Kentec Authorised Distributor Scheme welcomes Fortus

Kentec Electronics, a leading manufacturer of life-critical control systems, has welcomed Fortus Group Holdings (‘Fortus’) to its Kentec Authorised Distributor (KAD) scheme, providing the fire and security distributor with dedicated product training and support, enhancing its ability to provide comprehensive solutions to installers.

The KAD scheme is a global network of specialists, experts and trained fire alarm distribution companies, that are recognised for their high levels of Kentec product knowledge and provide a full range of Kentec systems to suit all applications and building types.

This exclusive network of distributors has been carefully selected to ensure installers and end-users receive expertly specified goods, and by holding stock locally ensures fast delivery and supply of products.

Fortus recently doubled its size following the simultaneous acquisition of Enterprise Security Distributor, a leading UK based distributor, and RE:SURE Intelligence, a remote CCTV monitoring specialist, providing the business with an even wider range of expertise.

Sammy Steel, Head of UK Sales at Kentec, says with such a significant footprint across the UK and Ireland, Fortus is a business that is looking to grow: “Our goal is to make our distributors and installers’ lives easier through supporting their sales cycle, and the training and support delivered through the scheme achieves just that. We feel they are an important new addition to the scheme.”

 

Mark Massie, Managing Director UK at Fortus, says becoming a KAD is further evidence of the business’ commitment to its customers: “Our KAD status shows our customers that we have the product knowledge and expertise to work with the most sophisticated Kentec systems, and that we value furthering professionalism in the industry through increased training.”

Fortus is the largest privately owned B2B security supply chain company in the UK and Ireland, specialising in CCTV, intruder alarms and fire systems. Its expertise covers tailored solutions, project management and support for installation business of all sizes.

www.kentec.co.uk

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HEAT PUMP TECHNOLOGY A COST EFFECTIVE SOLUTION

In line with the publication of the Government’s net zero strategy today, the Future Homes Standard, which aims to reduce the carbon footprint of residential homes by 80%, will come into effect in 2025. The legislation aims to ensure that new homes in England are futureproofed with low-carbon heating systems and high levels of energy efficiency, including heat pumps replacing gas-powered boilers.

Mike Leonard, Visiting Professor in Manufacturing and Construction at Birmingham City University, said, “The retrofitting of 26 million homes to meet our climate change obligations presents a massive challenge and opportunity for the UK economy.

“It is of critical importance that we place home occupiers at the heart of the journey and ensure we invest in training and UK manufacturing to ensure we have the capacity to produce the products and the skills we need to complete this huge task.

“We should also adopt a fabric first approach to ensure increased insulation is matched by a ventilation strategy to maintain good air quality.”

 

Dr Tony Hopkin, Head of Construction and Quality at housing association Midland Heart, and visiting lecturer in construction innovation, says “the UK housebuilding industry is exploring low-carbon forms of heating and hot water to reduce carbon emissions”.
“Few would argue against the need to reduce carbon emissions. In the UK housebuilding industry we find ourselves exploring low-carbon forms of heating and hot water as one method of achieving this. On our ‘Project 80’ development in Birmingham, of which Birmingham City University is a partner, we are on-course to reduce the operational CO2 emissions of our homes by 80% (compared to current regulations) by utilising heat pump technology.

“Used in the correct setting, air-source heat pumps can be a cost-effective solution to providing low-carbon heating and hot water for new homes. With the efficiency of air-source heat pumps being so high, they can also help bring the running costs down for our residents. This is why we are working with leading manufacturers Baxi, GlenDimplex, and Vaillant to install heat pumps on our ‘Project 80’ development, which is developing homes to the forthcoming Future Homes Standard – achieving an 80% CO2 emission reduction compared to current energy efficiency requirements.

“When the building fabric performs well, heating loads are significantly reduced. When used in conjunction with superior building fabric, direct electric heating is a real option to heating homes, whilst keeping CO2 emissions low. On our ‘Project 80’ development we are doing just that – we are working with GlenDimplex to incorporate direct electric heating to meet the space-heating requirements for selected houses, with the hot water provision coming from hot-water heat pumps.”

