Latest News

Housing Association magazine’s Joe Bradbury discusses the importance of improving energy performance in Britain’s flats and apartment blocks.

On the 18th November 2020, Prime Minister Boris Johnson presented a broad ten-point strategy to help the UK become carbon NetZero by 2050. In a bid to make our homes, schools and hospitals greener, warmer, and more energy efficient, he set a goal of installing 600,000 heat pumps annually by 2028. This, he said, would create 50,000 jobs by 2030.

When the industry first heard this, we had all assumed that getting to 600k annually would entail the installation of individual air source heat pumps on individual properties. However, a recent innovation challenges this assumption completely, offering multiple ways of delivering sorely needed heat pumps to the Nation.

Ecodan Hydrodan is a new, highly efficient water-to-water heat pump for the multi-residential market from Mitsubishi Electric.

Housing associations face two highly important retrofit challenges. One is to bring about the decarbonisation of the UK’s social housing stock as part of the battle against climate change, the other is to make their homes more energy efficient and, thus, more affordable for residents. Stewart Little, CEO of IRT Surveys, explains how social housing associations can make smart retrofit decisions to guide them on their path to decarbonisation and energy efficiency.

There are two forces driving energy efficiency within social housing. The most pressing is climate change. With the Climate Clock  predicting that, at the current rate of emissions, the 1.5°C rise in temperature will be surpassed in 2032, there is an existential need to make the UK’s housing stock more sustainable. If this is not achieved by 2050, it is predicted that housing will be responsible for 95% of the UK’s built-environment emissions.

New hub helps specifiers construct safe, comfortable and sustainable homes

Predictions suggest that an additional 9.3 million people will move to the UK’s cities by 20221, driving the trend for vertical construction to create more space for homes. In response, ROCKWOOL has developed a new high rise hub designed to support the specification of non-combustible stone wool insulation solutions for residential projects – ultimately helping specifiers to meet stringent fire safety, thermal and acoustic requirements while constructing high rise properties.

A central feature of the new hub is ROCKWOOL for High Rise Residential Projects, a comprehensive guide which explores the role of tall buildings in our society and focuses on key high rise topics including fire safety, thermal comfort, energy efficiency, acoustic performance and sustainability. Containing specific building regulations guidance as well as stone wool insulation case studies, advice and best practice, ROCKWOOL for High Rise Residential Projects is the go-to resource for high rise developers and specifiers.

Outward opening window hardware has always been a staple range for leading hardware distributor Carl F Groupco, who offer fittings to suit most window styles. Supporting this, a new guide for outward opening window hardware has been produced which highlights product options from established manufacturer partner, Roto.
Recently published, the new document provides a clear and simple summary of Roto hardware suitable for different outward opening window styles, including FRH Reversible, Projecting, NT Tilt and Turn hardware and the TSL and SSL espagnolettes. The guide is aimed to assist fabricators and specifiers, making hardware selection easy and hassle free.

Leading distributor of window and door hardware, Carl F Groupco, is proud to announce the launch of their new website. Carl F Groupco, based in Peterborough with depots in Cumbernauld, provides premium window and door fittings to fabricators across the UK, and a new fully responsive and bespoke website will allow for enhanced customer support for well-known hardware brands, such as FUHR, Roto, and Yale.
The new website combines all three of Carl F Groupco’s brands into one easy-to-access database, making the entire product portfolio available at the simple touch of a button. In addition to the core Carl F Groupco hardware range, access to both Carl F direct, a direct mail and e-commerce tool business, and SmartSecure, leaders in electronic multipoint door locking systems, means that finding your perfect hardware solution is hassle- and stress-free, from enquiry right through to completion.

Premier Tech Water and Environment is pleased to announce the launch of its Rewatec range of compact and vertical pump stations.
Building on over 50 years’ of experience in the design, development and manufacture of innovative water and wastewater treatment systems, Premier Tech has redesigned its range of compact and vertical pump stations to provide a reliable and efficient solution for raising sewage, effluent, wastewater and surface water in areas where a gravity discharge is unavailable.

Airtech Solutions, the condensation, mould and radon specialists, is supporting UK Radon Awareness Week (1-7 November 2021) by encouraging everyone to not delay and to take action. Run by the UK Radon Association, this year’s theme for UK Radon Awareness Week is ‘Don’t Delay’. In support of Radon Awareness Week, Airtech is therefore advising households, private landlords, social housing landlords and employers, ‘Don’t Delay’ learn more about radon and its health effects and carry out a radon test in your home and workplace to help protect families and employees.

Many people are still unaware that radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer after smoking, posing a significant risk to lung health with 1,100 deaths each year estimated to be caused by exposure to the gas. Lung cancer diagnosis and treatment have been the most delayed of all cancers during the pandemic due to factors including overlapping symptoms with COVID-19 and shared needs from respiratory medicine services. The UK Radon Association, as part of its campaign, is therefore also advising that you should contact your GP if you’ve had a cough for more than three weeks, as well as raising radon awareness and encouraging testing.