To protect staff from the risk of being infected by Covid-19 as they return to workplaces, buildings managers will have to adopt rigorous maintenance regimes to ensure the virus can’t take hold. Alex Smith finds out why facilities managers will be key to creating Covid-secure buildings
Category: Technical
Florence Nightingale’s notes still make vital reading
Florence Nightingale’s books on nursing continually emphasise the importance of ventilation. Chris Iddon believes her work is particularly pertinent for those servicing buildings during the current Covid-19 pandemic
Bridging the gap: gas-fired absorption heat pumps in America
In the US, an abundance of cheap gas and a high carbon intensity for grid electricity compared with Europe is driving a move towards gas-fired heat pumps in small buildings. Tim Dwyer looks at three papers on the technology that were presented at the ASHRAE Winter Conference in Orlando
Intelligence networks: smart grids in Islington and Oxford
Smart energy projects are being piloted in the UK to find out how buildings and infrastructure can be connected intelligently to provide low carbon heat and electricity. Andy Pearson reports on two pilots: GreenSCIES in Islington and Energy Superhub Oxford
Maintaining buildings in lockdown
Buildings left empty by the lockdown must be maintained properly to avoid risks such as legionella, corrosion and mould. Liza Young reports
Making a noise about acoustic design
A new guide addressing issues of noise, ventilation and overheating for homes has been launched by the Association of Noise Consultants. Working group chair Dr Anthony Chilton explains how vital it is to consider the acoustic strategy at the design stage
Wasted opportunity: using UK waste heat in district heating
If the UK reused waste heat from its buildings and industrial processes, it could be used to supply 14% of the hot water and heating demand in UK homes, says FairHeat’s Lina Aglén
Preventing Covid-19 spreading in buildings
In response to the coronavirus pandemic, REHVA experts have published a guidance document on how to operate and use building services to minimise the spread of Covid-19. Alex Smith provides a summary of their findings
Highlights from the ASHRAE Winter Conference
The ASHRAE Winter Conference in Orlando featured more than 300 presentations to nearly 2,800 delegates. Tim Dwyer gives a taste of the engineering zeitgeist, including seminars on growing cannabis and the latest BACnet software to secure controls
Sizing the opportunity – using software tools to reduce oversizing of HVAC
Integrated design and dynamic modelling can help overcome the problem of HVAC oversizing, says Autodesk’s Steven Butler and Michael Floyd