Wates Living Space, social housing repairs and maintenance provider, has been awarded three projects, collectively valued at around £33 million, on behalf of Brent Council, St Mungo’s and mhs homes. The projects include the refurbishment of four high rise blocks on behalf of Brent Council, as part of a new
Acorn Building Services will combine the UK recruiter’s construction, M&E and housing output to further support availability of sustainable job opportunities for under-represented groups Acorn is launching an all-new division as it looks to deepen its commitment towards creating added social value for the benefit of the local communities it
Helvar is an international lighting technologies company specialising in intelligent and energy-saving lighting solutions. Helvar lighting control solutions and luminaire components help to create smart energy-saving environments built for the future, using information, and working seamlessly with other systems. The strong commitment to intelligent lighting control solutions, people’s wellbeing and
The BEIS Heat Pump Ready Programme is a part of the UK Government’s Heat and Buildings Strategy to transition to Net Zero; BTS partners with Veritherm and Elmhurst Energy Consultancy to deliver project objectives Build Test Solutions (BTS), alongside Veritherm and Elmhurst Energy Consultancy, have secured support from BEIS under
Smith Brothers, a Yorkshire-based electrical engineering firm, has announced it is in the process of enrolling this year’s apprentices in its popular scheme. As part of its commitment to reducing the industry’s skills gap, the company will provide vital hands-on experience to a pair of trainee cable jointers, which will
Heat the Streets, a project coordinated by Kensa Utilities, has moved onto its next phase with the installation of ground source heat pumps in newly built apartments in Carlyon Bay near St Austell. The renewable heating project enables developers to get ahead of the Future Homes Standards, set out by
A social landlord has announced a significant increase in customer’s first time gas appointments thanks to a powerful digital solution. Platform Property Care – a subsidiary of Platform Housing Group, one of the UK’s largest housing associations – has employed the Voicescape Compliance solution with excellent results. The brainchild of Manchester-based Voicescape, Voicescape Compliance helps
The fastest-growing security company in the UK has once again been recognised for its industry-leading standards with a gold accreditation from Constructionline, the country’s most connected and progressive provider of procurement and supply chain management services. Swindon-based SSGC was awarded with the highest honour from the coveted platform following a
Elta Group, industry leaders in sustainable air movement, has announced a new partnership with air monitoring pioneer Airthings. The collaboration will allow building owners, tenants, and facility managers to better monitor and report on the indoor air quality within the building they occupy. As reported by a recent study from
NIBE Energy Systems has launched a brand-new Photovoltaic-Thermal (PV-T) and Heat Pump solution which offers an innovative approach of transforming a NIBE “ground-source” heat pump product into a “multi-source” heat pump product. NIBE PV-T collector is an alternative, innovative, and silent heat source for use with NIBE ground source heat
Wates Living Space, social housing repairs and maintenance provider, has been awarded three projects, collectively valued at around £33 million, on behalf of Brent Council, St Mungo’s and mhs homes. The projects include the refurbishment of four high rise blocks on behalf of Brent Council, as part of a new major works programme that includes external wall insulation, heating and lift refurbishments. Work for Brent also includes retrofit installations to increase home efficiency following Wates’ successful retrofit pilot on behalf of Brent Council, which reached completion at the end of 2021. The project saw the Wates Retrofit team install energy efficiency measures in void properties, taking them from an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of E to B, exceeding the Government’s 2030 target for social housing. “We are very proud to be growing our portfolio in the south and look forward to working with our clients to provide safe, secure, comfortable and efficient homes. These contracts represent a combination of new partnerships with St Mungo’s and mhs to existing partners like Brent Council where our team can showcase their capabilities to deliver at scale. Our customers have to balance many different aspects to property management, and this balance is reliant on maintenance providers that have the capacity and expertise to deliver services efficiently and to a high quality,” commented James Gregg, Managing Director of South Planned Maintenance at Wates Living Space. Also included in Wates Living Space’s new contacts is a six-month programme to install new kitchens and bathrooms in properties across North London on behalf of St Mungo’s. The team is also preparing to mobilise a two-year contract to install new kitchens and bathrooms for mhs homes properties in North Kent. The new projects add to Wates Living Space’s current portfolio, which includes repairs and maintenance for 500,000 homes on behalf of 60 social landlords. “Retrofitting homes is becoming an increasingly pressured priority for social landlords with many making great headway in improving the efficiency of their housing stock. Nevertheless, traditional planned maintenance programmes remain important, and their