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You may not have noticed, but it’s becoming more and more important for businesses to take ownership of their carbon emissions. More and more customers are demanding to see environmental and sustainability credentials from their suppliers, and want to work with companies who are proactive about reducing their impact on the environment. Making the switch from diesel to electric vehicles is a great way to do just that, as it can significantly reduce your carbon emissions and promote sustainability. Plus, with the ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars coming into effect in 2023, it’s also a necessity! So the big question is, now that you’ve decided to transition to an electric fleet, what do you need to consider?

Cost

Transitioning from a diesel fleet to an electric one is going to come at a cost, and it may be more than you expect. While they are still rising in popularity, electric vehicles still carry a slightly higher price tag than petrol or diesel vehicles. However, it’s important to consider the long-term savings when upgrading your fleet. That includes the government subsidies that are available to businesses buying electric vehicles (up to £8,000 off the purchase price of an eligible electric van, and up to £3,500 off an eligible electric car). You’ll also see significant fuel savings, as well as reduced costs for the incidentals like road tax and servicing costs. So make sure this is taken into account when you’re running a cost-benefit analysis.

Availability

In the last few years, manufacturers have been producing more EV models, but there isn’t quite the range of options that you have with normal vehicles. So, if you need a specialist vehicle in your fleet, then you might struggle to find one. But for general cars and vans, there are several makes and models on the market, and manufacturers are focused on developing more environmentally friendly vehicles all the time. You may need to shop around to find what you want, so it’s worth factoring some extra time into the buying process, but for the most part you will be able to find what you need.

Range

The range that EVs are capable of has often dominated the conversation in converting to emission-free engines, however, they are developing quickly. Whilst they can still be impacted by cold weather, some EVs are now able to travel 180 miles on a full charge, a figure that is constantly improving. However, vehicle-reliant businesses which make long or numerous journeys each day need to consider access to charging points.

Charging

Thanks to the vast improvements in infrastructure over the last few years, businesses don’t need to worry about being restricted by charging infrastructure anymore. New locations for EV charging are added to the grid every day, and there are a wealth of apps including Google Maps that can show you where they all are. And by installing charge points in your business car park, you can ensure your vehicles are always fully charged before they leave base.

Clean Air Zones

Clean air zones are still relatively new and mostly found in London, but they are set to become the norm across the UK. As a way to reduce air pollution, driving petrol or diesel vehicles through clean air zones could incur heavy penalties for your business. The costs start at £12.50 per day per vehicle in London, on top of the congestion charge, which means running fossil fuel-powered vehicles is about to get very expensive. Upgrading to electric vehicles is a great way to prevent this, as they’re exempt from the charge.

Suitability

Whilst the industry is constantly evolving and maturing, it’s important to assess whether the models currently available are in fact a viable option for your whole fleet. That’s why it’s important to research the individual needs of the drivers, looking at current routes and driving activity to ensure the switch doesn’t impact your business and its services. You might find that only upgrading some of your fleet at first is the best approach, replacing more specialised vehicles as suitable electric alternatives are available.

At Bonus Eventus we are passionate about the environment, which is why we created a sister brand, Bonus Eventus Charged. This allows us to provide guidance on EV car charge points, as well as full installation and maintenance. If you would like to know more about EV car charging points, or if you have questions about instating them in your commercial space, just get in touch with the team today.

Electric vehicles are fast becoming the most popular type of vehicle on the market, with sales expected to increase over the next few years dramatically. Coupled with the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles being banned in the UK from 2035, business owners can’t afford to ignore the rise in electric vehicles anymore! But between more employees driving electric cars to government incentives for reducing emissions, companies are scrambling to cope with all the changes EVs bring. To help you out, here are 3 ways your business can prepare for the electric vehicle revolution.

