P & H Engineering - Q3 2021

QUARTER THREE / 2021 THE MAGAZINE FOR THE CHARTERED INSTITUTE OF PLUMBING AND HEATING ENGINEERING

SUSTAINABLE HOMES

BREATHING ROOM

HOLY WATER

Can the UK hit its target for decarbonising new-builds?

The drive to improve indoor air quality

Bath Abbey’s unique new heating system

MISSING LINKS EXAMINING THE SUPPLY CHAIN PROBLEMS THAT ARE UNDERMINING OUR INDUSTRY

W E L CO M E / CO N T E N T S WE’RE ONLINE! Visit pandhengineering.co.uk for regular updates and archived features

Welcome this issue as I take the helm as the new editor. I look forward to hearing what’s important to you, so please do get in touch with your feedback and ideas using the email address below. As always, the magazine will be covering a range of industry issues, but you’ll also notice the first steps in the refreshed design, a regular spot on training and more contributions from members.

Although most people are on board with the government’s plans to reach net zero by 2050, there are concerns over the practicalities of meeting this target if there isn’t more investment in low-carbon training (p14). Even historic buildings need to be decarbonised – we look at one example, Bath Abbey (p22).

Following the pandemic, the spotlight on health has never shone brighter. Air quality in our homes can play a vital role in our wellbeing. We look at ways to achieve the perfect balance and how plumbing and heating engineers can benefit (p18).

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IT’S ALL CHANGE

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Contents FE ATURE S

6 Frontline

14 Future proof

A new Building Safety Regulator, the UK’s first hydrogen-fuelled houses and more

Is the government’s ban on installing gas boilers in new homes by 2025 realistic?

12 Meet the member

18 Breath of fresh air The importance of good indoor air quality and how to achieve it

22 Moving Heaven and Earth

Matt Quelch shares his experiences

30 Training The latest changes in education and the impact of the pandemic so far

Bath Abbey gets a low-carbon makeover

34 International outlook

26 Take stock

News from our Hong Kong branch

The impact of materials shortages

49 Fond farewell The CIPHE marks Andy Watts’ passing

36 The Fix Energy storage for low-carbon heating and how to use anti-vacuum valves

44 Your membership

R EGUL ARS SAR AH WELSH Editor pandhengineering @jamespembrokemedia.co.uk

Editor Sarah Welsh Project manager Lizzie Hufton Head of design Simon Goddard Publisher James Houston Published by James Pembroke Media, 90 Walcot Street, Bath BA1 5BG Tel 01225 337777 Advertising sales executive Harvey Falshaw, harvey.falshaw@jamespembrokemedia.co.uk Chartered Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineering (CIPHE) 64 Station Lane, Hornchurch, Essex RM12 6NB Tel 01708 472791

5 From the CEO Kevin Wellman discusses the need for the industry to upskill Membership Founded in 1906, the Chartered Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineering (CIPHE) is the professional body for the UK plumbing and heating industry. Membership is made up of consultants, specifiers, designers, public health engineers, lecturers, trainers, trainees and practitioners. The CIPHE has a membership of 7,500, including over 150 manufacturers and distributors. The majority of members live in the UK, although over 1,000 are residents in Hong Kong. The CIPHE is a member of the Construction Industry Council

Copyright notice and disclaimer P&H Engineering is published quarterly by the Chartered Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineering.

All material is copyright of the Chartered Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineering and may not be reproduced without written permission.

The publishers do not accept responsibility for errors or omissions. The views expressed in the magazine are not necessarily those of the Institute and publication of an advertisement or article does not necessarily mean the Institute endorses those products, materials or techniques.

An interview with a member, registering with the Engineering Council and more

50 Wellbeing The continued importance of PPE and a licensed member of the Engineering Council.

Subscriptions P&H Engineering is the magazine for the Chartered Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineering, containing technical articles, latest industry news and environmental and educational updates.

It is published four times a year and sent free to members.

Annual subscription for non-member £120 Annual subscription for overseas non-member £145 To join CIPHE, email tims@ciphe.org.uk

F RO M T H E C I P H E C E O

“It’s vital the government recognises the need for the industry to upskill” Despite the ongoing pandemic, CIPHE remains proactive in pursuing activities in the interest of the public and industry KEVIN WELLMAN Chief executive officer kevinw@ciphe.org.uk

FOLLOWING THE CLOSURE of the Green

Homes Grant scheme, we have offered support to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) for future arrangements. It’s vital the government recognises the need for the industry to upskill, preferably utilising the CIPHE’s expertise in managing independent registers of competence.

Post-Grenfell progress The CIPHE maintains its support for post

YOUR INSTITUTE, YOUR VALUES The CIPHE’s manifesto details the Institute’s mission to safeguard public health, improve education, support research and further our members’ career development. Find out more at https://bit.ly/32zq3EX

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Grenfell Tower fire improvements, especially when it comes to issues linked to competency.

Representatives of both the public and private sectors have come together to deliver the change in culture needed and the uniform standard of competence that residents should expect from those responsible for their safety.

The ongoing review has resulted in the launch of the New Central Register and Certification Scheme for Building Safety Managers (BSM). Facilitated by the Building Safety Alliance, an independent ‘not for profit’ organisation, it will initially deliver: certification of individual BSMs or nominated people within the BSM (organisation) a publicly accessible register of those certified by the scheme.

I have no doubt that the government will encourage greater competency in other safety-critical areas, so watch this space.

The Grenfell tragedy has driven safety improvements

exorbitantly expensive. Media reports suggest Boris Johnson is likely to delay the ban from the initial target date of 2035 to 2040 due to growing angst over the costs, but such a delay will attract criticism from environmentalists.

It’s interesting to note that if all gas boilers are replaced by hydrogen or heat pumps, smart meters will be made redundant. This was confirmed by the business secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, who said that new smart meter technology was being developed. It doesn’t take a hydrogen rocket scientist to work out that if the millions of existing SMETS 1 and SMETS 2 smart meters have to be replaced the costs would be huge.

Britain has committed to cut greenhouse gases by 68% by 2030. Change has to happen, but without a proper infrastructure, including industry support and upskilling, it is difficult to see how such targets can be achieved.

The cost of cuts The ban on new gas boilers announced last

year sparked an outcry within our sector, the energy industry and consumer groups which claimed that such a move would prove to be

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FRONTLINE ALL THAT ’ S HAPPENING IN PLUMBING AND HE ATING

The reforms will cover development and maintenance

L E G I S L AT I O N

New regulator for building safety overhaul Post-Grenfell measures will offer residents greater powers and hold developers to account T H E H IGHLY A NT ICIPATE D Building Safety Bill was published by the government in July, setting out a clear pathway for the future on how residential buildings should be constructed and maintained.

The proposals, which aim to reform and strengthen the regulatory system for building safety standards, are a result of the Grenfell tragedy in 2017. The new Building Safety Regulator, which would be within the Health and Safety Executive in England, would have the power to prosecute property developers that do not meet safety standards.

Robert Jenrick, housing secretary, said: “The Bill will ensure high standards of safety for people’s homes, in particular for high rise buildings, with a new regulator providing essential oversight at every stage of a building’s lifecycle.

“The new building safety regime will be a proportionate one, ensuring those buildings requiring remediation are brought to an acceptable standard of safety swiftly and reassure the vast majority of residents and leaseholders in those buildings that their homes are safe.”

This key overhaul will give residents more power to hold builders and developers to account and toughen sanctions against those who threaten their safety. Owners and occupiers will have up to 15 years to take action over substandard building work as opposed to the previous six years. The changes will apply retrospectively. This means that residents of a building completed in 2010 would be able to bring proceedings against the developer until 2025.

“The introduction of the Building Safety Bill is a positive and much welcomed initiative,” says Kevin Wellman, chief executive officer of the CIPHE. “The Bill will be a catalyst to drive the culture change needed across the industry to enable the construction of high quality, safe homes in years to come.”

Read more at: www.gov.uk/ government/collections/building-safety-bill

H E A LT H & S A F E T Y

Aqualisa gets gold

Aqualisa’s chief executive officer, Colin Sykes

Bathroom product specialist Aqualisa has scooped the RoSPA Gold Award for demonstrating the highest health and safety standards.

Colin Sykes, chief executive officer at Aqualisa, said: “Aqualisa has always placed enormous importance on health and safety in the workplace. 2020 was a

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particularly challenging year from an H&S perspective for all companies, and I am proud of the outstanding work carried out by our teams, who established new processes and measures quickly and efficiently to ensure that our employees were able to continue to operate in a safe environment.”

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F RO N T L I N E

EVENT AFFORDABILIT Y

WCOP’s 36th annual lecture

Clean heat incentives

Rumley’s chosen subject for the 2021 lecture will consider the early role of The Royal Plumbers and the part they had to play in some of the first water engineering projects undertaken in London.

For more information about how to obtain tickets, please visit www.plumberscompany. org.uk

R E G U L AT I O N S

Boiler Plus review raises red flags A government review into the impacts of Boiler Plus has revealed concerns from heating installers about compliance, monitoring and enforcement.

Boiler Plus, which came into effect in April 2018, stipulates that all gas boilers installed in England need to have a minimum ErP efficiency of 92% and new gas boiler installations need to have temperature and time controls. New combi boilers also need to have energy efficiency measures,

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such as smart controls, weather compensation, heat recovery and load compensation.

The findings of the BEIS-commissioned study, conducted by Ipsos MORI and supported by the Energy Saving Trust, found that installers had a broad awareness of Boiler Plus, but few had detailed knowledge of the requirements.

Installers tended to focus on one additional measure and install this, rather than selecting the most appropriate

measure for each household.

The study stated: “Installers had mixed levels of knowledge of flue gas heat recovery, load compensation and weather compensation.

Those who installed these measures were positive about them when provided built-into a boiler, but installers not installing these often perceived them to be technically complex.”

Read more at: https://bit.ly/2XEbO2n

Business and civil society groups have urged the government to introduce a Fair Heat Deal to make moving from fossil fuel boilers to clean heat pumps affordable for all.

The proposed deal would make heat pumps and insulation free for the fuel poor, stimulating the heat pump market, accelerating a reduction in technology and installation costs. It will also generate jobs and reduce energy consumption.

Jessica Tan, managing director of OVO Smart Home, said: “We need to think as widely as possible about the incentives needed to switch away from gas boilers. We also need to stimulate the training and employment opportunities for the vast army of people needed to install zero-carbon heat up and down the country.”

S TA N D A R D S

The Worshipful Company of Plumbers’ Annual Lecture will take place on Monday 4 October 2021 at the Royal College of Physicians, Regent’s Park, London.

This event aims to inform and inspire attendees, with a particular emphasis on sharing best practice and stimulating forward-thinking discussions supporting and promoting the craft.

This year, the keynote speech will be delivered by the current Master of the Worshipful Company of Plumbers, Dr Peter Rumley FSA – an art historian, archaeologist, curator, author and historic buildings conservationist.

WRAS accredited

by UKAS WRAS (Water Regulations Approval Scheme) has been accredited by UKAS (The United Kingdom Accreditation Service).

This accreditation provides WRAS customers with third party assurance that it is competent to approve products and materials in line with national and international standards and regulations. WRAS approvals manager Ian Hughes said: “It is evidence that the WRAS approvals processes can be trusted and WRAS-approved products can be relied upon to meet appropriate standards.”

SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS Read all the latest news, updates, and member benefits Facebook/CIPHE twitter.com/CIPHE www.ciphe.org.uk

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F RO N T L I N E

Baxi’s Nick Wilson with one of the new hydrogen-only boilers

S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y

S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y

First hydrogen houses Boiler manufacturer Baxi has backed hydrogen as a low-carbon solution with two 100% hydrogen-heated homes B A X I H EAT ING has demonstrated its 100% hydrogen boiler to customers and colleagues in the UK’s first hydrogen houses.

Two homes in Low Thornley, near Gateshead, showcase the hydrogen-fuelled appliances that produce zero CO2 emissions.

The company has pledged that from 2025 it will only make products that are compatible with low-carbon energy. This means that gas boilers will be hydrogen-ready and can be easily converted to work with hydrogen.

Nick Wilson, commercial and marketing director at Baxi Heating, said: “We are developing new technologies that will help customers to heat their homes and businesses without warming the planet.

“While we are not wedded to any one technology, hydrogen represents a great opportunity. It is carbon-free

at the point of use and enables families to use their heating and hot water in the same way they do today, without major changes to their central heating systems or homes.

