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Holiday cottage owner fined £120,000 over gas safety breaches
Burghill Farms, a partnership trading as Dalhousie Estates, and Piers Le Cheminant have been fined after the occupant of a holiday cottage was found collapsed in a bathroom heated by a portable propane gas cabinet heater.
Forfar Sheriff Court heard that in 2015, the victim, Thomas Oliver Hill, was staying with his girlfriend and her family at Glenmark Cottage, Tarfside, near Edzell in North-east Scotland. They were renting the cottage from Mr Le Cheminant, who in turn rented the property from Burghill Farms. Mr Le Cheminant paid 20 per cent of his rental income to Burghill Farms.
On 28 October 2015, Mr Hill had taken a bath in the bathroom, which was heated by the gas heater. His girlfriend and her family became concerned when he did not appear after an hour. They knocked on the bathroom door and then forced entry when they didn’t receive a response. Mr Hill was found collapsed next to the bathroom door and died later. A postmortem found that the cause of death was carbon monoxide poisoning.
The HSE investigation found that Burghill Farms and Piers Le Cheminant did not have a suitable and sufficient system of maintenance in place for the cabinet heaters. These were placed in rooms that were too small for the size of heater to be used safely due to a lack of suitable ventilation. However, these failings could not be proven to be causally connected to the death of Mr Hill.
Burghill Farms of Brechin Castle, Brechin, Angus, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 36(2)(a) of the Gas Safety (Installation & Use) Regulations 1998 and Section 33(1)(c) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The company was fined £120,000.
Piers Le Cheminant, of Poundsgate, Newton Abbot, Devon, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 35 of the Gas Safety (Installation & Use) Regulations 1998, and Section 33(1)(c) the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. He was fined £2,000.
To report illegal gas work please call 0800 408 5577 or go to www.GasSafeRegister. co.uk/reportillegal
Stay ALIVE to the dangers of electrical working
Martindale has created a simplified version of its electrical safety guidance, using the memorable acronym ALIVE to help prevent injuries and save lives. Managing director Steve Dunning says: “In creating our ALIVE message, we are distinguishing between good working practice and shining a spotlight on the five vital steps that absolutely must be carried out for your own protection and to prevent loss of life.
www.martindale-electric.co.uk/5-steps-safe-isolation
ALIVE: 5 fail-proof steps to safe isolation
A L I V E
Approved kit. Before starting, make sure your equipment meets all legal safety standards (BS EN61243-3). Lock out. Identify the point of isolation, lock it off, and place warning tags on the equipment. Initial prove. Test your voltage indicator against the proving unit to make sure it’s working properly. Voltage test. Use your voltage indicator to confirm that there are no dangerous voltages in the circuit you are about to work on. Ensure. Prove and re-test the voltage indicator against the proving unit to ensure it is working before you start working on the circuit.
Fake fitter falsely claimed to be registered
An illegal gas fitter from Burnley has been given a 15-month community order for carrying out gas work while not being registered.
Preston Crown Court heard that Adam Kilbride falsely claimed to be Gas Safe registered when he worked at two properties in Burnley in December 2018 and January 2019. After complaints about installation defects, Gas Safe inspectors found that the work was At Risk as well as Not to Current Standards.
Adam Kilbride of Burnley pleaded guilty to breaches of Regulations 3(3), 26(1) and 3(7) of the Gas Safety (Installation & Use) Regulations 1998. He was sentenced to a 15-month community order and 100 hours of unpaid work. He was also ordered to pay £400 compensation to the homeowner plus costs of £6,000.
Landlord failed to comply with Improvement Notice
A landlord has been sentenced to a 12-month community order for failing to maintain the gas appliances at her rental property.
Colchester Magistrates’ Court heard that landlord Hannah Leek, from Loughborough, failed to have the gas appliances at her rental property in Tendring, Essex, regularly inspected and maintained and failed to provide a landlord’s gas safety record.
Ms Leek also failed to comply with an Improvement Notice issued by the HSE, which required her to take action to deal with these issues.
Hannah Leek of Wicklow Close, Shepshed, Loughborough, pleaded guilty to breaching the Gas Safety Installation & Use Regulations 1998, and Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. She was sentenced to a 12-month community order and 100 hours of unpaid work, and ordered to pay £3,292.05 costs plus a victim surcharge of £85.
New Vaillant customer centre showcases latest heating technologies
Vaillant has unveiled a new Customer Experience Centre in an official opening attended by Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury Helen Whately.
Based at the company’s UK headquarters in Belper, Derbyshire, the new Customer Experience Centre will support both Vaillant and sister brand Glow-worm, reinforcing the history of ongoing innovation right through to the latest advanced heat pump and hydrogen boiler technologies.