concurrent delivery alongside retrofit work is absolutely vital to our clients and their customers. We are very proud to be growing our portfolio in the south and look forward to working with our clients to provide safe, secure, comfortable and efficient homes,” James concluded. Building, Design and Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Acorn Building Services will combine the UK recruiter’s construction, M&E and housing output to further support availability of sustainable job opportunities for under-represented groups Acorn is launching an all-new division as it looks to deepen its commitment towards creating added social value for the benefit of the local communities it works in. Acorn Building Services will combine the UK recruiter’s Construction, Mechanical, Engineering and Housing divisions into one, to help increase the availability of sustainable job opportunities for under-represented groups in all sectors. Acorn has overseen a number of social value initiatives and consistently championed the introduction of new entrants into the construction industry in recent years, working with partners including Her Majesty’s Prison & Probation Service and homeless charity The Wallich, running its own Women in Construction initiatives, and more. With a focus on South Wales and Bristol to begin with, its Acorn Building Services division will now help drive forward new projects and initiatives aimed at further supporting its clients in contributing socially as well as economically to areas they work in too. Lawrence Beach, Client Development Director for Acorn, will be responsible for developing these initiatives, focusing on social value, people pathways, tenders and more. Operations Director Osian John will also head up the new division in an operational capacity and drive the day to day running of the team involved. Lawrence said: “The work Acorn has already done using employment as a key driver to create social value is something that we are hugely passionate about across the organisation, and we feel now is the time to push forward with plans to implement and develop a range of new initiatives that we hope will prove invaluable to Acorn and the businesses we support in future too. “My role as part of Acorn Building Services will involve working closely with clients and local stakeholders to develop collaborative programmes that will assist Acorn and our clients in maximising the social value we are able to have within local communities. In essence, we want to ensure the employment opportunities we are involved in are used in the most productive, sustainable way possible.” Osian said: “We identified a need for Lawrence to spend a lot more time developing initiatives which will benefit the people and communities in which we work, but this on its own was a full-time commitment. So, I’ll be responsible for day-to-day operations around sales, business development, compliance and recruitment strategy, enabling Lawrence to give that job his full focus.” Acorn has a network of 30 branches supporting businesses with recruitment needs through its specialist divisions, which cover manufacturing, production, IT, legal, construction, commercial, energy, life sciences, aerospace and other sectors. Its Building Services division will initially support teams in Cardiff, Bristol and Gloucestershire to develop temporary and permanent employment partnerships with a community focus across the construction and housing sectors more widely. Marc Jones, Director of Operations Technical at Acorn, said the focus then would be on growing and developing Acorn Building Services as a division within its own right over the next 3 to 5 years, with the aim of expanding its services throughout the South West and beyond. Marc said: “This development really marks an important milestone for Acorn, as well as the businesses we’re able to support in contributing to communities where they work in a much more impactful and sustainable way, as our reputation across the construction and building services sectors has become more and more established, through working so closely with a large number of construction-related employers. ”The knock-on effect for workers, and for people looking for jobs, at all levels, whether skilled or currently un-skilled, can be genuinely transformational – and this is at the heart of the way our work across the building and construction areas has developed in recent years. It’s something we at Acorn think very deeply about, and are determined to continue to make as big an impact as we possibly can.” For more information visit about Acorn Building Services visit www.acornpeople.com
Helvar is an international lighting technologies company specialising in intelligent and energy-saving lighting solutions. Helvar lighting control solutions and luminaire components help to create smart energy-saving environments built for the future, using information, and working seamlessly with other systems. The strong commitment to intelligent lighting control solutions, people’s wellbeing and the future of smart buildings has led Helvar to develop a full end-to-end solution unmatched by the competition. At the Light + Building 2022 trade fair, Helvar will showcase its market-leading position in the field of intelligent, digitalised lighting innovations and will host thought-provoking lectures and seminars throughout the week in Hall 8.0, Stand D38. Helvar has taken firm steps to introduce future-proof, energy-saving and people-centric technologies to support its mission of Brighter Spaces. In 2022, Helvar has doubled the number of DALI-2 certified products since its 2021 