What starts today with one house will become a community of houses next year and then we could see hydrogen boilers in millions of homes by the next decade.”

The H100 project aims to convert a community in Fife, Scotland from natural gas to hydrogen next year, which will demonstrate the use of 100% hydrogen for domestic heating, hot water and cooking.

Paul Dunn, head of operations at housing provider Bernicia, said: “It’s good for the future. We have got to get buy-in from our customers and our business, but hydrogen could be a good choice. The compatibility of the boiler with the existing properties makes it a strong option.”

Read more at: baxi.co.uk

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Triton aiming for net zero Triton Showers aims to achieve carbon net zero by 2025 as part of its wider commitment to reduce its impact on the environment.

David Tutton, managing director at Triton, said: “Our expertise in electric showering means that we are well placed to support the market. There has never been a more critical moment than right now to help users improve their consumption habits.”

SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS Read all the latest news, updates, and member benefits Facebook/CIPHE twitter.com/CIPHE www.ciphe.org.uk

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F RO N T L I N E

S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y

Beama supports building back greener

Installing a Kensa Shoebox heat pump

Heat pump village scheme delivering subsidised ground source heat pumps to 500 homes in Cornwall is being described as a blueprint for decarbonising domestic heating.

The two-year scheme is part of an £8.7 million Heat the Streets project developed by Cornish ground source heat pump infrastructure and asset company, Kensa Utilities, and is supported by over £6 million of grants via the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

The project is pioneering a new business model that installs highly efficient low-carbon ground source heat pumps on a street-by-street basis, making the technology accessible to more households across the country and helping the UK realise its ambitious

A G ROUND-B REA KING

net-zero carbon targets.

Many of the installations will take place in the rural off-gas Cornish community of Stithians to create a sustainable heat pump village. The renewable heating upgrade will include the largest number of private properties to be retrofitted with the technology in one go.

Lisa Treseder, senior project manager at Kensa Utilities, said: “The Heat the Streets project will demonstrate how we can deliver net zero now, for everyone, on our existing housing stock. In this instance, we are delighted to have secured the ERDF grant funding which makes ground source heating possible for households of any tenure.”

Find out more at www.kensaheatpumps.com

BEAMA is working directly with its community of members across the energy sector supply chain to address market deployment for the range of technologies needed, including zero carbon heating and storage products and hardware.

Dr Howard Porter, BEAMA chief executive officer, said: “This is a time for action. We have the tools we need to decarbonise and the technologies available on the market today should now be deployed at scale to deliver on the UK’s 2030 targets.”

WA L E S

Apprenticeships pay off According to MailOnline analysis, apprentices could be £50,000-plus better off than the average degree student after three years of studying.

Gavin Williamson, education secretary, has urged middle-class families not to rule out apprenticeships.

TRAINING

Skills shortage TRAINING

Matrix standard for JTL JTL, a national training provider for plumbing and heating apprenticeships, has been reaccredited to the Matrix Standard, demonstrating the high quality of information, advice, and/or guidance provided to support its applicants and apprentices in their choice of career, learning, work and life goals.

David Consterdine, head of quality assurance and audit at JTL, said: “JTL prides itself on the quality of the service it provides and this external recognition further endorses this.”

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The Federation of Master Builders (FMB) has responded to the Department for Education’s latest apprenticeship and traineeship data, warning that the decline in construction apprenticeships threatens the UK’s ability to ‘build back better’ from the pandemic.

Brian Berry, chief executive of the FMB, said: “The government’s levelling-up agenda is at risk if support to encourage careers in construction isn’t turbocharged.”

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F RO N T L I N E

MARKETING

Effective websites vital

H VA C

UK homes heat up faster than European homes A new study shows that British homes become uncomfortable quickly during heatwaves gain heat more quickly than their European counterparts during heatwaves, a new study by home climate management company tado has shown.

The research was conducted in more than 60,000 UK homes this summer and showed that, when the temperature indoors is 20°C and outdoors is 30°C and sunny, the average UK home gains 4.9°C over three hours. This compares with 2.2°C in Italy, Spain and Germany. Within the UK, Scottish homes saw the highest

U K H OMES

temperatures, rising by 5.6°C. The age of UK housing stock could be a factor, with around 38% of British homes dating from before 1946.

“Our study shows the degree to how homes react to outdoor temperatures and solar radiation,” said tado co-founder and chief procurement officer, Christian Deilmann. “As heat waves become more common, residents will increasingly turn to air conditioning to maintain comfortable temperatures.”

According to a recent study by Yell, consumers spend 54% less time per month on websites that aren’t regularly updated.

The research noted that an effective online presence is a major sales driver and boosts enquiries for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). In fact, 80% of businesses analysed stated that their website and social media presence generated the most leads and sales.

Claire Miles, chief executive officer at Yell, said: “It is crucial for SMEs to be getting their digital strategy right and an effective website will always be at the heart of that.”

WAT E R

UWLA welcomes statement on waste The Unified Water Label Association (UWLA) has welcomed a ministerial statement on reducing water waste. The statement outlines the government’s approach to reduce the demand for water in order to fulfil the ambitious requirements of the 25 Year Environment Plan to create more water efficient homes. Yvonne Orgill, managing director of the UWLA, said: “We are looking forward to working with the government and taking forward our industry water label to identify water use of bathroom products.”

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M E E T T H E M E M B E R | M AT T Q U ELC H

Seeing apprentices work their way through their qualifications was really rewarding” Matt Quelch EngTech MCIPHE RP started out as an apprentice plumber, but an injury changed his course and he’s now working to improve training with the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education

MAT T QUELCH’S first inroad to the plumbing

industry began at the age of 21 when he secured a place as an apprentice. Initially working alongside a range of different trades, he was presented with the opportunity to work with a plumbing contractor and the rest, as they say, is history.

“The first company I worked for was traditional in its approach to the trade and therefore expected me to stay on for four years, working towards my Level 3 qualification,” recalls Matt. “During those four years and beyond I garnered a great breadth of experience and I enjoyed my job. However, following a football injury I began thinking about my long-term career, as plumbing is a very physically demanding job.”

A position for a plumbing assessor at Oaklands College in St Albans was the catalyst for a move into the education sector, where he worked with apprentices aged anywhere between 16 and 56. His role involved working with employers to ensure that apprentices worked towards and attained their Level

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M AT T QUELCH Senior assessment and quality manager, IfATE Matt works with employers to create apprenticeships and technical qualifications

3 qualifications and got the right opportunities and experiences on the job.

“Working with employers and seeing apprentices work their way through their qualifications was really rewarding,” he says. “However, when the opportunity to become an external quality assurer came along I jumped at the chance as I felt I would be able to have a greater impact on the sector. This role involved travelling the UK, checking standards and supporting training providers, while helping maintain tutors’ and trainees’ enthusiasm for the subject.”

Following a brief stint at the City of London Corporation, developing apprenticeship schemes for a diverse range of trades, Matt joined the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE) – an employer-led organisation, sponsored by the Department for Education, which supports employers to develop apprenticeships and technical qualifications.

“This role has given me the opportunity to make a difference in this sector on a grander scale – working

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M AT T Q U ELC H | M E E T T H E M E M B E R

with employers to develop standards and educate the next generation,” says Matt.

Industry support Since the start of his career, when he signed up as an apprentice, Matt has appreciated the value of being a member of the CIPHE. “I remember getting P&H Engineering magazine for the first time and it was like a window to the wider industry,” says Matt. “It was an easy way to access verifiable information. I found the workable guides particularly helpful when I started out as I could put them in the van for quick reference. In some ways the magazine was more useful than a college textbook as the topics, such as regulations, were presented in a simple format, so you could easily check compliance. As a plumber on the tools it was workable information you could use, apply and trust.”

Matt’s move into the education sector of the industry meant he took advantage of the networking opportunities that the CIPHE offered, enabling him to get involved in the wider industry.

“Apprenticeships need to be seen as a long-term investment by apprentices and employers”

* Hep2O’s State of the Nation survey 2020

“The CIPHE represents a good cross section of industry, with a wealth of expertise and I wanted to get involved,” he says. “I volunteered to represent the CIPHE in the CIC 2050 group and more networks opened up on the back of that, which exposed me to interesting subjects and enabled me to engage with a wider audience.”

Skills shortage Despite the fact that plumbing offers a good wage and 86%* of plumbers would recommend the trade as a career, there is still a shortage of people entering the sector. One stumbling block for getting more people through the door to apprenticeships can be wages. Many young people can be put off by this in the short term.

“Apprenticeships are extremely valuable and need to be seen as a long-term investment by both apprentices and employers,” says Matt.

“Although the pay may not be equivalent to a qualified plumber at first, apprenticeships enable students to gain a qualification and priceless experience to pursue a well-paid and interesting career while earning.

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“At the City of London, for example, apprentices are paid London living wage, which helps make the course more sustainable for them. However, this is not always realistic for smaller employers. There are a range of employer incentives available and I urge potential employers who want to take on an apprentice to contact their local registered training provider.”

Matt’s role with IfATE involves working with employers to create apprenticeships that are not only attractive to students and sustainable, but are also independently assessed to assure employers that those who qualify are competent.

“A key priority now is ensuring we have the right technical resources to train for the government’s low-carbon agenda,” says Matt. “IfATE has created a green apprenticeships advisory panel that will help focus efforts to make sure the right skills are in place for the future workforce to deliver the green technology shift the UK needs.”

The panel will advise on two main areas – enhancing current apprenticeships to ensure that they meet the needs of employers within the growing green economy and creating new apprenticeships to reflect new occupations to meet the challenge to reach net zero carbon.

Matt says: “Construction needs companies to continue to offer opportunities to people with a real focus on encouraging the next generation coming through in order to raise standards over the long term. By promoting level 3 T-levels and beyond, with employers offering apprenticeships and quality work placements, newly skilled workers will rise through the ranks.”

Above: Matt judging the annual SkillPLUMB competition for young plumbers

GET IN TOUCH Would you like to share your story? Contact the editor on pandhengineering@ jamespembrokemedia.co.uk

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F E AT U R E | G R EEN ER H O M E S

S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y

FUTURE PROOF Mass rollout of domestic low-carbon heating will be crucial to reach net zero by 2050. Can we do it?

T

he UK government’s commitment to reducing CO2 emissions to net zero by 2050 is a positive step towards helping minimise Great Britain’s impact on climate change, but its ambitious standards will prove a challenge for the heating and plumbing industry.

“The Chartered Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineering (CIPHE) welcomes the drive for energy efficient buildings and the path to net zero carbon emissions,” says Kevin Wellman, chief executive officer of the CIPHE.

“However, these new standards are being introduced rapidly into an industry fighting the effects of COVID-19, problems with the supply chain and a training crisis. To be successful, the industry has to work together and support must be given to help deliver on government aims.”

Heating and plumbing engineers will play an integral role in decarbonisation of heat so it’s important that they adapt a forward-thinking approach to training and invest in their future.

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New beginnings In order to achieve net zero target, the government has introduced the Future Homes Standard, which features amendments to Part F (ventilation) and Part L (conservation of fuel and power) of Building Regulations for new homes in England. The revised standards will ensure that new homes built from 2025 will produce 75-80% less carbon emissions than homes under the current regulations.

“There’s no question that there has to be a move away from natural gas and oil as fuel for heating homes, but from a CIPHE perspective this means focussing on upskilling installers and engineers,”

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G R EEN ER H O M E S | F E AT U R E

NET ZERO Efforts to reach net zero will be under focus at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) ukcop26.org

says Richard Soper, CIPHE member and former chief executive officer of Worcester Bosch. “There’s a lot of work to be done.”

Pre-existing homes will also be subject to higher standards, but only if owners are planning on making thermal upgrades or building extensions. A full technical specification for the Future Homes Standard will be consulted on in 2023, with an introduction of the necessary legislation in 2024, ahead of implementation in 2025.

Finding solutions Greenpeace UK’s head of climate, Kate Blagojevic, said: “We urgently need

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government policies that force house builders to start building homes fit for a zero-carbon future because it’s clear the industry won’t do it by itself. Not only will this slash emissions, but it will also make people’s homes warmer, cheaper to run and, with the right incentives, create a green homes industry that would deliver new jobs and boost the economy.”

Hydrogen has been touted as a possible solution to reduce CO2 in new-build homes, with pilot projects already underway in the UK. Air source heat pump (ASHP) technology is also in the running to be the primary heating technology in place of gas, which is one of the UK’s biggest causes of greenhouse gases.

