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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.

Heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems aren’t just machines. They are intricate organisms, threading through your building and creating the perfect environment for work, learning or living. We like to think that HVAC systems are actually more like the human body. Each system has its own set of systems, all dependant on one another and carefully in balance, and all need taking care of. If you avoid the dentist for years, eventually you’ll get a cavity and have to go for a long and expensive procedure – the same goes for your HVAC systems! The equivalent of a dentist for HVAC systems is planned preventative maintenance, and today we want to explain what that looks like, and why you need to invest in it for your commercial properties.

What is HVAC Maintenance?

The systems that keep a building running are the key to maintaining a healthy and comfortable environment inside, and in this case that is the HVAC systems. HVAC (which stands for heating, ventilation and air conditioning) are an essential part of creating comfortable living and working environments. Each unit and system varies depending on the size and nature of the building and your requirements – with some being relatively simple others incredibly complex and intricate. Their size can also vary from very small units for individual offices to huge machines and industrial heat pumps designed for large factories, office buildings or schools. But they are machines, and just like any other they require periodic maintenance to ensure they are working at maximum efficiency and won’t break down. If your HVAC systems aren’t regularly maintained, then you could end up spending much more on running costs as parts become dirty, clogged or damaged, and face a much bigger bill if the system fails (not to mention any damage to your building and loss of earnings). So we always recommend bringing in a professional to run more comprehensive checks and perform any tweaks or repairs the machines may need.

Why Invest in Preventative Maintenance?

When it comes to preventive HVAC maintenance, you should think of it in the same way as you do maintenance on your car. If you don’t change the oil, replace the belts and filters before they start to wear and damage and keep it running effectively then the car won’t run. But instead of waiting for the parts to fail and ending up without a car while you wait to replace them, taking steps to repair and replace them before that stage saves you time, money and stress.

Like any electrical and filtration systems, regular maintenance includes cleaning, topping up any fluids or other components and carrying out safety checks to ensure none of the elements are faulty.  This can prevent catastrophic failures down the line that could otherwise lead to fires or gas leak problems, putting the lives of your tenants at risk. A well-maintained HVAC system keeps your air clean, improves the life of the system itself and keeps it running efficiently.

Some of the benefits of investing in preventative maintenance include:

• Lower running costs: Components within machines can wear down, get damaged and eventually fail. This can take time, and there are usually warning signs along the way. One of those is an increase in running costs, as the system has to work harder to compensate for the damaged component. The more components that are damaged, the higher your running costs will be. Regular maintenance allows you to catch issues before they have a chance to cause problems, keeping your running costs down.

• Extend the life of your system: HVAC systems aren’t cheap, so you want to make it last as long as possible. Repairing or replacing individual components as they begin to fail is much more cost-effective, and means you can extend the life of your HVAC system for many years.

• Improve air quality & comfort: Regular maintenance helps your system produce and distribute the warm or cool air more steadily, reducing hot or cold spots and generally making sure your system is working as efficiently as possible. Regular cleaning can also dramatically improve your indoor air quality, which is a huge benefit for office blocks.

• Ensure safety: If something goes wrong in your HVAC system, the consequences can potentially be huge. We’ve been called out to buildings that have been flooded by their HVAC system because it wasn’t properly maintained for several years, and this resulted in the whole building having to be closed and refurbished. Not only was this expensive, but it was also dangerous for anyone working or living in the building. Regular maintenance and safety checks means you can always be sure everyone in your building is safe.

Does Preventative Maintenance Work?

Here’s the kicker. Preventative maintenance does work, but only if the recommendations of technicians are followed and the remedial work is carried out quickly. All too often we’ve seen customers who have had quotes and assessments done for planned maintenance, but they never actually did the work. Instead they treated it as a list of things they needed to keep an eye on. The problem with that approach is we recommend preventative maintenance is done to extend the life of your components and keep everything running smoothly. If you wait until something has started to fail, then it’s already too late, and will cost you more in the long run.

