Articles

Poor indoor air quality can lead to visible pollutants such as mould growth, and also allow the build-up of hidden dangers such as CO, VOCs, etc. which can have an adverse effect on health. HA speaks to Chris Yates, Managing Director of Johnson & Starley, about how RSLs can help by improving ventilation.

How can poor IAQ affect residents’ health?
Chris: Health issues can range from irritated eyes, nose and throat, headaches, tiredness to difficulty breathing, nausea, confusion and difficulty in concentrating.  With long term exposure there can be damage to the heart, liver or kidneys and central nervous system, as well as hypersensitivity pneumonitis, allergic rhinitis (hay fever) and asthma.

When a Basingstoke Housing Association was looking at upgrading the heating in 200 of its rural properties to meet the main driver of helping alleviate fuel poverty, it was also able to make a strong business case to fast-track the investment needed.

Sentinel Housing Association owns and manages around 10,000 homes across 12 local authority areas in Hampshire and Surrey. 

Sentinel had already scheduled 200 rural off-gas properties for an upgrade over the next five years but these have been fast-tracked to enable tenants to benefit from lower energy bills and better overall temperature control with the installation of air source heat pumps, alongside improvements to future proof the homes.

In case you hadn’t noticed, the world of news has changed rapidly over the last few years, with social media transforming the way we as individuals receive and consume information. Russell Jones of Mitsubishi Electric tells HA how these new sources can affect the quality of our news.

Where do you get your news? Platforms such as Twitter are often the best place to pick up breaking news, and even Youtube offers a news service, so the traditional methods such as newspapers and even TV are facing stiff competition from almost every angle.

I still believe there is a place for a daily newspaper and regular monthly magazines, as this can allow readers to delve deeper into a subject that flitting around on an i-Phone is likely to allow.

Johnson & Starley is recognised as a leading provider of innovative solutions for the domestic heating, ventilation and renewables market, with an extensive range of residential heating and ventilation solutions.

Johnson & Starley's latest QuanTec boilers address all the key areas of condensing boiler design. Build quality, for example, is reflected in the use of full condense stainless steel heat exchanger technology, as it is by far the most durable material.

Their flagship model the QuanTec HR28C, praised by a leading consumer magazine, is the only boiler currently available on the market with integral heat recovery whilst still retaining a standard sized cabinet. The result is a super-efficient combi with  heat recovery integrated in the primary heat exchanger and all within the normal boiler cabinet size; a first by any manufacturer.

In December 2016, Dr Peter Bonfield OBE published the results of an extensive investigation to the energy efficiency industry. Entitled "Each Homes Counts", the Report was the result of18 months of research and was billed as "an independent review of consumer advice, protection, standards and enforcement for energy efficiency and renewable energy.

Commissioned jointly by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and by the Department for Communities and Local Government, the 68 page review covered three key questions. It considered 1) the quality of customer advice and protection, 2) the standards frameworks underpinning the quality of works, and 3) the effectiveness of monitoring and enforcement measures. In addition to evaluating the present state of the industry, it also set out a clear action plan for improvement over the coming years.

The trade body Interpave calls on housing providers to take the lead in developing wider use of sustainable drainage (SuDS) and concrete block permeable paving on developments, in line with national planning policy.

Some 20 months ago, the Government chose to abandon dedicated requirements for SuDS on new developments using the 2010 Flood and Water Management Act. Instead, an additional policy now sits alongside the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), spelling out “the Government’s expectation … that sustainable drainage systems will be provided in new developments wherever this is appropriate”.

The trade association Interpave discusses the role of precast concrete paving at an award-winning, high-density housing project.

Traflagar Place forms the first phase of a wider £1.5 billion, 28-acre regeneration scheme of the 1970s Heygate Estate near London’s Elephant and Castle. It replaces four buildings sat in isolation among sparse 1960s landscaping, albeit including mature trees, many of which have been retained. This part of the estate has been replaced by 235 high-quality homes of which 25% are affordable housing. The scheme is ‘tenure-blind’ and all types of homes are built with the same quality of materials and guaranteed outside spaces including communal gardens, podium and roof terrace, and private balconies.