The main advantage of using ASHPs is that they do not produce any CO2 while operating, although they do require electricity. However, they can be used in conjunction with solar PV panels for clean heat. The running costs are also lower with ASHP, compared with off-grid fuels like oil, propane or direct electric heating.

Dr Jan Rosenow, Europe director at energy think tank the Regulatory Assistance Project, said: “The homes we build today will be here for decades to come. It is critical that what we build is compatible with the UK’s climate goals.

This means new buildings need to be as efficient as they can be and heated by low carbon technology. A weak standard for new homes will cost us in the future.”

Other countries have successfully converted to alternative forms of fuel, such as Switzerland, which uses energy efficient heat pumps in 90% of new buildings. Germany and the US also use this method and it is gradually becoming the dominant choice.

Paul Massey, CIPHE board of trustees member, says: “There needs to be more investment in manufacturing, in terms of assembly and design in the UK. The elements surrounding the cost to consumers will also need to be addressed.”

Above: Rishi Sunak visits GTEC to learn how its training helps candidates upskill to heat-based renewables.

Main image: The government’s targets for new developments are ambitious

Upgrading Following the announcement by the prime minister that the UK government will set a target of cutting carbon emissions by 78% by 2035, it’s not just new homes that will be required to have a significantly reduced carbon footprint, but pre-existing housing stock too.

Brian Berry, chief executive officer of the Federation of Master Builders (FMB), said: “The prime minister’s target will help accelerate the UK’s transition to a low-carbon economy, but the building industry needs a National Retrofit Strategy to have the confidence it needs to invest in greening our homes. Our homes use 35% of the UK’s total energy usage and emit 20% of carbon dioxide emissions.

Net zero will only be possible with a long-term plan to green our homes.”

The early scrapping of the Green Homes Grant Scheme has left the feasibility of upgrading existing homes in question. The Green Homes Grant aimed to retrofit 600,000 households with energy efficiency measures and low-carbon heating, but only delivered

“Decarbonising domestic heat is a mammoth task”

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F E AT U R E | G R EEN ER H O M E S

“Net zero will only be possible with a plan to green our homes”

around 10% of this target.

“It’s disappointing that the Green Homes Grant has fallen short of what was promised, but installers who have invested in training should not feel their efforts have been wasted,” says Griff Thomas, managing director at training provider GTEC. “Renewables are the future and installers willing to embrace new technology and training as a long-term investment rather than a quick win will be well placed to prosper in the low-carbon future.”

Despite the fact that the Green Homes Grant is no longer available, there will still be demand for installers to upskill to low-carbon technologies. The grant has resulted in investment in training with initiatives such as the Renewable Heat Installer Training and Support Scheme (RHITSS), which has offered funding to existing engineers who want to future-proof their businesses with qualifications and accreditations in heat pumps and solar thermal technology.

“Decarbonising domestic heat is a mammoth task – way beyond the reach of short-term government initiatives,” says Thomas. “We know that gas central heating will not meet decarbonisation targets for new homes when the Future Homes Standard is introduced in 2025. This legislation is a much better indicator of long-term change within the heating industry than the Green Homes Grant and I would urge heating installers to train for the future, not the scheme.”

Industry response Housebuilders, such as Barratt, Berkeley and Thakeham, were on board with the

government’s greener homes policy, evident in the response released under environmental transparency laws. In fact, in 2020, Thakeham launched a plan to become carbon neutral by 2025, pledging that every Thakeham home will be zero carbon in lifetime operation, that each home built will be carbon neutral in production and Thakeham Group as a whole will also be zero carbon.

Rob Boughton, chief executive officer of Thakeham, said: “We make no secret of our focus on zero carbon targets.

Whilst we support the government campaign, we have introduced bigger targets of our own which exceed those set out for the house-building industry.

“We have already implemented a raft of pioneering zero carbon measures to lead and inspire the industry response.

We stand shoulder to shoulder with other developers who share our ambitious vision for sustainable community creation. It’s simply too important not to.”

However, according to documents obtained by Unearthed, Greenpeace’s journalism arm, Taylor Wimpey – which builds around 15,000 houses a year – argued that the plans were “too ambitious”. Responding to the findings, a spokesperson for Taylor Wimpey said: “Taylor Wimpey communicated its support in the consultation response and remains fully supportive of the UK government’s target to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.

“We also embrace the Future Homes Standard with its ambition to reduce carbon emissions from homes in use by 75-80% by 2025.

“In response to the government’s calls for honest interaction around the Future Homes Standard in 2020, Taylor Wimpey identified a number of challenges relating to the practical implementation of the proposals. These challenges led to concerns that the delivery of viable and much-needed new housing could

16 P&H ENGINEERING | QUARTER THREE | 2021

Above: Developers will have to ensure new homes are more energy-efficient Right: Thousands more installers will need to undergo training to install heat pumps and other low-carbon solutions

be prejudiced, which we duly communicated to the government in our response.”

People power The government has pledged 600,000 heat pump installations per year by 2028, but with only around 1,000 MCS certified heat pump installers, compared to 130,000 installers on the Gas Safe Register, how realistic is this target?

According to a recent Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) report, this clear lack of accredited tradespeople will jeopardise the government’s targets.

An undertaking of this scale requires a skilled workforce of installers, which currently simply isn’t there. To roll this out on such a scale requires the government to invest in people.

“It is my opinion that the government’s aspiration to deliver a net carbon neutral economy is underpinned by the ability to provide a zero-carbon alternative for residential domestic heating,” says Peter Herring, building services, at Sweco. “This in turn is reliant on a well-trained and motivated cohort of tradespeople who have not been seduced by the academic rhetoric of a university education being

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“I would urge heating installers to train for the future”

the only route to a successful, satisfying and financially rewarding career. If the recent restrictions of the pandemic have taught us anything it should be that people who use their hands in conjunction with their heads are a valuable and scarce resource to be bolstered at every opportunity.

‘Intelligent hands’ via apprenticeships is undoubtedly the way forward.”

Heat pumps are set to play a central role in reaching the government-set targets. In order to achieve these targets, 27 million residential properties and two million commercial and industrial buildings will need to be retrofitted with

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low-carbon heating technologies, making skilled installers vital in the journey to decarbonisation.

“There remains concern over the shortage of adequately skilled installers who are able to design, install and maintain low-carbon technology,” says Wellman. “The essential thing for the CIPHE, as an educational charity, is to make sure that the public aren’t exposed to rogue installers who aren’t trained to install these technologies. In recognition of this, the CIPHE will soon launch its Low Temperature Heating Design and Hot Water course, which has been developed in liaison with government, and with significant cooperation from manufacturers, educators, industry organisations and a team of CIPHE volunteers. This will undoubtedly help to upskill the industry and will be a fantastic tool in the armoury for all those who have an interest in quality education and training.”

FIND OUT MORE Read more about the Future Homes Standard at www.gov.uk

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F E AT U R E | I N D O O R A I R Q UA L I T Y

Breath of fresh air With rising temperatures and well insulated buildings, ventilation and air conditioning systems are set to take centre stage in the UK

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I N D O O R A I R Q UA L I T Y | F E AT U R E

D

espite the apocalyptic predictions about global warming and increasingly hot weather, it has taken a global pandemic to bring greater focus on the topic of indoor air quality (IAQ).

Of course, consumers have been increasingly interested in heating, cooling and ventilation in their homes to improve their comfort levels, but when it comes to the health properties of the air they breathe indoors, it’s only recent events that have made people question whether their air really is fresh.

“The fact is that the indoor environment of our homes often is simply not up to scratch,” says Richard Soper CBE, former Worcester Bosch chief executive officer and Unico Systems representative. “With even more of us looking to improve rather than move, the changes and improvements made now will need to last much longer.

Couple that with a fundamental shift away from office working and a changing climate that is seeing the UK experiencing record summer temperatures and it becomes clear that the way we heat, cool and ventilate our homes must take centre stage.”

The big issue There are significant health factors when it comes to poor air quality. Aside from the threat of the COVID-19 virus, higher rates of hay fever and allergies mean that looking more closely at air quality is essential, particularly for vulnerable groups such as babies, children, the elderly and people living with respiratory issues and allergies.

“Social behaviour has changed and today people spend, on average, 90% of their time indoors,” says Amena Warner, head of clinical services at Allergy UK. “Our indoor environments are often

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Left: Richard Soper: “The indoor environment of our homes is often not up to scratch” Far left: New home builders should have air quality in mind

poorly ventilated, causing humidity to rise, creating ideal conditions for mould and house dust mites to thrive in our soft furnishings and bedding. We are a nation of pet lovers, with our pets often living indoors which can also add to allergens in the indoor environment.

“A minimum of 9,000 deaths every year are attributed to indoor air pollution in the UK and indoor air levels of many pollutants may be up to 10 times higher than outdoor levels. We need to act now to protect future generations by working together to find solutions to improve the quality of the air we breathe in our own homes.”

The ongoing pandemic has raised the topic of standardisation around ventilation and air quality as people are being encouraged to go back into work.

The British Medical Association (BMA) said measures should include: • Greater guidance and support for businesses and educational settings to create sustainable, COVID-secure environments, as well as enforcement of standards.

“A minimum of 9,000 deaths every year are attributed to indoor air pollution”

• Emphasis on the importance of good ventilation, including setting legal standards. Financial and other support for businesses and educational settings must be made available to implement these requirements ahead of the autumn and winter period, when respiratory viruses spread more easily and buildings must be kept warm, limiting options for natural ventilation.

Commenting on the British Medical Journal (BMJ) report, Efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19 should focus on preventing airborne transmission, Dr Chaand Nagpaul, BMA chair of council, said: “The BMA has repeatedly said that there is strong evidence that good ventilation is vital in the fight against the spread of COVID-19 and the publication of this editorial from the BMJ shows just how crucial clean airflow is.”

Free flowing There are several options to improve IAQ, with ventilation playing a key role.

The most obvious solution is to simply open windows as fresh air dilutes and removes trapped air and contaminants from indoor spaces, helping to reduce the transmission of airborne viruses.

However, this isn’t beneficial when located in highly polluted areas or for those suffering with allergies. Of course, it can also pose a security risk.

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FIND OUT MORE Ventilation is covered in Approved Document F of the Building Regulations (gov.uk)

Mechanical Extract Ventilation (MEV) and Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery (MVHR) systems are good options to improve IAQ as they actively extract air from wet rooms (kitchens, bathrooms, utility spaces) via ducting to a central ventilation unit which exhausts to the atmosphere.

“In the case of MVHR, there’s the added benefit of supply and extract ventilation combined as these systems re-use waste heat from the extract air and use it to efficiently pre-warm the fresh air drawn into the building using a heat exchanger,” explains Paul Williams, Domus Ventilation product manager.

“The filtered, pre-warmed air is then distributed around the home, effectively meeting part of the heating load in energy efficient dwellings.”

Some models feature advanced heat exchange proficiency, enabling up to 95% of waste heat to be recovered and come with a 100% thermal (summer) bypass, which automatically activates when the air temperature reaches a pre-set level, allowing in cooler, fresh, filtered air without warming it through the heat exchanger.

MEV and MVHR systems provide good ventilation in addition to being energy efficient and effective at dispersing polluted air. These systems are best suited to new-build properties as they require extensive duct work. However, existing properties can use them cost effectively in bathrooms and kitchens.

“Energy recovery ventilators (ERV) are one of the best options for tackling IAQ long term,” says Soper. “ERVs reduce the cost of heating and cooling by capturing some of the heat from either the exhaust or the fresh air and can also be used to reduce humidity during cooling. When considering the value of an ERV installers, engineers and homeowners should

consider climate, maintenance, and use when making their calculations.”

Pure quality According to a study by the National Air Quality Testing Services, indoor air pollution inside UK homes is 3.5 times higher than outside. HVAC systems can only do so much as they tend to recirculate air from inside, with little dilution.

Although dilution will reduce some pollutants, such as gasses, it doesn’t help with larger contaminated particles in the air, commonly found in more urban areas. IAQ can be significantly improved when using filters and air cleaners with centralised HVAC systems

as they have been designed to remove around 99.97% of particles. However, some HVAC systems can’t cope with high quality filters as they restrict airflow. Therefore installers should opt for ones that have been designed for high pressure drops that can easily incorporate higher rated filtration.

The fact that today’s homes are well insulated, coupled with external temperatures soaring, means that IAQ can suffer and record temperatures reached in the UK have left HVAC systems struggling to cope.