 

Lyle Bignon

Senior External Relations Officer

Birmingham City University

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DISCOURAGING DEMOLITION ESSENTIAL TO AID CLIMATE GOALS

More must be done to retain public building asset health if ‘demolition’ is discouraged as part of climate goals – says Screening Eagle

 

A major focus and sustained investment in structural inspection is ‘essential’ if we are to expect ‘longer life-spans’ from our buildings and structures to mitigate the pace of climate change, says global leaders in inspection technology, Screening Eagle. 

A recent call from leading engineers in a report from The Royal Academy of Engineering demands that Governments ‘end the unnecessary demolition of buildings’ – as the construction of new buildings results in significant CO2 emissions.

Screening Eagle, which is headquartered in Switzerland, is urging new thinking within the built environment sector around the long-term asset value of buildings and structural assets – such as bridges, tunnels and roads.

 

Extending building life-span

 As the embodied carbon associated with new building’s accounts for 30-40% of a building’s life cycle carbon, it is clear that if demolition is to be discouraged by the UK Government (other climate conscious global governments are expected to follow this approach), then more must be done to preserve the life of existing buildings.

If buildings need to last longer, then Screening Eagle, which specialises in digital visual inspection workflows, says asset owners must have greater confidence in the structural integrity of their building assets.

 

Screening Eagle’s CEO and co-founder Marcel Poser says he is very supportive of this idea, but, warns asset owners not to underestimate the need for greater awareness of the structural health of buildings.  “Many structures are decaying at unprecedented rates; many have been poorly constructed or poorly maintained over the years, and become inefficient,” he said. “Structures are crumbling and that means not only unprofitable assets, but also massive inefficiencies and safety risks.”

 

Mr Poser believes a more responsive approach to fault-finding has to be found. “If we can find a way to keep buildings for longer – then we are making a valuable contribution to slowing down the pace of climate change. We must shift from sporadic analogue snagging every few years towards technology-driven preventative methods. As well as making buildings and structures – such as roads, bridges and tunnels – safer and more efficient, this approach can also “flatten the curves” of assets’ lifetime degradation,” he says.

 

Digitised workflows

Pursuing this philosophy has already led to several landmark products from Screening Eagle. For instance, its Inspect software makes it possible to have all visual inspection workflows digitalised in one tool. It also avoids the pitfalls of fragmented data by moving everything to a single ‘source of truth’ data platform and places all defects-related data on 2D/3D views or on maps. The latest AI technology is used to analyse all defects during an inspection, whilst a collaborative emphasis makes it possible to bring in siloed individuals and external teams in a seamless way.

The result is that any asset owners or operators using Inspect – or another related product such as automated photo documentation software Capture – have the chance to make more deeply informed decisions about maintenance.

“This kind of technology not only does makes it easier to protect the long-term value of an asset, it also means that the entire decision-making process can be streamlined and accelerated,” says Marcel Poser.

 

Webinar

Screening Eagle is holding a series of webinars on seamless digital inspection workflows; CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

 

 

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‘Photovoltaics can change the earth’s ecology’

With the challenges of climate change and biodiversity loss growing, the realization of global sustainable development has reached a crossroads. As the only solar energy company invited to attend the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP15), LONGi firmly believes that photovoltaics can change the earth’s ecology and contribute to biodiversity protection.

“Climate change has an all-round impact on biodiversity, and unreasonable energy development modes represent a key factor leading to climate change and increasing biodiversity issues,” said Li, going on to add that LONGi is a staunch supporter of climate action, in the belief that photovoltaics plus energy storage can be a powerful weapon to mitigate climate change. The company has taken the lead in promoting the reduction in cost and increase in efficiency of photovoltaic products, reducing the cost of photovoltaic power generation by more than 90% over the past decade, providing technical support for the achievement of carbon peak and neutrality goals.

LONGi launched its “Solar for Solar” concept in December 2018, based on manufacturing photovoltaic products driven by photovoltaic power generation, with the objective of extending the role of PV in ecological restoration. The concept had originated in Yunnan Province, where LONGi was the first PV company to establish a base, going on to play a leading role in the development of the province’s new energy industry.