The opening follows the recent announcement of a £3 million investment to expand the Belper manufacturing facility to build aroTHERM plus heat pumps alongside its boilers. The move will make Vaillant one of the only UK heating appliance manufacturers to produce both high-efficiency gas boilers and heat pumps, as it seeks to meet the complex decarbonisation challenge with a multi-technology approach.
UK and Ireland managing director Klaus Jesse says: “As we all know, the heating sector remains on the cusp of, arguably, the biggest challenge since its inception as it looks towards the low-carbon economy. Inherently for us, innovation lies at the heart of this as we continue to bring new products and services to the domestic and infrastructure markets through both the Vaillant and Glow-worm brands – but we know from talking to customers it can be difficult to keep up.
“In this vein, the new centre has been designed to provide an immersive and interactive environment, where customers can see the breadth of our extensive products at first hand, get a feel for how they work and gain a deeper understanding as to how they might meet their customers’ needs both now, and in the future.”
At the opening of the Customer Experience Centre, Helen Whately said: “We have helped thousands of households and businesses transition to low-carbon heating through schemes like our Renewable Heat Incentive, and it is great to see companies like Vaillant investing in technology to support this.
Cutting the ribbon: (L-R) Vaillant technologies and training director Mark Wilkins, Helen Whately MP, and Vaillant MD Klaus Jesse
Become a Green Heating Hero with Worcester Bosch
Worcester Bosch’s Green Heating Heroes initiative gives gas engineers and their customers the tools to reduce their carbon footprint and live more sustainably.
A dedicated page on the Worcester Bosch website contains tips, FAQs and myth-busting information to reveal how we can all become carbon-reducing heroes. This new section has been designed to help engineers navigate their way through conversations with customers. Worcester’s aim is to help equip engineers with the right information to talk confidently about sustainability.
Members of Worcester’s Excelerate scheme, or those who want to join, can log in and get a free Green Hero Installer Pack, which includes a Green Heating Hero T-shirt and handy one-pagers to give to customers.
The Excelerate Portal also contains guidance on how engineers can use Worcester’s campaign alongside their own business.
Marketing director Victoria Billings says: “We are fully focused on warming people’s lives and securing a sustainable future. I encourage all engineers to be part of the campaign and become the face of green heating in their local communities.”
A TV advertising campaign in November also showed the manufacturer’s green technologies and how people can make sustainable changes in their own home.
www.worcester-bosch.co.uk/ future
HMRC reminder
HMRC is reminding gas engineers that if you are selfemployed, you are responsible for reporting your income to HMRC, via self-assessment. You must register by 5 October in the second tax year of your business – and you could be fined if you do not do so.
Failing to report income through self-assessment could lead to HMRC imposing interest charges and penalties.
You can find out more about registering for selfassessment at www.gov.uk/register-for-self-assessment
Free first-year service from Testo
You can get your first-year service free when you buy a Testo 300, Testo 327 or Testo 320B flue gas analyser – saving over £100. The Testo 300 provides: • Documentation on site and reports sent via e-mail • Intuitive menus and fast-response touch display • O2 and CO sensor up to 4,000ppm • Sensor slot for optional NO sensor.
The free first-year service offer applies to analysers bought before 31 December 2021 and registered on the company’s website. The offer also applies to the Testo 327 and 320B kits, for robust and simple entry into flue gas analysis for gas boilers.
www.testo.com/en-UK/service-promo
Make sure you’re stocked up with genuine spares this winter, says Baxi
As another busy heating season gets under way, Baxi is urging gas engineers to make sure they have enough supplies of genuine spares ahead of time so that they always have a quality part available when they need it.
Asif Ali, commercial manager for Baxi Genuine Parts, says: “To ensure no homes are left without vital heating and hot water during what is expected to be a particularly cold winter, it makes perfect sense to plan in advance and order supplies now. Any increased need for repair work could mean the availability of spares is pushed to the limit this year, particularly as some areas of the industry have been facing supply chain difficulties.
“While we haven’t yet experienced any issues with our own stock of genuine spares, global supply chain challenges impacting future trends can be difficult to predict. To ensure there are no delays in completing essential maintenance work, installers are therefore advised to start building up their own supply of more commonly needed parts now, to reduce time spent sourcing spares further on down the line.”
Baxi also emphasises the importance of choosing genuine spares. “A large proportion of breakdowns occur when a non-genuine part, which has not been rigorously tested to the same standards as ours, becomes defective,” says Asif.