Review Your Fleet

The first thing you need to do is take stock of your current vehicle fleet. What cars, vans, lorries or other vehicles do you have on the road, and what’s the nature of their work? This will help you decide which vehicles you can exchange for an electric alternative, and which should be kept as fossil fuel vehicles for a little while longer. The most obvious candidates for an electronic upgrade will have the following qualities:

• Low daily mileage: Electric vehicle mileage is improving all the time, with the best mileage on a single charge being around 366 miles. But the sweet spot for most vehicles is around 120 miles or less, so any of your vehicles that fall into that range for their average journey would be a good candidate.

• Smaller payloads: Smaller or lighter payloads are more likely to have an electric vehicle alternative with a suitable load weight and driving range. Heavier payloads may still have an alternative, but they are going to achieve shorter distances on one charge. There are options for any vehicle in the 3.5-tonne category.

• Urban routes: While the UK charging infrastructure has improved in the last few years, it still leaves a lot to be desired. Urban, built-up areas are still far more likely to have easy access to charging options, so any vehicles that tend to travel these routes will be ideal candidates for upgrades.

• Charging time: Depending on how you use each vehicle, you may find they can be topped up with charge in between jobs, and then the single-charge range becomes a lot less limiting.

When it comes to the more specialist vehicles and HGVs, your options may be a little more limited. This is where you may need to wait until more commercially viable options come onto the scene before you make the switch.

Install The Correct Charging Infrastructure

As you probably know, electric vehicles require charging to keep them working and provide the ‘fuel’ for them to run. But you can’t just plug them into the mains! Instead, you need to install EV charge points for them to use.

You will need to be mindful not only of your own fleet vehicles, which will require their own charge points for use in a private area, but of your employees and visitors, who will need to charge their vehicles while they are on site.

As of last year, there is now a minimum number of EV charging points businesses are required to have for non-residential buildings, which is 1 per 10 car parking spaces, along with cabling for 20% (or 1 in 5). That doesn’t mean you should only install that number though. As we mentioned the rate of EVs on the road is only going to rise, so installing a larger number of dedicated charging spaces will be beneficial to you in the future. Speak with a certified EV ChargePoint installer to design

Create A Rollout Strategy

Most businesses will find that rolling out electric vehicles all at once will cause a lot of confusion. That’s why we recommend taking a phased approach. For example, you can introduce one or two electric vehicles into your fleet and provide your employees with a chance to drive them. Decide whether you are going to provide any form of benefit, incentive or support for your employees to move to electric vehicles, and offer training on driving and maintenance if needed. Above all, make sure you are communicating with your employees about the switch to electric vehicles, what that will mean for them, and the positive impact it can have on the environment and the business.

At Bonus Eventus we are passionate about the environment, which is why we created a sister brand, Bonus Eventus Charged. This allows us to provide guidance on EV car charge points, as well as full installation and maintenance. If you would like to know more about EV car charging points, or if you have questions about instating them in your commercial space, just get in touch with the team today.

Whenever we’re talking to businesses with HVAC needs, we often talk about call-out response times. Because HVAC systems move air and water around your building, you need to be able to deal with it quickly. When water is leaking, even slowly, into your property, every minute can be catastrophic. Which is why you need to find an HVAC company that can respond quickly when the worst happens. To illustrate this, we would like to tell you a story.

A Tale of Two Leaks

In early 2019, 2 apartment complexes suffered similar issues. An intense storm swept across the UK and caused a lot of property damage along the way. In both buildings one of the key pipes on the roof was significantly damned, causing water to leak into the buildings. These were both 5 am diameter pipes, which within a few minutes were gushing with water. Once building management was alerted, they called their respective HVAC maintenance companies to help with emergency repairs. The first building, based in the south, used company A, while the second building, based in London, used company 3.