In 2020, LONGi successively joined RE100, EV100, EP100 and Scientific Carbon Target (SBTi), becoming the only Chinese solar technology company to join four international initiatives at the same time. The company’s Baoshan production base, in effect the first “Net-zero Plant”, was also a concrete implementation of the four initiatives, and can be viewed as the starting point for “Net-zero LONGi”.

Yunnan is the province with the most abundant green energy in China. Installed capacity  accounts for 85%, with power generation from green energy reaching 90%, laying a very solid foundation for building a net-zero plant.

“We are planning on two years to achieve zero emissions within the operational scope of the LONGi Baoshan base by purchasing green power, energy-saving technological transformation and carbon emission offset measures.” Li divided the realization of the “Net- zero Plant” into four steps: Firstly, ensuring that 100% of the Baoshan base utilises green power throughout the year; secondly, completing the production technology transformation of the base’s carbon deposition materials to significantly reduce natural gas leakage; thirdly, promoting green production in the base and, finally, purchasing Chinese Certified Emission Reduction (CCER) to offset carbon emissions that cannot be completely eliminated.

 

Li concluded: “LONGi will always be a defender of and contributor to ecological harmony, sparing no effort to achieve net-zero targets, promote global energy transformation and join hands with partners from all walks of life to jointly realize this vision.”

SOURCE LONGi Solar

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Wind Power Needs Political Will Power

Rebecca Williams, Director of COP26 at GWEC, commented: “We already have the tools and the technology we need to tackle climate change. What we don’t have yet is the unprecedented political will we need to make this happen.

 

The wind energy sector has released a manifesto at the BNEF London summit calling on governments to “get serious” about the energy transition and work with the private sector to rapidly scale up wind and renewable energy installations.

Wind energy is one of the fastest growing energy sources in the world, with a record 93GW of installations in 2020. However, current growth rates are falling behind a net zero trajectory and will only put us on-track for 43% of the wind capacity required by 2050, according to leading international energy institutions IRENA and the IEA. To get on-track, annual wind energy installations worldwide must quadruple within the next decade.

More than 90 of the world’s leading wind energy companies, led by the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), including manufacturers, supply chain actors, investors and industry bodies from around the world have united to support this Manifesto. The eight actions being called for include:

  1. Increase wind power ambition and reflect this in updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), comprehensive national climate strategies and long-term energy plans.
  2. Commit to rapid phase out of coal-based generation now.
  3. Design and implement energy markets for the future.
  4. Implement streamlined and sensible permitting schemes for renewable energy projects to accelerate deployment and minimise project attrition.
  5. Initiate plans to rapidly build out clean energy grids and charging stations for electric vehicles.
  6. Develop cohesive and inclusive policies which dedicate public resource to the people-centred shift to a net zero economy.
  7. Align national and regional finance flows with benchmarks for a net zero, 1.5°C-compliant pathway.
  8. Advance voluntary cooperation on carbon pricing under articles 6.2 and 6.4 of the Paris agreement.

The renewables industry is already delivering decarbonisation of the global power sector. Wind power helps the world avoid 1.1 billion tonnes of CO2 emissions annually and already provides more than 1.2 millions jobs around the world, while transforming economies and communities for good.

But the industry requires supportive policy frameworks to grow more rapidly. The Manifesto urges governments to work with industry to enact a shift in energy and economic policymaking to a “climate emergency” approach.

Ben Backwell, GWEC CEO, commented: “Governments must respond decisively to the current climate emergency to ensure a viable future for current and future generations. Achieving a rapid transition from fossil fuels is a key part of the solution.

“This Manifesto sets out the meaningful actions that governments need to carry out to realise the energy transition. Governments need to aim higher and deeper – updating their NDCs to drive real change, cutting red tape and streamline permitting proceedures, and supporting vital investments in infrastructure. The recent volatility in global energy markets shows the importance of moving decisively to phase out of coal and other fossil fuel based generation and create energy markets which are fit for purpose for a clean and sustainable future.”

Rebecca Williams, Director of COP26 at GWEC, commented: “We already have the tools and the technology we need to tackle climate change. What we don’t have yet is the unprecedented political will we need to make this happen.

“Our Manifesto sets out eight clear actions policymakers and governments must take to seize the vast economic, environmental and social opportunities that wind energy provides, helping meet NDCs and achieve sustainable growth. World leaders gathering in Glasgow next month have a chance to get serious about driving the new era of renewable energy, not stifling it.”