“Integration of heating and cooling means that temperature adjustments can be made through a central thermostat and the temperature in a building need

Unico’s home climate control and air quality system Year-round climate control with the ability for air filtration, disinfection and ventilation

20 P&H ENGINEERING | QUARTER THREE | 2021

SUMMER Homeowners can benefit from cooler temperatures, improved humidity levels and cleaner filtered air throughout their home.

WINTER Constant even temperatures provided through discreet outlets, when coupled with renewable technology.

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I N D O O R A I R Q UA L I T Y | F E AT U R E

“Good ventilation is vital in the fight against the spread of COVID-19”

only fluctuate between two to three degrees all year round,” explains Soper.

It’s not just about managing a building’s temperature either – humidity can make for uncomfortable living too.

Whether it’s moisture from breathing, perspiration, showering or cooking, evaporation of moisture is an important factor when it comes to IAQ. Individual dehumidifiers can be placed in each room to combat this issue, but it’s actually more cost effective to integrate humidification within the heating cooling and ventilation system that automatically adjusts the humidity in a room by cooling the air below the dew point.

“This is not possible with ductless cooling and is hard to achieve in a traditional duct system,” points out Soper. “If it is not up to the task, the occupants often decrease the set point of the thermostat until comfortable. This is wasteful and doesn’t always improve comfort. It can also lead to IAQ problems with mould caused by surface condensation and high humidity.”

It’s clear that a whole system approach is required to improve IAQ across the board, which should include air filters and purifiers as part of an HVAC system.

However, it’s important that energy usage is taken into consideration when deciding on a preferred method to achieve good air quality.

Government policy According to the government’s Ventilation and IAQ in New Homes paper, a large proportion of UK homes don’t comply with building regulations, with poor air quality found in homes that were tested. This either points to installers ignoring building regulations or poor interpretation of them. Industry insiders have cited the latter, asking for clarity

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Unico Systems offers training for installers

and guidance from the government.

Building Regulations Part F of the Future Homes Standard, which will be introduced by 2025, covers ventilation and has recently been revised. It now recommends the use of MEV and MVHR for properties with any level of air tightness.

“This change has increased the minimum airflow through mechanical ventilation systems to each bedroom by 6 l/s as a result of concerns over insufficient ventilation in bedrooms overnight if doors and windows are kept shut,” explains Williams. “The revisions also included an increase in the background ventilation from 2,500mm² to 5,000mm² in extract-only systems.

Natural ventilation systems, such as background ventilation, remain an option under the new regulations, but only for less airtight homes with a design air permeability of ≥ 5.

“Whilst external air pollution has been well studied, sadly, IAQ is a much under studied area. Our knowledge of the sources and worst effects of indoor air pollution is lacking.”

Industry impact Ventilation could prove a lucrative line of revenue for installers as interest in solutions to improve indoor air quality are increasing in demand. However, training is essential for installers to understand how these types of system

work, how air flows, when and where insulation and fire stopping material is needed, and which type.

“Installers need to be up to speed with Building Regulations Part F, which covers ventilation, and Building Regulations Fire Safety Approved Document B, both of which were recently revised,” says Williams. “One of the biggest issues in the ventilation sector is poor installation, which has a direct impact on the effectiveness of the ventilation systems, and changes to Building Regulations have been designed to address this.”

Training in ventilation systems design and installation is readily available. For example, the Chartered Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineering (CIPHE) and Unico Systems’ heating, ventilating and cooling CPD can be accessed for free online.

As heating, cooling and ventilating in homes, businesses and shared public spaces has become an increasingly important issue to consumers it should be a major consideration for heating and plumbing engineers who stand to profit from this burgeoning sector.

MORE INFORMATION Find out more about the free CPD from Unico for CIPHE members at unicosystem.co.uk/training

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P RO J E C T F O C U S | B AT H A B B E Y F O OT P R I N T

Moving Heaven and Earth Urgent work to repair Bath Abbey’s historic floor created the chance to install a low-carbon heating system using the city’s hot spring water

I

nstallers are used to problem solving, particularly when working in older buildings, but navigating 8,000 burials to install underfloor heating isn’t usually on the list of concerns.

For the contractors working on a multi-million pound project to bring Bath Abbey up to date, though, the presence of so many ancient graves on the site was the driving factor that allowed this innovative scheme to come to fruition. As bodies decomposed and burials collapsed, voids had formed under the floor which meant that remedial work was essential, and the Abbey team saw an

opportunity to bring the complex up to date for its 600-strong congregation and thousands of annual visitors.

The Footprint project was conceived: as well as excavating and repairing the floor, the Abbey would have a new audio-visual system and flexible seating; a song school for its renowned choir; a revamped museum; a modern education and visitor centre, complete with the site’s first public toilets; and a low-carbon heating system that would harness the heat from the city’s famous Roman baths (situated right next to the Abbey) and use it to warm the space.

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Who’s who • Engineers: Buro Happold, burohappold.com • Sustainable energy specialists: Isoenergy, isoenergy.co.uk • Main mechanical and electrical contractor: Wheelers of Westbury, wheelersgroup.co.uk • Underfloor heating pipework: UFHN, ufhn.co.uk • Building management system: Kinetic, kinetic-bms.co.uk • Building and conservation contractor: Emery, emery.co.uk

Above: The future of the Abbey has been secured thanks to the work to stabilise its floor Right: The ledger stones have been relaid and the removal of pews gives a more flexible space

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B AT H A B B E Y F O OT P R I N T | P RO J E C T F O C U S READ MORE Find out about other unusual projects in our archived articles at pandhengineering.co.uk/ features

Footprint in numbers

1.1

million litres of naturally heated water flow through the Roman drain every day

40°C is the constant temperature of the water, year round

8,000

burials have taken place within the Abbey

2,000

stones were removed from the floor, cleaned and replaced – only one was put back upside down…

£19.3 million

was the total planned cost of the project

7M

the drop through the single access point to the Roman drain for the heating engineers, a manhole cover outside a busy ice cream shop

32M of EnergyBlades run along the Roman drain, just beyond the Abbey walls

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P RO J E C T F O C U S | B AT H A B B E Y F O OT P R I N T

“The water in the drain is highly corrosive and we don’t know what impact that will have”

cold draughts being pulled down from the huge glazed areas. Low-temperature heating under the floor could be used to maintain a comfortable temperature in the first seven feet above the floor, with upgraded trench heating acting as a top-up from repositioned trenches, moved to minimise convective currents in the space.

Work on the plant room was completed early on in the project

The ambitious scheme was first discussed 15 years ago, but physical work didn’t begin until 2018. Project director Nathan Ward came on board in March 2020 as work to install the final pieces of the heating system began. His previous experience working with the National Trust meant that he appreciated the scale of the challenge at the Abbey.

“I have fitted sustainable heating systems in many historic properties at the

National Trust,” he says. “It is workable, and should be done where possible, but generally not without there being huge compromises.”

Nevertheless, engineering firm Buro Happold had demonstrated that it would be an effective solution in the Abbey. Like many historic churches in the UK, it had been warmed with Victorian trench heating. The temperature was uneven, with hot air rising from the trenches and

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Drain of resources With the Abbey’s team keen to harness the natural resource of the hot spring waters flowing right past the building, Buro Happold looked for the right means of capturing that energy and began discussions with heat pump specialist Isoenergy.

The firm proposed a number of solutions, including EnergyBlades placed in the 2,000-year-old Roman drain that carried the spa water from the Roman Baths out to the River Avon.

“The EnergyBlades are a closed-loop solution, so we circulate fluid through the blade,” says Edward Levien, commercial director at Isoenergy. “The other options we explored were open loop, so sucking the water out of the drain and feeding it through the heat pump itself. The problem with that is the water quality isn’t great, it’s got very high levels of chloride and other things which tend to block filters and create a maintenance nightmare.”

The work went out to tender and, having won the contract, Isoenergy began by installing pipework in the plant room.

“Buro Happold did a lot of the heavy lifting in terms of scoping it all out,” says Levien.

“The route connecting the pipework from the great drain all the way through Kingston Buildings [next to the Abbey] and into the plant room was probably the

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B AT H A B B E Y F O OT P R I N T | P RO J E C T F O C U S

biggest head scratcher, and that part of the pipework was done quite early on so that we could get it out of the way before most of the work on the building started.”

Then began the difficult task of excavating the Abbey’s floor and some of the 8,000 burials underneath it – many of which were carefully removed to the Abbey cemetery a couple of miles away.

The 2,000 stones across the floor, including 891 ledger stones, had to be removed and catalogued, to be replaced afterwards, and the team had to pick through the legacy of bullish remodelling work carried out by the Victorians (“They were a law unto themselves”, according to Ward). Unsurprisingly, it was this stage that threw up some of the nastiest surprises.

The hole story “In the south transept, there was a void underneath a four-tonne marble monument that just kept going,” explains Ward by way of example. “We had to stop, design a steel framework to hold it in place and then excavate the floor and build it back up. That takes months.”

With the archaeological part of the work complete, the task of rebuilding the floor and installing the heating could begin. The pipes under the Abbey floor were installed by underfloor heating specialist firm UFHN. A bespoke clip-to-mesh system was used to prevent damage to anything of archeological value, with manifolds set into the heating trenches for easy access and maintenance.

The final piece of the jigsaw was installing the EnergyBlades in the Roman drain. The only access to the drain was seven metres below street level, through a manhole outside a busy ice cream shop.

The confined environment, heat and humidity meant that the contractors needed special training for the job and could only work in blocks of 20 minutes at a time.

The EnergyBlades are usually an off-the-shelf product, installed in sets of four in rivers, lakes or culverts above ground, but they had to be adapted for use in the Great Drain. “We went down to the drain before the project went out to tender to help define the project and make sure it was possible to get

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Conditions in the Roman drain are cramped, hot and humid

everything in and out of the manhole,” says Levien. “So the EnergyBlades installed were custom made to fit through that cover and then in the physical dimensions of the drain itself. We had to use a higher grade of stainless steel for the drain due to the harsh conditions. That was the most challenging part of the project.”

In March, the system was ready to be tested. “We had people coming in coats and scarves and then it was like walking into a sauna, because we’d ramped the heating up to max,” says Ward.

That’s not the end of the story – due to the truly unique nature of the system, it remains to be seen how much maintenance work will be required. “The water is highly corrosive in the drain, and we don’t know what impact that’s going to have on the blades, so that will be going on for years,” says Ward.

“The Roman Baths do a flush of their

Great Bath four or five times a year, so they flush out all the silt and minerals down the drain, which then causes a problem for us. We don’t yet know whether we’ll have to maintain the EnergyBlades every six months, every two months, or every year.”

Despite the challenges of the project, it’s drawn attention from other churches and historic sites around the world. “The Church of England has a large programme to decarbonise its estate,” says Levien. “More generally we’ve had enquiries since this has come online from other spa towns that have thermal springs – there aren’t many in the UK, but there are globally. People are beginning to see that they have something coming out of the ground which is free and renewable. If they can use it to heat a building, it’s not just a tourist asset, it’s something more.”

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Illustrations: Adam Gale

F E AT U R E | S U P P LY S H O R TAG E S

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S U P P LY S H O R TAG E S | F E AT U R E

TAKE STOCK With demand outstripping supply and prices soaring there is a strong feeling of unrest amongst heating and plumbing engineers

I

ncreasingly long lead times, price hikes and uncertainty as demand outstrips supply have left heating and plumbing engineers in limbo over the last year and a half, leading them to question what can be done to ease the pressure.

External influences The COVID-19 pandemic, and the subsequent lockdowns, has resulted in more people working from home, which meant some consumers have had more disposable income. Unable to venture far, many people have chosen to spend their money on improving their homes, which has caused a spike in demand for all kinds of materials.

“There is a great deal of frustration amongst installers and engineers about the increasing cost of materials,” says Mick Walsh, CIPHE member and owner of Walsh and Son. “There is a general concern that some merchants are using the current situation as an excuse to charge more when they already had items in stock. We appreciate that there is a worldwide shortage of materials, but how does increasing the cost help with supply problems?”

Supply chains have been under pressure since last summer and struggling to keep up with demand. The problem

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was exacerbated when the COVID-19 restrictions began to lift as there was an issue caused by the speed of recovery versus the anticipated recovery.

