Archive for category: General News

You are here: / / General News

RINNAI CONTINUES TO expand PRODUCTS FOR HEATING AND WATER HEATING IN ALL FUELS – GAS, ELECTRIC and renewables

,

COMING SOON

INSTANTANEOUS ELECTRIC WATER HEATERS

IN 21, 24 & 27kW

CLICK HERE

 

 Rinnai’s new range of instantaneous electric water heaters are suited to all commercial and domestic applications that require decarbonising technology capable of delivering domestic hot water needs.

Rinnai’s innovative approach to producing decarbonising technology has resulted in a DHW electric water heater that has been designed to offer direct heating capability. The technologically advanced bare wiring technology rests in the water enabling the system to achieve the pre-set water temperature quickly and accurately. The electric on demand water heaters are lightweight (less than 4kg) and diminutive (450 x 235 x 94). Rinnai is continuing to provide UK customers with an array of products that cover a range of energies.

For a brochure on the Rinnai range of electric

on demand water heaters and low carbon technologies

CLICK HERE TO REQUEST A BROCHURE AND RECEIVE A GOODY BAG

 

The KW rating within the Rinnai instantaneous electric water heater range is scalable from 21kw, 24kw and 27kw ensuring suitability for a wide variety of applications. A compact design allows easy installation and is proven to increase energy efficiency and therefore reducing operational costs.  Ease of installation and handling are a major feature.

Rinnai’s instantaneous on demand electric water heater range can maintain an adjustable temperature range from between 20 and 60 degrees Celsius and that can be digitally increased in 0.5 degrees increments. All units can also accept preheated water.

 

 

 

Other features that the Rinnai instantaneous electric water heaters include:

  • overheat protection

  • multi-functionable display

  • full electric control

  • rapid heat up capability

  • quick reaction to sudden shifts in grid capacity output.

  • solar compatible.

All models have LCD screens that provide visual information on current water temperature, operational performance and Eco Mode – which supplies confirmation of the appliance operating economically and therefore reducing unnecessary energy wastage and costs.

Rinnai’s instantaneous electric water heater has a renewable system operation setting that recognises incoming water temperatures more than 30 degrees Celsius, then applies only the correct amount of energy to achieve the required temperature uplift making them an ideal solution to use in conjunction with solar thermal and renewable systems.

The product is timed to coincide with UK plans to reduce electrical costs to be the lowest in Europe by 2035. UK energy strategists believe that clean and sustainable electrification is presently the safest way to ensure lower customer costs and carbon emissions.

Rinnai has anticipated this announcement and has accordingly adapted its product offering of low carbon commercial and domestic products to include technologies that support electrification.

This launch follows an ambitious and innovative programme of launching several new products within its H1 – Hydrogen and DME ready water heaters, H2 – Hybrid systems and H3 – Low-GWP heat pumps product categories. These new products will all ensure the company offers a comprehensive range of appliances and systems for heating and hot water suited to both commercial and residential applications.

The programme commenced with the launch of the new low-GWP air source heat pumps with R290 refrigerant. There will also be a new and innovative range of electric cylinders of multiple sizes. Also there will be the introduction of the KCM and E Series of condensing gas-fired water heaters for light commercial and residential applications.

Later in the first quarter of the year will see the launch of plate heat exchangers for larger commercial and industrial sites.

Rinnai is determined to provide UK customers with cost effective low carbon solutions

towards commercial hot water and building heating provision

CLICK HERE FOR THE INSTANT ELECTRIC WATER HEATER

 

 

 

RINNAI’S H3 DECARBONISATION OFFERS PATHWAYS & CUSTOMER COST REDUCTIONS

FOR COMMERCIAL, DOMESTIC AND OFF-GRID HEATING & HOT WATER DELIVERY

www.rinnai-uk.co.uk/about us/H3

Rinnai’s H3 range of decarbonising products include hydrogen / BioLPG ready technology, hybrid systems, and a wide range of LOW GWP heat pumps and solar thermal. Also, within Rinnai’s H3 range is Infinity hydrogen blend ready and BioLPG ready continuous flow water heaters which are stacked with a multitude of features that ensure long life, robust & durable use, customer satisfaction and product efficiency.