The Impact of Slow Call-Out Responses

Both buildings were evacuated, with residents advised to grab their valuables and an overnight bag. This was to ensure the safety of everyone involved and to allow maintenance to shut off the power and avoid injury. Company A acknowledged the issue and said that they would have engineers on site in 4 hours to handle the leak. Despite building management explaining that the pipe was now gushing water, Company A said 4 hours was the best they could do. So, building management had no choice but to wait while the building flooded. preventing further damage when they could until Company A arrived, and resolved the issue. At that point, after 4 hours of water pouring into the building from the roof and cascading down the levels, the building was condemned, and hundreds of people lost their homes.

Spot Difference

Now let’s look at how the apartment complex in London dealt with the same problem. Again, they evacuated the building, shut off the power and called their HVAC maintenance company, Company B. Company B recognised how serious this issue could be, and sent an engineer out to the property right away. The engineer arrived on site within 1 hour and was able to shut off the water and repair the broken pipe. Once the water had been shut off, building maintenance was able to assess the damage caused by the leak. They concluded that while there was some water damage. It could be managed with dehumidifiers and driers before repairs were made. Unaffected residents on lower floors were able to return to their homes, while those on the upper floors were put into hotel accommodations for a few weeks until repairs were complete.

What’s The Difference?

3 hours might not seem like a lot, but when gallons of water are flooding through a pipe and into a building, every minute counts. By attending quickly, Company B was able to prevent significant structural damage and save the building. How do we know this? One of our close business associates lived in the building managed by Company A, and he lost his home to the flood damage. And Company B was us.

At Bonus Events Maintenance we understand that emergencies happen, and they rarely happen at convenient times! That’s why we provide a guaranteed 1-hour call-out to all of our service areas, with the aim of arriving quicker. Because we know the impact that fast response (or lack of it) can have on our clients. If you would like to know more, just get in touch with the team today.

Over the last few years, we have heard a lot of people worrying about gas boilers. Specifically, that gas boilers will be banned from 2025, and so they should look to replace them with something else. These are rumours, and no such ban is planned, but it’s important to remember that rumours are often based on fact. Here, it’s that The government has given all new build properties the target of reducing carbon by 75% – 807. And this is simply not possible with a gas boiler. So the likelihood is that gas boilers will become a thing of the past sooner rather than later.

What’s The Ban About?

The rumours around gas boilers being banned came from a speech made by Phillip Hammond’s Spring Statement in 2019. He said:

“We will introduce a Future Homes Standard, mandating the end of fossil-fuel heating systems in all new houses from 2025.”

Although he didn’t specify gas, it’s reasonable to include gas within the fossil fuel family, so you can understand why this quote grabbed the headlines.

There are hints in previous Government reports that things were going to start moving in this direction, but not at such a pace…

The Clean Growth Strategy in 2017 puts forward plans to stop new homes from using oil or coal heating systems from the mid-2020s, but only in locations where mains gas isn’t available. The Clean Air Strategy, published last year, also talks about banning oil and coal heating, as well as restricting wood-burning stoves in urban areas, but again doesn’t mention a gas phase-out.

Maybe Hammond had been reading the ‘UK Housing: Fit for the Future’ report created by the Committee for Climate Change last month, which recommended new homes from 2025 wasn’t connected to the gas grid at all – instead using low carbon heat sources. This committee is completely independent of Government and has the job of pushing a very green agenda in Parliament.

What Are The Alternatives?

So if you’re building a new property, or are just looking to replace an old boiler, your choices likely won’t include another gas boiler. Instead, you‘re likely to be faced with a range of renewable options instead. These include:

Hydrogen Boilers: A hydrogen-ready boiler is a gas-fed heating boiler which is capable of burning either natural gas or pure 100% hydrogen.

Heat Pumps: A relatively new technology, more common in the commercial sector), heat pumps source thermal energy from a variety of sources including air, ground and water, and use it to provide power for the pump.

Hybrid Systems: A hybrid heating and hot water system is a combination of two or more technologies generating heat to provide heating and hot water to the home or building.

Should You Replace Your Boiler Now?