“The market demand since last summer has caused availability strain across most sectors, reducing buffer stocks throughout the supply chain, which has meant commodity costs have risen rapidly,” explains Richard Harvey, commercial director, plumbing and heating, at CIPHE Industrial Associate, Wolseley UK. “Price increases could not be absorbed by manufacturers, leaving them no choice but to increase prices, often with very short notice. Similarly, merchants have struggled to maintain availability on many of the products experiencing high inflation levels and, like manufacturers, have had to react accordingly.

“We continue to invest in inventory to maintain at least 98% availability which has not been easy given recent market

“There is a great deal of frustration amongst installers and engineers“

conditions. Where suppliers do give us advance notification of future issues, we endeavour to increase our order coverage to protect future availability, but physically there is only a finite amount of warehousing space we can utilise.

“We aren’t holding any more stock.

Suppliers can see problems three or four months in advance and we can adjust accordingly. However, there is only so much you can do to protect your customer base.”

The trade and construction boom, mixed with logistic issues caused by Brexit and the pandemic, has created the perfect storm. Delays in raw materials to manufacturers has had a knock-on effect, pushing delays right down the line to the trade counters.

“In many cases it’s causing panic buying from the larger firms that is driving costs up, while making materials scarce,” says Ben Dyer, chief executive officer of Powered Now. “With shop closures and production lines halted by the so-called ‘pingdemic’, a bout of wide-scale isolations is pushing waiting times for labour and materials to new record lengths. With the average wait time for private jobs in the trades now exceeding three months, there is genuine concern

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F E AT U R E | S U P P LY S H O R TAG E S

ACT NOW that the industry cannot keep up with demand.”

There is also a serious lack of hauliers as the UK lost 15,000 European drivers this year due to Brexit and 30,000 UK driving tests were cancelled due to COVID-19.

This issue is causing nationwide problems.

The Construction Leadership Council’s (CLC) Product Availability Group is supporting the Road Haulage Association in its discussions with the Department for Transport to address the shortage.

John Newcomb, chief executive officer of the Builders Merchants Federation, and Peter Caplehorn, chief executive officer of the Construction Products Association (CPA), co-chairs of the CLC’s Product Availability working group, said: “Inevitably, all of this is feeding into price inflation and the expectation is that high demand coupled with tight supply will sustain elevated prices throughout the year. New rules on hauliers have exacerbated the shortage of drivers in the UK, which is another contributing factor adding to delays and lead times not only in the construction industry, but many other sectors as well.”

“There is genuine concern that the industry cannot keep up with demand”

Planning ahead to avoid being caught out by shortages is vital

Taking control Fear of the unknown plays a major part in feelings of frustration felt by installers and merchants, so it’s important that there is clear communication and forward planning.

According to the CPA, “Communication throughout the supply chain is essential to assist with reliable delivery dates and to manage expectations about any shortages.

“Allocation systems should be as transparent as possible, so all customers can be seen to be treated fairly and provided with both the information and the products they require to plan and complete projects in a timely manner.

“Builders and contractors should also maintain open communications with their customers regarding lead times, possible product substitutions and early notice of potential price increases.”

The fact that the majority of materials required by UK trade and construction sectors are manufactured or processed in mainland Europe has lengthened supply lines. European manufacturers are addressing supply chains, prioritising those closest to them, which has left the UK at the back of the queue.

Home manufacturing The reliance on European manufacturers has proved problematic following Brexit and the current pandemic, which has seen a drive towards moving material production to the UK.

Business Minister Ivan McKee is championing the ramping up of manufacturing of construction materials in Scotland following the UK’s exit from the EU. Speaking at meeting of the Construction Leadership Forum (CLF) he said: “Materials from plasterboard and timber to steel and insulation are in short supply because of a combination of global factors in addition to EU Exit and COVID-19. This is having a significant impact as some businesses are unable to source the construction materials they need at a stable price.

“I want us to consider every opportunity for Scotland to manufacture as many of the construction materials we require as possible and I would encourage businesses to work with us to ramp up our own manufacturing supply chains. The CLF is urgently exploring how we can grow home supply chains which can improve resilience, support net zero ambitions and help grow the Scottish economy.

“We know that spending on construction has multiplier effects and creates additional value elsewhere in the economy. I want to see every penny of that outlay go back into the pockets of Scottish businesses as we rebuild a sustainable economic recovery from the pandemic.”

Industry impact The biggest impact has been on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that are having to buy from their local merchants,

The CLC: Working together to create benefits The Construction Leadership Council stresses that wherever possible the industry must work collaboratively to manage this unprecedented situation to everyone’s benefit.

This could include:

1) TRANSPARENCY

2) COMMUNICATION

3) SCHEDULING

Where products are in short supply, any allocation systems should be as transparent as possible so all customers can be seen to be treated fairly.

Good communications will reduce frustrations. For example, customers should not over-order, and manufacturers should not promise delivery dates that cannot be achieved.

Where relevant, the production for major projects – which is typically scheduled well in advance – should not be seen to adversely affect volumes available for smaller, regular customers.

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Missing parts and materials are causing delays in construction projects

an issue with a particularly high impact on the plumbing and heating industry. The surge in demand has left SMEs struggling to purchase essential materials, which not only prevents them from completing projects, but affects their business’ cash flow too. As a result some are looking for alternative options, which isn’t ideal.

Tradespeople must remain aware of their responsibilities when it comes to the supply and installation of non-compliant products and parts.

“The cost hikes have put installers on the ground in a really difficult position because we are forced to either pass on the costs to our customers or take a cut in our profits,” explains Walsh. “I really care about my customers and don’t want to have to do that.

“The cost hikes have put installers on the ground in a really difficult position”

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“Materials shortages and subsequent price increases haven’t been publicised on the news, so customers aren’t aware.

Some customers may think installers are trying to take advantage of the COVID-19 situation, which reinforces a negative perception of tradespeople, but we are the victims here. We work so hard to protect our standards and the quality of our work and these price rises create a real problem.”

The unprecedented demand nationally and globally is predicted to continue into next year, so it’s vital that the manufacturers and suppliers clearly communicate with the industry to allow them to plan ahead.

“I think we are reaching the peak of inflation in the market,” asserts Harvey.

“There is a consensus that commodity markets are beginning to flatten out.

The only unknown is whether they will stay at the currently inflated prices or come back down.”

It’s vital that installers communicate with their customers and encourage

them to think about servicing their boilers, explaining the issues that may arise due to materials shortages, before the weather turns. However, the fact remains that vulnerable people will be left with no heating and hot water this winter as a result of breakdowns and no amount of communication with suppliers is going to resolve this problem.

“Despite valiant efforts by manufacturers and merchants to service and support the industry​, emergency situations are going to be increasingly hard for installers to deal with without a stable supply chain,” says Kevin Wellman, chief executive officer of the CIPHE. “With the current lack of stock reliability, the reality is that consumers and installers may be caught short this winter.”

MORE INFORMATION The Construction Industry Coronavirus (CICV) Forum has been discussing these issues. Find out more at www.cicvforum.co.uk/about-us

2021 | QUARTER THREE | P&H ENGINEERING 29

EDUCATION

VIEWS , NEWS AND DE VELOPMENT S AFFEC TING NEW RECRUIT S TO OUR INDUS TRY

Flexible schemes could benefit apprentices and employers alike

NEWS

Shake-ups shape the new academic year Educators have had to radically adapt their approaches in the last year. We look at what’s in store for 2021-22

A

fter a busy summer in the world of education and training, the 2021-22 school year is swiftly upon us. From flexible apprenticeships to hard hitting reviews, it seems things are never quiet in further education (FE). Here, P&H Engineering reviews the headlines causing a stir.

A new breed of apprenticeship?

Bidding has opened for funding from a £7 million pot designed to get flexible apprenticeships off the ground. The first industries targeted are construction, agriculture and creative.

Under flexible apprenticeships, flexi-job apprenticeship agencies employ the apprentice, who

then learns the practical skills required to be competent over a number of projects, with different employers. For employers it offers a ‘talent pool’ to dip in and out of when required. The £7 million funding is set to establish a small number of flexi-job

apprenticeship agencies, with the first apprenticeship starting in early 2022.

Apprenticeships and skills minister Gillian Keegan said: “Our flexi-job apprenticeships will unleash exciting new opportunities in sectors such as the creative industries and construction, where employment is increasingly flexible and project based.”

Education and Skills Funding Agency review Professor Sir David Bell, vice-chancellor of the University of Sunderland, is taking the helm of an independent review of the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA). The ESFA is responsible for £65 billion in

funding for the training and education sector and regulates academies, further education, sixth-form colleges and training providers. It also has responsibility in delivering on apprenticeships, T-Levels and the National Careers Service.

The ESFA will be undertaking the review until early 2022. It will cover aspects such as its governance, accountability model, impact and operating model.

Minister for the school system, Baroness Berridge, said: “We will examine the ESFA and will identify opportunities for improvement, and areas of success on which we can build, so that it continues to deliver for the public and to

EMPLOYER GEOGRAPHIC REPRESENTATIVE AREA BODY LEAD

LINKED STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENT FUND PILOT

Business West

West of England

Weston College

Cumbria

Cumbria

Lakes College Cumbria

Doncaster

South Yorkshire

Barnsley College

East Midlands

Leicestershire

Loughborough College

Kent Invicta

Kent

Mid-Kent College

North-East England

Tees Valley

The Education Training Collective

North and Western Lancashire

Lancashire

Myerscough College

Sussex

Sussex

Chichester College

30 P&H ENGINEERING | QUARTER THREE | 2021

CIPHE.ORG.UK

E D U C AT I O N

represent a responsible use of taxpayers’ money.”

Government announces ‘Trailblazer’ areas The government has announced the first areas to receive Local Skills Improvement Plans (LSIP), led by eight Chambers of Commerce (see table, below) and backed by £4 million in funding.

As part of the government’s new Skills and Post-16 Education Bill, LSIPs give employers a central role working with further education colleges, other providers and local stakeholders to develop new “local skills improvement plans”. The plans shape technical skills provision to meet local labour market skills needs. The trailblazers will be led by accredited Chambers of Commerce and other business representative organisations, in collaboration with local providers. Employers and provider groups will be engaged to ensure that the most effective models of employer representation are created before wider rollout.

Not everyone is on board. A number of peers in the House of Lords have reservations about the scheme, citing issues with ‘left out’ areas, an absence of involvement with independent learning providers and a lack of clarity on the geographical areas covered.

Pay rise for apprentices?

The All-Party Parliamentary Group for Apprentices (APPG) annual report is calling on the government to improve pay conditions and mental health support, increase apprenticeship uptake and improve on delivery.

The 2020-2021 annual report made recommendations including: • The Skills and Post-16 Education Bill should be used as an opportunity to improve overall apprenticeship provision and support the delivery of quality apprenticeships.

• UCAS should continue its expansion of its existing portal to service further education, apprenticeships, and T-levels.

• The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE) should ensure continued flexibility at all stages of the apprenticeship process, most notably including end point assessments.

• The government should mandate statutory training for both employers and providers to safeguard apprentices’ mental health as it brings forward an Employment Bill. This should include a mental health toolkit.

• The Department for Education should establish a government-run advice and one-stop-shop for small businesses providing support to take on an apprentice and the process.

• The government should increase the flexibility of what the Apprenticeship Levy can be used for and when. The Levy should allow businesses to transfer or pool their resources to improve provision of apprenticeships.

• The Department for Education should provide bespoke guidance to providers and employers on how T-levels, Kickstart and apprenticeships can provide benefits and complement one another.

• HM Treasury should raise Apprentices’ Minimum Wage to be in line with the National Minimum Wage.

• IfATE’s funding band review must ensure sustainable and long-term funding for apprenticeships to ensure that employers have the confidence to invest in their workforces.

Download the full report at https:// connectpa.co.uk/apprenticeships/

Skills Index 2021 The Further Education (FE) Skills Index is published each year by the Department for Education and shows how the aggregate value of the skills supplied by the FE system each year has changed over time.

Key findings in 2019/20: • The Skills Index has decreased almost every year since 2012/13, and in 2019/20 fell by 21% (its largest fall to date) against the backdrop of COVID-19 restrictions.

• The downward trend since 2012/13 has mainly been driven by a decline in FE learner numbers, leading to

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fewer achievers. The number of achievers in 2019/20 was less than half (47%) what it was in 2012/13.

• The number of achievers in 2019/20 was also impacted by COVID-19 restrictions, with disruptions to exams and breaks in learning, leading to fewer achievements. Achievements in both apprenticeships and classroom-based learning fell by around 21% in 2019/20.