About GWEC

GWEC is a member-based organization that represents the entire wind energy sector. The members of GWEC represent over 1,500 companies, organizations and institutions in more than 80 countries, including manufacturers, developers, component suppliers, research institutes, national wind and renewables associations, electricity providers, finance and insurance companies.

More: https://gwec.net/.

 

 

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PLAYING A BIG PART IN REDUCING CARBON EMISSIONS

West Fraser – the fewer carbon emissions a building or building product creates, the better it is for the planet

West Fraser (formerly known as Norbord), the UK’s no.1 producer of engineered wood panels, is committed to playing a big part in reducing carbon emissions in all its manufacturing processes.

Being carbon neutral just wasn’t enough for the company; carbon negative was the goal. Today, West Fraser has been independently audited and verified so that all the portfolios of engineered wood panels have been certified as being net carbon negative.  This means that the company locks up more CO2 in the boards than it emits making them.

“We are committed to helping UK construction drive down carbon emissions; while also helping our customers comply with net zero targets” explains Andrew Francis, Sales Director, West Fraser.

West Fraser is a diversified wood products company with more than 60 facilities in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom and Europe.  From responsibly sourced and sustainably managed forest resources, West Fraser produces lumber, engineered wood (OSB, LVL, MDF, plywood, particleboard), and other products including pulp, newsprint, wood chips and renewable energy.  West Fraser’s products are used in construction, repair and remodelling, industrial applications, papers, tissue and box materials.

West Fraser’s product range now holds a net carbon negative status, locking up more CO2 than it emits. Leading the way in tackling the issue of climate change, the company’s four European sites and three product ranges sequester a total of 1.1 million tonnes of carbon annually.

 

For further information call 01786 812 921 or visit Uk.westfraser.com

 

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MTX celebrates the expansion of Hillingdon Hospital

Following the Government’s drive to develop UK hospitals, MMC healthcare specialist, MTX, is celebrating the completion of its latest project at Hillingdon Hospital.

The plans to create a three storey, 2,400m2 solution at Hillingdon Hospital allowed for 70 new bed spaces across three wards, four private rooms, a nurse base, offices, interview room and clinical stores to be created at Hillingdon Hospital. The new facility provides a direct link to the adjacent two storey Nightingale Centre, that houses the Endoscopy Department, and the Acute Medical Unit.

The project was delivered using MTX’s fast-track construction methods. The modular build reduced build time by 50 per-cent and wastage by up to 60 per-cent, whilst still delivering high quality standards. This strategy has become increasingly popular within the healthcare sector, particularly given the growing demands placed on the NHS over the last year.

David Hartley, Managing Director at MTX, said: “We’re pleased to have completed our project with the team at Hillingdon Hospital. Utilising Modern Methods of Construction, the hospital has been able to reap the advantages of its extension much quicker and with less disruption to healthcare services than with onsite traditional building methods. Seeing the projects come to life and hearing the incredible feedback from the end users, makes the hard work of the whole team so worthwhile.”

A spokesperson for The Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: “Through excellent planning and programme management, MTX has ensured we were able to make use of the new ward block with 70 additional beds within a well organised and respectable timescale, despite Covid-19 compliance conditions. They made the process incredibly easy, and the delivery was exactly what was promised.”

For more information about MTX Contracts, visit: www.mtx.co.uk.

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THE DIGITAL APPROACH TO FIRE DRILLS

Ensuring efficient emergency evacuations in education

Fire drills are a vital part of fire safety. Procedures must be put in place and meticulously followed, in order to keep everyone safe in the event of an emergency. Most people have experienced the familiar fire drill in education environments, which typically interrupts the school day at least once a term, herding students out of the nearest fire exit and towards the designated meeting point in an orderly fashion. Amidst the organised chaos, fire marshals are eager to know – is everyone safe and accounted for, in record time?

Considered an inconvenience and an unwelcome interruption by many, alarm testing and evacuation practices can often be met with reluctant sighs, with many students and staff members dreading the thought of standing outside in all weathers, waiting for lengthy manual counting procedures to be completed. In today’s digitally advanced world, technology must hold the key to a better, modernised approach, providing peace of mind that everyone has been accounted for in a more timely and efficient manner.

