GOVERNMENT SET TO BAN FOSSIL FUEL HEATING IN NEW HOMES FROM 2025

Last year it was announced that the Government had introduced a new consultation which sets out its plans for the Future Homes Standard. This includes proposed options to increase the energy efficiency requirements for new homes from this year.

The aim of this standard is to bring all of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050, a target that is one of the most ambitious in the world. Homes, both new and existing account for 20% of emissions, and despite progress reducing those emissions much more needs to be done.

With climate change a growing issue and the release of the CCC (Climate Change Committee) report last year, heating experts Tansun are raising awareness about the requirements of the standard and discussing how the company’s infrared heating products can help homes comply. 

As part of the journey to 2050, the UK Government has committed to introducing the Future Homes Standard in 2025, and expects that an average home built using the guidelines will have 75-80% less carbon emissions than one built to current energy efficiency requirements.

It is anticipated this will be achieved through very high fabric standards and a low carbon heating system. Proposals indicate the need to ban fossil fuel heating systems, such as gas boilers, from new homes by 2025 and the necessity to replace them with low carbon heating systems. This means a new home built to the Future Homes Standard might also have triple glazing and standards for walls, floors and roofs that significantly limit any heat loss.

Chapter 2 of the Future Homes Standard refers to the roll out of low carbon heating systems to provide world leading levels of energy efficiency. An excellent example of a sustainable heating system is infrared heating panels.

Using the infrared panels, Tansun is able to help building and construction firms to meet the guidelines highlighted in the standard. The highly energy efficient infrared technology in the panels will help companies to comply with the legislation and ensure that the UK meets its climate change targets.

An expert in the field, Tansun is the UK’s leading infrared heater manufacturer. With over 35 years of experience in the heating industry, the company’s vast ranges of infrared heaters are manufactured to the highest quality and provide optimum heat performance all year round.

Tansun’s infrared panel heaters are highly efficient because they only heat targeted areas instead of a whole room. Infrared heaters also produce immediate heat, therefore consuming less energy than standard heaters that require warm up time, and are manufactured to offer optimum heat performance all year round.

Tansun invests a lot of time in research and development and believes that technology can only be developed if there is a true understanding of the concept and the purpose. In order to adapt with ever changing regulations that affect heating products, Tansun has made compliancy its priority.

The country needs to help the industry reach a position where it can deliver in 2025. The proposal of introducing a meaningful but achievable uplift to energy efficiency standards by 2020 is to work as a stepping stone to the Future Homes Standard will help to make new homes more energy efficient and future-proof them in readiness for low carbon heating systems.

Tansun’s panel heaters can be installed and programmed to provide heat exactly where it’s needed with minimum waste and can be controlled with more precision than almost any other heating system on the market. Infrared heat warms everything in its path without losing heat to other spaces, and combined with the Tansun range of energy saving controllers which include time lag switches/motion detectors and dimmer devices provides the perfect heating solution. With Tansun zoning and control, energy efficiency is optimised, heating bills are reduced and owners can boast a truly eco-friendly heating system.

The timer is also perfect for programmability, a function that automatically de-activates the product at intervals throughout the day. This is known as a run-back timer.

Tansun has also designed an app for controlling its heaters. This allows for remote interaction outside the building where the product is installed so that users can control the heating coming on.

Free to use, the launch of the app brings Tansun into the era of IoT enabled infrared heating systems. Its features include being able to turn heaters on and off, control the power level at 50%, 75% or 100% and power control of individual heating elements. Users can switch between up to six connected heating systems using a single remote, making it hassle-free to operate multiple heaters from more than one device.

All of Tansun’s products are made in the UK and are designed using premium components. The company has been established for 35 years and pioneered the concept of infrared electric heaters alongside Philips technology. Tansun has the largest range of domestic, commercial and industrial infrared heaters in the world, providing maintenance-free, safe and healthy shortwave heaters for many different types of heating applications.

Further information is available from Tansun on 0121 580 6200, by emailing sales@tansun.com or by visiting the company’s website at www.tansun.com

SWITCHING TO EFFICIENT ELECTRIC HEATING CAN BENEFIT HOMES IN FUEL POVERTY

Whilst many look forward to the winter months and cosy dark nights, the harsh truth for a lot of people is that it’s a time of the year that causes anxiety as fuel poverty continues to affect a huge amount of households across the UK.

