Latest innovations and products in the interiors section of the construction industry.

Burton-upon-Trent ventilation systems supplier Vortice has launched the DePuro Pro plug and play air purifier specifically developed with double filtration to reduce the number of particles in the air such as bacteria, micro-organisms and viruses.  Designed for all kinds of spaces such as care homes, offices, hotels, universities and the health sector, this is clearly of huge interest as we fight the Covid-19 pandemic.

The DePuro Pro is available in two sizes and comes with HEPA 14 absolute filters, capable of retaining up to 99.995% of microparticles (equivalent diameter 0.3µm) which require periodic replacement, highlighted by the filter status indicator on the control panel.  The DePuro Pro 150 is suitable for rooms up to 50 metres square and the DePuro Pro 300 is suitable for rooms up to 100 metres square.  This new product is highly energy efficient, is easy to handle and has sound absorbing panels making it almost silent to operate.

General Manager Kevin Hippey said: “We’re delighted to be able to offer an air purifier which will be an important tool to maintain good indoor air quality.  Scientists have reiterated the importance of good ventilation throughout this pandemic and that, coupled with air filtration and purification, can really help reduce infected particles making it of particular interest in the health and care sector as well as in universities, hotels and offices.”

Full details of the DePuro Pro air purifier are available on the Vortice website https://www.vortice.ltd.uk/shop/commercial-ventilation/depuro-pro/depuropro300/   as is a downloadable catalogue https://www.vortice.ltd.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Brochure_DEPURO_PRO_Range-EN_UK.pdf

 

www.vortice.ltd.uk

Titon has added a dynamic and fully interactive CGI environment – the ‘Titon Product House’ – to its website, showcasing the array of products available throughout the company’s Window & Door Hardware and Ventilation Systems divisions. To launch the Titon Product House, users simply need to visit www.titon.com and click on the option to ‘Explore the Titon House’ in the main web banner.

 

In addition to the Titon’s product portfolios, the new feature also contains detailed information about indoor pollutants, as well as advice on how these can best be combatted.

 

Once the user has opened the house in their browser, they are free to explore the Titon Product House by selecting from ‘Window and Door Hardware’, ‘Ventilation Systems’ and ‘Indoor Pollutants’. The first option then allows a 3D property to be explored, with products such as Titon’s trickle vents, door handles and window hinges all shown in-situ. Clicking an item results in a brief product overview being displayed, alongside a link to its relevant page on the Titon website.

 

Similarly, selecting ‘Ventilation Systems’ allows visitors to explore the same 3D environment while looking at the comprehensive range of systems Titon has to offer, with individual illustrative configurations available for intermittent extract fans and background vents, continuous mechanical ventilation with heat recovery (MVHR) and continuous mechanical extract (CME) – the latter of which can be viewed in both centralised and decentralised arrangements.

 

Finally, the ’Indoor Pollutants’ version of the room identifies the most common sources of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) found inside a home. It also contains links to the latest expert advice and information on improving levels of indoor air quality, from renowned industry organisations such as BEAMA.

 

Commenting on the Titon Product House, Tyson Anderson, Sales & Marketing Director at Titon, said: “The new feature offers the perfect snapshot of all the individual items we can provide throughout the hardware and ventilation sectors – and how they can be suited together within a variety of applications.”

 

He continued: “As a business, Titon has designed and manufactured window and door hardware since 1972 – including handles, hinges and locking systems. This is in addition to the latest ventilation products designed to remove pollutants and improve indoor air quality for occupants. Indeed, introducing the Titon Product House now allows visitors to our website to see how our products are fitted within various rooms, as well as their features, benefits and health advantages. This will be extremely beneficial to self builders, fabricators, specifiers and homeowners alike.”

 

For more information about Titon and its comprehensive range of window & door hardware and ventilation systems, please visit: www.titon.com

Rinnai – makers of units delivering limitless, on demand supplies of hot water – are offering end-users an easy-to-choose facility via online interface.

 

The end-user simply visits the www.rinnaiuk.com website for instant assistance on choosing the right products to deliver fuel, energy and environmentally efficient hot water, reliably and constantly.

 

Says Chris Goggin, “Whatever your industry we have innovative products and systems that give your site or sites limitless supplies of temperature-controlled hot water which are designed with the environment in mind, with low emission technology and high efficiencies, as well as a host of other great features, as well as costing you significantly less than any other mode of hot water supply.”

 

We recognise that every application is unique and that choosing the right product can be a little daunting so we invite end-users to visit our website www.rinnaiuk.com and find the ‘Help Me Choose’ facility and we will do everything else from there,” adds Mr Goggin.