Rinnai’s range of decarbonising products – H1/H2/H3 – consists of heat pump, solar, hydrogen in any configuration, hybrid formats for either residential or commercial applications. Rinnai’s H3 range of products offer contractors, consultants and end users a range of efficient, robust and affordable decarbonising appliances which create practical, economic and technically feasible solutions. The range covers all forms of fuels and appliances currently available – electric, gas, hydrogen, BioLPG, DME solar thermal, low GWP heat pumps and electric water heaters.

Rinnai H1 continuous water heaters and boilers offer practical and economic decarbonization delivered through technological innovation in hydrogen and renewable liquid gas ready technology.

Rinnai’s H1 option is centred on hydrogen, as it is anticipated that clean hydrogen fuels will become internationally energy market-relevant in the future; Rinnai water heaters are hydrogen 20% blends ready and include the world’s first 100% hydrogen-ready hot water heating technology.

Rinnai H2 – Decarbonization simplified with renewable gas-ready units, Solar Thermal and Heat Pump Hybrids. Rinnai H2 is designed to introduce a practical and low-cost option which may suit specific sites and enable multiple decarbonisation pathways with the addition of high performance.

Rinnai H3 – Low-GWP heat pump technology made easy – Rinnai heat pumps are available for domestic and commercial usage with an extensive range of 4 – 115kW appliances.

Rinnai’s H3 heat pumps utilise R32 refrigerant and have favourable COP and SCOP.

Rinnai is a world leading manufacturer of hot water heaters and produces over two million units a year, operating on each of the five continents. The brand has gained an established reputation for producing products that offer high performance, cost efficiency and extended working lives.

Rinnai’s commercial and domestic continuous flow water heaters offer a limitless supply of instantaneous temperature controlled hot water and all units are designed to align with present and future energy sources. Rinnai condensing water heaters accept either existing fuel or hydrogen gas blends. Rinnai units are also suited for off-grid customers who require LPG and BioLPG or DME.

Rinnai products are UKCA certified, A-rated water efficiency, accessed through multiple fuel options and are available for purchase 24/7, 365 days a year. Any unit can be delivered to any UK site within 24 hours. Rinnai offer carbon and cost comparison services that will calculate financial and carbon savings made when investing in a Rinnai system. Rinnai also provide a system design service that will suggest an appropriate system for the property in question. Rinnai offer comprehensive training courses and technical support in all aspects of the water heating industry including detailed CPD’s. More information can be found on Rinnai’s website and its “Help Me Choose” webpage.

Visit www.rinnai-uk.co.uk

for more information on the RINNAI product range

Or email engineer@rinaiuk.com 

 

/0 Comments/by

West Fraser celebrates community wellbeing with £13,000 donation to local groups

The team at West Fraser’s plant in Cowie, Scotland has donated a total of £13,000 to four local community groups which provide vital care and wellbeing support.

Staff at the site handed out this beneficial funding to the groups and charities, which included Strathcarron Hospice and Maggie’s Cancer Centre, Forth Valley Sick Kids Hospital and the Start Up Stirling foodbank.

David Connacher, marketing manager at West Fraser Europe, said:

“As a major employer to the local area, West Fraser recognises the importance of supporting the local community and the businesses making a huge positive difference within them, in line with our own dedicated commitment to safety and staff wellbeing at West Fraser.

“Not only do we look out for each other on site but staff also wanted to extend this culture to the surrounding local area by supporting these fantastic charities within the community. We are thankful and proud to support these charities in the vital role they play in helping others.”

For further information CLICK HERE of call 01786 812 921

/0 Comments/by

‘Levelling Up’ Astonishing Delays

MPs identify ‘astonishing delays’ in delivery of levelling up projects

The cross-party Public Accounts Committee said no ‘compelling evidence’ has been provided on what has been achieved so far.

“Astonishing delays” have been identified in the delivery of levelling up projects across the country and the Government is unable to provide compelling evidence of what has been achieved, MPs have said.

In a damning report on the progress of key elements of the Government’s flagship pledge to address regional inequalities, the Public Accounts Committee said just over 10% of overall funding available has been spent and is “making a difference on the ground”.