• The value added per learner was 6% greater in 2019/20 than it was in 2012/13, suggesting that learners across FE have shifted towards

more valuable qualifications (particularly towards apprenticeships which typically have higher returns than classroom-based training).

• The provision mix has become more valuable for apprenticeships (compared to classroom-based courses) as apprentices have gradually shifted towards higher levels and more valuable subjects.

Download the full report at https://www.gov.uk/government/ publications/ further-education-skills-index

2021 | QUARTER THREE | P&H ENGINEERING 31

E D U C AT I O N

“Our students have kept us focused and determined to do our best” Simon Cook, principal at Mid Kent College, reflects on the impact of the pandemic so far M E M B E R S T O RY

I

t was around 27 December 2020 when my partner turned to me and said, “For goodness sake, let it go, you cannot do anything about it.”

At that point I realised just how knotted things had become and that I was one of those people we sometimes call control freaks, who can never rest unless everything is just right.

Before I continue, I must say two things: firstly and most importantly, this has been a tragic period in our history.

Many lives have been gravely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and we must never forget that or those who are still dealing with the impact of this indiscriminate virus.

Secondly, it is easy to find the answers with hindsight – if only we all had the benefit of hindsight, nothing would ever

32 P&H ENGINEERING | QUARTER THREE | 2021

go wrong, would it?

In January 2020, I was with our governing body, one of whom is also a director for public health in our region. We were talking around the fringes about the virus and there appeared to be something on the horizon, but none of us would have ever predicted the situation heading our way.

Predicting the unpredictable

By March 2020 the first positive coronavirus case had happened in our region. We had a huge panic at work when we thought we had our first positive case on site, and we were awaiting the inevitable decision to force schools and colleges to close.

All bets were on seeing it through to the natural Easter break of 2020. I recall saying to some of my team that I was

sure we would get advance notification from the Department for Education, somehow thinking that a coordinated message to schools, colleges and universities across the UK would take place. Well, that changed when one of my leaders came and told me what our prime minister had said in a press conference live on TV. From that moment on we knew that things would be unpredictable.

Like so many people, we then dealt with the range of decisions and emotions and saw our entire student and staff population go through every moment as if we were with them. In fact, I now see that it pulled us all together in a way that would have never been possible before.

We dealt with

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E D U C AT I O N

Lessons and assessments have had to be adapted

Students have had to make do with less inperson training

“Our economy needs skills more than ever before, with Brexit and COVID-19” announcements and guidance pretty much on the hoof and yet up until this year, I thought that our staff and students assumed we must have known what was happening before they heard it on a press briefing. How they were wrong. That Christmas in 2020, I was sitting at home and watched a head teacher of a school talking about how they were up until the late hours of Boxing Day with their leadership team, planning for the provision of testing in January. I was beside myself.

My first thought was, how could a leader do that to their team on Boxing Day? This was quickly followed by, we are not

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doing enough! That was when I was told to stop and relax.

Learning lessons From that moment onwards I started to realise we could not influence much at all, we could not control anything, and the best we could do was just that – our best.

The pandemic has been a huge learning curve for so many of us. Balancing expectations of customers with our responsibility to keep staff safe has been a huge experience. We have got some things right and some things wrong, but we have done it along with the rest of the nation and along the way we

have learned more about our resilience, purpose and passion than ever before.

I firmly believe that without challenges you do not get stronger, without failure you do not learn, and both must be something you are comfortable to talk about and reflect upon.

So, as we start a new academic year, where are we?

Well, we are exhausted. The mental pressure that staff have been under, in particular leaders and managers, has been immense, but those able to take a break in the summer this year will have done so in the knowledge that whatever they returned to they, and all of us, would be able to deal with it. Dealing with the overwhelming public despair with results last year has turned to focus and preparedness for a new challenge this year.

Exceptional approaches to education have become the norm, from dealing with daily change and disruption for staff and students, to delaying or adapting assessments.

Doing our best Staff and students appreciate things that they had taken for granted, like social contact and in person communication, that five-minute chat whilst making a cuppa, or seeing someone in the corridor.

These have given a different measure of productivity.

Our students have been the ones that have kept us focused and determined to do our best. Ensuring that they have what they need to develop the skills to get the best job is more than just achieving qualifications and we now realise just what we do to add something else to that experience for students.

All is not brilliant though. We know that our economy needs skills more than ever before with Brexit and COVID-19. We have a unique situation in our economy and skills will rightly be at the forefront. However, pay for teaching staff in further education is still so far out of sync with industry that we see yet again a market that is proving to be as difficult as ever. Recruiting and retaining staff when industry is able to offer high pay levels continues to be at the heart of training the future workforce.

Nowhere is this seen so starkly as in the construction and building services sector.

We now know much more than we did two years ago.

What we are capable of is amazing and what we can do in the future is exciting, but if there was one experience of the pandemic we must never forget it is that we can do it better working together.

2021 | QUARTER THREE | P&H ENGINEERING 33

H O N G KO N G

I N T E R N AT I O N A L

Building bridges The Hong Kong Branch of the CIPHE plays a pivotal role in translating the expertise of the Instutute to Hong Kong

T

he CIPHE Hong Kong Branch (CIPHE-HKB) membership represents different sectors ranging from the government, client, consultant, contractor and supplier, to the operation and maintenance field.

The Branch is thriving.

Memberships have increased by around 10% in a year to 1,500, including people with high academic qualifications and a higher proportion of younger candidates, resulting in the formation of the Young Members’ Club.

This growth in terms of both quantity and quality in membership is undoubtedly thanks to the dedicated participation and effort of the management committee of the Branch, especially since the execution of the new governance launched in 2018.

The new governance assumes a good succession regime, providing stability and sustainability that has attracted more talent to join.

Of course, the award of CEng by the Engineering Council is a great asset to members. As a result the Branch

34 P&H ENGINEERING | QUARTER THREE | 2021

established a devoted CEng working group to promote it.

Spreading the word CIPHE-HKB strives to make an important contribution either on its own or via collaboration with government departments, universities and educational institutes and other professional bodies.

The role and functions of the Branch are delivered in a variety of ways both internally and externally. Internally, it helps equip members with advancement of science and

practice towards a greater degree of professionalism.

Externally, it promotes the image of CIPHE-HKB via media interview and talks, conducts training courses, launches public education programmes and also offers expert advice to government from time to time.

Working through COVID-19 CIPHE-HKB has recently offered advice and support to the government in combating COVID-19 through a number of undertakings. Firstly, the Branch offers its expertise

CIPHE.ORG.UK

H O N G KO N G

GET IN TOUCH WITH CIPHE-HKB For details of CPD, events and to register with the Engineering Council from Hong Kong, contact info@ciphe.org.uk

with the publication of technical papers. It also organises webinars and courses, notably to share and review the design, installation and maintenance of drainage systems to curb cross-contamination between compartments of a building.

Secondly, it collaborated with other professional bodies to launch the Leaky Drain Busters programme with an aim of helping the government to analyse the problem of local transmission in residential blocks and helping the community

CIPHE.ORG.UK

Main image: CIPHE HKB has joined with other agencies to improve standards Right: The Branch works with media, including Now TV News, to help keep the public informed

to control the spread of COVID-19.

A press conference was held in December 2020 under the programme recommending numerous short-, mid- and long-term precautionary and improvement measures.

Last but not least, e-posters have been published to help people identify some possible sources of household pollutants together with best practices and solutions for mitigating the spread of viruses. E-posters are useful for promotion and education

to the general public and have been disseminated to more than 55 institutions and the government.

Hong Kong has a lower confirmed death rate due to COVID-19. This might be thanks to the orchestrated effort of parties concerned, including the government, in the timely devising and enforcing of policies and measures, and the communities’ self discipline and cooperation in wearing facemasks. Hong Kong’s experience of SARS means that the public generally accepts that wearing facemasks is one of the most important measures against the propagation of viruses, along with maintaining social distancing. Medical and engineering professionals providing expert advice have helped to educate the public and support the government to fight the virus.

Proactive approach CIPHE-HKB has been working with government departments, notably its close partnership with the Water Supplies Department (WSD), and has a higher participation in its work over the years, possibly due to its increasing professionalism and status as a chartered body.

The Branch has been invited to provide expert advice and serve as a bridge between government and the industry stakeholders on plumbing, drainage and water supply issues in buildings. The department has also granted members an equivalent qualification to facilitate applications to become a licensed plumber.

Nowadays, licensed plumbers play an increasingly important role in ensuring drinking water quality and

safety in Hong Kong, which is full of tall buildings built with complex systems of lengthy water pipes. Licensed plumbers work in valuable partnership with installers in buildings to achieve project completion on schedule and to stipulated standards.

Unlike other skilled trades in the construction industry, such as formwork erector, general welder and electrical fitter, that experience greater shortages, the supply of licensed plumbers is generally healthy and the Branch has been helping in this regard with a great majority of our members licensed plumbers.

Supervisory Board’s role The Supervisory Board is chaired by Enoch Lam and its purpose is to oversee the business of the HK Branch.

However, Lam was keen to do more than the duties prescribed in the governing document and wanted to include strategic views and directional advice on the development and role of the Branch too.

“I was much impressed by the keen commitment and vigor of the committee head to make the Branch one of the leading professional institutes in Hong Kong and to contribute to the local plumbing and heating engineering sector,” says Lam.

2021 | QUARTER THREE | P&H ENGINEERING 35

THE FIX

ADVICE ON USING THERM AL ENERGY S TOR AG E WITH DOMES TIC HE ATING SYS TEMS

The government has ambitious targets for new heat pump installations

PA U L H A R M E R CIPHE Lead technical consultant CEng MIET Paul is a chartered engineer who has consulted and led on many high-profile plumbing and heating industry projects paulh@ciphe.org.uk

There’s more available energy with lower temperature heating systems Paul Harmer explains why coupling thermal energy storage (TES) with lower temperature heating systems makes sense in the drive to decarbonise our homes

T

he UK heating industry is going to be experiencing huge changes during the 20s as we attempt to decarbonise our homes, putting the plumbing and heating installer at the heart of the solution.

The government wants to see a mass deployment of heat pumps to the tune of 600,000 annually by 2028, which will require the upskilling of over 30,000 installers. To achieve these challenging targets, the plumbing and

36 P&H ENGINEERING | QUARTER THREE | 2021

heating industry will need to overcome both economic and technical barriers, especially in the early part of the decade when demand is outstripping supply. Following the announcement of the government's 10-point plan, the demand for heat pumps has increased significantly, which has highlighted the real shortage of skilled and trained heat pump installers. This has unfortunately contributed to higher installation costs.

CIPHE.ORG.UK

EN ER G Y S TO R AG E | T H E F I X

FIGURE 1

TES usable energy with a 45°C flow temperature

“The lower the flow temperature of the heat emitters, the greater the amount of usable energy in the tank”

1

capture renewable electricity during low heat demand to be used many days later during peak demand. A company called Caldera has developed the Warmstone, which is a patented solid storage material that is made from a combination of recycled and natural materials. The technology uses cheap, green night-time electricity to heat the solid core of the Warmstone. This stored heat then provides a supply of heating and hot water to your home during the days when you need it most, with up to 100kWh of available energy.

2

Volume (I)

Usable energy (KWh)

3 Primary flow

Secondary flow 45°C

Max temperature difference (°C)

55°C 3.5kW

Primary return

Secondary return

The innovation gap Whilst the industry tackles the economic impact of a shortage of installers, we cannot ignore the technical challenges and barriers that need to be overcome to achieve the net zero goals. The government has recognised an innovation gap and is

CIPHE.ORG.UK

1. Thermal storage volume (l) - 300 2. Usable energy (kW) - 3.5 3. Temperature difference (°C) - 10

launching a fund to help accelerate innovation.

An area which the CIPHE believes will gain traction is the development of new thermal batteries, using materials such as phase change materials (PCM).

We also expect to see further innovation into thermal batteries that

What is thermal energy storage (TES)?

Thermal energy storage (TES) is achieved with a wide variety of different technologies. Depending on the type of technology, it allows excess thermal energy to be stored and used hours or days later, such as heating and hot water in domestic homes. The most common type of thermal energy storage is a buffer tank that contains a specific volume of water at a given temperature. Whilst this is relatively cheap to buy, the amount of usable energy available within the tank varies based upon the difference between the maximum tank temperature and the minimum required flow temperature of the heating system. The lower the flow temperature of the heat emitters, the greater the amount of usable energy in the tank at a fixed storage temperature.