Many companies and property managers still operate a ‘reactive maintenance’ model, where they wait for things to go wrong before they have repair work done, rather than scheduling regular cleaning and maintenance checks throughout the year. The downside to this reactive approach is that a repair on a big failure, or just a full deep clean, can cost you far more than regularly scheduled check-ups. Not only does it cost you more in ongoing running costs as things fail, but your system failing could result in a huge bill for a replacement. By scheduling regular air conditioning check-ups, you can catch and replace failing parts in a staggered way, before they cause problems, and prolong the life of your components.

The good news is that ongoing HVAC maintenance isn’t an expensive outlay for you, unlike the cost of replacing a full unit. While the cost of replacing a complete system can run into the thousands, maintenance of that system will cost a fraction of that and keep your buildings in working order for longer. Not only that, but there is some evidence to suggest that well run HVAC systems could actually save you money in terms of energy and electricity used by your building.  By investing in regular maintenance for your HVAC systems you are ensuring lower pay outs for repairs, reducing your emergency call outs (and their charges) and providing a cleaner, more comfortable environment for your tenants. For advice or help with your long-term HVAC maintenance plan, get in touch with the team today to book your free consultation.

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.

Have you ever wondered what a smart building is? Is it the futuristic buildings of sci-fi films, where everything is interconnected and controlled by just a gesture? Or maybe it’s a building that is run by AI, which could take care of all of those little niggling issues without human intervention at all?

While those inventions might seem nice, science hasn’t quite got to that stage yet!  What we do have are smart buildings that can be monitored and controlled from one panel, helping facilities managers keep an eye on their buildings in a much easier way.

What Is A Smart Building?

A smart building is any building that uses automated processes and technology to automatically control the standard building operations. This includes heating, ventilation, air conditioning, lighting, security or other building systems.

It does this by using a variety of sensors, actuators and microchips that are built into the fabric of the building and the building systems. This upgraded infrastructure help building owners and facilities managers monitor their systems more effectively and gives them greater control and performance over the course of each asset’s life. They also reduce energy use, optimise how space in the building is used and help minimise the environmental impact of buildings from day one.

There’s no set standard for what a smart building should look like or how it should function. But the common thread is integration, and how these buildings have technology built into their very infrastructure, connecting everything together.

The Benefits Of Smart Buildings

Smart buildings are capable of all sorts of things, and the development of new technologies will only add to the list in the future. But right now, there are 7 key benefits to smart buildings that all facilities managers should know about.

Automation Opportunities: The more ways you can link a physical space with digital management systems, the more opportunities there will be to automate basic tasks. Things like motion-sensitive lights, floor sensors for occupancy, beacons to gauge workspace utilisation and more are all possible with smart buildings, taking the burden off both facilities managers and IT teams.

Quantifiable Building Insights: All smart tech provides feedback and data. Each data point generated by a smart building gives you an insight into how your building is functioning, how occupants are using it, and when each system sees the most load. Using these data points you can build up a realistic picture of your building’s  use and maintenance needs.

Predictive Maintenance: Through digital twins and similar technology,  buildings and workplaces become manageable assets. This means you have a clearer overview of what the maintenance needs are, and can become more proactive as a result. This approach saves you time and money and using the technology you can see where more proactive maintenance would benefit you.

Better Resource Utilisation: Smart buildings allow facilities managers to take the resources of a building, like space, manpower, and technology, and quantify them within the context of the facility as a whole. This means a better understanding of how people use the facility, and how you can improve things for them.

Reduced Energy Consumption: One of the big benefits of automation is your systems being able to identify and understand when they are needed and when they aren’t, which results in significantly less energy use. Whether that’s motion-sensitive lighting or a sensor-controlled HVAC system that can adjust useable depending on occupancy, smart buildings help you use less energy and help the environment.