The report highlighted the latest data for September 2023 which showed that of the £10.47 billion in total funding that must be used by 2025/26, local authorities, who are the recipients in most cases, had received £3.7 billion and spent £1.24 billion.

Many projects are said to have been plagued by delays despite being approved on the understanding they were “shovel-ready”.

This would result in 80% of projects funded under round one of the levelling up fund missing their completion deadline of March 2024, the report added.

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC), which is the lead department for the three existing dedicated funding streams, could not provide “any examples of what had been delivered so far”, the committee said.

But a spokesperson for the department said it was

“to be expected” that spending would increase in later years of the programme, adding: “Buildings do not go up overnight.”

When asked about delays to delivery, DLUHC cited a combination of “project specific issues”, the pandemic and inflation as the causes of lower than expected levels of levelling up spending.

The committee also found “optimism bias” meant projects perceived as ready to start were prioritised over those which could have had more long-term impact.

The ensuing project delays reveal flaws in the original assessments, the report added, with the Government forced to extend deadlines for when funding must be spent.

The committee also identified a “worrying lack of transparency” in DLUHC’s processes for awarding funds, which it said had “wasted scarce resources and caused some local authorities to miss out”.

The department changed the rules for allocating money under the levelling up fund “as it went along”, causing confusion and budgets being wasted by local authorities on bids that could not be successful, the MPs said.

The report cited the example of local authorities learning after they had submitted bids for round two of the levelling up fund that they could not secure cash if they had been successful in round one.

This issue led to 55 councils bidding under rules which meant they had no chance of being successful, it added.

Later DLUHC decided it would only choose bids for funding in round three which had not been successful in round two, leading to local authorities which had waited to bid until this stage missing out.

The report said a more consistent process would have saved “considerable time and money in preparing and submitting ineligible bids”, which cost £30,000 on average to develop.

Committee chairwoman Dame Meg Hillier said:

“The levels of delay that our report finds in one of Government’s flagship policy platforms is absolutely astonishing.

“The vast majority of levelling up projects that were successful in early rounds of funding are now being delivered late, with further delays likely baked in.

“DLUHC appears to have been blinded by optimism in funding projects that were clearly anything but ‘shovel-ready’, at the expense of projects that could have made a real difference.

“We are further concerned, and surprised given the generational ambition of this agenda, that there appears to be no plan to evaluate success in the long-term.”

Dame Meg added that in changing funding rules “mid-process”, the Government was “wasting time and money and hindering transparency”.

She added:

“We will now be seeking to keep a close eye on DLUHC’s progress in unclogging the funding system. Citizens deserve to begin to see the results of delivery on the ground.”

The committee welcomed DLUHC’s aim to simplify the levelling up funding system and reduce administrative burdens, but said the department “needs to continue to do more to embed the changes it has started to make”.

The MPs also said they are “disappointed” that DLUHC has no long-term plans to measure the impact of levelling up funds into the future.

When the levelling up white paper which laid out 12 missions was published in February 2022, the Government pledged to publish an annual report on progress.

The Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023 includes a Government commitment to publish a statement of levelling up missions before Parliament on an annual basis.

The first of these was published on January 25 this year and set out the metrics the Government will use to measure progress.

Responding to a the report, Martin Tett, chairman of the Local Government Association’s People and Places Board, said the pandemic and inflation had increased construction costs alongside supply and skills shortages.

Welcoming the Government’s response which provided greater flexibilities on how funding could be spent, he added:

“We need to realise the benefits of joined-up, multi-annual, long-term funding and continue to move away from costly competitive bids between areas, so we can save money, drive up productivity and truly deliver levelling up as envisaged.”

Angela Rayner, Labour’s deputy leader and shadow communities secretary, said:

“The Conservatives have utterly abandoned any pretence of trying to achieve their mission to level up Britain.

“This report confirms that the Tories’ begging-bowl approach to funding bids has wasted scarce public resources, forcing local authorities to spend previous time, effort and funds to bid for pots of money, many of which they have no chance of getting.

“Labour will start by ending the sticking-plaster approach peddled by the Conservatives and provide long-term funding settlements to local leaders, giving them greater certainty and the ability to plan for the long term.”

