart. For building owners and managers, AI is imperative to create a secure and comfortable experience for their occupants every day. What a building platform should do is gather data from various sources from the building management system and other smart technologies, to gather it all in one place. The data should then be fed into a flexible, scalable cloud-based platform...
Every six years, the United States Department of Energy (DOE) reviews how much energy certain home appliances and mechanical systems use and determines if an increase in energy efficiency requirements is justified. New energy conservation standards As a result of the 2017 assessment, the DOE has mandated new energy conservation standards that take effect on January 1, 2023, for all newly manufactured residential and commercial air conditioners, heat pumps, and gas furnaces. In addition t...
Even though the COVID-19 pandemic is seemingly drawing to a close, living, working and learning at home is set to continue. Under this new normal, home electricity use is expected to double by 2050. Simultaneously, as climate change devastates communities around the world, we are faced with a moral and economic obligation to cut CO2 emissions from houses. Our goal is to build Net Zero houses and we can't get there fast enough. Fossil fuels use in heating systems Many countries continue to rely...
Seasonal transitions are the perfect time to take inventory and inspect a building’s various systems. We’ve been reminded for years that when we set our clocks back, we should also replace the batteries in our smoke detectors. The same thought process can be applied in support of seasonal preventative maintenance for a building’s HVAC system. Now that the cooling season has passed for a large part of the country, it is time to ensure that HVAC systems have been shut down prope...
I am writing this the day after the Autumn Spending Review, which among many measures, included a huge focus on how the Government wants to ‘level up the country’, creating a new post-pandemic economy, with higher wages and higher skills. Part of this is the £500 million ‘Multiply’ scheme, which aims to increase numeracy and basic mathematics for adults in the United Kingdom via in person tutoring, digital training and flexible courses. Lack of basic skills to acce...
The development of digital technologies in the Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) sector has been transformational for the industry, as well as for those who run HVAC systems. While the electrification and digitalization of machines, and assets has made a lot of operations simpler, it has also meant that the collection of machine data has never been more critical. Given that engineers can now view lots of different metrics on a single screen, including things like heating control...
It is now more common to read about cases of Legionnaires’ disease in the media than ever before, with outbreaks regularly being reported in cities around the world, all the time. Many of these cases are attributed to contamination of domestic systems, showers and spas, but some are the result of operating cooling towers. While this problem is not new, with the first reported case in Philadelphia, in 1976, the United Kingdom (UK) has been at the forefront in leading the battle with Legionn...
The UK is the biggest boiler market in Europe, FACT. But the majority of heating system stock relies on gas systems – a whopping 85% are gas boilers which equate to about 1.5 million gas boilers being installed each year. Thanks to government measures and the world’s most innovative manufacturers, renewable heating is fast becoming a bit of a trend – though it’s vital to point out that still only 2% of the heating systems in the UK are represented by renewables. Heat p...
At the moment, it seems as though a day rarely goes by without low-carbon heating hitting the headlines. Whether it is reports of ‘revamping’ the Clean Heat Grant, to include a ‘boiler scrappage’ scheme, which may offer home owners up to £7000 to make the switch to a low-carbon alternative, to speculation that the Prime Minister is under pressure to push back the 2035 ban on gas boilers, the debate on how and when the low-carbon heating revolution will happen is ong...
Indoor air quality (IAQ) has become an area of emphasis among those in the HVAC industry and on a national level. Homes, offices, schools, and everything in between are being reevaluated with the ambition of having the best IAQ possible. Maintaining a high level of air quality is an important factor in encouraging a cleaner indoor breathing environment, which can lead to the better overall health and well-being of our families and communities. Clean air is especially important now with more wav...
In today’s world, we spend almost 90 per cent of our time indoors, in our workplaces, leisure areas and our homes. It is no secret that the built environment has been relatively slow in its embrace of information technology and automation. According to KPMG’s ‘Building a Technology Advantage’ report, fewer than 20 percent of construction and engineering executives, and major-project owners said they are re-thinking their business models, so as to incorporate new technolo...
A quick glance at official COVID-19 mitigation guidance reveals that it promotes increased ventilation air change rates, as the most effective way to keep people safe. Sounds easy, doesn’t it? Just open a window or turn up your ventilation system, if you have one. The fact is, however, that the vast majority of domestic properties in Britain does not have a mechanical ventilation system and rely on natural means for background ventilation, including windows, trickle vents or air bricks. In...