 

Rinnai recently completed the installation of 2 x HDC1500i continuous flow hot water heating units at a busy laundrette serving businesses and the public in Stafford. Rinnai products were chosen on the recommendation of another laundrette owner, in Lancashire, who praised the efficiency and major cost savings because of switching to cascaded continuous flow hot water units as they guarantee almost unlimited supplies of hot water at peak demand whilst savings on fuel costs.

 

Word of mouth is the best possible marketing and a site survey was duly arranged and completed to confirm the best solution in controlling operational costs and efficiencies. The existing system was a heated stored water system – this meant that the site was paying to heat water it was not instantly using.

 

It was clear from the site survey that Rinnai units configured to maximise both space and energy efficiency – and critically – the system’s reliability – would yield seriously large cost savings to the owner.

 

Given that the Rinnai units were being wall mounted and externally flued, this gave extra storage space to the premises as there was no need for a dedicated plant room.

 

Comments Ray Gallimore, proprietor of the Weston Road Launderette, “The old storage system had become completely impractical, inefficient and needlessly expensive to run.

 

“For example, the washers tend to be used sporadically. During a busy weekend there could be a demand for eight to ten people battling to use the machines at once, during the week there might be one or two. That meant we had to store a decent volume of hot water ‘just in case’ in the form of a storage water heater. Needless to say, keeping the stored volume at optimum temperature 24/7 was often wasted energy, a really bad, expensive idea all round.”

 

Clearly the site needed to change the system to one that could cater for these fluctuations without running up huge energy bills and the solution wasn’t hard to find.

 

“I was made aware of Infinity water heaters installed in similar applications to mine and in general their experiences with their products and their personnel, such as the local Rinnai sales consultant, were consistently positive and professional.”

 

“The beauty of working with Rinnai is the service they offer. We presented the project to Rinnai’s Technical Sales team who came up with the design, configured the sizes of unit required and delivered the system complete and to a very tight timescale – this was key as the existing water heater had developed a leak and I was extremely mindful that the business had to remain operational to satisfy local demand. We are very happy with Rinnai and will be spreading the word,” adds Ray Gallimore.

 

Now two HDC1500i internal mounted water heaters with secondary circulation provide hot water for 12 commercial machines, plus a sink and a wash hand basin.

“The Rinnai system has resulted in an energy reduction and gas saving due to higher efficiencies and because we are no longer maintaining large amounts of stored hot water. It’s not rocket science to work that out!”

 

“In terms of gas usage running costs compared to the old wasteful storage system, our bills have virtually been halved since the Rinnai system went live five months ago which is absolutely tremendous,” says Gallimore.

 

Rinnai’s heavy-duty condensing range uses two heat exchangers to capture residual heat from flue gases to pre-heat incoming water, with the HDC1500i turning in 105% net efficiencies*. These figures add up to considerable on-going energy savings when compared with traditional gas fired stored water systems.

 

With a Rinnai condensing unit, temperature is regulated to within +/-1ºC via ‘smart’ internal controls without any variation of temperature at the outlet even when water is drawn off elsewhere. All models have full electronic ignition, no pilot light and operate on demand only, so there is no gas consumption when the unit is idle.

 

The units are easily configured in a manifold arrangement, ensuring there will never be a shortfall of instant hot water whatever the demand.

Rinnai, the UK’s leading manufacturer of the ErP A-rated Infinity range of continuous flow condensing gas-fired water heaters, supplies the best energy efficient range of low-NOx water heating units currently on the market.

 

Advanced condensing heat exchangers combined with innovative burner technology ensures that every cubic metre of gas is used to the maximum on HDC 1500i.

 

Legionella proliferation is answered by Rinnai: the company has developed additional ‘SMART’ controls for secondary return DHW systems in the form of an advanced temperature control system which allows for safe running of water at 42°C core temperature during the day and 60°C at a time when the building is closed. By the time the building reopens, core temperature is 42°C for safe use.

 

Another Rinnai innovation addresses an age-old industry problem with hot water delivery – lime scale build-up. The company’s integrated scale control system is an innovative solution and comes in the form of an LC (lime check) code on the display of the controller.

 

Almost all water-fed appliances, including plate heat exchangers, boilers and water heaters will accumulate scale deposits when used within hard water areas over time. Lime scale consists of calcium carbonate (calcite) with lesser amounts of other calcium salts such as the sulphate. Sometimes lime scale deposits contain corrosion debris and this scale build-up can affect the water heaters by reducing their efficiency and overall performance.

 

Ultimately, ongoing use with hard water may shorten the lifespan of conventional water heating appliances and systems. To safeguard against this Rinnai units continually self-monitor for lime scale deposits around the heat exchanger. If a lime scale build up has being identified, a message is sent to the built-in interface panel on the front of the appliance. The message is displayed as ‘LC’, which alerts the end user that it is time to call a Rinnai service agent to perform a lime scale flush to clear the potentially harmful deposits. This avoids and eliminates the adverse effects associated with lime scale build up, including lower energy efficiencies and rapid product de-generation.

