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NEWS All the latest news from around the building industry UK heat pump plan undermined by knowledge and skills gap, research reveals University research says UK lacks installation capacity A serious shortage of suitable skills and installation capacity could derail the UKs plans to place heat pumps in the vanguard of its strategy to reduce carbon emissions from residential heating. Researchers at the University of Westminster claim that current education and training programmes are not capable of instilling the know-how needed to meet carbon and energy-saving targets set by government advisers particularly when it comes to replacing gas boilers with heat pumps. Their study, published in Building Research & Information, revealed deficiencies in engineering knowledge that would have detrimental consequences on both the actual performance and market acceptance of heat pumps. The UK aims to install 600,000 heat pumps by 2020 and between 2.5 million and four million by 2030. However, the universitys research revealed that heat pumps do not perform as well in the UK as they do in continental Europe. Peter Hansford, government chief construction adviser, said urgent action was needed and BRADFORD CAMPUS AIMS FOR EXCELLENT AFTER OPENING ITS DOORS urged the industry to address ways in which these skills can be developed. The study, led by Colin Gleeson, senior lecturer in Westminsters school of architecture and built environment, said the industry had failed to embrace the technical guidance and training produced by the Department of Energy and Climate Changes Microgeneration Certification Scheme. Few UK installers have formal heat pump qualifications at NVQ level 3, he added. Training is generally offered through short courses with no strict adherence to either a common syllabus or a detailed training centre specification. Wilson made RAE fellow Ant Wilson, director of sustainability and advanced design (building engineering) at Aecom, has been elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering. He said: There are only a few building services engineers who hold this title and I would like to thank those in CIBSE who have supported this, and the academy for the honour of this position. Alongside Doug Oughton, Ant Wilson is the lead author of the recently published 11th edition of Faber & Kells Heating and Air Conditioning of Buildings, available at Amazon and other online retail outlets. The Advanced Technology Centre (ATC) at Bradford College has just accepted its first intake of students. The 3,600m campus was designed by Bond Bryan Architects and the building services engineer was Couch Perry Wilkes. Situated next to the high-profile David Hockney Building, the college features solar panels, a bio-diverse roof and energy efficient plant, with the aim of achieving a BREEAM Excellent rating. The project was funded by the Skills Funding Agency and Bradford Council, and the contractors BAM had to deliver the project in time for the start of the academic year. Billion-pound Battersea contract for Bouygues French building giant Bouygues has secured the largest private construction contract ever awarded in the UK. It will lead a 1bn project to build 1,305 homes that form the third phase of the Battersea Power Station redevelopment, on the south bank of the River Thames. Work on the power station gateway will start in 2018 and Bouygues aims to finish the Foster + Partners and Gehry Partners- designed project in 2020. Carillion is already building the 400m phase one, while Skanska is due to deliver the 600m phase two. Mace has secured an enabling package worth 100m. The phase-three homes will be built in parallel with the Northern Line tube extension and new underground station, which is also due to open in 2020. Chapman BDSP open to different ways of designing The building services consultant working on phase three of the Battersea Power Station scheme is growing almost as quickly as the apartment blocks beginning to dot the skyline in this part of London. Chapman BDSP has increased turnover from 10.5m in 2012 to an expected 18m this year. In part, this is because of its reputation as an engineer that can deliver big architecture from the likes of Foster + Partners and Gehry Partners, which both have buildings on phase three. Chapman BDSP has been appointed MEP, environmental, fire and vertical transportation consultant. It is also working on phase two, which includes the redevelopment of Battersea Power Station itself. Chief executive, Ray Upjohn, said: We want to be known for design, and for being open towards different ways of designing. The engineering firm formed in 2010, when Chapman Bathhurst merged with BDSP, which worked on blue riband projects such as the London Olympic Velodrome. Upjohn said the merger was a perfect fit. BDSP was doing work with big architects and Chapman Bathhurst was working in Ray residential and Upjohn corporate occupant sectors. Thediverse skills in the business has helped us. Read more on top consultants in next months CIBSE Journal. Birmingham New Street opens for business Revamped Birmingham New Street station has opened its doors to passengers after a five-year, 750m transformation. An impressive new atrium has been constructed over a huge passenger concourse five times the size of London Eustons that benefits from an abundance of natural light. There are also decluttered platforms, improved entrances, and a range of new facilities, including 43 shops at concourse level. One of Britains busiest interchange stations, Birmingham New Street has been rebuilt while trains continued to run as normal for the 170,000 passengers a day who use it. Above the station sits the new 450,000ft2 Grand Central shopping complex, which will create more than 1,000 jobs and is expected to attract more than 50 million visitors a year. Mark Carne, chief executive of Network Rail, said: Rebuilding one of the busiest stations in the country without impacting on passengers journeys has been a major challenge, but Network Rail and our partners on this project have done just that. Thats a significant achievement. Highways England tops ethical payment table Transport company Highways England has awarded more than 10bn of work through project bank accounts (PBAs) in the pastthree years, allowing it to ensure suppliers are paid within 19 days, according to the Specialist Engineering Contractors (SEC) Group. This approach has put Highways England at the top of the fair payment league table. It isnow planning to extend the use of PBAs to a wider range of suppliers and to beat its target of placing 20bn of work through PBAs by 2020. The construction industry owes a debt of gratitude to the team at Highways England that has achieved this remarkable performance, said SEC Group chief executive, Rudi Klein. Project bank accounts are the most effective mechanism