In a recent government survey, it was revealed that more than 2.5 million households in England in 2017 were in the bracket of fuel poverty. That is more than one in 10 households in England and around 3.5 million in the UK as a whole.

Another government report stated that in 2016 those 2.5 million homes were unable to pay the costs associated with heating their properties without falling below the poverty line – an increase of 69,000 on the previous year.

There are lots of factors that play a part in causing fuel poverty. Insulation, glazing and building fabric all contribute to how much it costs to heat a property, but incorrect, inefficient or inadequate heating systems remain the biggest cause of financial concern in fuel poor households. This is particularly evident in homes using traditional electric heating, something experts Tansun wants to change.

Around 2.2 million households in the UK are electrically heated, which accounts for 8.5% of all homes. This includes storage heating (1.7million), direct acting heating systems (0.5million) and heat pumps (less than 0.1million).

For those living with outdated electric heating, such as storage heaters, then upgrading to a more efficient solution like radiant heating is the best way to start saving money. Upgrading to panel heaters like Tansun’s new infrared radiant panels will help transform the way people heat their homes and commercial buildings. Stylish, discrete and unobtrusive to blend into any environment, Tansun infrared radiant panels are the ideal indoor heating solution for both commercial and domestic applications. The radiant panels are developed to provide even heat distribution to gently warm people and objects before targeting the surrounding air. Each panel uses advanced heating technology designed to be environmentally friendly and remarkably energy efficient, resulting in energy conversion rates of around 98%.

In 2017, 16% of electrically heated homes in England and 748,000 Scottish households were living in fuel poverty, with 203,000 Scottish homes categorised as living in ‘extreme fuel poverty’. This means more than 20% of the occupants’ income is required to heat the property.

By improving the efficiency of electrically heated homes with new technology, it is possible to reduce a combined £160 million fuel poverty gap for more than 450,000 households in England and Wales. Due to their reliability, 1.7m properties in the UK are using storage heaters, mainly in the privately-rented and social housing sectors. The average storage heater is more than 20 years old and operates at less than 38% efficiency, compared to infrared heating which is 100% efficient. Around 70% of these are manually-controlled and old models, dating back decades.

For those with traditional storage heaters that are in need of replacement, infrared heating should be considered not only because it is smaller and more aesthetically pleasing than a storage heater but more importantly it is the cheaper and more efficient option to use going forward. It is important that homes should be future-proofed for low-carbon heating going forward, and by installing a reliable and virtually maintenance-free system like radiant heating panels residents are making the first step in making substantial savings.

All of Tansun’s products are made in the UK and are designed using premium components. The company has been established for 35 years and pioneered the concept of radiant electric heaters alongside Philips technology. Tansun has the largest range of commercial, industrial and domestic radiant heaters in the world, providing maintenance-free, safe and healthy radiant heaters for many heating applications.

Tansun heaters are available with a full range of energy-saving controllers which further enhance the efficiency of the products.

Further information is available from Tansun on 0121 580 6200, by emailing sales@tansun.com or by visiting the company’s website at www.tansun.com .

PLUMBING SPECIALIST HAS NEVER LOOKED BACK AFTER TAKING THE PLUNGE WITH WUNDATHERM

Compatible with sustainable heat pumps, solar panels or any existing gas/oil boilers, the Wundatherm underfloor heating system by heating experts Wunda Group plc can be laid by any competent tradesmen, including builders, carpenters and tilers.

The company wants more tradesmen to gain from the profitable benefits of Wundatherm, a rapid response wet system with no need to dig up floors, so has asked one of its most valued customers why they use Wunda and why they keep coming back.

PW Heating and Plumbing Engineers is a loyal customer to Wunda Group and have been servicing the South Wales area for more than 20 years. A supplier and installer of commercial and domestic heating and plumbing systems, Managing Director Patrick Whitehouse reveals why when it comes to underfloor heating he won’t go anywhere else.

After starting in the trade aged 16 as an apprentice, Patrick now runs his own business in gas plumbing and heating.