Given all of the advantages other forms of heating have, you might be tempted to upgrade your boiler or HVAC system now. And if you are at the point of needing to replace the system anyway, or install one from scratch, then we would definitely recommend installing one of the alternates to a gas boiler. However, if your gas boiler system is still fully operational, then now might not be the best time to upgrade.

Since it won’t be a legal requirement to replace your boiler, doing so would only create waste. Instead, we recommend implementing a regular maintenance plan for your boiler system. This will help your boiler run more efficiently and increase its lifespan until you are ready to replace it with a more energy-efficient option.

At Bonus Events Maintenance this is exactly what we do. Our experts provide both emergency and planned maintenance to a range of HVAC systems, along with changing ports and even upgrading entire systems to be more energy efficient. If you’re thinking about replacing your commercial or domestic gas boiler, just get in touch with the team today to book your free consultation.

Heating any environment can be difficult, but when it comes to commercial warehouse space, you’re faced with so many more challenges. But as a warehouse owner you’re always looking for ways to reduce your costs and increase your profits, which means you might need to look at the heating, cooling and ventilation solution you have in place. After all, did you know that heating and ventilation can sometimes make up between 15% and 30% of the cost of running a warehouse? By making a few simple changes and having the right systems in place, you can be confident that your HVAC systems are as energy efficient as possible, while saving you money on heating your warehouse.

Implement An Energy-Efficient System

Unsurprisingly the best way to reduce your warehouse heating bills is to start with an energy-efficient HVAC system. This means a system that is designed to heat large spaces, circulate air effectively and evenly distribute heat to maintain a comfortable temperature for employees, customers and inventory. It also means you will need to look at the fuel source for your heating system. Gas boilers can be expensive to run for large premises, so switching to a heat pump will often save you money. 

Section Off Employee Workspace

In most cases the products you’re storing could be kept at colder or hotter temperatures than the employees working in the space. Rather than spending extra money heating a full warehouse to that ideal working temperature, you can section off areas of the space for employee workspace. This means you can focus on achieving a temperature that’s comfortable and allows employees to be productive in a smaller space, and reduce the energy spent heating storage spaces.

Work Smarter

Large, slow fans can be used to push the heat that rises back down to the ground level. This is a great way to utilize the heat that naturally rises and recirculates back into the area that it is needed. You can also use fans to utilize the heat that is created by machinery in the warehouse.

Utilize Automation Technology

Most modern HVAC systems will come with some form of automation tools, so that you can set the optimum parameters and trust the system will follow them. This includes things like sectioning off different zones, or automatically setting schedules for the system. There will even be controls where the system turns off when there hasn’t been movement or traffic in the area for a chosen amount of time. This can be helpful for warehouses that do get customer traffic during some hours of the day.

Invest In Door Jambs

Doors with fast-mechanisms that open and close quickly can save energy. By installing seals on all the doors, you can ensure that you’re saving energy when the doors are closed. Some warehouses even use vinyl curtains on the doors to keep the hot air out when the doors are open.

As you can see, there are a lot of things to consider when planning a warehouse HVAC system, but even these simple steps can make a big difference when it comes to your energy bills. If you’re still concerned by the cost of heating your warehouse despite all of the above, we recommend speaking to a professional HVAC engineer to ensure your system is working correctly.

At Bonus Eventus Maintenance we understand how difficult it can be to keep your warehouse heated and ensure no money is wasted in the process. That’s why we offer free site visits and reviews to any and all warehouses and commercial buildings. Our experts will assess your warehouse heating systems and provide free advice and information, including recommendations for thermostat settings and heat zoning. If you’d like to know more, or to book your free warehouse survey, just get in touch with the team today.

If you’re moving into a new building, or your old air conditioning system has finally given up on you, then it may be time to look at a new system. Now this isn’t just as simple as buying something off the shelf. Every building and every business is different, which is why they all have slightly different needs from their HVAC system. So the likelihood is you will need to work with an expert HVAC engineer to design your new system. And they will tell you that there are 7 big things you need to think about when having those discussions.