A spokesperson for the DLUHC said:

“We’re proud that we’ve committed £15 billion since 2019 to often overlooked areas, agreeing historic devolution deals, and shifting power and money out of Westminster.

“This money is regenerating town centres, creating new infrastructure and helping to level up communities across the UK.

“Buildings do not go up overnight and these are multi-year programmes, so it is to be expected that the capital spend ramps up in later years. But we will continue to give export support to councils to tackle any delivery blockers so we deliver these vital projects quickly.”

 

Source: Shropshire Star

/0 Comments/by

The disparate planning regimes

Martin Simmons, Viewpoint

How to engage with strategic spatial issues across the disparate planning regimes of London and the Wider South East

Addressing the issue of effective engagement with bodies in the Wider South East, we have to recognise the very different planning and development regimes which exist in Greater London and the wider region. In London, the GLA Act 1999 places a requirement on the elected London Mayor to produce a Spatial Development Strategy (which became known as the London Plan) setting out London-wide policy for housing and development, and to keep it under review and periodic replacement to reflect changing circumstances and needs. It sets out the framework for action by the London Boroughs – the 33 local planning authorities, with the Mayor having the power to intervene on strategic cases.

These powers contrast sharply with the situation outside London, where, since the 2010 incoming Conservative government abolished the Blair era regional-based planning structure in favour of a ‘Localism’ mantra where planning rested with district and unitary planning authorities subject only to a National Planning Policy Framework which sets out England-wide policy to be followed by the local authorities, such as the relative sanctity of green belts and the role of housing development targets. This situation persists today, although not without periodic interventions by Government (latterly the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities) on how LAs should undertake their duties. An attempt was made by Johnson’s 2020 Planning White Paper to impose a more dirigiste system in LAs, but this was rejected by shire Tory MPs, who succeeded in pressing the need for local community involvement and reducing the status of housing targets to ‘starting points’ which could be reduced if a good case is made, e.g. in green belt areas. Catriona is far better placed than I am to describe the present situation: she refers to ‘3 years of uncertainty among LAs and across the planning sector, creating barriers to progress on Local Plan preparation’.

Given prevailing circumstances, how the new London Plan process can engage effectively with organisations in the Wider South East (WSE) will need to reflect their apparently very limited ability to do so. There have been liaison arrangements through periodic meetings between the GLA and organisations of LAs at a regional scale, but (as the Examining Panel into the last London Plan noted) these have lacked authority. I am unaware of whether they have continued to the present.

The question has become political. Assuming as incoming Labour government in autumn this year, Keir Starmer has indicated that increasing housing provision and its affordability will be a key policy issue, proposing a programme of ‘new towns’. We await the Labour Manifesto for more detail on how this could proceed. Our interest is in how this would play out in the WSE, and particularly what sort of effective spatial strategy could emerge. An article by Ian Wray in the current issue of Town and Country Planning explores options, including reviving the county scale, and a fresh pattern of regions.

I would argue the situation in the WSE is sui generis, such that spatial options could best be explored on a functional sub-regional basis, starting with ones which already exist or have been examined before; the GLA’s Outer London Commission’s findings would be worth revisiting. One existing sub-region is that extending from the City of London via Harlow and Stansted to the Cambridge Combined Authority area, the so-called Innovation Corridor. Corridors in sub-regional form relating London to the wider region in previous versions of the London Plan include the ’Western Wedge’ (west London to Reading and beyond) and the South Coast area, and would be worth revisiting.

Source: LSE London

/0 Comments/by

Modular Shelters for Displaced Families

Images: Essential Homes Research Project prototype. Credit: Chiara Becattini

Holcim, a leader in innovative and sustainable building solutions has collaborated with the Norman Foster Foundation to create a unique temporary housing model for displaced communities worldwide.

Presented at the 2023 Venice Architecture Biennale, the housing concept was designed by Norman Foster as part of the Essential Homes Research Project to meet the basic human needs of safety, comfort and wellbeing for displaced families, and brought to life using Holcim’s low-carbon, circular and energy-efficient building solutions.

There are 103 million displaced people across the world today and the number continues to grow. While these people are housed in temporary camps, the settlements become places where families can spend decades. However, everyone has the right to a home that is built sustainably. This was the premise of the Essential Homes Research Project.