PW has used Wunda as its supplier of underfloor heating for around 10 years. “I find the technical side is very good and if you pick up the phone someone is always there to give you an answer and of course the products are good quality,” says Patrick, “and I think the most important thing for everybody in the trade is that it is the right price. The next day delivery is an added bonus.”

“I found out about Wunda through doing a lot of work in the area, speaking with a friend who had used them and after speaking with a local installer. I was then led to more people who use Wunda, including a very close friend who is also a heating engineer. There is also lots of positive feedback on a few industry Facebook pages and they are one of the bigger players in the industry.”

He continued, “Over the years, we’ve installed underfloor heating from scratch in new builds and renovations and we’ve used Wunda’s overlay system and pretty much every product they supply as it’s simple to fit and is always evolving. I have found that the overlay system is really popular at the moment as it is ideal for conservatories and newer houses where people are looking to take their radiators out and put underfloor heating in without too much disruption. There have always been reservations with underfloor heating as people are concerned about how much mess it creates or that it’s going to be too expensive to fit because you have to dig the floors up, but you don’t need to worry about any of that with Wundatherm and that’s why it is a really good alternative to radiators.”

“For us, we go with what we know and when I’m happy with something I don’t need to go anywhere else,” says Patrick. “I fitted some underfloor heating a few years ago in a conservatory and came to see Tom at Wunda and he explained to me the thermal element of it and how quickly it spreads the heat and I was so impressed that I’ve used it whenever we’ve had the opportunity.”

“I’ve installed around 15 systems for people doing home renovations. I had used other products before I started to use Wunda, but heating is moving on rapidly, and I’m pleased that every time I look at Wunda Group there’s something new.”

But it isn’t just the product that Patrick likes. “Wunda provides a really good service including support on a Saturday which many of the big players don’t.” He says, “If there is a problem on a Friday night or a Saturday morning then with many underfloor heating companies there is no help available, but Wunda cares a lot about the customer service side and when I phone in I get to speak to the same people and get a dedicated account manager, and that matters to me when I’ve got to place an order.”

“When placing an order, Wunda provides plans and drawings and I never have a problem if I stick to the diagram, especially as the drawings are so detailed. I wouldn’t swap to another supplier now, lots of people in the industry like to try out new products but when I find a good product that is always developing I don’t need to go anywhere else.”

Wunda’s new Rapid Response® Wundatherm system is incredibly easy to install, with no mess or drying time and is extremely durable. The lightweight low profile boards are just 16 or 20mm thick, heat up in minutes and are suitable for any floor finish including carpet, vinyl, Karndean, Amtico, laminate, wood, ceramic and stone tiles. Once installed, floor heating pipe is laid into the pre-formed grooves in the boards and the system is ready for immediate use.

Wunda prides itself on first class quality and customer service, providing free technical support six days a week, and provides the specialist service of detailed layout plans for all bespoke systems free of charge to trade customers. With these layout plans to hand, tradesmen can have complete confidence in laying the boards and installing the Wundatherm system.

To see Patrick in action, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AEvh044_JE&feature=youtu.be

For further information on the Wundatherm underfloor heating system or a free estimate, call 0800 083 2677, email: plans@wundagroup.com or visit the website www.wundatrade.co.uk

TANSUN’S INFRARED PANELS FINALISTS IN THREE INDUSTRY AWARDS

Following the introduction of its new infrared heating panels in 2019, experts in the field Tansun has found the product well received within the industry.

Following its introduction to the market last spring, Tansun has exhibited the panels at a number of industry shows and has seen interest spike in infrared heating following news that the UK needs to invest in more sustainable heating sources. During the last few months, the product has been nominated in H&V News, HVR and Electrical Times’ annual industry awards.

Finalist categories ranged from Sustainable Product of the Year to Domestic HVAC Product of the Year, the areas which Tansun is already targeting with the product.

Infrared panels are an innovative and effective form of heating that Tansun believes will change the way people heat both their homes and commercial properties. Due to their efficiency, health benefits and ability to produce big energy savings, the popular product is a reliable alternative to gas central heating.

The launch of the new radiant panels also coincided with a document released by the Committee on Climate Change last year on the creation of low carbon and sustainable homes. New build homes will need to meet even more ambitious standards in some areas, including being fitted with low carbon heating. No new homes will be built on the gas grid from 2025 so housebuilders will need to install more efficient heating systems that are both effective and aesthetically pleasing.