Figures 1 and 2 illustrate the difference in a TES usable energy with two different flow temperatures, 45°C and 35°C, with the same system ΔT.

2021 | QUARTER THREE | P&H ENGINEERING 37

T H E F I X | EN ER G Y S TO R AG E

FIGURE 2

TES usable energy with a 35°C flow temperature

“By reducing the flow temperature from 45°C to 35°C with a fixed system ΔT, you can double the amount of usable energy”

Volume (I) Usable energy (kWh)

1 There is a shortage of trained heat pump installers in the UK

Max temperature difference (°C) 2

3

The effects on the available energy in the thermal energy store with weather compensation control The amount of usable energy within the thermal store will vary throughout the year with a low-temperature heating system controlled by weather compensation. Depending upon the outside air temperature, the weather compensation controller adjusts the flow temperature to the heat emitters to meet the required demand, which in turn increases and decreases the available energy within the TES. For example, the radiators might be designed for peak cold periods at a 55°C flow temperature at an external temperature of -3°C, however, the heating system might only require a flow temperature of 45°C at 1°C which would lead to a greater amount of usable energy within the TES. By reducing the flow temperature from 45°C to 35°C with a fixed system ΔT, you can double the amount of usable energy or reduce the tank size.

Primary flow

Secondary flow 35°C

55°C 7kW

Primary

Secondary return

Why do we use a TES? There are a variety of reasons for installing a TES in a heating system, such as avoiding the short cycling of heat pumps at low load conditions or adding additional capacity to the heating system during peak heating demand. A TES will also act as a form of hydraulic separation, decoupling the primary circuit from the secondary, however, the focus of this article is to understand the concept of usable energy within a given

38 P&H ENGINEERING | QUARTER THREE | 2021

1. Thermal storage volume (l)- 300 2. Usable energy (kW) - 7 3. Temperature difference (°C) - 20

volume of water at a given minimum and maximum temperature. If in any doubt always consult the TES unit’s manufacturer for guidance and support to validate your assumptions.

TECHNICAL GUIDANCE Visit the Advice section on the P&H Engineering website to find archived TechTalk articles www.pandhengineering.co.uk

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T H E F I X | A N T I-VACU U M VA LV E S

SAFET Y Anti-vaccum valves prevent hot water cylinders from imploding

J E R RY W H I T E L E Y CIPHE technical manager Jerry has worked as a selfemployed installer and also has experience teaching. He advises on technical issues and compliance. jerryw@ciphe.org.uk

Under pressure Anti-vacuum valves prevent damage yet remain an enigma. Jerry Whiteley explains when to use them and why

V

enturing into the unknown is part and parcel of being a heating and plumbing engineer, and the majority of installers are adept at dealing with any curveballs that come their way.

Being cautious, especially when it comes to hot water cylinders that may not have been installed correctly, is vital.

If a system is being worked on for the first time by an installer, for example carrying out simple maintenance work such as changing a shower valve, they must take care. A vacuum can occur if the hot water cylinder has not been fitted with an anti-vacuum valve, which can result in a collapsed cylinder. This is because the

40 P&H ENGINEERING | QUARTER THREE | 2021

greater atmospheric pressure outside causes the vessel to implode.

Anti-vacuum valves should be installed to prevent a vacuum being formed in installations where the draw-off rate becomes greater than the inlet flow rate. This might be where the cylinder is located in a loft or on the floors above in a tall dwelling with the draw-offs below.

Anti-vacuum valves have the ability to thwart damage to properties, prevent serious injuries and save installers’ reputations. However, it has become increasingly apparent that there is some confusion as to when and where they should be installed.

CIPHE.ORG.UK

A N T I-VACU U M VA LV E S | T H E F I X

“Getting the system design correct is paramount, so following the instructions is vital”

The science A vacuum is often referred to as negative pressure, which occurs when the pressure drops below atmospheric pressure. Atmospheric pressure is all around us and is recorded at sea level at 101.325Pa (Pascals) or 14.696psi (pounds per square inch).

We typically feel the difference in atmospheric air pressure with changing weather patterns or when air pressure is adjusted when taking off and landing an aircraft. It is the same principle with draining down a cylinder (sealed vessel), however no air is getting in. If the cylinder is installed above the draw-offs, typically in a loft, and no air is introduced by opening taps or occasionally twisting the temperature pressure release (TPR), then the atmospheric pressure is far greater outside and the risk of implosion is high.

Of course, these systems will potentially have very hot water within them and should they implode then that hot water can cascade down onto the area below, damaging the ceiling and other property as well as harming occupants and the installer.

Insurance companies might question the potential claim for subsequent damage as to how a cylinder could implode. If it’s because the hot water cylinder was incorrectly installed then they might be less inclined to pay out and the installer will be considered responsible.

How it works Inside the valve is a check valve cartridge which, under normal conditions, is closed by the system pressure. When a vacuum occurs the suction on the valve will open and allow air in to flow through. This equalises the pressure within the hot water system to that of atmospheric pressure on the outside, therefore preventing collapse.

Getting the system design correct is

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paramount, so following the manufacturer’s instructions is vital. Not only is an imploding hot water cylinder extremely dangerous due to the risk of potentially life threatening scalding, but the damage can be very costly to repair too. This can also occur when an atmospheric system has a blocked vent pipe, for example, when it is frozen.

FIGURE 1

Two examples of anti-vacuum valves

Ideal scenario Hot water systems should have an anti-vacuum valve on the outlet when first installed if the cylinder is located above the draw-offs. There are many chat rooms on the internet in which consumers and plumbers ask questions after this type of failure, frequently resulting in completely wrong answers. This can cause problems with a customer who, having read these false diagnoses online, calls in a knowledgeable and competent installer to work on their hot water system but is unwilling to accept the right answer when it is presented to them.

This situation is becoming more common as systems are being used in areas that traditionally wouldn’t be used in the first instance. A roof void, for example, isn’t always an ideal place to install a hot water cylinder. Installers must factor in things like whether the water pressure will be enough for the additional height, weight and structure, as well as temperature in the colder months and getting the vessel up there in the first instance.

When a bathroom is converted and the cylinder is relocated into the loft or a loft conversion then the installation might require experience and knowledge from the installer and a thorough reading of the manufacturer’s instructions.

Training and its curriculums are also potentially lacking in the industry as behaviours change and consumers change their ideals. The siting of the cylinder is down to the design and planning of the installer – manufacturers can’t be expected to list every scenario.

The responsibility lies with the competent installer in the first place and then moves on to the person carrying out alterations, so it’s important that all heating and plumbing engineers understand the power of atmospheric pressure.

When a vacuum occurs in the system, the valve opens to allow air in

TECHNICAL GUIDANCE Visit the Advice section on the P&H Engineering website to find archived TechTalk articles www.pandhengineering.co.uk

2021 | QUARTER THREE | P&H ENGINEERING 41

T H E F I X | A N T I-VACU U M VA LV E S

KEEPING UP YOUR CPD? For all the 2020 answers go to www.pandhengineering.co.uk

SAFET Y

YOUR CPD CIPHE members are expected to complete 30 hours of CPD each year.

Completion of these assessments can count towards this requirement.

W H AT T O D O

Assessment: Anti-vacuum valves 1

If water boils at 100°C at sea level, approximately what temperature might it be if you were lucky enough to be making a brew at the top of Mount Everest?

5

The cold feed pipe sizing for an atmospheric system can be found in which British Standard?

Answer the questions (using an additional A4 sheet if necessary) and return by scanning and emailing or posting to the address below.

Y O U R D E TA I L S Please complete this form YOUR NAME:

CIPHE MEMBERSHIP NUMBER:

EMAIL:

2

What does the term sensible heat mean?

6

Identify which Approved Document is applicable for hot water safety, supply and systems?

RETURN TO:

3

What is the purpose of twisting open the TPRV while draining down pipework from a UVHW cylinder at the taps?

7

Where do you locate the antivacuum valve on the HW system?

CPD Assessment, CIPHE, 64 Station Lane, Hornchurch, Essex RM12 6NB

info@ciphe.org.uk Or visit the members-only area of the CIPHE website: www.ciphe.org.uk/cpd

4

What is the minimum sized open vent for a HW cylinder?

42 P&H ENGINEERING | QUARTER THREE | 2021

8

Which British Standard covers the designing of a water system?

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PRODUC T NEWS | THE FIX

Safety first

The new solutions aim to improve efficiency

The latest version of Rehau's Rautitan stabil plumbing and heating pipework is pre-insulated with Class B rated fire insulation for quick installation in high rise buildings, saving contractors the time-intensive process of manually adding insulation to pipework. Rautitan stabil uses the Everloc compression sleeve fitting, which allows visual inspection thanks to it not needing O-rings, further saving time on installation.

The Rautitan range also provides contractors and specifiers with a hygienic drinking water solution.

Lead-free fittings and cavity-free joints avoid microbial contamination, which means contractors and specifiers can promote the health and wellbeing of occupants.

eBUSINESS

Connecting the nation has launched a new suite of eBusiness solutions to modernise business processes and improve efficiency for commercial heating and plumbing businesses, M&E contractors and building services engineers.

The core services include the website, which offers customers round-the-clock access to products and easy account management; an eSolutions system-to-system integration, which allows Wolseley Pipe to send quotes, receive orders and WOLSELEY PIPE

provide acknowledgements, invoices and credits electronically, and the iHub, a seamless integration of Wolseley Pipe’s API services into the customers’ and field service management companies’ own applications.

John Hancock, managing director for Wolseley Pipe, said: “Our new eBusiness solutions break down unnecessary barriers and provide an added level of flexibility and agility, allowing customers of all sizes to focus on delivering their projects as efficiently as possible.”

Flexible friend Uponor has extended its innovative EcoFlex VIP portfolio with the introduction of Ecoflex Aqua VIP, a high-performance pipe designed to make hot and cold water transportation around a home more sustainable than ever before.

The pre-insulated pipe, introduced specifically for domestic water distribution, combines heat loss performance with flexibility, ease of installation and a service life in excess of 30 years.

Mark Dowdeswell, senior category manager at Uponor, said: “The system can be utilised for a variety of applications, from an extensive supply network to a single connection for one building.”

Pump technology introduces FlushMaster

D I G I TA L

Intatec launches iPulse has launched a Heat Interface Unit (HIU) control and monitoring solution – iPulse. It allows engineers to configure all system components for maximum efficiency and provides operators with diagnostic reports, operational history and other information through the centralised management platform.

Other key features include access to installation maps, HIU operating condition and status reports, alongside the ability to remotely alter temperature settings. For those who use the Inta Hiper II, the iPulse package offers a INTAT EC

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higher degree of control than ever before, working alongside the product’s Modbus system.

Stuart Gizzi, director at Intatec, said: “As our industry moves towards prioritising efficiency in performance and clarity of information, the iPulse is going to be a really effective tool for our customers and those looking to move easily into the world of HIU.”

The new FlushMaster gives customers and installers more options when installing an extra toilet, as it can pump further and higher than other solutions on the market.

The pipework can be run horizontally first and can include a double lift or run along an upwards gradient. It uses a submersible, free-flow vortex impeller pump instead of a domestic cutter pump and is suitable for use with a toilet, bidet, washbasin or shower. Find out more from www.pumptechnology.co.uk

2021 | QUARTER THREE | P&H ENGINEERING 43

MEMBERSHIP

YOUR KE Y MEMBERSHIP BENEFIT S AND HOW YOU C AN G E T MORE INVOLVED WITH THE CIPHE

Business has picked up this year, says Mawson

TIM SAINT Y CIPHE membership director Tim looks after the growing CIPHE membership, enhancing services for members and improving communications

INTERVIEW

tims@ciphe.org.uk +44 (0)1708 463102

Interview with CIPHE member, Roger Mawson The managing director of South West Plumbing Services reveals the challenges that faced his business in 2020

L MORE MEMBERS JOIN THE ENGINEERING COUNCIL Engineering Technician Registration with the Engineering Council (EngTech) • Paul James Corrigan, Maldon, Essex • Ryan Lee Patrick Giles, Droitwich Spa, Worcestershire • Paul Hull, Ashtead, Surrey • Emma Wray, Wakefield Incorporated Engineer Registration with the Engineering Council (IEng) • James Guthrie, Paisley, Renfrewshire

ast month our technical manager, Jerry Whiteley, and development director, Richard Soper, met with CIPHE member Roger Mawson, managing director at South West Plumbing Services. Here he discusses his experiences of working in the plumbing and heating industry over the last year and what the future holds for his business.