 

Rinnai’s HDC range offers condensing technology with up to 107% gross efficiency, ultra-low-NOx of less than 20 ppm, a widely expansive modulation range of 54kW-4kW and high flow rates of 37/ltr/min. Add to these benefits are the peace of mind of an extended warranty, a top A-rating exceeding the demands of eco-labelling legislation, the flexibility of external wall mounting and delivery to site with all relevant accessories and the knowledge that the HDC range is future-proofed against future regulatory and legislative changes.

 

* Tested and certificated by Technigas to EN 26.

 

For more information visit www.rinnaiuk.com

 

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Rinnai’s range of ErP A-rated continuous flow gas-fired hot water heaters now includes models specifically aimed and designed for the UK domestic market. The units guarantee high efficiencies and low running costs combined with consistent water temperatures seven days a week.

 

Rinnai’s range of continuous flow water heating units are being specified and installed in the whole range of domestic properties – studios, flats, houses, high-end residential houses – as installers and end users become aware of the ease of installation, and the energy & cost saving benefits.

 

Rinnai manufactures over 2million water heaters every year and as such is at the forefront of creating unit cost advantages for installers. Competitively priced, the units offer all technological advances and innovations, all at a similar cost to lower specification competitor models.

 

The reason for the increase in popularity is that continuous flow heating systems are proven to be more energy efficient than conventional ones and are now the preferred method of hot water provision. Rinnai units meet the demands of any size of home and are ideal where high volumes are demanded at intermittent times of the day, delivering safe temperature useable hot water.

 

Rinnai’s multipoint 17i water heater, for example, eliminates the problem of sudden changes in water temperature, resulting in cold showers or scalding hot baths – the water temperature you set is the water temperature you get. So, if somebody is happily showering at 42°C and a tap is turned on to draw a bath elsewhere in the property, the temperature does not vary, and there is no chance of either user running out of hot water.

 

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The Rinnai 16i interior model measures just 675 x 370 x 139mm and weighs in at 18kg – a one-man lift. The room-sealed unit has a temperature range of 35°C to 60°C with direct electronic ignition. Gas consumption ranges between 4.7kW-6.5kW for Natural Gas and 4.9kW-36.8kW when using propane. Hot water delivery flow is an impressive 16ltr max flow. Nominal operation pressure is 1-7 bar and it uses a 230V AC 50Hz 1ph power supply with an electrical consumption of 68W.

 

Meanwhile, where an external installation is required, the Rinnai 17e external multipoint water heater offers greater flexibility at the design stage and offers a viable solution where flue runs are problematic or internal space is not available. Capable of flow rates of up to 510 litres per hour at a 50°C rise, the 17e is suitable for multiple applications and can be specified for use with Natural Gas or propane.

 

The 17e has full frost protection and is available with a range of external ancillary items, including pipe cover box – and security cage where necessary.

 

For smaller properties, the Infinity 11i interior unit differs from the 17i as it weighs 2kg less at 16kg and consumes 6.10kW-21.60kW of Natural Gas and has an 11-litre maximum flow.

 

Key features of the 24kW Rinnai 11i are: Compact & lightweight unit for easy installation; Robust, durable heat exchanger; User friendly digital controls; In-built frost protection; Ideal replacement for large obtrusive and bulky cylinder; Compact design to fit a limited space.

 

For more information on the RINNAI product range visit www.rinnaiuk.com

Altro has added innovative new ranges to its award-winning, adhesive-free, sustainable floors to offer adhesive-free options for a host of applications in the building. Benefits include enhanced comfort underfoot and greater sound impact reduction, as well as greater creative freedom as more colour and wood design options give complete flexibility for differing application areas. Altro’s adhesive-free floors also feature the most advanced Altro Easyclean technology, while retaining the benefits of reduced installation time and 100% recyclability.

New Altro Wood™ adhesive-free floor is a safety wood-look product with easy cleanability; perfect for decorative, homely or biophilic areas. The range has been created with design freedom in mind – Altro Wood adhesive-free shares some designs with Altro Wood Comfort and Altro Wood, allowing you to coordinate floors with different performance criteria across different areas of the building.

The popular Altro Cantata™ tonal and modernist adhesive-free floor also now has a refreshed palette of colours and designs and improved cleanability.

The new Altro Wood adhesive-free and Altro Cantata ranges are the first floors to use Altro’s innovative underside emboss structure, which provides 14dB impact sound reduction and comfort underfoot. Coupled with exciting, aesthetic options, these ranges are ideal for more public-facing areas, where they will continue to make a great first impression and support the wellbeing of users for the lifetime of the product. Where safety and toughness are the key drivers for hard-working service areas, Altro XpressLay™ adhesive-free safety floor continues to deliver robust, good looks.