Tansun radiant panels are designed with a number of benefits which include providing instant, comfortable and gentle heat and ensuring safety and reliability as they contain no moving parts. Each panel is fully thermostatically controllable, very lightweight and silent, making it perfect for noise-sensitive environments. Developed to be highly energy efficient, the panels are cost effective to install and can save approximately 30-70% in heating costs.

Tansun heaters are available with a full range of energy-saving controllers which further enhance the efficiency of the products.

Infrared panel heaters should not be confused with traditional outdoor infrared heaters which emit a red glow, as they have been carefully designed to give off gentle healthy heat and no visible light or glare.

Further information is available from Tansun on 0121 580 6200, by emailing sales@tansun.com or by visiting the company’s website at www.tansun.com .

BAN ON FOSSIL FUEL HEATING TO IMPACT NEW HOMES FROM 2025

Last year the Government announced that it had introduced a new consultation to set out its plans for the Future Homes Standard. This includes options to increase the energy efficiency requirements for new homes from 2020.

The aim of the new standard is to bring all of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050, a target seen as one of the most ambitious in the world. New and existing homes account for 21% of emissions, and despite recent efforts to lower those emissions much more still has to be done.

With climate change now a major crisis and coinciding with the release of the CCC (Climate Change Committee) report last year, underfloor heating expert Wunda Group is raising awareness about what the standard means and how it’s over floor heating solution can help homes comply.

As part of the UK’s journey to the 2050 target, the Government has committed to bringing in its Future Homes Standard in 2025, and anticipates that an average home built using the new guidelines will have 75-80% less carbon emissions than one built using the current energy efficiency requirements.

It is expected that this will be achieved through very high fabric standards and a low carbon heating system. The standard was created to address the need to ban fossil fuel heating systems, such as gas boilers, from new homes by 2025 and how vital it is to replace them with low carbon heating systems. This means a new home built to the Future Homes Standard might also be fitted with triple glazing and walls, floors and roofs that significantly limit heat loss.

Chapter 2 of the Future Homes Standard discusses how the roll out of low carbon heating systems will lead to world-leading levels of energy efficiency. An excellent example of a sustainable heating system is Wundatherm, Wunda Group’s leading underfloor heating product.

Compatible with sustainable heat pumps, solar panels or any existing gas/oil boilers, the Wundatherm underfloor heating system can run at temperatures as low as 35°C and can be laid by any competent tradesmen including builders, carpenters and tilers. Once installed, Wundatherm only requires a plumber to connect the system to the heat source and an electrician to fit the simple controls, and is designed with a ‘fit and forget’ reputation that is reliable, durable, maintenance-free and future-proof.

Wundatherm is a new Rapid Response® system that’s extremely durable, incredibly easy to install and eliminates mess and drying time without the need to dig up floors. The lightweight low profile boards are just 16 or 20mm thick, heat up in minutes and are suitable for any floor finish including carpet, vinyl, Karndean, Amtico, laminate, wood, ceramic and stone tiles. Once installed, floor heating pipe is laid into the pre-formed grooves in the boards and the system is ready for immediate use. Wundatherm is extremely affordable and is virtually maintenance-free with a lifetime guarantee.

Wundatherm consists of pre-formed aluminium coated boards that deliver rapid response heating and are bonded instantly to the floor with spray adhesive. Once in place, high output 16mm floor heating pipe is laid into the pre-formed grooves in the boards, looping around to a heating manifold, with up to 150 sq. metres taking two people just two days to install.

The Wundatherm system takes minutes to reach operating temperature, unlike screed which takes up to 48 hours, and creates a comfortable heat as the boards come factory fitted with thick aluminium for fast heat transmission and the continuous leak-proof pipes carry a lifetime guarantee. To complement the whole system, there is a range of matched traditional hard-wired thermostats, as well as wireless and smart controls via an app on mobile devices to offer users complete remote control of the system.

The UK needs to help the housing industry to be able to deliver in 2025, so by implementing an achievable change to the current energy efficiency standards in 2020, the economy is a step closer to making new homes more energy efficient and future-proof in readiness for low carbon heating systems.