Inspired by the Shelters Workshop organised by the Norman Foster Foundation in June 2022 and supported by Holcim, the Essential Homes Research Project brought together leading academics and students from around the world to explore the challenges and potential solutions to provide emergency shelters to vulnerable communities.

“How can we ensure everyone, including some of our world’s most vulnerable populations, can have access to decent living conditions?” asks Norman Foster, president, Norman Foster Foundation.

The modular home developed through the partnership is made of low-carbon rollable concrete sheets serving as an external shell to provide physical safety.

Created by Concrete Canvas using Holcim’s custom low-carbon cement mix with 20% less CO2, rollable concrete also uses up to 95% less material than standard applications.

The home is insulated with Holcim’s Airium insulating mineral foam in the roof, and Elevate boards in the floor, ensuring thermal and acoustic comfort as well as energy efficiency. The house sits on a weather-resilient base created using Holcim’s ECOCycle recycled construction demolition materials.

Installing the home doesn’t require any excavation as it lies on the Elevate membrane, which prevents moisture from getting into the building. Pathways made of permeable ECOPact low-carbon concrete connect the home units, allowing nature to grow. Overall, this home has a 70% lower carbon footprint compared to traditional structures.

Being modular in design, the home can accommodate the evolving needs of families of different sizes.

Source: Architecture & Design

/0 Comments/by

Investment to prevent sewage spills

Fast-tracked investment of £180m over the next 12 months is expected to prevent more than 8000 sewage spills polluting English waterways, the Environment Secretary has announced.

It follows the Secretary of State directing water and sewage companies last December to measurably reduce sewage spills over the next year by accelerating commitments and delivering new funding.

Examples of measures include investment in AI systems to help manage storm loads, the installation of thousands of new in-sewer monitors to check flows and spot blockages early, the recruitment and training of specialist staff, and accelerated wetland construction programmes.

These new funding commitments are in addition to water companies’ existing £3.1 billion investment into storm overflow improvements for this price review period (2020-2025), as well as their ongoing annual investment to maintain the performance of the existing network.

The accelerated improvements, which will be delivered by April 2025, support the targets under the government’s Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan. This is driving the largest infrastructure investment in water company history, estimated at £60 billion over the next 25 years.

It also follows the recent ban on bonuses for water company executives where firms have committed serious criminal breaches, subject to Ofwat consultation, and the quadrupling of the Environment Agency’s regulatory capacity, enabling them to carry out 4,000 water company inspections by the end of the next financial year.

Environment Secretary Steve Barclay said:

The amount of sewage being spilled into our rivers is completely unacceptable and the public rightly expects action. This £180 million of accelerated investment, which will stop more than 8,000 sewage spills over the next year, is a welcome step forward as we continue to push for better performance from water companies and hold them to account.

This money will mean more cutting-edge technology, including artificial intelligence, and more specialist staff to detect and reduce spills.

Today’s announcement builds on significant work by this government to protect and strengthen our waters with increased investment, stronger regulation and tougher enforcement action.

Environment Secretary Steve Barclay said:

The amount of sewage being spilled into our rivers is completely unacceptable and the public rightly expects action. This £180 million of accelerated investment, which will stop more than 8,000 sewage spills over the next year, is a welcome step forward as we continue to push for better performance from water companies and hold them to account.

This money will mean more cutting-edge technology, including artificial intelligence, and more specialist staff to detect and reduce spills.

Today’s announcement builds on significant work by this government to protect and strengthen our waters with increased investment, stronger regulation and tougher enforcement action.

Source: Mirage

 

 

/0 Comments/by

The World’s Largest Tidal Scheme, in the UK

    • Mersey Tidal Power has the potential to become the world’s largest tidal scheme
    • Formal planning process for UK’s “first of a kind” Mersey Tidal Power set to begin
    • Potential to manage environmental issues associated with climate change
    • Scheme would need government backing to complete development stage

 

Advanced proposals to build the world’s largest tidal scheme on the banks of the River Mersey have been unveiled by the Liverpool City Region’s Mayor Steve Rotheram.

Mayor Rotheram has revealed that the city region will pursue a barrage between the Wirral and Liverpool as the preferred option for the city region’s flagship Mersey Tidal Power project.

