Community Heating Systems

What is a Community Heating System?

A community heating system is where a single heat source supplies heat to a number of different properties. Examples include a system that heats a block of flats or a large scale heating system that supplies multiple buildings. Such systems work best in densely built areas with large numbers of dwellings in close proximity to one another; to ensure the system is efficient.

Systems across the world show a large range of different heating sources. Many use a typical boiler set up although new builds and refurbishments are often using renewable energy sources such as biogas or woodchip. Electric heating is particularly common with community heating systems due to their niche of heating densely built areas; a gas explosion could be devastating. Some community heating systems make use of solar and geothermal energy.

Here in the UK, some cities have adopted major community heating systems that heat whole districts.  In Nottingham for example, a community heating system heats 4,600 homes and a wide range of businesses.

How is the heat distributed?

Smaller community heating systems are similar to large scale central heating systems; making use of pumps, valves and insulated pipes.

The larger schemes use what are known as heat mains. Heat mains are series of pipes that are buried in the ground similar to other mains services and have stellar insulation to reduce energy loss and ensure optimum efficiency. A key feature of heat mains is that they can pump at different speeds, to adapt to what is required and keep costs at a minimum.

What differences will consumers see?

Consumers will still have radiators, thermostats, time switches/programmers and TRVs. The main difference is that instead of a boiler they have a Hydraulic Interface Unit which connects their home to the heat mains. This unit contains control valves and metering.

Yet Another Rogue Plumber Caught By HSE

Consumers should always be vigilant against rogue and illegal tradesman making false claims about their accreditations and skills.

Salisbury Crown Court heard last Friday (28 September) that the Wiltshire plumber Simon Dale who traded under the company name Cathedral Plumbing Services and previously Wiltshire Plumbing & Heating Ltd, had carried out gas work on 13 properties in Wiltshire that he was not qualified or registered to do.

This kind of practice puts selfish greed above the safety of his clients, whilst working in a field that can have very deadly consequences for shoddy work.

Although Dale was registered as a plumber under the CORGI scheme, he was not qualified as a gas engineer. Despite this he made verbal claims that he was qualified to carry out the gas work and used official logos on his paperwork and van that he did not have the right to use.

On one particular job he also claimed to be Part P proficient and able to carry out electrical work.

Illegal gas work is very often of poor quality with the resulting installations carrying high risk of explosions or carbon monoxide leaks. Carbon monoxide cannot be smelt, tasted or seen yet a percentage of just over 1% in the air can cause unconsciousness in a few breaths and death in a few minutes.

The plumber pleaded guilty to six offences under the Health and Safety at Work Act and ten offences of fraud by misrepresentation, breaching the Fraud Act 2006 as well as three breaches of the Unfair Trading regulations 2008 for unfair commercial practice.

This list of crimes landed Dale 30 months of prison, including consecutive prison sentences rather than concurrent as two of the cases of fraud were committed whilst he was on bail for the other offences.

If you live in the Bath area of the UK and need a Bath gas engineer, Bath plumber or Bath electrician you can trust, then BPM Maintenance is here to help. Our tradesmen are fully registered and accredited with their various organisations and are happy to prove that to you to ensure your safety and peace of mind are preserved.

Landlord vs Tenants

The private renting system can land both tenants and landlords in the soup when care is not taken. Two recent articles, one from the Herald Express; detailing rogue landlords in Torbay, South Devon, the other from the Central Somerset Gazette; concerning appalling tenants in Glastonbury.

Within Torbay, private landlords hold hundreds of low quality, ill-kept and poorly maintained properties across the resort. Many are often in the most deprived areas of the town, areas amok with the less disciplined kind of youth, prone to outbreaks of graffiti, noise and violence. Within just the last year, there have been 1400 complaints from local tenants, compared to just 3 and 40 from nearby, comparable towns. The landlords evict any tenant that complains about the low standard of living/quality of life.