launch. Over 40 certified DALI-2 application controllers and input devices allow customers to specify the Imagine 950 solution for a wider range of projects and applications, increasing their project portfolio and solution flexibility. The most significant addition to the Imagine 950 solution in 2022 is the ability to read energy and maintenance information from standard-compliant DALI-2 LED drivers. Helvar is one of the first manufacturers to offer a full end-to-end solution for this standardised data. It consists of LED drivers, application controllers and BMS integration through to cloud analytics, reporting and remote monitoring via Helvar Insights. “This is a great achievement for Helvar and the industry as a whole, and I am excited to continue our market leadership with the Imagine solution. With this end-to-end solution, customers can know the actual power consumption and energy use of their lighting accurately for each luminaire or luminaire group and view them in easy-to-understand graphs and reports through our digital services – Helvar Insights interface,” says Thet Oo, Helvar’s Director of Wired Solutions. “Maintenance data is also very useful for facility units. For example, knowing how many hours luminaires have been on compared to their rated lifetime allows facility maintenance to better schedule maintenance and even perform it proactively.” The just-launched Helvar Operating & Energy Insights module — providing energy and maintenance data — adds to the powerful suite of existing Helvar Insights modules such as Monitoring, Control and Occupancy, for space optimisation. This shows that DALI-2 with Helvar solutions is perfectly positioned to take lighting into the next era of smart buildings, giving the ability for clients to make data-driven decisions for their buildings. Helvar Insights has also widened its scope with energy monitoring and wireless ActiveAhead, meaning customers can now have one user interface showing Helvar Insights for Imagine, ActiveAhead or a hybrid lighting control system. The same user interface and features available to existing Helvar Insights customers using Helvar’s wired Imagine lighting control systems can now be used to get the same efficiency, sustainability and wellbeing insights from Helvar’s wireless ActiveAhead lighting control systems. With energy prices increasing and with an ethical responsibility to save energy from a sustainability perspective and as a way of helping to ensure a secure energy supply, understanding how customers’ lighting system uses energy is an important part of their facility management process. Through the upgrade of Helvar ActiveAhead Node Advanced in May, Helvar brings new scalability to its award-winning intelligent wireless lighting control solution ActiveAhead. The upgrade has resulted in the ability to connect and control individual DALI luminaires and selected Helvar DALI devices such as sensors and relays. With these additions, the easiness of ActiveAhead can be brought to use cases utilising DALI addressing and to new application areas such as warehouses, new types of offices, retail, and many others. The ActiveAhead Node Advanced is a truly unique product in the lighting market. No other product offers the benefits of DALI devices with simple local wiring while having these areas still connected together on a wireless mesh network. As a part of its full end-to-end solution, Helvar’s highly efficient LED drivers are designed to consume less energy and bring cost savings for a range of applications where powerful light output is needed. Helvar LED modules help luminaire manufacturers achieve a successful transition to smart, energy-efficient LED lighting solutions with optimised design and outstanding performance.
The BEIS Heat Pump Ready Programme is a part of the UK Government’s Heat and Buildings Strategy to transition to Net Zero; BTS partners with Veritherm and Elmhurst Energy Consultancy to deliver project objectives Build Test Solutions (BTS), alongside Veritherm and Elmhurst Energy Consultancy, have secured support from BEIS under the Heat Pump Ready Programme to focus explicitly on the role of using on-site measured building performance parameters to optimise and validate heat pump system specification, design, and management. The Heat Pump Ready (HPR) Programme forms part of BEIS’s £1 billion Net Zero Innovation Portfolio (NZIP), which aims to accelerate the commercialisation of innovative clean energy technologies and processes through the 2020s and 2030s. As a key solution for decarbonising homes, heat pumps will be critical for meeting the UK’s legally binding commitment to achieve net zero by 2050. The Heat Pump Ready Programme will support the development of innovative solutions across the heat pump sector. The Government’s recently published Heat and Buildings Strategy sets out several key commitments for helping to ensure that the transition to low-carbon buildings is affordable and achievable for all, including delivering a package of measures to scale up the deployment of heat pumps to 600,000 a year by 2028 and to support industry to reduce the costs of heat pumps. The Strategy set out the ambition to work with industry to reduce the upfront costs of heat pumps by 25-50 per cent by 2025 and to parity with boilers by 2030, as well as making them as cheap to run as a gas boiler. The capital cost, lifetime operational cost and lifetime efficiency of both ground and air source-based heat pumps are all fundamentally linked to establishing the required combined space heating and hot water demand profile. Get it wrong and an undersized heat pump cannot adequately