New Altro Wood adhesive-free has 12 wood-look designs, enabling you to create biophilic, stylish, or warm and homely aesthetics together with the safety and durability needed for medium to high traffic areas. With 14dB impact sound reduction, a 10-year guarantee and Altro’s one in a million slip-resistance reassurance, Altro Wood adhesive-free offers high levels of comfort underfoot providing a safe, durable and decorative solution for busy spaces.

Altro Cantata’s 17 colours, designs and textured looks range from subtle, natural shades to terrazzo — organic with a metallic twist — and a selection of concretes allowing you to create an urban chic look. Altro’s most advanced cleaning technology ensures ease of maintenance and enhances infection control with the reduction of bacterial and mould growth by improved cleanability.

Using Altro’s award-winning adhesive-free installation method, you can halve installation time compared with a traditional adhered installation. Depending on substrate condition, a 200m2 corridor would be laid in two days compared with four days with an adhered floor covering, with an approximate 20% cost saving too.

With no DPM and no adhesive required, floors can be welded and walked on the same day. Adhesive-free floors are ideal for busy public spaces where disruption needs to be minimal, plus there are no associated adhesive odours. And at the end of their life, they can be re-used elsewhere or recycled.

Revolutionary, international award-winning Altro XpressLay was the world’s first ever adhesive-free safety floor and was introduced to the market place after 5 years of development and testing. In 2019 Altro XpressLay celebrated its 10th anniversary of providing safe flooring in diverse environments. Altro’s adhesive-free flooring is durable and can tolerate medium to heavy-duty traffic. They hold as effectively as Altro floors installed using adhesive: no rucks, no movement. Now that’s revolutionary.

About Altro – www.altro.co.uk

Rinnai is offering FREE audits for all hospitals and medical centres in order to maximise energy and financial efficiency in the delivery of hot water at the point of use. Maximising efficiencies can lead to fuel savings, alone, of up to 30% on current energy prices as the hot water is heated only when it is used – turn the tap off and the energy costs can stop immediately.

 

The audit, in close co-operation with the site, measures all data concerning use and presents a full and detailed report prepared by CIBSE recognised engineers. This is all free of any charge.

 

Rinnai is the world’s leading manufacturer of continuous flow hot water systems a range of units that can be manifolded to supply, virtually, limitless temperature accurate water to a site of any size. It also means less space spent on plant rooms and no or little maintenance as all units are proven to be robust with extended working life and warranties to support this.

 

Rinnai’s Sensei N Series water heating range offers a new and compact design with enhanced combustion that allows for easier and quicker installation – and gives high levels of operational performance.

 

All components in the range are designed and manufactured by Rinnai, and this ensures maximum quality and reliability from the world leader in commercial continuous flow water heating products and systems.

 

The Rinnai Sensei N Series is also the first ever continuous flow hot water heating unit manufactured with stainless steel heat exchangers to be available in the UK – this gives a greatly extended working life. Added to this is the Sensei N Series market leading extended warranties.

 

The advanced burner controls with the Sensei N Series models ensure that all the appliances are well ahead of the NOx requirements set within ErP. The current level of permissible NOx set by ErP is 56 mg/Kwh.

 

The Sensei N Series range have been third-party tested at 28 mg/Kwh making them one of the greenest water heating appliances available.

 

As the units do not incorporate storage their ‘green credentials’ are further recognised by BREEAM and score additional credits under the building regulations.

In answering the threat of Legionella proliferation – continuous flow technology is recognised as heavily reducing the risk of Legionella proliferation when compared to other types of hot water delivery. The main reasons for this are that there is no storage, system turn over is regular and the area for debris is much lower than storage type systems.

 

The industry uptake of Rinnai’s continuous flow heater systems is proven to be more energy efficient than conventional storage systems and are increasingly the experts’ preferred method of hot water provision. Rinnai units easily cater for any size projects that need high volumes of water at intermittent or any times of day.

 

Rinnai manufactures over 2million water heaters every year and as such is at the forefront of creating unit cost advantages for installers. Competitively priced, the units offer all technological advances and innovations, all at a similar cost to lower specification competitor models.

 

Contact the company direct by telephone or email info@rinnaiuk.com for your FREE audit on hot water usage on your site.

 

For more information on the RINNAI product range visit www.rinnaiuk.com

The pioneering programme is now even easier for contractors to use.

 

The pioneer of ceiling recycling schemes, Armstrong Ceiling Solutions, has fine-tuned its award-winning* programme to make it as simple and as accessible as possible.