Logistical challenges 

Whether it’s a practice run or a real life emergency, evacuation roll calls should be an orderly and well organised operation. However, if met with widespread apathy, fire marshals may struggle to ensure compliance. Hesitation and confusion surrounding the process can also cause significant delays if an effective registration system for staff and visitors is not in place, with no dependable structure implemented to ascertain exactly who needs to be accounted for.

Schools and institutions with a large cohort of students across age groups, a long list of staff members and visitors that change on a daily, or even hourly basis can be faced with various logistical challenges that make efficient roll calls exceptionally difficult to carry out in the absence of automation. The risk of miscounting, missing a visitor or simply taking too long to evacuate the building ultimately risks a potential disaster that could have otherwise been avoided.

An efficient and reliable student, staff and visitor management system is crucial in order to avoid inevitable human errors and mitigate disastrous consequences that put lives at risk. With a responsibility to protect the lives of everyone on site, it is vital that institutions implement an updated strategy, saving time and significantly reducing the margin for error in the event of an actual emergency.

Streamlined solutions   

Even with huge advances in the technology available to schools, businesses and organisations to assist them in streamlining their evacuation processes, the notoriously unreliable method of physical sign-in books remains popular in both workplaces and education. This method is undisputedly risky and often inaccurate, so how can fire marshals locate the necessary numbers and confidently account for everyone in a panic?

After research reported by the Fire Protection Association revealed that 66% of schools in England lacked adequate fixed fire protection measures, efficient emergency evacuations in education are more important than ever, with the fire brigade called to 2,300 school fires in England between April 2015 and April 2020. Statistics revealing the alarming regularity of fire related emergencies within schools alone should urge all institutions to evaluate their existing procedures and introduce new and improved systems that do not unnecessarily rely on human memory or pen and paper.

Ensuring safety 

In a digitally advanced society, there is no need to depend on the unreliable pen and paper sign-in books to keep everyone safe in the event of an emergency. The implementation of digital solutions, such as an app available to all nominated individuals, can provide an instant, real-time account of all personnel on site at any given time as integration with an existing Management Information System (MIS) can also be enabled. Immediate access to such information, including registration data from an MIS, ultimately enables the fire marshals to instantaneously view a full list that details every student, staff member and visitor via a mobile device, with no need to locate and collect physical records from another location.

Fire drills are a vital part of safety in all schools, universities and colleges, and staff members have a duty of care that means safety must be prioritised over convenience. However, this responsibility does not need to be viewed at a waste of time or an unimportant interruption. With smart, affordable and dependable technology, streamlined solutions can be put in place to ensure that everyone can be easily accounted for, which in turn speeds up the process of the undeniably essential fire drill and ensures that everyone is as safe as possible in the event of a real-life emergency.

Dan Harding, CEO, Sign In App 

 

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Gas Storage Project Gets Green Light Amidst Energy Crisis

A gas storage project, located off the coast of Northern Ireland, has been awarded a Marine Construction Licence, giving it the green light to proceed towards construction.

Islandmagee Energy’s gas storage project will initially unlock seven much needed gas storage caverns. Once constructed and fully operational, these gas caverns will hold around 500 million cubic metres of natural gas and provide security of supply during peak demand for up to 14 days for Northern Ireland.

The UK has one of Europe’s lowest gas storage capacities at just 1% of its annual demand in storage, leaving the UK much less resilient to supply issues than other European countries which hold as much as 20-30% of annual demand in storage. Once fully developed, the Islandmagee gas storage project will hold over 25% of the UK’s storage capacity.

John Wood, Group CEO of Islandmagee Energy’s parent company, Harland & Wolff, comments:

“This is good news for consumers and businesses in the UK who are currently experiencing distressing hikes in energy prices and fears of potential blackouts as gas and power grids face peak demand stresses during the winter months.

“With the current energy supply crisis, everyone now understands just how important gas storage is to secure supply and protect against extreme volatility in gas and power prices in the UK.

“We are delighted with this major step forward in the project’s journey, paving the way for the construction of our facilities. We look forward to playing a greater role within the energy sector and in securing a safer future for all.”