The Glastonbury report tells the story of a landlord who accepted tenants on housing benefit and under the care of social services in the mistaken belief that this would provide some form of security, in that the public sector would ensure his new tenants are kept in line. However, when they finally moved out the unfortunate landlord discovered his house had been effectively ruined, with human excrement on the walls and the interior furniture left in wreckage.

Both cases highlight the importance of ensuring a detailed check is made on both sides of the tenancy agreement. Both the landlord and the tenant-to-be are making a costly decision that significantly affects their lives. Such a decision cannot be entered lightly and without the utmost care. The landlord should make use of a professional tenant letting service which obtains references from past landlords to check how they treat a property and their employer to check they can pay the rent.

The tenant should make at least one visit to the property before signing anything. A prospective tenant should make a check-list of what they're looking for in a property, tell-tale signs of maintenance required and prospective problems. They should check the lights, plumbing, electrical, doors, heating and more to know the property they are moving into sufficient to provide for their basic needs. Another useful task would be contacting local residents, scouting the nearby area to judge the quality of the neighbourhood.

Oxfam Maintenance Initiative

In a new initiative to organise the maintenance and repair of their 128 shops within 30 miles of the Warwickshire area, Oxfam, the global aid and development charity, is setting up a meet event for local contractors to attend.  Over the course of 4 and a half hours on the morning of Wednesday, the 29th of August, a team from Oxfam will personally judge any chain of contractors that turns up. As the event is free and requires no membership in the organisation, Construcionline, that is setting it up, I am sure that they can expect quite a turnout. I am also confident that Oxfam will have a difficult time deciding and judging the relative merits of these excellent tradesmen.

BPM Maintenance is unfortunately too far from the region to participate, though you can count on that we would be there if a similar opportunity opened up in the Bath, Bristol or North east Somerset area. Any contractors that hope for a deal with Oxfam will have to present good evidence that their work is of the highest quality and is affordable for a chain of charity shops. These property maintenance workers will have to remember that Oxfam will not have the budget of a retail company which doesn't rely on goodwill and volunteers to support their business.

Any prospective contractor would need to show good links with local business, especially in the retail sector. They would need to provide a strong range of trades such as plumbing and electrical that may all be required by Oxfam. A charity would certainly prefer to use a single maintenance company rather than organising multiple to work together for a single project, with the escalating costs that would bring. Accreditations and proof of experience and qualifications would certainly be a requirement. BPM Maintenance meets all these stipulations with flying colours; we can only hope that the Bath, Bristol or Somerset area Oxfams conduct a similar meeting with local businesses so we can extend our trade further.

The Construction Sector has Shrunk Nearly 10% in the Last Year

On the 10th of August, the Office for National Statistics published a new report showing the construction output figures for the second quarterly period of 2012. Unfortunately the already shrinking building sector has contracted further as the recession continues. Only one sector remained unscathed; non housing repair and maintenance. Thus we at BPM Maintenance have not been hit quite as badly as our competitors, due to our strong relationships with local businesses in the Bath, Bristol and North East Somerset area. We provide as range of commercial and retail maintenance work, that the statistics have shown some growth in; 0.8% year on year.

The Economics Director of the Construction Products Association, Noble Francis, had this to say on the new figures;

‘However, what is most concerning is that private sector activity has also fallen sharply, implying that not just activity but also confidence is sadly lacking.

This situation is rapidly becoming a crisis and at this rate I wouldn't be surprised if manufacturers begin to shut down their operations and lay people off.'

Many experts view growth in the building industry as integral to the economic growth of the country as a whole regaining momentum. The government itself recognises this, but continues to deny the necessary measures to stimulate growth.

The population of the Isles is ever growing, yet the decline in housing repair and maintenance shown in the statistics released may hint that many people are unable to afford professional services and are resorting to DIY to solve plumbing or electrical problems. Many of these maintenance jobs can be more involved and dangerous than they appear. Attempting to re-wire or fix an electrical installation without the necessary training for example, could easily cause further damage or injury.