The barrage scheme – the “first of a kind” in the UK – could generate clean, predictable energy for 120 years and create thousands of jobs in its construction and operation.

 

Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, said:

 

“The River Mersey has been the lifeblood of our region’s fortunes for centuries – and it has an even more vital role to play in our future. Where our area was once a leader in the First Industrial Revolution, we now have an opportunity to seize our chance to become a leader in the Green Industrial Revolution.

“Mersey Tidal Power has the potential to generate clean, predictable energy for 120 years, create thousands of green jobs and apprenticeships – and all but seal our area’s status as Britain’s Renewable Energy Coast. Beyond the banks of the River Mersey, this is a national infrastructure asset that could position the UK as a global leader in the renewables race and help to turbocharge our net zero ambitions.

“We are under no illusions, we know there are still significant technical and financial challenges to overcome, but the plans we’ve unveiled today mark a huge step on our journey to bringing Mersey Tidal Power to life. Quite simply, the case for tidal has never been clearer – both for our economy and our planet.”

 

The announcement comes as the multi-billion-pound scheme moves towards the formal planning consent process.

It opens the possibility of a first-ever cycling and pedestrian route over the river between Liverpool and Wirral and could also provide a defence against future flooding risks associated with climate change.

The Liverpool City Region Combined Authority will be asked at its March meeting (15/3/24) to approve the submission of a scoping opinion to the Planning Inspectorate later this year for the world’s largest tidal power scheme.

Over the last three years, the authority has undertaken early technical work to develop the potential scope of the scheme, which could be up and running within a decade, playing a huge role in the region’s push to be net zero carbon by 2040 – at least a decade ahead of national targets.

Mersey Tidal Power is a key part of a push for tidal range projects across the UK, focused on the west coast. Tidal range technology can make use of the UK’s abundant natural resources to create greater domestic energy security, complementing offshore wind, hydrogen and solar power.

 

Councillor David Baines, Liverpool City Region Combined Authority Portfolio Holder for Net-Zero and Air Quality, said:

 

“Existing strengths in wind and solar power and emerging strengths in hydrogen mean that our city region is already leading the way in developing a cleaner and greener economy.  Harnessing the power of the River Mersey to generate green and predictable energy for the next 100 years and more would be an incredible addition to our clean energy mix.  We need to ensure we are extremely aware of our sensitive local ecology but just reaching this stage in the Mersey Tidal Power project has taken a huge amount of hard work allied with vision and would be a big step towards it becoming a reality.”

 

If agreed, prior to the scoping opinion being submitted the Combined Authority would carry out a period of engagement, regionally and nationally, with stakeholders. Once the scoping opinion is received, the CA would hold formal consultations across communities and stakeholder groups.

The scoping opinion will be based on the creation of a barrage across the river.

The report to the Combined Authority notes that a barrage option would be less expensive than a lagoon, requiring less material and lower levels of government support. It would offer numerous other advantages, including the possibility of a pedestrian and cycle link between Liverpool and Wirral. A barrage could also help manage long-term environment issues related to climate change, including managing the effects of sea level rise on the Mersey.

Submitting a scoping opinion is the first step towards preparing a Development Control Order (DCO) submission – a process which typically takes two to three years. The scoping opinion submission describes the project and asks the Planning Inspector to advise on the scope and breadth of surveys needed to complete the documents outlining the environmental impact of the scheme.

The Mersey Tidal Power project would be the largest tidal range scheme in the world, using tried and tested technology for the first time in the UK. The multi-billion-pound project would potentially create thousands of local jobs, bringing economic and resilience benefits to the Liverpool City Region, in an asset that could operate for more than 120 years.

Source: Liverpool City Region

/0 Comments/by

Funding for Home Heating

Three projects have been awarded  funding from Innovate UK to research and develop more sustainable solutions for heating.

Addressing the fact that 23% of total emissions in the UK is generated from heating our 30 million buildings, Innovate UK ran a competition, Design Engineering Innovation Lab, to invest in the development of innovative renewable heating technologies that can be scaled across the UK.

Innovate UK were looking for proposals that reduced capital and installation costs across the whole system of net zero renovation, such as the fabric of the building and decarbonised heat technologies.