Type Of HVAC System

There is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all HVAC system. While they are all designed to do the same thing – regulate the temperature of a building – they aren’t designed in the same way. For example, you can get split systems, hybrid systems or even packaged systems. You can get systems that run on heat pumps, traditional boilers or solar panels. There are different ventilation systems, operating systems and even installation methods, all of which will impact which type of HVAC system you end up going for. So spend some time exploring and understanding all of the options.

The Size

Your building’s plant room really is the determining factor in what kind of HVAC system you can run in the building. Since different systems take up different amounts of space, you might need to narrow down your choices to what will fit. If you’re stuck with a smaller plant room for an office block, for example, then a packaged system will likely be best as they are more compact. But larger commercial spaces require more complex systems, which is where split and hybrid systems are helpful. Your HVAC design needs to factor in the space available to you at all times.

Ducts & Ventilation

No air conditioning or heating system can work in a vacuum – they require other systems in place within the building to do their job effectively. Perhaps the most important one of these is ducting and ventilation.  When designing your HVAC system you need to factor in a series of ducts and ventilation that allow the entire building to be temperature controlled in an cost-effective manner. This means engineers need to consider the existing layout of the building and either using ductwork already in place, or install new vents and ducts to allow the HVAC system to circulate air, remove moisture and dust, and create a healthy indoor environment. 

Cooling Load

Cooling loads are a measure of how much heat an air conditioning system can remove from a building within a set period of time. This makes them an important thing to measure when it comes to designing the right HVAC system for any given space. After all, bigger buildings, or those that need to be kept at a cooler standard, need air conditioning that can cope with a much higher cooling load than a storage warehouse that would require more ambient temperatures. If the system isn’t designed with cooling loads in mind, the result is going to be a lot of wasted energy and a hot building all the time.

Energy Efficiency

As energy costs continue to rise, HVAC designers need to be considering the efficiency of their systems with each and every detail. An energy-efficient system allows the building to retain heat during the winter and remain cool in summer, saving the building owner a large amount of money and energy use. That’s why HVAC isn’t just about the physical machinery being installed – it’s also about making sure the building is properly insulated to provide the most efficient conditions for HVAC  operation.

Cost-Effectiveness

Any business is going to need to keep an eye on the budget, particularly with such a big project. That’s why HVAC systems need to be designed with both energy and cost efficiency in mind, so that they can save the business owners money in the short term and allow them to invest in greener energy solutions in the future. So once the building has been assessed, an HVAC engineer should be able to offer up a cost-effective solution for that property both now and in the future.

Health & Safety Requirements

Finally, there are laws to take into account. Any HVAC system being installed on a commercial or industrial scale will need to meet strict health and safety requirements before commission, and be maintained to an appropriate level to protect all building users. Designers will need to factor this in during every phase, from initial drawings to planning applications that answer safety questions. Every installation should be checked before commission to ensure all health and safety requirements have been met.

At Bonus Eventus Maintenance we are experts in all things HVAC. From design and installation to troubleshooting and regular maintenance, we’re here to make sure you get the most from your systems. If you’re looking to have a new HVAC system designed and would like some support or expert advice, we would be happy to help. Just get in touch with one of our team today to book your free, no-obligation consultation and site visit.

Boilers. They’re something a lot of us take for granted, whether we’re at home, at work, or in a public building. When they’re working, we don’t even give them a second thought. But when they stop working, suddenly they are the most talked about thing in the building. Today we want to ask you, what happens then? It’s easy to say ‘just replace it’, but with commercial boilers that’s a lot easier said than done!

When Your Boiler Breaks Down

If you’re at work and your boiler breaks down, this could first impact your business productivity. Or, if your processes rely on hot water, they will stop, and you’ll lose huge amounts of revenue. And if it’s winter, then your staff are now cold as well as unmotivated. They can’t even wash their hands with warm water, so they start to get irritated pretty quickly. And it’s no surprise – they shouldn’t have to work in an uncomfortable environment. 