Wunda prides itself on first class quality and customer service, providing free technical support six days a week, and provides the specialist service of detailed layout plans for all bespoke systems free of charge to trade customers. With these layout plans to hand, tradesmen can have complete confidence in laying the boards and installing the Wundatherm system.

For further information on the Wundatherm underfloor heating system or a free estimate, call 0800 083 2677, email plans@wundagroup.com or visit the website www.wundatrade.co.uk

COOLING TOWERS RECONSIDERED

Gary Dicker, Director at DHD Cooling, explains why the evaporative cooling tower is still a great choice.

There is a lot of bad press surrounding evaporative cooling towers, but they are still one of the best long-term solutions for industrial and commercial cooling challenges and here’s why.

In order to reach certain cooling temperatures dry cooling alone is not the answer, in these cases there are a few bolt-on options that you can put on a dry cooler that will reduce cold water temperatures, but these come with their own distinct disadvantages.

The downside of dry and hybrid coolers

Air coolers typically rely on passing large volumes of ambient air over a finned coil; ambient air temperatures in the UK can soar to nearly 40 degrees Celcius at times, and in some circumstances the air local to an air cooler can be influenced by other plant, or even the equipment itself resulting in even higher inlet air temperatures.

To achieve colder water temperatures there are various methods of wetting the finned coils, or increasing the moisture content of the air which will bring the air temperature down, which will reduce the inlet air temperature improving performance, but here’s the rub.

Finned coils are often quite delicate, which makes them very hard to clean, couple this with the need for air to come in direct contact with the base material of the coil in order for the heat exchange to occur and you can start to see the problem.

There are various methods of humidifying the incoming air to reduce the temperature, in order to aid cooling. Many of these methods can still result in the coil surface becoming wet for longer periods which can help to adhere impurities in the air to the coil fins.

Wetting the coil itself will result in evaporation occurring on the coil surface, evaporation of water, only removes pure water leaving any impurities either in the water or in the air on the coil surface. Impurities can then start to build up over the coil fins resulting in a sort of thermal blanket forming creating a barrier between the air and the coil. This barrier will attract more impurities, further building this layer, not only affecting the heat exchange between the air and coil surface, but also restricting the airflow – a double whammy when it comes to heat rejection.

Finned coils need regular cleaning, but they are hard to clean due to the trade-off between the water pressures needed to clean the coils versus the potential to fold the fins during cleaning. Other methods of cleaning exist, but in many cases it is the mechanical action of the water dislodging impurities that has the greatest effect. Regular cleaning also weakens and eventually will cause the break-down of the fins which is terminal for the fin coil.

Cooling towers maintain performance for longer

Cooling towers on the other hand, exchange the heat contained in the circulating water by spreading out the water over a large surface area and bringing air into contact with the surface of the water. The volume of water passed over the cooling tower is always much greater than the amount of evaporation that occurs, which is typically about 1.6% of the circulating flow, so the opportunity for impurities to build up is reduced, as the water has a constant washing affect. Couple this with the fact that fouling of the heat exchange surface does not significantly reduce the surface area of the water until it is very severe, and you have a heat exchanger that maintains its performance for much longer than a dry cooler.

One of the cheapest components in a cooling tower is the fill pack (heat exchange surface), which is designed to be easily removed and replaced in most cases. Compare this to a dry cooler, where the most expensive and difficult part to remove and replace is the coil.

Freezing coils can be catastrophic, crippling plants in a matter of hours, and while cooling towers can also freeze, they often require little or no thought throughout the winter months.

Lowest cold water temperatures and highly manageable

There are many arguments as to why cooling towers are not the ideal choice in some locations – visible plume, high water usage, and the cost of chemicals are the main three – but just consider the following before dismissing them.

We maintain cooling towers that are 40 years old, providing the fill is clean, and the air moving equipment and water distribution systems are working, then they still deliver the same cold water temperature that they did 40 years ago.

Regular cleaning is simple to undertake, and replacement of the main components is also relatively simple.

In the UK, water treatment is at the top of its game using intelligent dosing systems to monitor the condition of the circulating water, to protect not only humans from harmful bacteria, but also the process equipment from scale and corrosion. Cooling towers are a more than manageable risk.

