SPONSOR Faith in tried-andtested technology O James Porter is national sales manager at Remeha Commercial Web: www.remeha.co.uk @RemehaUK Twitter: ut with the old and in with the new is an increasingly apt description of our generations disposable attitude towards technology. But innovation does not have to be restricted to shiny new products and equipment. Within the building services industry, condensing boilers are a perfect example of how a tried-and-tested, refined and adapted technology continues to prove invaluable in tackling the ultimate challenge of raising the energy performance of our existing buildings. Medieval Hexham Abbey in Northumberland, pictured on the cover of this supplement, is a case in point. TGA Consulting Engineers were tasked with combining the requirement for a high efficiency, reliable thermal source with the tight space constraints of the 13th century plant room, restricted access and a short time frame. The specification of three Remeha Quinta Pro 90 gas condensing boilers on a freestanding, in-line cascade system with low loss header proved a flexible, compact solution that offered numerous different options and resulted in a neat, effective, energy-saving heating system for the refurbished monastic complex. The ongoing popularity of condensing technology owes much to the manufacturers who continue to invest in R&D, refining this already efficient technology to raise efficiencies still higher and offer still greater design flexibility. With some boilers now in their eighth generation, it is encouraging to see how, rather than resting on their laurels, heating manufacturers continue to innovate, pushing boundaries by incorporating devices, such as heat recovery technology, to achieve new levels of efficiency. It is this pioneering approach to the design of practical, high-performance and, perhaps most crucially, affordable technology that will help us to improve the efficiency of our existing building stock and meet our environmental targets.