Which they won’t. Employee productivity has been shown to drop in cold environments, and if the temperatures drop too low, they may even go home. If your processes rely on hot water, then they may not be able to do any work at all, which only means more lost time and money for our business. With no one to carry out vital tasks in your business and no way to generate income, you need to do something about it, quick!

The Price You Pay

So the boiler is broken, and you have no heat or hot water on the property. What do you do? You call a heating engineer and ask them to get there ASAP – it’s an emergency after all. Depending on the level of cover you have you could be waiting anything from half an hour to 3 or 4 hours. All of that time money is draining away from your business as you have to turn people away because you can’t provide the accommodation or services they need. When the engineer does show up, you have to pay a hefty emergency callout bill, which can be around £135, or more if it’s a weekend.

When the engineer takes a look around, they tell you the boiler is beyond repair, and you need to replace it. At this stage, you’re now paying for a new boiler and the labour to install it, whenever that is able to happen. That in itself could cost £2,000 and up depending on your commercial needs and the installation costs. And you’re still losing money every minute you don’t have a working boiler in the building. That’s thousands of pounds and a lot of lost customers, all due to a broken down boiler.

Servicing Makes All The Difference

So what’s the alternative? Regular servicing and maintenance! Commercial boilers might be powerful and robust, but they are also delicate, and things can get damaged and turn into big problems before you know it. And while the minimum servicing requirement for commercial boilers is once per year (or twice for older boilers), that doesn’t mean you should ignore them in between. Regular maintenance checks can catch small issues while they are still small, make routine repairs and ensure your system is working exactly as it should. 

The best part is, you can be protected against the cost of emergency callouts and boiler services with affordable service cover. You don’t have to worry about one small problem costing you thousands. Who knew there was such a simple solution to such a major problem for UK businesses?

At Bonus Eventus Maintenance we are specialists in the maintenance and repair of HVAC systems for commercial properties. Including the emergency repair of many a boiler in our day! Our maintenance services are designed to provide the routine care your boiler needs to stay operating at maximum efficiency and prevent any unexpected breakdowns. If you’d like to know more about how we can help you, just get in touch with the team today.

Did you know that Britain currently has the world’s third-largest boiler market? Even with the rising popularity of heat pumps and alternative heating solutions, there are still over 26 million boilers installed across the country. And among those boilers, any with a power rating of 70 kilowatts are considered ‘commercial’ boilers. Commercial boilers may be slowly phasing out, but that doesn’t mean you can ignore the maintenance requirements that come with them. We deal with commercial boilers on a day-to-day basis, so we’re going to share with you some best practices for keeping them in shape, and what warning signs you need to look out for.

What’s The Lifespan Of A Commercial Boiler?

All boilers are slightly different, but if you do the right maintenance and preventative care, your commercial boiler should last you anywhere from 10-15 years. Check with your manufacturer for the exact lifespan of your boiler.

Sadly this often isn’t the case, as it’s common for facilities managers to ignore the boiler when it is working, and only pay attention to it when something is going wrong. By this point, there have likely been smaller issues building up, causing damage that can cut down the lifespan of the boiler. That’s why regular and preventative maintenance, plus regular servicing can significantly increase the boiler lifespan and prevent faults from happening in the first place.

How Often Should A Commercial Boiler Be Serviced?

As a general rule, commercial boilers should be serviced every year, or even twice a year if they are getting old. Because commercial boilers experience much heavier use than household models, they are very prone to wear and tear which can cause all sorts of problems in the long term. Regular servicing helps stay on top of these issues and keep the boiler working smoothly for longer.

On top of that, many commercial insurance policies require a commercial boiler to be serviced every 12 months to maintain valid cover. If you need to make a claim and you haven’t been taking care of your boiler, you could risk missing a payout. All boiler services should be done by a qualified engineer who can provide you with all the documentation you need after each service. This means you can always prove that your boiler has been serviced, and have a reference date for its next check-up.