for ensuring that supply chain SMEs are in regular and timely receipt of their cash. Other initiatives have proved to be a waste of time and effort. Mitsubishi expands its air conditioning influence Mitsubishi Electric is to buy chiller maker Climaveneta and data centre cooling specialist RC Group. It has entered into an agreement with DeLonghi Industrial to buy the share capital of DeLclima, the Italian owner of Climaveneta, in a deal expected to be worth 480m. Mitsubishi Electric is looking to become a full-scale climate solutions provider, particularly in Europe, where F-Gas regulations and energy efficiency demands will drive customer habits. Cold and dark seminar The East of England Engineering Science and Technology Association will host a seminar entitled Cold and Dark by 2050 how sustainable is our energy consumption? at the University of Hertfordshire on 11 November. The speakers are: John Loughhead, chief scientific adviser to the Department of Energy & Climate Change; Goran Strbac, professor of electrical energy systems, Imperial College; and Peter Guthrie, director of the Centre for Sustainable Development. Register here. Lighting offenders face naming and shaming LuxLive announces Bad Lighting Awards Organisers of the LuxLive 2015 lighting exhibition have launched the Bad Lighting Awards to highlight problems caused by thoughtless, ill-considered lighting that they say is ruining the exteriors and interiors of some great buildings. They say it was time to name and shame those organisations with terrible illumination. The Bad Lighting Awards will cast a badly aimed spotlight on retailers, restaurateurs and high street names that are getting it wrong in the hope that they will improve, say the organisers. We believe passionately that lighting really matters, says chair of the judges, Ray Molony. Its a big part of our experience on an evening out, for instance. It can make people look great or terrible. It can enhance food and interiors. But so many organisations are getting it wrong. We hope the Bad Lighting Awards will prod people to look at their lighting again and then change their ways. Early nominations for the Bad Lighting Awards include Harvey Nichols department store in Londons West End, the Queens House in Greenwich, London, and Argos in Nottingham. The award categories are faades, retail, restaurants, hotels, public buildings and street lighting. The judging panel comprises a team of lighting designers and architects. We hope the winners will turn up to collect their trophies, says Molony. Our panel will suggest ways in which the offending projects can be improved. If you would like to nominate alighting offender email ray.molony@luxreview.com More than 80% of Londoners felt the heat this summer Optimism spreading among contractors Newer, better insulated homes more susceptible Four out of five London residents suffered from uncomfortably hot homes this summer, according to a survey by consultancy WSP Parsons Brinckerhoff. As a result, their health and productivity suffered, while energy consumption rose as many resorted to air conditioning. The ComRes survey of 1,005 people in the capital found that: 83% suffered from overheating in their home at least once; 53% occasionally; 11% said their home was uncomfortably hot most of the time; and 4% said this was the case all the time. Overheating affected residents in newer homes significantly more than those in older homes, with 8% installing air conditioning to cope. WSP Parsons Brinckerhoff said that around 2,000 deaths were caused by overheating each year in the UK and this could worsen Recovery sustained, but tentative, finds B&ES survey Contractors are enjoying rising order, enquiry and turnover levels, according to a state of trade survey carried out by the Building& Engineering Services Association (B&ES). The survey, which covered the period from January to June this year, revealed a positive net optimism measure of 45%, up from 39% in the previous six months. Growth in orders was enjoyed by 53% of respondents compared with 47% in the second half of 2014 while 41% had an increase in enquiries and 40% an increase in turnover. For the first time since the six-monthly survey was introduced in 2012, more members reported a rise than a decline. Labour and material costs both increased; 36% of firms claimed to be employing more direct labour than six months ago and 40% expected workforce levels to increase further during the remainder of 2015. There was also a rise in the number of B&ES members taking on apprentices and making use of agency personnel. However, a statement from the association said skills shortages, zero and ultra-low margins, over-long tender lists and the prevalence of late payment were reasons for concern. B&ES chief executive, Paul McLaughlin, said the findings confirmed the anecdotal evidence that the sector was enjoying a sustained, if still sometimes tentative, recovery. I am also pleased that firms are responding to the challenge posed by skills and labour shortages by stepping up their training activity, to take full advantage of the commercial opportunities that are available to them, he said. The optimism that is clearly spreading throughout the membership augurs well for our sector as a whole. by the middle of the century, when very hot summer days are projected to be 6.5C warmer. More than half (52%) of those whose home felt uncomfortably hot reported being woken up at night, and almost a third (31%) said they felt tired or unwell as a result of their home overheating. If building design and regulations are not changed now, the impact on health will worsen, productivity will reduce, energy consumption will increase, and the long-term value of homes will be affected, claim the researchers. David Bownass, WSP Parsons Brinckerhoff building services director, said: Newer homes and flats are better insulated to cope with cold weather, but are consequently hotter in summer. Warmer temperatures will force us to use air conditioning, so we should be designing buildings now to allow affordable retrofitting of these systems. Gatwick invites bids on 750m frameworks Gatwick Airport has invited firms to bid for places on two major construction and engineering frameworks, to deliver up to 750m of improvements over the next five years. The frameworks are graded by complexity with more straightforward operational projects, involving contracts worth between 100,000 and 1.5m, and minor works projects for contracts between 1m and 10m. Within each framework, Gatwick is on the hunt for a mix of building, civil engineering and mechanical/ electrical specialists. Peter Brown, Gatwick Airport principal mechanical engineer, said the frameworks will attempt to develop closer relationships directly with the supply chain. We will encourage and develop smaller companies, break down supply chains and reinvigorate existing business relationships.