“We would encourage heating engineers to check what they are buying, especially when ordering online. Even if items are said to be ‘compatible’, they are likely to be inferior to genuine parts that are produced by manufacturers. Fitting genuine spares instead of cheaper alternatives is arguably the best way to keep boilers and complete heating systems running efficiently when temperatures drop.”
www.baxi.co.uk/trade/ boilers-parts-andaccessories/parts
Viessmann set for full hydrogen infrastructure trials
The first practical deployment of Viessmann’s 100 per cent hydrogen boiler will take place in Germany. As part of the SmartQuart pilot project, a complete hydrogen infrastructure will be created, from the generation of renewable electricity for electrolysis, to the storage and distribution of the hydrogen created, and its use for heat and power in industry and transport.
The company’s hydrogen boiler prototypes are currently running on test beds in the research and development centre at the company’s headquarters in Allendorf before approval, endurance testing and deployment in heating systems.
The boiler is based on Viessmann’s Vitodens boiler, adapted to run on pure hydrogen.
“We have taken a huge step towards realising the goals of the Paris Agreement in the building sector,” says Markus Klausner, chief technology officer of Viessmann Climate Solutions SE.
Other condensing technology systems are also in development, including fuel cells and CHP units intended for use with hydrogen.
Rebrand for Ariston Group
Ariston Thermo Group has become Ariston Group. The name change reflects the company’s solid foundations, while strengthening its identity and remaining faithful to its heritage, it says.
It also emphasises the fundamental role and global reach of the group’s many brands.
Executive chairman Paolo Merlonim says: “We are proud to introduce this change that, while small, is also a big step – both in terms of reaffirming our origins and reiterating how much these origins are now the common heritage of a group and its people.”
Prolonged exposure to low-level carbon monoxide increasingly impairs cognitive ability in older adults, a new study has found.
A three-year project, led by Beth Cheshire as part of her PhD at Lancaster University, sought to investigate the effects of CO on older people and found that the negative effect of ageing on cognition was worsened by greater overall exposure.
Beth says: “The results provide preliminary evidence of the neuropsychological effects of chronic low-level CO exposure in older adults.”
Older adults are more vulnerable to CO exposure because of a combination of factors, from increased susceptibility to pre-existing disease, and they’re also likely to spend more time at home, further increasing the risk.
Adrian McConnell, head of Charitable Operations at the CO Research Trust, which funded the project, says: “Determining the levels at which low-level chronic exposures become harmful would be invaluable in informing policy, guidelines and safety technology in order to keep those most vulnerable safe.
Spirotech adds EDER to business
Spirotech is acquiring Austrian family business EDER for its technology, knowledge and experience in the field of pressurisation in HVAC installations. The two family businesses have been working together for more than a decade.
Pressurisation in installations is essential for controlling the quality of the system water and for optimising performance and lifespan, says the company.
Spirotech chief operating officer Hans Jacobs says: “Combining the knowledge and experience of Spirotech and EDER with innovation and the delivery of quality products and services enables us to provide future-proof solutions better and faster.”
WiFi Inside
20% Hydrogen Ready
Bags full of fun at Installer Stock
Take an amusement park full of sheep, a bank holiday weekend, a man who’s determined to put the smile back on people’s faces, and what have you got? A family festival that’s going from strength to strength.
More than 150 gas engineers and their families flocked to The Big Sheep amusement park over the August Bank Holiday for the Installer Stock festival. And they hardly talked about work at all, according to organiser Neil Bunning – they were too busy listening to music and enjoying the atmosphere in North Devon.
For many, it was their second time at the festival, says Neil, who is managing director of IMI Hydronic. The idea had come to him in 2020 at the height of the Covid pandemic. Many gas engineers had lost income and been talking about how they were struggling during the lockdowns, both financially and with their mental health. Neil wanted to try to create something that they could look forward to.
“My idea wasn’t originally about a festival, it was about whether we could get people together for two days and put some money into the local economy,” he says.
He got in touch with The Big Sheep, which had created a Covid-safe outdoor arena and was working with local arts venue the Palladium to put on gigs – and between them Installer Stock was born.
The outdoor arena can accommodate up to 700 people at a social distance, and this year gas engineers and their families made up around one-quarter of attendees at the weekend, which was headlined by ska and reggae band the Dualers.
“Manufacturer events are normally very male-dominated,” says Neil, “but I’ve got a young family and I wondered if families would get together – and they did.
The ticket price of £140 for a family of four covered the whole weekend’s events, including entrance to all The Big Sheep’s attractions. The festival was non-profit-making and, as an added bonus, IMI gave gas engineers special ‘ewe-ros’ on-site vouchers to spend on food and drinks.
There’s good news for next year too, as Neil is working on plans to make Installer Stock even more ‘ram-tastic’ in 2022. n
AHEAD OF THE EXPECTED
The shift to low carbon heating systems is closer than you think. There is no time like the present to start readying your business for the change.
Discover how LG’s innovative Therma V, air-to-water, all-in-one, Monobloc Heat Pump can help you be prepared.
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