heat the home, while oversized heat pumps cost more and don’t run as efficiently. In most cases, approximately two-thirds of this demand is driven by space heating requirements. However, this is currently determined through heat loss calculation software underpinned by a series of assumed inputs. This can be useful as a guide but with the introduction of smart meters, low-cost sensors, and newly established techniques, it is now possible to measure key performance parameters directly on a per property basis at scale. The awarded 15-month project is to be delivered by BTS in partnership with Veritherm, both of whom are leading providers of thermal performance measurement solutions, along with Elmhurst Energy Consultancy. Together the businesses will work together to determine: “Veritherm are delighted to be working alongside BTS and Elmhurst to explore how measured building performance can play a crucial part in the mass rollout of heat pumps,” says Tom Fenton, Founder and CEO of Veritherm. “We believe the project will highlight a new methodology that uses real-world data to improve system specification, design, and management. The collaboration brings together the UK’s leading innovators in building performance measurement and we hope the outputs from our research will help to break down barriers to adoption, whilst providing valuable insights that can be shared with the industry.” Richard Jack, BTS Technical Director, adds: “The argument is simple. No two buildings are ever the same and yet desktop heat loss calculations rely on identikit assumptions and fixed parameters. We are delighted to have been awarded this project and we are going to take this opportunity to demonstrate that the measurement of building heat loss is not only cost-effective and highly scalable, but it also delivers better outcomes including, crucially, optimal lifetime heat pump system functionality and performance.” For more information, visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/heat-pump-ready-programme-successful-projects/heat-pump-ready-programme-stream-2-projects.
Smith Brothers, a Yorkshire-based electrical engineering firm, has announced it is in the process of enrolling this year’s apprentices in its popular scheme. As part of its commitment to reducing the industry’s skills gap, the company will provide vital hands-on experience to a pair of trainee cable jointers, which will be dovetailed by a two-year City & Guilds academic course and three years with Utility and Construction Training (UCT). “As an employer, it is our responsibility to support the ambitions of those in our sector and region,” said Richard Smith, co-founder of Smith Brothers. “If you qualify as a jointer, you have a ready-made, lifelong career – anywhere in the world. It’s important that we do our bit in addressing the skills gap when it comes to fostering the brightest and best in engineering talent.” The first apprentice to join Smith Brothers is Tristan Fallowfield who previously worked as an accredited technician for Volkswagen, as well as in sales and customer services for Audi. “Learning a trade can set you up for life and that’s more important than ever right now. I’m looking forward to learning a new skillset, while also getting back to my roots of being ‘hands on’ at work. I hope that I can have a real positive impact on both the team and Smith Brothers as a company,” he commented. Zachary Naylor, who joins from Trinity Sixth Form Academy, is the second apprentice entering the firm. “Electrical engineering has always fascinated me. I’m a very hands-on worker, and I’ve been waiting for an opportunity to get into this career since I left high school,” explains Zachary. The annual apprenticeship scheme is not solely reserved for school-leavers though, as Richard continued: “We take apprentices of all ages because we believe that everyone deserves the chance to learn a trade. Some of the best engineers left school and went straight into a labouring job, but years later, they might be keen to back up that practical experience with a formal qualification.” As part of the programme, trainees will spend one month per year at the training centre, nine to ten months on site with Smith Brothers, and the remaining time focused on completing the City and Guilds academic requirements. Building, Design and Construction Magazine | The Home of Construction Industry News
Heat the Streets, a project coordinated by Kensa Utilities, has moved onto its next phase with the installation of ground source heat pumps in newly built apartments in Carlyon Bay near St Austell. The renewable heating project enables developers to get ahead of the Future Homes Standards, set out by the government, and install highly efficient, renewable heating. “I was pleased to meet the team from Kensa and see their innovative project in Carlyon Bay. The Heat the Streets initiative is an excellent one and it was useful to hear more about the benefits of ground source heat pumps as an energy supply method that will be critical to help the country achieve its green energy goals for the future,” commented Cornwall Councillor for Mevagissey and St Austell Bay, James Mustoe. “It is good to see Kensa working with a range of properties across Cornwall, New and old, private, and social rent, to showcase the flexibility of the ground source heat pump and the ease in which it can be installed and then left in situ. I look forward to seeing this work continue as a viable option for a greener and cleaner energy future for Cornwall.” To motivate developers switch to renewable heating, Kensa Utilities has decided to pay for the ground