Probably most importantly, cooling towers achieve the lowest cold water temperatures compared to dry and hybrid coolers, which can directly affect your productivity, or process performance.

Justification of utilising alternative methods of cooling often centres around payback, which focuses on the cost of water treatment and the cost of water in evaporative systems. These justifications are based on a fixed baseline performance of a given system, in adiabatic dry air coolers and hybrid coolers this baseline performance will deteriorate, and may never return to the original design performance, so it may be true for the first 3 months, but 3 years after installation it almost certainly won’t be, which makes these justifications not altogether realistic.

Cooling towers, some of which were built in the 60s, dominate areas of the countryside, and some of the towns and cities around the globe, they offer a long term effective solution to cooling, they can run on sea water, river water, effluent water and borehole waters, they can be built of wood, plastic, metal and concrete, some are big, some are small, but with the right systems in place they are capable of doing their job safely and effectively delivering cold water to everything from data centres in frozen landscapes to metal smelting plants in the deserts, for many, many years.

There’s still a lot going for the trusty cooling tower!

For more information call 01905 317370, email info@dhdcooling.co.uk or visit the company’s website at http://www.dhdcooling.co.uk

IMPROVE YOUR PRESENCE IN ANY ENVIRONMENT WITH TANSUN HEATERS

When creating a new look for a commercial environment, choosing the correct heater model and colour can be difficult. In an increasingly competitive marketplace, Tansun’s customised branding service will enhance awareness and define a business’s personality.

Tansun’s design service allows its infrared heaters to be powder coated to any RAL colour and has the option of including a brand identity or logo. Colour themes can match any indoor or outdoor venue, enhancing a corporate/brand identity and providing an advantage over the competition.

This simple feature can be important for the specification sector to help blend in with particular environments and colour schemes.

Every environment is different and with one of the largest ranges of commercial, domestic and industrial infrared heaters in the world, Tansun offers a bespoke heating design service. Its dedicated research and development team collaborate with its sales team to fully understand and satisfy the client’s heating needs. As the UK’s leading infrared heater manufacturer, Tansun can produce a scheme which best suits specific heating requirements.

The design service Tansun offer is free to use and can help specifiers gain the best out of any given space.

Tansun also offers different brackets, time lag switches and controllers to accompany the heaters. As an experienced UK infrared heater manufacturer, Tansun can produce bespoke heating solutions in various ways to meet custom requirements, such as the design and manufacture of frames and brackets to suit a particular environment or project.

All of Tansun’s products are made in the UK and are designed using premium components. The company has been established for 35 years and pioneered the concept of infrared electric heaters alongside Philips technology. Tansun has the largest range of commercial, industrial and domestic infrared heaters in the world, providing maintenance-free, safe and healthy shortwave heaters for many different types of heating applications.

Further information is available from Tansun on 0121 580 6200, by emailing sales@tansun.com or by visiting the company’s website at www.tansun.com .

TANSUN UPGRADES INEFFICIENT HEATING SYSTEM AT 12TH CENTURY CHURCH

Infrared heating manufacturers Tansun have helped to improve heating for a church congregation at the Church of St Nicholas and St Peter ad Vincula, a Grade II listed building in the village of Curdworth near Birmingham.

The church congregation was in desperate need of a permanent heating solution to replace the 20-year system they were currently using to keep them warm during the winter months. They needed an efficient system that didn’t take hours to preheat and that blended in with the surroundings as much as possible.

Tansun’s powerful Apollo infrared space heaters and the portable Beaver infrared heater were chosen for the church as they are powerful enough to heat large buildings with high ceilings including the 5m in the nave, with Tansun recommending six heaters to replace the 12 currently in place. A further two Apollo heaters were installed in a side room and at the chancel. Tansun offers a range of bracketry so the space heaters could be mounted at the appropriate angle to warm those below.

Mark Evans, Sales Manager at Tansun, commented, “The heaters are cost-friendly, easy to use and have made such a difference to the church. All the congregation needs to do now is simply switch them on when they arrive and then switch them off again afterwards, no more waiting around for hours to pre-heat the church to a comfortable temperature. Whilst there are many heating options available for churches, infrared heaters offer maximum performance and very low running costs. They are reliable, durable and virtually maintenance-free, and are compatible with a full range of energy-saving controllers which further enhance the efficiency of the products.”

