Pumps & Plumbing

THE POWER OF COPPER: AN ESSENTIAL MATERIAL FOR EVERYDAY LIFE

Copper is one of the most versatile materials on the planet and, throughout history, it has played a key part in bringing about change, inventions, and new opportunities across society.

Despite being aware of copper’s aptitude as a plumbing and construction material, many people are less aware of how essential copper actually is to everyday life. It’s used throughout homes, hospitals, public transport, and office spaces; as well as in renewable energy sources such as solar panels and wind turbines.

So just how essential is copper to everyday life?

Homes and transport

In your home, you’ll find copper running through your walls, supplying water from your boiler to your bathroom and kitchen, powering your shower and providing hot water to your taps. plumbing systems, copper is an everyday essential around the rest of your home. It’s found in the wiring of household electronics and appliances such as your kettle, microwave, oven, and television.

It’s also a key material for heating homes, not just in traditional central heating systems but in sustainable heating alternatives such as air source heat pumps. Many heat pumps rely on copper pipes in order to improve efficiency, as copper is a superior conductor of heat so can withstand large variations in temperature without expansion or contraction issues.

What’s more, flow rate and pressure drops must be considered when choosing which pipes to use in heat pumps. As well as having serious environmental problems, plastic pipes have a bore size which is considerably smaller than copper and a smaller internal area, which has a dramatic effect on flow characteristics. If installers select plastic pipe instead of copper without checking the size correctly, this could have a negative effect on the heat pump’s performance. It’s clear that copper is a key

material for sustainable heating methods, saving consumers money and reducing their carbon footprint.

Outside of the home, copper is essential in both cars and public transport. It can be found in the wiring of electric car chargers, as well as your car’s brake lines. It’s also vital in keeping public transport running, powering our train lines and being used in the brake lines of trains and buses, ensuring vehicles start and stop safely and efficiently. Office spaces Copper piping is as essential in our office spaces as it is in our homes and transport systems, as it has the capability to effectively heat or cool large spaces. When supplying hot water to busy offices, copper is chosen because of its durability, reducing the risk of leaks and other plumbing problems.

In fact, copper is so durable that it is used in Sweden’s nuclear waste handling technology, where copper canisters encapsulate the radioactive waste for long-term storage. The canisters are required to keep their integrity for at least 100,000 years but are thought to last five times that time as copper ensures the safety and longevity of the solution.

As well as being found in the pipework in the ceiling above your office, copper is used in the wiring of computers, printers, and other devices that are vital in offices. Put simply, we wouldn’t be able to work without it!

Hospitals In addition to our homes and office spaces, copper is an essential in hospitals too. It’s one of the only materials trusted to supply medical grade gases, such as oxygen, to patients’ bedsides with no leaks or contamination. Additionally, it has antimicrobial properties which help to protect the health of patients, with studies showing that it can reduce infection rates by 58%. Our hospitals use medical grade copper to prevent contamination and bacterial growth and, at a time when hospitals are facing unprecedented demand, its use is vital in our places of care. What makes copper an everyday essential? Copper’s widespread usage across the home, office, and medical environments, as well as within innovations, is thanks to its ability to be infinitely recycled, without any loss of performance or properties. This ability ensures it will continue to be an everyday essential for generations to come.

Copper has been recycled and reused for as long as the material itself has been in use and there is a fully developed scrap collecting infrastructure which has existed for centuries.

When copper pipes come to the end of their life, they are taken to a scrap merchant and are recycled in their entirety. They simply go into the furnace and are melted down to form a billet of copper, which is stretched out, cut to size, and made into brand new pipes. This process does not affect the performance or properties of the new pipes – copper used once will be identical to that used 100 or 1,000,000 times.

As a result, almost half of Europe’s copper demand is being met by recycled materials and at least 65% of all copper ever produced is still in circulation today. And even in its recycled form, the material can stand large variations in temperature, with very minimal expansion or contraction issues, unlike plastic pipes.