Warning Signs Of A Faulty Commercial Boiler

Since commercial boilers are such an integral part of your building systems, it’s important to know the warning signs if they need attention. Below are a few examples of warning signs for commercial boilers, so that you know when it’s time to call an engineer.

Higher Fuel Bills: We know that fuel prices have skyrocketed recently, and while they are slowly starting to level out they will be higher for a little while. But if you look at your fuel bill and think it’s extortionately high, it’s worth checking your boiler to make sure it’s working properly. When boilers are working inefficiently they use more fuel, which will increase your fuel bill.

Cold Premises: No one likes working in the cold, especially at this time of year. If your premises are still cold even after the boiler is running, you need to get it checked. Especially if you go around the property and find that all radiators and pipes are warming up to the same temperature at the same time – this is a sure-fire sign that something is wrong with the boiler.

Unusual Noises or Smells: Boilers all make noise when they work, but the gentle humming should not be distracting or overly loud. If you can hear clunking, ticking or whirring sounds coming from your boiler at any time, you need to get an engineer on site as soon as possible. The same goes for odd smells coming from the boiler, as this could be a sign of a leak and potentially incredibly dangerous.

If you don’t know where to start when it comes to your boiler, we’re here to help. At Bonus Eventus Maintenance we specialise in the maintenance and repair of HVAC systems, including boilers of all shapes and sizes. To find out more, or book your boiler services today, just get in touch with the team here.

If you work in the world of hospitality, you know that the customer is the most important thing. Your whole business is built around them, and so it’s your job to keep them safe and happy while they are under your roof. Safe being a pretty important word there! So much so that the HSE (Health and Safety Executive) has identified two key safety issues within the hospitality space that need addressing – electrical faults and fire hazards. Both of these can cause serious injuries or even death, so here are 4 ways you can make sure your hospitality premises are as safe as possible for your customers.

Protect All Sockets With An RCD

Wherever you have a circuit that is supplying power to an outlet where water is present – for example a bathroom – the circuit should be protected by an RCD. RCD stands for Residual Current Device, and provides protection to the wiring and fixed appliance within the room. It does this by monitoring the current of the circuit, so that it can quickly and automatically isolate a circuit when it detects that the electric current is unbalanced. An unbalanced current between the supply and return conductors of any circuit created leakage current, which presents a shock risk. An RCD can prevent that from happening. This significantly reduces the risk of electrocution for anyone working on the electrics or just using the room. RCDs should be fitted in the electrical distribution board and should be tested regularly to make sure they’re still in working order.

Book Regular Inspections And Tests

As a hospitality business, your buildings should each hold a valid EICR certificate to prove safety. It’s generally recommended that you have all fixed wiring tested every 5 years, all writing in pool areas tested every year, and portable appliance tested once a year or more, subject to individual risk assessments. Not only is this good practice, but your EICR (the electrical installation condition report) will give you an insight into the condition of your electrics, helping you identify any remedial work that needs to be done. In other words, it helps you put the safety of your staff and customers first.

Maintain and Upgrade Circuit Charts

For each property you manage you should have a circuitry chart and works record. Every time a professional electrician or electrical engineer carries out any work on your property (no matter how small), they should be providing you with a new circuit chart to reflect the work, along with all of their paperwork. This helps future electricians see any previous work done, makes testing much easier and will save you a lot of time if you need to do any maintenance or solve any problems quickly. This applies to both the front and back of house.

Plan Your Testing In Advance

Electrical testing and maintenance are always best done in advance. This is so that work can be done before any major problems arise, and means you won’t be fighting deadlines. The main reason for all of this is to make sure that your EICR paperwork is up to date before the mandated deadline every 5 years. By spreading your maintenance work you can also spread the cost, making it much easier to keep up with.