array infrastructure through Heat the Streets. This means that they can install ground source heat pumps in their developments for less than the costs of air source heating. Although air source heat pumps cost less to install than ground source, they can suffer corrosion damage at coastal locations such as Carlyon Bay, this increases maintenance costs and reduces the lifespan of the equipment. These new apartments will benefit from ground source heat pumps which are located inside, away from the elements. Better yet, the heat pumps are manufactured by a Cornish company just twenty miles from site. Heat the Streets will soon enter its most ambitious phase street by street retrofit of ground source heat pumps in the Cornish village of Stithians. Kensa Utilities are replacing existing heating systems in the village with efficient Cornish made heat pumps, with no upfront costs to the homeowners. Building, Design and Construction Magazine | The Home of Construction Industry News
A social landlord has announced a significant increase in customer’s first time gas appointments thanks to a powerful digital solution. Platform Property Care – a subsidiary of Platform Housing Group, one of the UK’s largest housing associations – has employed the Voicescape Compliance solution with excellent results. The brainchild of Manchester-based Voicescape, Voicescape Compliance helps compliance teams meet their statutory property maintenance requirements; in the case of Platform Property Care, it is being used for annual gas safety checks. In essence, the software automates the process of booking, confirming and rescheduling appointments with customers before they happen. This prevents both non-compliance and the cost of no-access visits. Prior to using this new technology, the social landlord was booking gas appointments through either letters or texts; if a customer needed to rearrange an appointment it required the customer to make contact. Lee Vernalls, Assistant Director at Platform Property Care said: “Voicescape is allowing us to change the way we schedule our gas servicing appointments, moving from a prescriptive approach to a more consultative approach. We are now providing a better service for our customers and ultimately reduce the cost and inefficiency of no access appointments. We can now see, in real time, the customers who have confirmed appointments and those who still require contact. Having this level of information is truly changing how we work.” In four months, the rate of no-access appointments has reduced by 24 per cent; it is hoped that this figure will continue to rise. Lee concluded : “Voicescape has provided us with a faster, more proactive approach to engaging with our customers and having quality conversations to meet their requirements. Our access rates have increased, allowing us to book appointments that suit the customers whilst also managing our compliance.” Bill Williams, Chief Revenue Officer at Voicescape said : “Our partnership with Platform Property Care has helped to deliver huge efficiencies in dealing with the growing and costly challenge of no access. The automated element of the solution ensures operatives are only involved if a customer needs to rearrange an appointment. This has led to capacity being freed up so that Platform’s team can further concentrate on those customers who need more targeted support. “Voicescape is proud to support Platform Housing Group – and the wider social housing sector –to meet its compliance requirements while improving the experience for both customers and team members.” For further information please contact Lee Vernalls, Assistant Director at Platform Property Care at Lee.Vernalls@Platformhg.com.
The fastest-growing security company in the UK has once again been recognised for its industry-leading standards with a gold accreditation from Constructionline, the country’s most connected and progressive provider of procurement and supply chain management services. Swindon-based SSGC was awarded with the highest honour from the coveted platform following a deep dive examination into its policies and procedures. The gold status demonstrates to potential buyers on the platform that the organisation has been subjected to increased scrutiny around governance and risk management. David Stubbs, CEO of SSGC, said: “The gold status really demonstrates our commitment to carry out all facets of work to the highest standards and our dedication towards the industry and its clients. “Quality management, the best possible terms of employment for our staff and ensuring our suppliers adopt to our inclusive culture is something we take great pride in here at SSGC, so we are thrilled that our practices and procedures are being recognised on such a national scale.” To secure the accreditation, the team had to demonstrate excellence through a rigorous process of validation checks, within environmental management, quality management, equal opportunities, modern slavery act adherence and anti-bribery and corruption policies. SSGC was also able to showcase the business and its team met the requirements of an extended verified pre-qualification questionnaire including equalities and diversity, environmental management and quality management. Constructionline is a leading platform that allows buyers and suppliers to optimise performance, minimise risk and realise opportunities. Through it, buyers can expect to simplify and speed up their search, validation and purchasing decision processes considerably, improving resource and cost efficiency. For more information about SSGC, visit www.ssgc-net.com or search for SSGC on social media.