The Apollo range was designed to solve heating issues in large and problem areas such as gymnasiums, warehouses, aircraft hangars and places of worship, and with more than 30 models to choose from, this established product has been proven by Tansun for 30 years or more. The heaters come with high power options, special long-lasting aluminium reflectors, a focused energy beam and a high intensity heat, which due to the highly engineered construction and design can’t be rivalled by other forms of heating for large open spaces.

Apollo heaters are available in 1kW to 18kW versions to heat areas up to 79sq.m, and they can be wall mounted or hung from the ceiling. Tansun infrared heaters also benefit from a two-year warranty.

The Tansun Apollo space heaters are manufactured in the UK with smooth parabolic reflectors which help direct the heat outwards, giving an effective and instant heating solution. The space heater comes as standard with three phase wiring built into the heater, and is available in power configurations of 6kW, 9kW all the way up to 12kW.

Tansun infrared heaters offer maximum performance and very low running costs. They are designed with a ‘fit and forget’ reputation, are reliable, durable and virtually maintenance-free. Features include extruded aluminium heat sinks to keep heaters cool for better reliability. The shortwave technology is also noiseless, doesn’t contribute to air pollution and is compatible with energy saving controllers.

All of Tansun’s products are made in the UK and are designed using premium components. The company has been established for 35 years and pioneered the concept of infrared electric heaters alongside Philips technology. Tansun has the largest range of commercial, industrial and domestic infrared heaters in the world, providing maintenance-free, safe and healthy shortwave heaters for many different types of heating applications.

Tansun heaters are available with a full range of energy-saving controllers which further enhance the efficiency of the products.

Further information is available from Tansun on 0121 580 6200, by emailing sales@tansun.com or by visiting the company’s website at www.tansun.com .

DON’T BE FLOORED BY UNDERFLOOR HEATING

Underfloor heating offers effective and efficient heating that’s out of sight and makes no demands on wall space. However, many people have misconceptions about using underfloor heating, especially as a replacement for radiators.

To ease some of the worries, Wunda Group is discussing its innovative warm water over floor system Wundatherm, a powerful and energy efficient underfloor heating solution that disproves what people thought they knew about underfloor heating. Competitively priced compared to other types of heating, Wundatherm doesn’t require any digging up of floors, is rapid response and no specialist training is needed in order to fit it, making it the ideal choice for both new and existing homes.   

What if the heat source changes?

With climate change targets causing uncertainty for current heating methods, choosing a solution that works with any heat source will give customers peace of mind knowing that they are ready for anything and only have to buy once. Wundatherm is future-proof and perfect to use with both existing boilers and future heat sources, and with home heating accounting for 21% of a home’s carbon footprint, homeowners will need to stop using fossil fuels to heat their homes in favour of sustainable green energy heating in order for the UK to meet its global climate change commitments.

Can it be controlled?

It is a common complaint that screed underfloor heating and inferior retrofit systems are too slow to warm up and needs to be left on all the time to feel the benefits. This is not the case anymore. Most people are familiar with the underfloor heating screed solution, where the pipe is encased in concrete and the system warms the concrete first then the floor finish. This traditional type of system takes a long time to heat up from cold and is very difficult to control, which is why many feel it must be left on all the time.

This is where Wundatherm comes in, as the warm water system is placed directly beneath the floor finish and will evenly warm rooms quicker than radiators while running at the same energy-saving low temperatures. With its rapid response aluminium, users are able to turn it on, off, up or down whenever they please and don’t have to compromise on warmth.

Will it work in retrofit properties?

With no need to dig up floors and minimal build up heights (available in 16mm and 20mm), Wundatherm is made from advanced high density EPS which is very lightweight and easy to install compared to other fermacell and gypsum retrofit systems. Wundatherm takes just two days to fit 100 square metres as it’s easy to shape and has a quick contact adhesive, whereas other retrofit solutions might take six to eight days to install because of their weight/cutting time and the time the adhesive needs to dry.

Will the heat damage floors?

