Modern Building Services

12 MODERN BUILDING SERVICES JULY 2022 FEATURE WORKING BUILDINGS ƒMAINTENANCE, OPERATIONAND REFURBISHMENT The cost of living In April 2022, energy bills rose by £693.00 for 22 million people across the UK, contributing to a hike-up in the cost of living which has risen to its highest levels in over 40 years. What’s more, over the past few weeks, inflation has had a 9% increase, with the Chancellor warning of a tough few months for all. These unprecedented increases are affecting every corner of society. Inevitably, they are also having impacts on industries such as construction and engineering. Very specifically, from a building operation point of view, rising energy bills have the potential to affect numerous areas, including the systems and products within buildings that are integral to their performance. One such example is plant. Given the current cost of living crisis, there is a great need to ensure that plant runs without any issues, so that any unforeseen or unwanted costs can be controlled and mitigated. Not only must these additional costs be prevented, but the plant must be able to perform so as not to place the health, wellbeing, and comfort of building occupants in jeopardy. Keep boilers maintained If a boiler is not monitored regularly over time for efficiency, when deposits build up inside the appliance it may go unnoticed. The link between the amount of gas that the appliance is burning, and the monthly cost of that gas, can easily be missed especially if costs are increasing incrementally at the same time. Inefficient boilers can cost a lot more than the cost of a new boiler in the long term if it is badly maintained. When considering our current socioe-conomic context, it’s essential to ensure a plant is properly maintained – as the famous saying goes, ‘Prevention is better than cure’. It is always recommended monitoring as the first cause of action. There should be heat meters on the appliances to monitor the efficiency of the plant. A planned maintenance and replacement schedule is in place. A ‘disaster’ plan just in case the plant fails completely and this identifies where a temporary plant can be safely sited. This will reduce the time it takes to put in temporary measures and avoid delays getting sites up and running again. The solution is for building owners or managers to be proactive and build resilience into any building management plan. This ‘disaster’ plan not only identifies where a temporary plant could be sited, but how it can be connected to the existing systemand where the pipework will run so that if the worst should happen, they are ready to act. This can reduce a site’s downtime to just hours rather than days. If the pandemic taught us anything, it is that we need to bemore prepared. Steve Warne , National Sales Manager at Ideal Heat Solutions, discusses what can be done to ensure plant is operating efficiently. Also, should a worst-case scenario occur, what happens when a plant fails completely and what are the risks if it does. Plant maintenance is king