 

It is now even easier for contractors to reduce their environmental impact and divert waste from landfill which also saves them money from the subsequent taxes as well as from skips and transportation costs.

 

All contractors are now required to do is simply take down the old Armstrong acoustic mineral ceiling tiles** and stack them on pallets. In partnership with the local distributor, Armstrong will arrange collection free of charge*** and the old tiles will be 100% recycled into new ceiling tiles at the company’s production facility in Gateshead.

 

The scheme for the UK and Ireland, which has been in place since 2003, enables Armstrong to minimise its impact on the environment by not only diverting its old products from landfill but also producing mineral ceiling tiles with even higher post-consumer recycled content, currently up to 82%.

 

As well as the support it gets from distributors, Armstrong has also developed a “green” branch of its Omega network of approved sub-contractors, specifically for those installers with proven recycling expertise .. and they claim that as well as saving them landfill tax it also makes then more attractive for main contractors to use.

 

Armstrong’s recycling programme for demolition, construction and renovation schemes has saved 15 million m2 of old ceiling tiles globally and diverted 61,000 tonnes of waste from landfill. And with 2,000m2 of recycled ceiling tiles equating to 7.6 tonnes of waste diverted from landfill, that is a 14,000 kWh saving on energy.

 

Projects have included the headquarters of main contractor Kier Construction, the temporary beach volleyball venue at Horse Guards Parade in London, and the Southern General Hospital in Glasgow.

 

A member of the UK Green Building Council, Armstrong also a partner in the Ceilings Sustainability Partnership, a working party of the AIS (Association of Interior Specialists) technical committee, which delivers on the actions within the Mineral Wool Ceiling Tile Resource Efficiency Action Plan (REAP). The REAP plan is intended to help the sector reduce the amount of mineral wool ceiling tiles going to landfill.

 

Armstrong recycling case studies also feature as WRAP exemplars, including Birmingham University Hospital where almost 43 tonnes of ceiling tiles were diverted from landfill and an estimated 19.5 tonnes of embodied CO2 were offset.

 

A new recycling programme leaflet, which has all the criteria information and steps to follow, is available from https://www.armstrongceilingsolutions.co.uk/en-gb/performance/sustainable-building-design/recycling-programmes.

 

*Awards include Sustain Magazine 2010; Green Apple 2011; AIS (Association of Interior Specialists) Eco Innovation 2011.

**Dated after January 2000

*** Armstrong may apply charges in special circumstances, eg out of hours collections or multiple collections of small quantities.

 

 

A Rinnai continuous flow hot water solution has been installed at a large-scale seafood processing and manufacturing plant on the North East coast. The system was installed by H Pickup & Sons having used Rinnai products for several years on major projects.

 

H Pickup Mechanical & Electrical Services Limited were established over 100 years ago and are based in Scarborough, North Yorkshire. The company offer a comprehensive range of mechanical & electrical services direct to their clients: Electrical Building Services; Mechanical Building Services; Planned & Reactive Maintenance; Gas Servicing; Heating and Plumbing Services; Electrical & Mechanical Design & Installation Services and Contract Management.

 

“We employ our own staff engineers both on site and in contract management in order to enable us to deliver unprecedented service and ongoing support to our customers”, says Mike Joy for Pickups.

 

The food manufacture site had an old stored hot water system which was no longer able to cope with the demand for the high volume and high temperature hot water needed for cleaning down production areas as the site increased its production lines, as it expanded its market ordering and product range. The site was also looking to substantially increase energy, fuel cost efficiency and reliability by removing the stored hot water.

 

“There were long periods of time with no requirements for hot water, then sudden high demand as production areas need deep cleaning. Running out of hot water would result in substandard cleaning, especially the removal of grease, and industrial cleaning products used to clean many of the surfaces. Another deciding factor for the site – Rinnai’s ability to resist Legionella breeding which is a risk with a “lukewarm” hot water system. With Rinnai continuous flow units water temperature for distribution is accurate to ±1˚C. The fact that there is no stratification as there is no storage, ensures a continuous, permanent even temperature. There is no requirement to heat a volume of water just to ensure the elimination of Legionella bacteria as the minimum temperature that a continuous flow unit achieves is in excess of advisory levels.

 

The modular nature of the Rinnai Systems also removes a single point of failure from the hot water system, ensuring hot water will always be available and not run out. The site used 3 x HDC1200i Natural Gas Water Heaters and also featured the Rinnai Limescale Protection Package.

 

The Rinnai HDC 1200i continuous flow hot water unit has the capacity to easily deliver in excess of 1560 litres of hot water in excess of 50 degrees C temperature per hour, with an overall gross efficiency of more than 95%. These levels of performance, with unbeatable efficiency levels, mean the Rinnai 1200i is more than capable of meeting and exceeding the hot water demands of all applications.