Elta Group, industry leaders in sustainable air movement, has announced a new partnership with air monitoring pioneer Airthings. The collaboration will allow building owners, tenants, and facility managers to better monitor and report on the indoor air quality within the building they occupy. As reported by a recent study from the National Engineering Policy Centre (NEPC) , many of the UK’s buildings are not being operated according to current air quality standards. With the help of Airthings’ innovative solutions, operators that identify poor air quality can use the information to develop new strategies that can change the ventilation rate to create an environment that is healthier and safer to be in. “The collaboration of Elta Group and Airthings highlights common goals that exist between our two solutions-focused organisations. We both share an entrepreneurial spirit and have a clear vision of meeting market needs by improving indoor air quality. Our highly trained teams also share a common ambition, of delivering innovative and exceptionally engineered products that enhance life through air. Together our relentless drive to discover new technologies has led to the development of intuitive products that seamlessly integrate within a building,” commented Mark Rickard, CEO at Elta Group. Airthings for Business solution includes three different monitors that allow the user to build a system that best suits the building occupants’ needs. Monitors can measure the level of radon, CO2, relative humidity, PM2.5 and more, and send all data via a central hub to the cloud, after which a detailed and highly informative dashboard is created. Airthings is a brand recognised for its innovation and ingenuity, as highlighted in its many awards including TIME’s Best Inventions 2019, and featured in Forbes, USA Today, The Times, Metro and many more. “I see great synergies between our two organisations through our commitment to innovation and our focus on developing easy-to-use technologies that help create healthier indoor air quality. By collaborating and working together, our combined experience will help provide better outcomes for the customer and the environment also,” added Mark. The partnership feeds into a wider strategy for Elta Group of ‘Enhancing Life Through Air’ to provide an advisory role in the monitoring of air quality and consequent ventilation strategies. Leading by example, the business recently received one of the UK’s first RESET certifications at its head office in the Midlands. By achieving the new accreditation, the ventilation company decreased its peak CO2 levels by 33%. Building, Design and Construction Magazine | The Home of Construction and Property News
NIBE Energy Systems has launched a brand-new Photovoltaic-Thermal (PV-T) and Heat Pump solution which offers an innovative approach of transforming a NIBE “ground-source” heat pump product into a “multi-source” heat pump product. NIBE PV-T collector is an alternative, innovative, and silent heat source for use with NIBE ground source heat pumps, removing the requirement of a ground or bore hole collector array. The PV-T collectors produce electrical energy that can be used to operate a ground source heat pump. On a hot day, the circulating brine helps cool the PV-T panel, increasing PV-T generation efficiency. Following successful trials in homes and public sector buildings in the UK, NIBE is pleased to officially launch this new technology which produces two types of energy, thermal energy and electricity, by using a unique solar panel. The PV-T system builds on NIBE’s promise to continuously update its products, and to make it easy to be ‘smart.’ The system was recently successfully installed at the University of West London. The ground-breaking scheme is considered as one of the largest of its kind in the world and was made possible thanks to a £5 million Public Sector Decarbonisation Fund. The project involved the replacement of old gas boilers with ground source heat pumps alongside 580 solar PV-T panels. The site remained active throughout the build due to the use of prefabricated structures and the innovative PV-T design removing the need for extensive groundworks. Jonny Hancock, Product Manager at NIBE Energy Systems (UK) said: “The NIBE PV-T collector is an alternative, innovative and silent heat source for use with NIBE ground source heat pumps. The installation of a PV-T array can be utilised as a direct alternative or supplement to a traditional borehole or surface collector, while delivering the same levels of efficiency. It is also an excellent solution for when an air/water solution is not desirable. “PV-T panels are equipped with PV cells at the front that convert sunlight into electricity. The rear consists of a thermal heat exchanger that extracts aerothermal energy from the ambient air. The operation of the heat exchanger is therefore comparable to that of an air/water heat pump, without the requirement of a mechanical fan. A PV-T system therefore works 100% silently. Depending on the heating requirements, they can replace traditional boreholes or ground arrays, minimising disruption and removing the need for extensive ground works which can be impractical on some sites.” The PV-T collector is designed so that even on cloudy days and at night, the heat exchanger provides sufficient energy for the heat pump. In warmer months, the heat extracted by the collector helps cool the PV aperture surface, improving generation efficiency. The system has also been designed to provide additional comfort in the summer through passive cooling – increasing efficiencies and maximising carbon savings. It can also be used in new build properties to provide an efficient solution where noise is a concern and space is at a premium.
