Sponsored podcast: Pieter Swart and John Austin from Grundfos discuss the benefits of offsite construction for buildings services solutions
Author: Alex Smith
Ten big changes in CP1 Heat Network Code of Practice
A big update to the CP1 (2020) Heat networks: Code of Practice aims to improve performance and provide the foundations for a quality assurance scheme. The authors, Phil Jones, Paul Woods and Martin Crane, highlight the key changes
Hays 2021 salary survey
Despite the pandemic, salaries across the building services sector rose last year, according to the Hays Salary Survey. While engineers’ prime concern now is job security, two-thirds will look to move in the next 12 months. David Blackman reports
Watershed moment: closed-loop pre-treatment cleaning of pipework
A method of pre-commission pipework cleaning that could save millions of litres of water has been accepted by BSRIA in its BG29/209 guidance. Alex Smith summarises the guidance and looks at the system’s benefits
Case study: ASHRAE aims for net zero at HQ retrofit
Turning a leaky old office building into an exemplar net-zero headquarters for a high-profile organisation is always challenging – but even more so when that organisation is ASHRAE. Andy Pearson explains the approach Integral took to deliver for its knowledgeable client
Welcome to the team: helping workers feel less remote
The Covid-19 pandemic has meant graduates and new starters no longer have the opportunity to learn from colleagues and mentors in the real world. Firms have adapted by instigating remote online sessions, but what is the best way to replicate real-life learning? Phil Lattimore reports
Refrigerant rethink: measuring the environmental impact of HVAC
Specifiers need to start assessing a refrigerant’s embodied carbon as well as its global warming potential, says Klima-Therm’s Tim Mitchell, who is working with bodies such as LETI and CIBSE to calculate the full carbon impact of HVAC systems
Anything but play
After the government announced measures to improve collaboration with industry, minimise greenhouse gas emissions and support the UK recovery from Covid-19, Hywel Davies considers the likely impact
LETI’s plan for retrofit energy targets
The energy demand of our homes must be reduced significantly to make a net-zero future viable, but for a high proportion of existing buildings this will be challenging. Passivhaus Trust’s John Palmer says upcoming LETI guidance will show professionals what is possible
Tom Hopton interview: the new norm must be smarter
CIBSE Engineer of the Year Tom Hopton spent 2020 looking at how data could help building owners respond to the upheaval caused by Covid-19. He tells Alex Smith how analytics is boosting the performance of buildings while responding to the needs of occupants