What has the last year been like for your business?

The impact of the coronavirus pandemic has been felt by all businesses, especially at the beginning when uncertainty was at its

highest. For us, we noticed a reduction in business at the start of 2020 as customers postponed work. In fact, we only did emergency work at the peak of the pandemic.

Unfortunately, we also lost staff in 2020 including two apprentices. It was a difficult year, but positive support from our local authority meant that we were able to access a business support grant and a loan.

As 2020 progressed, business started to increase and, while still working under COVID-19 rules, we were able to get back to a much stronger position. In fact, the start of 2021 saw a marked increase in business and we

“For the future, we are strengthening our position in renewables, as we see this as a growth area in the coming years”

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are forecasting a strong period leading up to autumn.

What are the biggest challenges your business and the wider industry are facing right now?

The skills shortage and finding workers who are both qualified and experienced is a real issue.

We are looking at investing in more apprentices, however, our biggest concern is the retention of apprentices after their training is complete.

As an industry we definitely need more skilled workers and a marked increase in those entering the profession to boost numbers.

What has changed and are you optimistic about the future?

Coming out of the pandemic has made us stronger and I

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MEMBERSHIP

R E G I S T R AT I O N

Professional Registration with Engineering Council is recognised by Engineering Council as a Professional Engineering Institution, meaning that we can assess candidates from amongst our membership for inclusion on the national register of professional engineers and technicians.

In fact, we are regularly audited and assessed ourselves to prove sufficient experience, procedures, and resources to: • assess the competence and commitment of candidates for registration • monitor the continuing professional development of registrants • monitor the conduct of registrants.

THE CIPHE

Mawson says the industry needs more new recruits

think we can cope with almost anything now.

Overall, we are pleased to have retained the majority of our customers throughout this time.

For the future, we are strengthening our position in renewables, as we see this as a growth area in the coming years. Air source heat pump enquiries, for example, are increasing, so we are looking at training and ways to work with low-carbon technologies in the future.

Where do the biggest opportunities lie for your business and the plumbing and heating industry?

Sustainable heating is definitely a big area of growth and as the UK heads toward a low-carbon future we are only going to see more demand for it.

It is interesting to see how new technologies such as hydrogen boilers could become a reality in the coming years too and we’ll need to be preparing for such a shift if that happens.

It will also be important for the industry to keep on adding value in order to build trust with customers. To this end, we are proud to have a

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showroom in Torquay that is open to the public, so that our customers can discuss their heating and hot water requirements with us in a friendly and relaxed environment. We also have a range of Worcester Bosch boiler models on display.

Under our ‘Proud to Be a Professional’ banner, the CIPHE is embarking upon a campaign to tackle the menace of rogue traders in the UK. What are your views on the rogue element that exists and persists?

Unfortunately, we often see the effects of poor installation work and spend time rectifying issues for customers who have lost trust in the previous engineer they employed. We always try to educate our customers and explain to them how important it is to make sure whoever they employ is a professional and to not go on price alone. Being a member of the CIPHE is important to demonstrate our commitment to delivering safe, reliable, and quality plumbing and heating works.

As a company we are vocal about how our company is proud to be a professional.

Almost 1,000 CIPHE members are already registered with Engineering Council (see opposite page for the latest), with 90% of these being Engineering Technicians, and there is very good reason for you to consider joining them.

What levels of professional registration are available to CIPHE members?

The CIPHE can award registration as any of the following: •

Chartered Engineer (CEng)

•

Incorporated Engineer (IEng)

•

Engineering Technician (EngTech)

What are the benefits of professional registration?

Benefits include, but are not limited to: • cross-engineering discipline evidence of your expertise • improved career prospects • higher earning potential • demonstrates a professional attitude to employers and customers • increased status and influence.

How do I find out more?

You can read more about becoming registered in the Engineering Council Pocket Guide to Professional Registration at https://tinyurl.com/ y4d97jnn.

If you would like to talk to somebody about the next steps on your journey to becoming professionally registered, contact us on membership@ciphe.org.uk or 01708 463 117.

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45

MEMBERSHIP

G E T I N V O LV E D

Call for nominations

CAREERS

CPD – are you ready?

Keeping your knowledge and skills up to date is essential to maintain professional standards

C

ontinuing Professional Development (CPD) has perhaps never been more important in the plumbing and heating industry than it is today.

With a critical role to play on issues that are top of the government’s priority list, such as the delivery of heat and water efficiency, and with future installation and maintenance practices likely to be very different from those once learned, regularly updating your

“One easy way to keep your record up to date is to use mycareerpath facility available on the CIPHE website” knowledge, skills and competence adds significant value to your role, respect, and authority.

If you’re already registered with the Engineering Council as an Engineering Technician (EngTech), Incorporated Engineer (IEng) or Chartered Engineer (CEng), CPD is already mandatory and you must, when called upon, be prepared to submit your CPD record. However, all members of the CIPHE are expected to regularly participate in continued learning.

What is CPD? CPD is a combination of approaches, ideas, and techniques to help manage your learning and growth.

The focus of CPD is fi rmly on results, so it helps to establish goals that you can work towards.

That way you can make sure CPD you undertake passes the relevance test – what do I want to achieve and what will help me get there?

Keeping records One easy way to keep your record up to date is to use mycareerpath facility available on the CIPHE website. You can upload certifi cates of attendance at seminars or training events, record visits to exhibitions and trade shows or details of any private reading of technical journals or publications.

If we ever do contact you to ask you to submit your CPD record, we will only require one year’s worth of evidence.

If you keep a log for your employer as part of their appraisal system or maintain your record with another professional engineering institution, you can also submit this to the CIPHE to avoid duplicating effort.

46 P&H ENGINEERING | QUARTER THREE | 2021

T H I S I S A C A L L for nominations for the posts of president and vice president, for the year 2022 - 2023 in accordance with the Institute’s Byelaws. In addition, nominations are invited for a voting member trustee and independent trustee to serve on the Board of Trustees from 2022 - 2026. A copy of this text is available from Head Office; please contact Lesley Church on 01708 463115 or email lesleyc@ciphe.org.uk.

Nominations are required for the following positions: • • • •

President Vice president Independent trustee One voting member trustee

The independent trustee and the voting member trustee only will be members of the Board of Trustees, the composition of which is set out in Byelaw 23.

The initial terms of appointment for the president and vice president are one year, with four years for the independent trustee and voting member trustee.

Written nominations in the prescribed form must be submitted to the CIPHE company secretary no later than 31 January 2022 by a voting member, by a Branch or by the Board of Trustees. The nomination papers include the requirement to provide a short resume and a good quality photograph; a signed declaration from the nominee of his/her willingness to serve, if elected, and in respect of a trustee appointment an acknowledgement of awareness of, and acceptance to adhere to, the role and responsibilities of charitable trustees.

For a nomination form, as well as information about the roles and responsibilities of trustees, please apply to: CIPHE Company Secretary Chartered Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineering 64 Station Lane Hornchurch Essex RM12 6NB

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A N DY WAT T S M B E | O B I T UA RY

CIPHE REMEMBERS

ANDY WATTS MBE Former CIPHE CEO and liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Plumbers, Andy Watts MBE, has died ANDY WAT T S MBE EngTech MCIPHE RP was a respected ambassador for the plumbing and heating industry.

His career began with a plumbing apprenticeship in the family business, Watts Brothers. On completion of his technical training at Taunton Technical College he set out on the tools. In 1966, at the age of 21, he joined the Registered Plumbers Association (RPA) as a technical assistant. His career rapidly progressed, with his mentor, Jimmy Haig, teaching him the power of networking. A year after the RPA and the Institute of Plumbing (IoP) merged, Andy succeeded Jimmy as executive director of the IoP and led the institute for 35 years.

Andy was at the helm for many memorable occasions. Developments included the introduction of the Registered Plumbing Company (RPCo) designation in 1992, and in January 1995 the introduction of the Code of Professional Standards.

Through the late 80s and early 90s Andy drove the desire to improve standards and push for registration of plumbing professionals. His knack for politics was invaluable, leading to the Institute’s involvement in the 1981 Plumbing Adjournment Debate, the 1986 Department for Environment ‘Beat the cowboys’ working group and the formation in 1987 of the Parliamentary Plumbing Registration Group, to promote statutory registration.

“He worked tirelessly to promote standards in the public interest”

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In the 1990s the Institute was consulted on the new water byelaws and pushed for the introduction of a new regulatory framework. In July 1999 the new Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations were introduced (Byelaws in Scotland), with the Institute’s Approved Contractor Person (ACP) scheme given government recognition a year later in 2000.

Andy oversaw an era of collaboration in the industry. But it wasn’t all plain sailing – the Institute had to modernise.

Following the 1998 report, ‘Survive and Thrive’, the IoP went through a governance overhaul.

In 2000 the CIPHE was granted its coat of arms – linking the new Institute with a prestigious past. The IoP stepped forwards in 2002 with the introduction of the Women in Plumbing Group and publication of the updated Plumbing Engineering Services Design Guide. At the 2004 AGM members voted in favour of changing the IoP’s name to the Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineering (IPHE) to better reflect the membership. It was a monumental move, the efforts of which

Above: Andy Watts made running the Institute look easy Below: In 1994, Andy received an MBE for his services to the industry Bottom: In 2000, under his leadership, the CIPHE was granted its coat of arms

crowned an impressive career. Prior to his retirement from the IPHE, he was instrumental in starting the process and application for the Institute to be Incorporated by Royal Charter, subsequently bestowed in 2008.

End of an era

Many in the Institute and the industry viewed his upcoming retirement in 2006 with trepidation. That assured air of authority and boisterous laugh was sure to be missed at the CIPHE head office.

However, retirement suited him well, giving him time with his family and to pursue his interests. Andy was an avid radio ham, first licensed in 1982. He was also an accomplished drummer and even played for the Queen and Prince Philip on a visit to Hornchurch in 2003.

“I will be forever grateful to Andy for the support and encouragement he gave me and especially with my apprenticeship during my early years at the Institute,” says Kevin Wellman, CIPHE CEO. “He worked tirelessly to promote standards in the public interest and on the campaign to see registration for those involved in the plumbing and heating industry.”

Our thoughts and condolences go to his widow Marjorie, his children Helen and Simon, and all his family.

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MORE ONLINE

WELLBEING | PPE

Read all the latest news, updates, and member benefits www.pandhengineering.co.uk

Those working “on the tools” are well used to wearing PPE

Cover up Heating and plumbing engineers have a duty of care towards their clients, so it’s important they minimise any risks

P

ersonal protective equipment, or PPE as it is more commonly known, is an essential tool in any installer’s kit. From goggles and hard hats to protective gloves and knee pads, using PPE when carrying out a job is just a matter of best practice.

As the COVID-19 pandemic reached the UK, another element of PPE was introduced in the form of mandatory face coverings as a way for individuals to protect other people they come into contact with. This was something that some members of the general public rejected, but within the heating and plumbing industry facemasks played an important role in minimising transmission and making customers feel safe in their homes.

Saftey first “We have followed government protocol since the beginning of the outbreak to protect our customers, ourselves and our families,” says Mel

Gumbs, plumbing and heating engineer, and CIPHE President. “In addition to the face coverings, we also washed our hands regularly, used hand sanitiser as well as antiseptic wipes and sprays. It’s always better to be safe than sorry.”

Although face coverings are no longer a legal requirement in parts of the UK, government guidance says it “expects and recommends” the continued wearing of masks in crowded areas such as public transport.

There is a good argument for keeping covered when you look at other countries, such as China, particularly Hong Kong. According to Statista, as of 29 July, 2021, the number of confirmed

“The use of facemasks is a worthwhile preventative measure”

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deaths due to coronavirus in the UK amounted to 129,515, whereas Reuters COVID-19 Tracker shows Hong Kong’s reported coronavirus-related deaths totalling 212 as of 25 July, 2021. Even taking into account the size difference of the populations, Hong Kong’s death rates are significantly lower than that of the UK. A key difference is that facemasks have been used in Asia as a matter of course since the SARS outbreak in March 2003. It is seen as a civic duty to protect others and given their death statistics it is something that the UK should be mindful of.

“As a general recommendation, the use of facemasks is a worthwhile preventative measure for all sorts of viruses and minimises transmission to the vulnerable,” says Kevin Wellman, CEO of the CIPHE. “Facemasks are therefore something that heating and plumbing engineers should have in their armoury.”

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