At Bonus Eventus Maintenance we may be the HVAC specialists, but we also need to know about and understand electrics in order to do out jobs. This means we can maintain other areas of your building systems while we work. Including electrics. So if you need a registered electrician to carry out testing or maintenance work, why not give us a call today.

By now you probably know that Bonus Eventus Maintenance is passionate about the environment. At least, we hope you are! We’ve written a lot in the past about the importance of planning your HVAC systems around environmental friendliness, ways to reduce your carbon emissions and how to use the amazing technology we have to start reversing some of the damage that has been done to the planet. Because while HVAC systems of the past could be incredibly harmful, they don’t have to be anymore. In fact, there are several ways you could adjust your building HVAC systems to not only save you money but be kinder to the environment too. And today we’re going to round up our favourite options into one post for you.

Solar Power

It’s a well-established energy source that will never run out, solar power has exploded in popularity over the past few years. You can use passive solar power methods like solar panels to power your HVAC systems, which many people do at the moment. Or you can use direct gain systems, which use the sunlight that passes through windows and converts it to thermal energy which the walls and floor store as heat energy. When the temperature in the room drops, the heat energy radiates out into the space, keeping it warm. There is also the option of storing pipes in the walls of buildings, which are filled with water and warmed by the sun before being pumped around the building. If you think outside of the box, you never need to use energy from the grid to power your HVAC systems again!

Geothermal Energy

Otherwise known as heat pumps. These systems draw heat up from deep underground, where the core of the planet warms streams of hot water and steam. Even just a few feet below the ground the water temperature is around 5-26°C, depending on the area. We use heat pumps to access and harness this geothermal energy, turning it into energy that can be used to heat or cool any building. Heat pumps are generally installed in the ground near the building, and then the liquid inside the pumps absorbs the heat in the ground to heat the building in winter and cool it in the summer. This is currently one of the more popular heating methods for commercial properties, and we are seeing more and more being installed every day.

Ice-Powered Air Conditioning

This is absolutely cutting-edge technology, so it isn’t available to the wider market just yet, but we expect to see ice-powered air conditioning making headlines before long. This is based on a new technology that converts water to ice, which can then be used to run air conditioning systems. The air-con units convert the water to ice using a system of copper coils during the night cycle and stores it. As the temperature of the building rises, the ice cools the hot refrigerant and therefore the building during the day. This cuts the energy used by the system by around 30% and drastically reduces your electricity bills too.

DeVAP

Another new HVAC technology that’s been designed to make HVAC systems more environmentally friendly and cost-effective. DeVAP stands for Desiccant-Enhanced Evaporative air conditioning, and it combines the cooling power of evaporation with the dehumidifying power of liquefied desiccants. That might sound like gibberish, but you come into contact with liquefied desiccants more often than you think – it’s what’s in those little packets you get in shoe boxes, handbags and other items that don’t like moisture. And it turns out that combining liquefied desiccants with evaporation makes an incredibly cost-effective air conditioner! DeVAP is still in the prototype stage, but tests have demonstrated a 90% reduction in energy use, so we expect to see them going mass market fairly soon!

Smart Ceilings

We talked in our last blog about smart buildings being the future, and environmental impact is a big factor in that. This option is less about changing your current HVAC system, and more about making sure it’s being used in the right way to get maximum results and produce minimal emissions. Smart ceilings or ‘digital ceilings’ are essentially ceilings fitted with sensors that can detect motion, occupancy, temperature and even carbon dioxide levels, and then feed all of that information back to the computer that controls your HVAC systems. So no more heating empty offices, and far less fossil fuel used.

So, what do you think about the future of HVAC? Could one of these systems be the solution to your environmental worries? At Bonus Eventus Maintenance we are always happy to work with facilities managers and block managers who want to reduce their carbon footprint while improving the performance of their HVAC systems, and our experts are perfectly placed to help you. For more information, just get in touch with the team today.