The Ideal Heating Commercial Specification Team provides valuable design assistance to building services consultants and specifiers. The team consists of Richard Brown, Head of Specification, and two Specification Sales Manager; Michael Fraser who covers the Midlands and Bryan Marland covering the South West and South Wales.
With in-depth industry and product knowledge, here we ask the Commercial Specification Team what their thoughts are on the latest changes within the industry and how we can meet the demands of decarbonised heating.
What do you consider to be the most important change in the recent Part L uplift?
Bryan Marland: “I think it really has put an end to the old technology. The recent changes have wiped the board for old low-pressure boilers and old technology right in the middle of the commercial market. Businesses can no longer rebuild old units with spares or downrate larger boilers prolonging the use of fossil fuels. We will now have to embrace new technology to heat our buildings.”
Michael Fraser: “Any change that reduces carbon emissions is the most important in this critical journey towards net zero, and we are fully committed to assisting design engineers achieve this with our ever-changing range of technologies designed with the aim of moving towards this goal.”
What is the most common specification mistake made and how can this be avoided?
Richard Brown: “Not using our product knowledge and experience in specifications. For example, an engineer might pick a bank of boilers and they want a plate heat exchanger on the end of the boilers to give them hydraulic separation. Now, if you do that, that's all well and good, but often people forget that you're going to get a temperature loss across the plate. So, they're not going to get what they want to achieve on the secondary side. This can go all the way through to tender without anyone realising the mistake. Speak to us at the design stage and we can ensure that doesn’t happen. We really are here to help!”
Bryan Marland: “I think the biggest mistake is to assume that despite a heating load for one building being similar to another, it doesn’t mean you can just copy and paste the details across from one spec to the other. You’d be surprised how often this happens. Fundamentally each building is different. Pick up the phone to the Specification Team if only to check to make sure; the chances are we may be able to reduce the load or offer a more versatile package or, even better, we may have brought out new, more efficient products that will use less energy and potentially save capital cost too.”
Top advice you have to offer consultants and specifiers
Richard Brown: “Broaden your horizons and look to see what else is out there in the market. We’ve seen rapid change in the heating industry as we face the challenge of reducing carbon, so none of us should base our work on what we've always done in the past. I get that it's human nature to fall back on what's comfortable, but we need to look out of the box at other, newer technology. Let’s take a more open, collaborative approach. Also, when investigating your choice of supplier, look to see what additional value that manufacturer can add. Ideal Heating, for example,we’ll commission our products for you free of charge and provide warranties of up to 5 years to give total peace of mind (subject to T&Cs). We also have a large number of heating engineers to assist customers on site, plus our product availability is market leading as we are a British manufacturer. At a time where supply chain issues are widespread, this is an important consideration that frequently gets overlooked.”
Michael Fraser: “Every job can have different design parameters, and even a slight change can mean that what was perfect for the previous project may need tweaking slightly for the new one, or we may have a better option for the new project within our range. So, I would say get in touch with us every time you are considering our products for designs, and we will check it over and ensure, alongside collaboration with yourselves, that we are putting forward the most efficient, cost effective solution for you and your clients. This is what we are here for and we will take a look at every single project with pleasure.”
Contact the team
To get the very best heating solution for your specific project, contact the Ideal Heating Commercial Specification Team who can provide valuable design assistance to building services consultants and specifiers:
London and within the M25: Richard Brown, 07718 192161, [email protected]
East & West Midlands: Michael Fraser, 07384 546488, [email protected]
South West & South Wales, M4 corridor: Bryan Marland, 07976 121132, [email protected]