From homes and hospitals, to transport and offices, copper is the material of the future. Thanks to its superior quality, safety, and ability to be infinitely recycled, it is playing a vital part in our everyday lives, creating a more sustainable future for everyone.

To find out more about the benefits of copper, visit www.cuspuk.com.

Recognising the part that installers can play in helping to reduce their customers’ energy usage, Adey has launched a new competition that will see installers and their customers winning back the cost of their monthly gas heating bills.

Throughout October, November and December, any MagnaClean filter installed in a home and warranty registered in Adey ProClub, will be entered into a prize draw. At the end of each month a winner will be picked at random from the registered warranties and both the heating engineer and the homeowner will win their gas heating bills back for the month, up to the value of £500.

Then, in January 2023, one winning MagnaClean filter warranty will be selected from all the eligible entries over the three months, and both the heating engineer and the homeowner will receive three months’ gas heating bills back, up to the value of £1500.

“We know for many people that the ongoing energy crisis, which has seen bills soar, is extremely worrying,” says Adey marketing director, Claire Miller. “Results from a recent survey of 2000 homeowners that we carried out revealed that 76% of people would like to reduce their energy bills from making improvements to their heating system, but more than half (52%) are unaware that it is water circulating through the system that is the most common cause of breakdown and inefficiency. “That means there’s a huge opportunity for installers to talk to their customers about the importance of looking after their heating systems and encouraging them to fit a MagnaClean, with the added benefit of being entered into the prize draw on top of that. “And with up to 7% yearly saving in gas usage and up to 47% improvement in radiator heat output through ADEY Best Practice, it’s an investment that has huge long term benefits.”

Win back the cost of your heating bill

For full terms and conditions of entry, please visit: adey.com/win-your-heating

CALLING ALL GREEN HEATING HEROES

Worcester Bosch has announced the relaunch of its consumer sustainability campaign and is looking to recruit installers to sign up to become ‘Green Heating Heroes’.

The aim of the campaign is to help householders think ‘greener’ when it comes to their home heating and those who enlist will be part of a UK wide ensemble of installers committed to providing support and advice to customers.

Each installer who signs up will receive a Green Hero t-shirt, van sticker and campaign social content to promote their green credentials to their customers. Later this month, they’ll also receive new guidance in the form of a toolkit full of helpful facts and information they can provide customers who are considering a switch to greener home heating, as well as additional energy saving tips.

According to research by the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) only 52% of consumers are aware of renewable heating systems, so Worcester has identified a need to highlight and educate around low carbon alternatives.

The digital campaign went live on the 5th October and will run through to November, providing over 50 million opportunities for UK adults to see the campaign and drive installer interactions, which means that for registered installers there is also opportunity for new business leads, as well as being able to show existing customers that they are committed to a greener future.

To become a Green Heating Hero, log in or sign-up to the company’s Excelerate scheme or to find out more, visit: https://www.worcesterbosch.co.uk/professional/ green-heating-heroes

Open to the trade and public, this new store has a strong product offering - stocking the best brands at great prices. What’s more, the team at County Plumbing Supplies has over 115 years of industry expertise between the four of them. Nick, Graham, Richard, and Anthony have all previously worked together and understand what an independent merchant needs to offer.

Nick Wheatley, the owner said: “customers not only want a great price, but they also want good, unbiased advice, and therefore the ability to offer exceptional customer service is key.” He went on to say: “you should always be honest to your customers to ensure their expectations are met.”

The new premises boasts over 8,000 sq. foot of warehouse and storage space and importantly, ample car parking for customers’ vans and cars to park. The shop design has a modern and fresh feel with an element of the ‘wow-factor’.

A large bathroom showroom is being built in phase 2 of the store build.