 

This precision engineered unit can also be combined as multiple units into one single, easy to handle module incorporating cascade frames and common flue. Both the HDC 1200 internal and external models turn in a market leading energy performance of 107% net efficiency and offer superlative ranges of modulation as the systems internal analytical system can modulate the burner modulation range from 54kw to 2.4kw. The Rinnai HDC 1200i is engineered for minimal energy wastage and maximum energy performance.

 

It is worth remembering that Part L of the Building Regulations 2013 has set minimum thermal efficiency levels of 90% for natural gas and 92% for LPG, consequently outlawing non-condensing gas fired water heaters for use in new build projects.

 

Rinnai is the only manufacturer that can supply a complete range of internal and external ultra-high efficiency condensing continuous flow water heaters, aligned not only to comply but surpass changes on the regulatory horizon.

 

Rinnai units and systems are now the number one choice for any size of site or large building or business with a heavy demand for constant hot water or where high peaks of demand occur at certain times. Any number of modules can be manifolded, so the water handling capacity is truly infinite and there is no risk of the ‘cascade’ of hot water ever running out.

 

The manifolded 1200i units can be delivered direct to site in one complete, easy to manage package and at a very competitive price. For the end user this guarantees considerable cost savings over other forms of hot water generation. The relatively compact footprint of all Rinnai units and systems means it can optimise plant room space and safeguard accessibility for maintenance and servicing.

 

There is huge potential for on-demand style water heaters such as the Rinnai HDC 1200i units to play their part in new build and in refurbishments projects alike, where in the latter there are still many old systems that need replacing. By replacing this older technology with new condensing appliances will help support the UK drive towards greener industry.

 

The Rinnai Infinity HDC 1200i water heater uses heat exchanger technology to allow the largest capacity flow rates, thereby guaranteeing all the hot water needed, when it is needed. As well as increasing capacity, the Rinnai Infinity water heater has lower greenhouse emissions because of the new reduced NOx burner technology and as there is no storage, this scores well with BREEAM.

 

The only time the site uses energy to heat water is when there is a demand, in other words, it is only burning gas when a tap is being run.

 

For more details on RINNAI products visit www.rinnaiuk.com

By Lucy Bilotto, European Marketing Manager

In recent years the arguments for and against the use of biocides have intensified. Some pro-biocide organisations (typically manufacturers utilising biocides in their prod

ucts) are making bolder claims than ever before. In the absence of firm evidence to support these claims, however, there are concerns that these additives may be having no positive impact on infection control. At the same time, newly-published research is painting an increasingly worrying picture regarding the long-term effects of these substances on human and animal health, and on the environment. These issues are being debated widely by academics and regulatory bodies throughout the world.

This article will aim to outline the arguments that are being put forward by organisations on both sides. It will provide an update on the regulatory status of silver biocides, from bodies including the European Chemical Agency’s Biocidal Products Committee and the US Food and Drug Agency. Lastly it will explain Altro’s current policy regarding use of biocides.

Pro-biocide claims

Organisations on both sides of the divide agree on the need for effective infection control, particularly in sites such as hospitals and commercial kitchens. Those for and against the use of biocides differ, however, on the best practice recommended for hygiene in these environments. They also disagree about the effectiveness (and therefore the advisability) of using biocides.

For some years, organisations backing the use of biocides in areas where infection control is paramount have argued that a range of silver-based additives used in products for the healthcare environment are capable of slowing the growth of bacteria, mildew and mould. The process they describe is one in which silver ions block the ‘food’ required by the bacteria by interfering with the surface of the microbes and coating them. These organisations argue that incorporating silver ions into products used in the hospital or commercial kitchen will reduce the spread of infection.

Anti-biocide arguments

Organisations opposed to the use of biocides, however, argue that the use of these substances needs much tighter regulation, because the extremely widespread (and largely uncontrolled) use of these chemical additives in the world today leads to antimicrobial resistance.

The World Health Organisation has identified antimicrobial resistance as a major risk to human life and is urging countries to collaborate in a global action plan to tackle the problem. The WHO factsheet explains:

Antimicrobial resistance happens when microorganisms (such as bacteria, fungi, viruses, and parasites) change when they are exposed to antimicrobial drugs (such as antibiotics, antifungals, antivirals, antimalarials, and anthelmintics). Microorganisms that develop antimicrobial resistance are sometimes referred to as “superbugs”.

As a result, the medicines become ineffective and infections persist in the body, increasing the risk of spread to others.

