Façade management – improving the performance of new and existing building through effectively controlled solar shading and façade applications. 

In the UK automated solar shading and façade management is wholly relevant to the demands of Part L of The Building Regulations and the implementation of energy efficiency measures.  However, it is an often overlooked discipline but one which is set to grow.

Today’s UK domestic door entry and access control systems market is more competitive than it has ever been. There are manufacturers and suppliers from all corners of the globe selling a range of products that compete on many levels including price, technology, quality and aesthetic appeal. With such a vast range of products available, between them, these companies are responding to the challenge of providing what the market wants – solutions for every situation, budget and application.

Time is money. In any construction project the old adage rings true for both contractors and clients. Keeping costs down whilst delivering a quality end product without going over schedule continues to be a challenging process for contractors of all kinds. It’s little wonder then that contractors and their suppliers alike are constantly looking for new ways of reducing the time they need to spend on site. Tim Brown, national specification manager at Cablofil explains.

The dangers of non-compliant cable on the electrical industry market are evident in their scale. By its nature, if something goes wrong to electrical cabling the consequences are serious. However, specifiers and contractors can help to minimise the risk and ensure the safety of all concerned when lives and property are at stake. Here, Graham Turner of AEI Cables explains.

An estimated £30 million worth of counterfeit electrical products reaches the UK annually.

Furthermore, approximately 20 per cent of all fires in the UK are caused by electrical installations, and a significant percentage of these are the result of faulty electrical cables.

KNX is the only worldwide approved International Standard for home and building control. It meets the requirements of European standards CENELEC EN50090 and CEN EN 13321-1. Its approval as an international standard (ISO/IEC 14543-3) and Chinese Standard (GB/Z 20965), confirms its global importance. The KNX standard is supported by many manufacturers whose KNX certified products guarantee interoperability without the need for costly gateways.

In low-voltage applications, controlgear designers are curiously reluctant to specify vacuum contactors, despite the many and important benefits that they have to offer. Steve Rickard of Moeller Electric believes that it’s time for things to change!

When it comes to medium-voltage equipment, vacuum contactors are commonplace, but how often do you see them in low-voltage panels? The answer is very rarely. In fact, many controlgear designers specify air-break contactors almost automatically, without giving a thought to whether vacuum devices might be a better choice for the application.

There is no such thing as a typical data centre. Each differs in size, number of installed servers, security and availability. However, one thing most of them tend to have in common is a variety of basic design and configuration flaws which prevents them from achieving their full potential cooling capacity. These problems generally go unrecognised as traditionally data centres have operated at power densities well below their design values. But recent increases in the power density of new IT equipment is now pushing data centres to their design limits and many are now incapable of providing effective cooling.

Part M of the Building Regulations 2000 (access to and use of buildings) is designed to make it as easy as possible for all persons, regardless of ability / disability, to enter and use buildings and the facilities within them. This requirement applies to the wiring accessories contained in the buildings as much as the buildings themselves, and will apply to all non-domestic new-builds as well as any modifications carried out to existing, non-domestic buildings. Crabtree has therefore been introducing products throughout its range of wiring accessories to enable compliance with Part M. It is important to realise though, that just using the products themselves does not ensure conformity.

New regulations mean that demand for fully BS 5839 Part 9 compliant disabled refuge systems has never been higher. Here Andrew Foster, Managing Director of C-TEC, explains how a disabled refuge system works.

Power Outages Present a Real Threat to Business Continuity

Chloride, one of Europe’s leading suppliers of Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) systems and services, is strongly advising UK businesses to deploy resilient UPS systems in order to protect their mission critical equipment and processes. Chloride has taken this initiative following worrying reports from CapGemini, which have confirmed the growing fears of the business community regarding power availability, stating that electricity output has fallen by 2.2%, the lowest level in 10 years.