In the early days of cinema, the UK’s biggest studios were in central London, but pervasive fog – ‘pea-soupers’ – was entering film sets and causing huge disruption. Richard Farmer describes how pioneering air cleaning techniques saved the studios
Author: Alex Smith
To automate we must accommodate the ideas of others
Automation in building services will continue to thrive, says XCO2’s Aidan Kelly, but only if engineers collaborate and share knowledge through industry hackathons and bodies such as the Society of Digital Engineering
Renewable heating is the future for commercial buildings
Modern heat pumps are suitable for all types of commercial buildings and can be used in conjunction with renewables to help the UK meets its climate change targets, as Mitsubishi Electric’s James Chaplen explains
Dual purpose: evaporative cooling
Switching between modes in dual evaporative coolers can result in large operational savings, according to a recent B&SERT paper. Tim Dwyer looks at the latest research on hybrid direct and regenerative evaporative cooling
Winning returns: The CIBSE 2022 Building Performance Awards
CIBSE’s Building Performance Awards returned to a new venue in London last month to celebrate the cream of the building services industry with prizes for the best projects, innovations and processes
Live and kicking
CIBSE is planning an extensive schedule of events for 2022 – both in-person and online. Simon Parker focuses on some of the highlights and reveals plans for the industry’s first Building Services Week this autumn
Digging for Britain: Swaffham Prior’s heat network
Escalating energy prices and the urgent need to decarbonise means communities are looking to move away from fossil fuel as a heating source. A pioneering heat network in the Cambridgeshire village of Swaffham Prior is aiming to use a hybrid heat pump system, coupled with a solar farm, to provide ultra-low carbon, affordable heating for every resident, business and school.
Andy Pearson reports
Max Fordham 1933-2022
Building service’s most influential engineer took an integrated approach to design based on first principles that focused on occupant comfort and optimal building performance
Turning to CO2 refrigerant in large-scale retrofits
Using CO2 as a refrigerant in heat pumps is ideal for retrofits requiring higher-temperature heat. Daniel Clark, of Isentra, reports on the refurbishment of Wolfson College, which is using heat pumps for district heating and DHW
Next generation: Arup’s net zero office at 80 Charlotte Street
Arup’s all-electric office at 80 Charlotte Street London is developer Derwent London’s first net zero office scheme. Andy Pearson examines the heat and cooling strategy that combines heat pumps and chillers, and looks at how Covid affected the design and delivery of the project