Antimicrobial resistance occurs naturally over time, usually through genetic changes. However, the misuse and overuse of antimicrobials is accelerating this process.[1]

The extremely widespread use of biocides threatens to speed up antimicrobial resistance because increased exposure means increased opportunity for genetic mutation within the bacteria. WHO stresses that this is not a problem of the future, but an immediate health risk. Data published by WHO’s Global Antimicrobial Surveillance System group in January 2018 revealed ‘widespread occurrence of antibiotic resistance among 500,000 people with suspected bacterial infections across 22 countries’. The most commonly reported resistant bacteria include E.coli and Salmonella, among others.

Genesis Biosciences, a company involved in the development of new ‘eco-benign’ antimicrobial products, explains that a key problem with today’s most commonly used biocides is the long-term contact between biocide residues and the bacteria they are designed to kill. The company states that, ‘because the residues contain sub-lethal concentrations of the biocidal product, the targeted bacteria are becoming more resilient against the products used to treat them’. In other words, the more ‘competitive’ bacteria (often those associated with serious health problems) are not entirely destroyed by the biocide. Instead they can remain in contact with the biocide over an extended period of time, if traditional hygiene processes are not followed stringently. This close contact between the bacteria and the chemical designed to kill it creates an ideal environment in which the bacteria can mutate and develop resistance. We all remember the claims about 99.9% of germs being killed by strong cleaning fluids. It is now understood that it is the remaining 0.1% of bacteria that is the long-term risk factor. A particular concern is that use of products containing biocides could lead to a harmful relaxation of cleaning regimes in areas where hygiene is critical, if reliance on the infection control capabilities of the products leads to complacency.

In recent years a number of scientific studies have contributed towards a better understanding of the processes of mutation involved in the development of antimicrobial resistance as a result of biocide use, in addition to the environmental impact of biocides leaching into water resources. A research project carried out at the University of Cardiff, for example, concluded that ‘exposure to triclosan (0.0004%) was associated with a high risk of developing resistance and cross-resistance in Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli (E.coli)’.[2] The recommendation of the Cardiff research team is that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and European Union Biocidal Products Regulation should demand information from manufacturers on antimicrobial resistance and cross-resistance in bacteria after the use of their products.

Regulatory decisions

The United States regulatory body has already taken action regarding biocides. On September 9th, 2016, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) banned the incorporation of triclosan and 18 other antimicrobial chemicals in household soap products. In 2017 it banned companies from using triclosan in over-the-counter health care antiseptic products without premarket review. The reason given was that manufacturers had failed to provide the FDA with sufficient proof that triclosan was safe and effective in the light of research into long-term health risks, such as antimicrobial resistance.

European regulatory bodies are also taking action. The Biocidal Products Committee (BPC) of the European Chemical Agency (ECHA) has been examining the use of silver copper zeolite, silver sodium hydrogen zirconium phosphate and silver zeolite in a range of different products. Decisions are still pending for floor and wall covering products but, on 17th October 2018, the ECHA BPS decided not to approve the use of silver compounds in disinfectant products.

The committee opted for ‘non-approval’ as there was insufficient evidence to suggest that biocides were effective under dry conditions. The BPC of the ECHA stated, for example, (with regard to silver sodium hydrogen zirconium phosphate):

Generally, the antimicrobial effect of polymer materials containing silver active substances is dependent on how much of the silver is released. A precondition for the release of silver is a solvent, i.e. a liquid which the material comes into contact with. A dry polymer material surface will not release any silver ions and thus will not exert an antimicrobial effect.[3]

In other words, whilst the committee accepted that biocides might be effective if a surface is immersed continually in a solvent solution, and remains wet for a period of time, it was not proven that biocides had any antibacterial effect where surfaces are dry. In the absence of this proof, the committee decided not to approve the use of biocides in the disinfectant product category.

Whilst a decision is yet to be made regarding floor and wall coverings, the decision regarding disinfectant products has important implications. Flooring and wall coverings are typically employed in environments that are predominantly dry, particularly in healthcare sites. So there is every reason to believe that the ECHA BPC will reach a similar non-approval decision regarding the use of biocides in floor and wall coverings, within the next two to three years, when scientific examination of other product categories reaches completion.

Altro’s policy

For manufacturers such as ourselves the decision to include or remove biocides has been at the top of the agenda for nearly a decade, so our policies reflect our response to the latest research from academics and regulatory bodies. Traditionally, customers have been keen to have antibacterial additives included in wall and floor coverings. In an industry sector where research and technology is advancing rapidly, it is understandable that suppliers and specifiers welcomed this apparent opportunity to solve major issues. Our technical teams follow scientific and regulatory evidence relating to our products on an ongoing basis, however, as part of our duty to customers and end users. So a key question for us has been whether it would be better to remove biocides from all of our product ranges, irrespective of customer demand.