Reduced Operational Costs: Investing in the technology and infrastructure needed to support a smart building is often a block for businesses, but the ROI is almost always worth it. By creating a building that can gather data and use it to make intelligent decisions, you can save a small fortune in operational costs year-on-year.

New Workspace Opportunities: In the new age of evolving working styles, change in the workplace is unavoidable. Flexible working and hybrid working are fast in their way to becoming the new norm, and there’s a big demand for systems to help manage these new working styles. This level of oversight is much easier to achieve with a smart network and systems that generate data to support it.

So, are smart buildings the future? In a word, yes! Not only is technology becoming more advanced by the day, the changes mean it’s never been easier to monitor and control your building’s critical systems. As smart buildings expand, the functionality will be made available to residents as well, giving them greater control over their environment and the ability to work more efficiently.

At Bonus Eventus Maintenance we are passionate about the environment, and about helping facilities managers make the most of technology to improve their buildings. We work with a number of companies already who are looking to implement smart technology into their buildings, and we would love to work with more in the future. If you’re interested and would like to know more, just get in touch with the team today.

In this ultra-modern world, you might be forgiven for thinking that no one really needs to meet anyone in person anymore. Especially in the times of Covid, where meeting in person is actively discouraged. But there is one very good exception, which is when it comes to property maintenance. You probably know by now that we are HVAC maintenance specialists, and we spend a lot of our time assessing and quoting for maintenance and repair work. But if a property manager won’t meet us in person to talk about the quotes and work, then there are a lot of problems that arise – and it’s not just our company. In particular, there are 4 problems that comes up time and time again for maintenance workers.

You’re Too Busy

People are busy, and property managers are no exception. There is so much for you to keep up with that it can be easy to miss something, and sometimes that something is incredibly important. All too often we’ve received replies to quotes or questions that have seemed rushed, and the answers don’t really make a lot of sense. This is usually because property managers are working under a lot of pressure, and the issues we’re presenting to them are quite complex. This can make understanding the issues difficult, and cause a lot of back and forth emailing that just wastes more of your time in the long run. A 10-minute meeting is sometimes all we need to properly explain the issue to you in a way you can understand.

No Communication Issues

This issue goes hand in hand with the last, because a lot of things can go wrong in back-and-forth communications. Many times we have been attempting to explain an issue or situation to a property manager and they have not been able to understand what is wrong, or what needs to be done to fix it. In simple cases this is frustrating for the managers, as they just want to get to the bottom of the problem. But in particularly complex cases this can actually cause so many communication issues that the work doesn’t get done at all. This is problematic as the issue won’t go away, and will likely get worse without attention. Meeting with your contractor means there can be an immediate conversation and any confusion can be cleared up right away, leaving you confident in what needs to be done and what action you need to take.

Stops Delays

Some of the maintenance work we do is remedial, or routine maintenance that can be slightly flexible on scheduling. But in other situations the work has to be done quickly in order to avoid further damage or cost. Email communication isn’t always quick, and it can sometimes take hours, days or sometimes months to come to an agreement on what needs to be done and when. These delays are not only difficult for us, but they can cause a huge amount of problems for you, not to mention cost you a lot of money. Again, a face-to-face conversation can end in a decision right away, which means we are able to get to work quickly and stop any further problems before they start.

Gives You Options

Once we’ve been to your site done a survey, we will usually provide you with a quotation for the works. This can be a sticking point for many property managers, particularly if the first 3 issues have all cropped up along the way. But there is more than one way to skin a cat, and often there will be a few different options available to resolve your issue. Different approaches we can take, different cost profiles and so on. This is the kind of thing we can only really do in conversation, as you can explain your concerns and we can explain your options, allowing you to pick the best course of action for you and get the ball rolling.

At Bonus Eventus Maintenance our job is to keep your HVAC systems in proper working order, running efficiently and at as little cost to you as possible, and the best way we can do that is to meet with you and discuss your needs. If you would like to know more about maintaining your HVAC systems and how we work, just get in touch with the team today.