In the past underfloor heating was supplied with extremely wide pipe spacing (300mm) which meant it had to be run at high temperatures, around 70°C, which is similar to that of radiators. Wundatherm however is designed to run at temperatures as low as 35–45°C which creates a very comfortable atmosphere and protects floor finishes.

Does it work with all floor finishes?

Underfloor heating does work with most floor finishes and utilises floor probes to protect wood finishes from warping with a maximum 27°C surface temperature. Wundatherm provides comfortable heat through carpets that are up to two togs thick, and is also perfect for use under vinyl, laminate, ceramic or stone tiles. Wunda Group is now also a member of The Tile Association (TTA) and has achieved UKAS accreditation from Salford University’s Thermal Measurement Laboratory.

Can water systems leak?

Many also worry about the prospect of a leak under their flooring and how it would be detected and fixed. Wundatherm works with no joins in the pipes under the floor meaning there are no weak areas for a leak to start, and uses a British Standard approved pipe with lifetime leak-proof guarantee.

Electric vs water – which is better?

It isn’t uncommon for electric heating to be cheaper to purchase and to have a slightly lower build up height. But electricity is very expensive to run, often three times that of a water system. Wundatherm has a minimal build up height and is around 60% cheaper to run. With the reduction of install time and disruption, a water-based system is able to reap financial benefits in a realistic timeframe and also doesn’t run the risk of an individual panel breaking and leaving cold spots.

Wunda prides itself on first class quality and customer service, providing free technical support six days a week, and provides the specialist service of detailed layout plans for all bespoke systems free of charge to trade customers. With these layout plans to hand, tradesmen can have complete confidence in laying the boards and installing the Wundatherm system.

For further information on the Wundatherm underfloor heating system or a free estimate, call 0800 083 2677, email plans@wundagroup.com or visit the website www.wundatrade.co.uk

NEW BROCHURE ON COOLING TOWER MAINTENANCE AND PERFORMANCE ENHANCEMENT

DHD Cooling, one of the leaders in cooling towers solutions, has just published a new brochure covering its range of services.

The new 12-page full colour brochure carries individual sections on preventative and on-going maintenance, cooling solutions, performance enhancement, and a range of complementary systems that can be supplied for cooling towers.

DHD Cooling firmly believes that a cooling system shouldn’t just be a piece of forgotten plant but that it should perform correctly to provide valuable cooling for the processes that are used to keep operations running at optimal performance.

The section in the brochure covering preventative and on-going maintenance illustrates how DHD Cooling has worked successfully with many major multi-national clients to benchmark their cooling plant and provide them with a targeted maintenance plan across all of their sites so as to maximise efficiency and reliability. This gives companies the opportunity to plan their maintenance spend and focus on the systems that can offer the greatest return or need the most essential works.

Where new cooling solutions are required, the brochure explains how DHD works directly with an organisation to provide cooling solutions to suit any plant or requirement. Evaporative, hybrid, dry and adiabatic cooling systems and equipment can be supplied and designed to assist and enhance cooling. Here a full service can be supplied from planning, specification and design to installation, commissioning and handover of new cooling system projects.

An increasingly popular area for plant operators is where DHD Cooling provides performance enhancement. This process involves comparison of current operating performance against calculated potential performance by carrying out detailed condition and thermal assessments of the cooling equipment. This assessment enables easy ROI calculations on any improvement works recommended, and this will consider items such as the fill pack, smart controllers, distribution systems, fan machinery and fan casings.

The final section of the brochure covers additional and complementary systems which can be installed for maximum efficiency from the plant throughout the seasons. The range of purpose designed solutions includes Plume Abatement control systems, airborne particulate filters, wind reduction screens, winter protection screens and bird protection screens. These highly cost-effective rolling or fixed shielding options can help reduce the cost of cleaning and maintenance.

At DHD Cooling, the company bases everything on an analytical approach to problem solving, providing information in a clear concise way so that customers can make decisions that provide them with the greatest benefits to their plant or processes, and most importantly keep their systems operating at peak efficiency for as long as possible. DHD provides products and services that not only prolong the life of cooling equipment but improve efficiency and performance too.

For a copy of the new DHD Cooling brochure call 01905 317370, email info@dhdcooling.co.uk or visit the company’s website at www.dhdcooling.co.uk where the brochure can be downloaded.