A breakthrough in recent years has been the development, by scientists, of new testing protocols for biocides which are revealing new insights and calling earlier findings into question. Responding to the latest evidence from teams of academics and bodies such as the ECHA BPC, we decided back in 2012 that inclusion of biocides could be discontinued in our resilient flooring ranges as they had no positive impact on hygiene. Use of biocides in Altro wall cladding products was also reviewed. In 2012 we decided to exclude biocides when designing new Altro wall cladding ranges, and began to supply specific geographical markets (notably the USA and Nordic markets) with biocide-free materials. Today we do not include any biocides in our products.

Inclusion of biocides is only one aspect of infection control, however. We continue to focus on hygiene as a key aspect of our research and development. Using the latest testing protocols, Altro Whiterock (without a biocide) was recently shown in tests to be up to 99.99% effective against MRSA and 99.89% effective against Ecoli, indicating levels of infection control equal to those claimed by manufacturers incorporating biocides, without the associated risks to health and the environment. It is also important to mention that, depending on the progress of research teams across the world, our policy on biocides could change over time. There have been exciting discoveries regarding new types of ‘eco-benign’ biocides, based on plant-based ingredients, which could possibly play a role in infection control in our products in the future.

In conclusion, research involving currently-available additives suggests that specifiers and customers should not consider biocides a ‘silver bullet’. But end customers can continue to rely on solid gold best practice for all areas where infection prevention is paramount. Firstly, research has confirmed the critical importance of hand hygiene, which has been shown to have far greater impact on infection control than was generally thought. Secondly, irrespective of whether biocides are incorporated into products, good cleaning regimes, that physically remove the microbes from surfaces, remain the most effective way to ensure hygiene criteria are met, even in critical hygiene areas. To make this possible it is advisable to look for impervious, grout-free wall coverings, such as Altro Whiterock, with a smooth, easy-to-clean surface. A thorough cleaning regime on impervious surfaces such as this, with supporting good hand hygiene, is the answer.

About Altro – www.altro.co.uk

[1] https://www.who.int/en/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/antimicrobial-resistance

[2] Rebecca Wesgate, Pierre Grasha and Jean-Yves Maillard, ‘Use of a predictive protocol to measure the antimicrobial resistance risks associated with biocidal product usage’, American Journal of Infection Control 44 (2016), pp. 458-64.

[3] European Chemical Agency Biocidal Products Committee, ‘Opinion on the application for approval of the active substance: Silver sodium hydrogen zirconium phosphate, Product type: 2

ECHA/BPC/211/2018, 17th October 2018.

Rinnai re-imagines home hot water & heating systems

Rinnai, global leaders in continuous flow hot water heating products and systems, is introducing the Zen and Zen Plus home hot water & heating system which marries established and proven manufacture durability with new technologies to offer great energy efficiencies, user control and, importantly, unparalleled level of comfort.

Rinnai UK will be launching this innovation plus several other cutting-edge appliances during 2019.

The Rinnai Zen and Zen Plus system will increase comfort and reduce energy usage whilst also providing a highly economically solution for today’s changing marketplace.

‘Our core expertise is the mass production of long-term reliable combustion products with advanced technologies – we are a global leader and make over 2 million water heating units every year for domestic, residential and commercial applications. We have been researching and monitoring the UK domestic heating market for several years until we had a proven system. That time is now, and we are offering hot water heating units together with a superior performance combi boiler in 24, 29- and 35-kW outputs,’ says Chris Goggin, head of Rinnai UK operations.

‘We are not launching into the mass UK boiler market – that is, in our view, a saturated and oversubscribed market which is in the throes of a major upheaval in its structure due to the advent of online direct sales platforms. We are offering something very different. And we are aiming to serve a market sector previously overlooked and almost ignored – the provision of luxury levels of hot water at affordable sums to the middle and top end of the marketplace.

‘Another major difference with the Rinnai Zen & Zen Plus is that the route to market is with installers. We are committed to working with installers as our route to market. The installer is still the major player and, in our view, always will be.

Some of the features of Zen & Zen Plus are: IOT controller as standard; Fast heating mode; DHW pre-heat function – saving wasted water; Energy monitor function allows user to monitor energy usage; flue runs up to 30 meters, Rinnai boiler App for android and IOS; constant temperature-accurate hot water delivery at continuous flow rates.

There is also smart Wifi controller and App benefits; The Rinnai app seamlessly connects to the controller in the property; the user can control the boiler remotely adjusting temperature, setting weekly and daily programmes, receiving alarm functions, monitor energy usage and set limits. The Wifi and boiler controller also uses GPS from the user’s mobile to bring on the heat when you are getting close to home to ensure the house is warm when you arrive.

Rinnai Zen & Zen Plus are available for use with both natural gas and LPG.

For more information visit www.rinnaiuk.com