Organisations competing for a place, included energy suppliers, technology providers, research organisations and community interest groups.

Three of eight ideas produced by the innovation lab secured a total of £7,615,622 in grant support.

Let Zero, which is led by South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority, has been awarded funding of £2.4m.

Let Zero will work with landlords in the private sector to improve decision-making on renovations and improvements in their properties for the benefit of their tenants, especially vulnerable people.

The 18-month project will develop an end-to-end solution, powered by AI, to give landlords a ‘trusted path’ for upgrading their properties, tailored to the needs of the occupants.

While to be tested in South Yorkshire, has the potential to be scalable across the UK.

Transform-ER is a project led by Energiesprong UK, which has secured £3.3 million for its project that aims to help deliver retrofit solutions to one million homes per year by 2030.

The current retrofit market doesn’t have the capacity or capability needed and this project brings a fresh approach.

Transform-ER will embrace the move towards offsite construction to enable rapid deployment of high-quality retrofit solutions.

The project will provide interoperability rules for new products, enabling kits of parts to be brought together.

A ‘retrofit rulebook’ will also be developed, which will write up the activities in the project as case studies.

It will also set out clear guidance for other industry innovators and those wishing to join the retrofit revolution.

Elemental Power received £1.9 million for a project that aims to transform how retrofits are carried out on non-domestic buildings in the UK.

From using immersive ‘digital twins’ to test and simulate real conditions, to using local renewable energy solutions, building owners will be provided with the information needed to make the best upgrade decisions.

 

Source: Air Quality News

/0 Comments/by

Digitilisation: Construction must not be left behind

Contrary to popular belief, a recent report has shown that the UK construction industry has been among the best at digital adoption. However, this has started to grind to a halt as a quarter (28%) of businesses in the sector believe digital transformation is easy for them to achieve.

While most firms recognise the importance of implementing new digital infrastructure, there are a variety of sector-specific barriers as most projects require the involvement of multiple stakeholders each with their own systems and ways of working. In many cases, the financial and time commitment required to streamline the volume of processes and systems prevents wide-scale adoption programmes from getting off the ground.

Additionally, many construction businesses are still reliant on traditional processes and paper-based systems that lack efficiency and productivity. Also, workers in this sector may not have had the opportunity to maximise their skills within emerging digital technology and administrative processes. This means many firms may prefer to stick with what is familiar, despite these systems being time-consuming and often complicated.

It’s crucial for firms to take stock of where efficiencies can be made and understand the capabilities of their team members. Once this is understood, businesses should provide effective training to keep employees engaged and excited throughout the change journey.

Highlighting focus areas that are high impact but cost effective is a quick and easy way to receive an almost instant return on a digital change programme while slowly introducing new methods to team members. For decision-makers in the sector, combining these quick-win areas with an employee advocacy strategy can help to smooth any internal resistance and ensure the successful pick-up of new ways of working.

As the nation continues to digitise, it’s vital the construction sector isn’t left behind. A robust digital infrastructure will boost efficiency and competitiveness within the industry as stakeholders continue to implement digital solutions for their business needs.

Source: Property Week

/0 Comments/by

Construction Stabilises and the Future Brightens

There are signs that the UK’s construction industry is picking up pace and for the first time in two years builders are feeling more optimistic.

In the latest S&P Global/CIPS construction purchasing managers’ index (PMI) there was a score of 49.7 last month compared to 48.8 the previous month, any score below 50 shows the sector is shrinking.

According to the survey there has been an improvement in market conditions and this has led to the foundation for residential construction work to settle.

Tim Moore, economics director at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said,

“This was the best performance for the construction sector since August 2023 and the forward-looking survey indicators provide encouragement that business conditions could improve in the coming months.”

“However, a protracted downturn in activity has made construction companies cautious about their employment numbers,” Moore added.

“Staffing levels dropped for the third time in the past four months and the latest round of job shedding was the steepest since November 2020.”

Rob Wood, chief UK economist for Pantheon Macroeconomics, said,

“House-buyers returning to the market as expectations of interest rate cuts have grown helped construction output to stabilise in February.

“Builders’ surging confidence in the outlook suggests construction output will grow again soon.”

 

Source: London Loves Business

/0 Comments/by