Islandmagee Energy also has longer term ambitions to store hydrogen.

John Wood further explains:

“Large-scale hydrogen storage will enable the UK to make the most of excess renewable energy as it transitions to net zero.

“The existing power grid cannot always accept all of the electricity generated from wind farms during periods of surplus wind power generation. It is during these frequently occurring periods that wind farms are temporarily scaled back as there is no way to store the excess electricity produced. Production of large-scale hydrogen and its storage is the long-term solution to this.

“Excess wind generated power can be used to produce green hydrogen which can then be stored in salt caverns for future use during peak demand periods.”

In addition to enhancing the security and flexibility of the UK’s energy supplies and supporting the transition to a net zero, the Islandmagee gas storage project will create long-term and high value employment and support investment into Northern Ireland.

During construction, 400 direct jobs will be created, as well as between 800 and 1,200 indirect jobs, expected to bring around £7 million into the local economy annually. It has also been estimated that during this stage that for every £1 million of capital expenditure, a further £2 million will be created in the economy per year; this means with 75% local content, the wider economy could benefit by around £400 million.

During operations, a further 60 direct jobs may be created, expected to bring in around £1 million into the local economy per year and between 120 and 180 indirect which would bring in a further £2-3 million every year.

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British Gas prepares for heat pump growth

British Gas has become the latest organisation to sign up to the UK’s main F-Gas register REFCOM as it seeks to keep pace with growing demand for heat pump installations.

The energy giant’s social housing subsidiary PH Jones maintains more than 195,000 homes across the UK. It supports 23 social housing providers, has carried out almost half a million service calls and installs more than 11,000 heating systems and 850 renewable projects annually.

A growing number of these installations now involve renewable systems with noticeable growth in heat pumps. It is actively recruiting to increase its team of skilled engineers and grow installation work backed up by ongoing expert service and maintenance.

With the social housing sector moving more quickly towards low and zero carbon targets than other parts of the residential market, British Gas said upskilling the PH Jones workforce was a priority.

“The industry is clearly suffering from an acute skills shortage, and it is crucial that large employers like us step up to address it,” said PH Jones director Matt Isherwood. “As well as bringing new engineers into the sector, we also need to upskill our existing workforce, particularly those already involved in boiler installations and other ‘traditional’ heating projects.

“They will be crucial to delivering high performing heat pump systems in line with the government’s ambitions, but the technology does require specialist skills. We recognise the importance of making sure everyone working for us is properly trained, accredited, and able to comply with legislation.

Credentials
“That is why we were very keen to become REFCOM members as it is the best way to demonstrate our credentials and support higher standards across the sector,” he added.

The government has set the industry the challenge of installing 600,000 heat pumps a year by 2028 – an almost ten-fold increase on current rates – and the Climate Change Committee believes 19 million will have to be installed to meet the country’s net zero carbon emissions target by 2050.

PH Jones already has 11 F-gas qualified engineers and a larger team specialising in its renewables work. The agreement it has signed with REFCOM will allow it to eventually register many more certified operatives in line with its plans to expand its workforce.

Founded in 1963, it now employs around 600 staff. Its social housing and facilities management business was acquired by British Gas in 2011. It received a ROSPA gold medal in 2019 following five successive years of receiving the prestigious health & safety initiative’s gold award.

REFCOM is celebrating 25 years of helping refrigeration and air conditioning companies demonstrate their business and technical credentials and promoting higher professional standards of refrigerant management. Originally set up as a voluntary scheme in 1996 by a group of contractors who wanted to demonstrate their commitment to high professional standards and responsible refrigerant handling, it became the mandatory register for compliance with the European F-Gas regulation in 2009.

It recently recorded its 7,000th company membership, which represents an estimated 90% of the total number of firms operating in the refrigeration and air conditioning sectors.

The UK continues to ‘mirror’ the F-Gas Regulation despite its departure from the EU, which means that all personnel carrying out installation, commissioning, decommissioning, repairing, maintenance, or servicing of stationary refrigeration, air-conditioning or heat pump equipment that contains or is designed to contain F-Gas refrigerants must hold the relevant designated qualifications.

www.phjones.co.uk/www.refcom.org.uk

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