Having been in the industry since 1985, Nick Wheatley, the owner, worked for several independent merchants before founding his own business ‘UK Plumbing Supplies’ in 2005. He retired in 2018 but was encouraged by previous customers to return. He explained what was key to bringing him back to the industry: “The people – our customers. It’s a privilege and a pleasure to serve the local community. We care about our customers, and we enjoy being able to meet their needs and help them to solve any problems.”

Graham Bustin was Branch Manager at Oxford Plumbing Supplies (part of UK Plumbing Supplies) when he met Nick and has a lot of management experience in the industry. Graham jumped at the opportunity to join Nick as a director and shareholder at County Plumbing Supplies, as he shares his sentiments when it comes to a customer-first mindset. Graham said: “Every time a business makes a decision, it should think about how such a decision might affect its customers. Putting your customer first is not a one-off action. It’s imperative that your whole team is knowledgeable and has the right information to hand, it’s the whole attitude of a business that fosters a positive customer experience.”

Routes to market have changed over the years - with the introduction of digital channels, and Nick and his team understand the need to engage with websites and social media, especially amongst their younger customers who prefer to communicate this way.

County Plumbing supplies are a member of The IPG and proudly promotes this fact on their new signage. The IPG is a membership group that commits to providing business and marketing support to local independent plumbing and heating stores and bathroom showrooms. It has the expertise to support Nick’s team with not only their purchasing power, but all digital aspects including a website, social media content, and an in-store digital screen. Glenn Fisher, The IPG’s Managing Director said: “We are committed to encouraging communities to support their local IPG member store, where alongside unrivalled service and unbiased honest advice, a customer is likely to find that their shopping basket is cheaper.”

Editor’s Choice Glenn Howells Architects completes Birmingham’s tallest residential tower

A striking new addition to Birmingham’s skyline, Moda, The Mercian has completed, redefining high-rise living in the city, and becoming its tallest residential tower.

Developed by rental living pioneer Moda Living and designed by Glenn Howells

Architects, it represents a cutting-edge new template for build-to-rent neighbourhoods, combining accessible, aspirational homes, with generous resident amenities and services in a highly desirable central location.

With the population of Birmingham growing, alongside a resurgent economy that is driving increasing amounts of international investment across finance, technology and advanced manufacturing, there is a need for more housing in the city that is better connected to places of work, recreation and culture. This new offer will cater to this influx, bringing a contemporary residential typology promoting wellbeing, community values, and sustainable living through mixed-use, high-density design principles.

Comprising 481 new homes, from spacious one-beds to three-bed family homes, The building also incorporates a residents’ lounge, 24-hour gym, private dining room,cinema and games rooms, and a 200m running track set within 1,400 sqm of outdoor space on a rooftop terrace overlooking the city and just five minute walk from Chamberlain Square – the city’s new business address, also masterplanned by Glenn Howells Architects. At 42 storeys, and with a central location on Broad Street, – it marks the western gateway to the city centre, and is a major catalyst for the continuing regeneration of this fast developing neighbourhood.

In the late 18th century, Broad Street was a well-established neighbourhood that enjoyed good connections with surrounding areas, before many of the city’s most successful businesses were established locally in the 19thcentury, along with the accompanying residential provision, places of worship, and social institutions. Now, at the start of the 21st century, Broad Street is re-establishing its heritage at the nexus of a mixed-use urban area, with business, leisure,and residential communities co-existing. As part of a three-storey podium filling the site’s footprint, an active frontage of flexible commercial units now meets Broad Streeton ground level, re-establishing the urban grain that has historically characterised the area, and transforming a previously underutilised space. The podium is also home to a triple height foyer and reception area, together with shop fronts and 489 cycle storages paces, which promote active and sustainable travel, reducing the building’s whole life-cycle carbon emissions.

The residents’ amenity offering is located atop the podium, providing a main hub for social, wellbeing, exercise

and entertainment, as well as panoramic views of Birmingham city centre. Adjoining the openplan lounge and communal areas area cinema, kitchen, and private dining room, all available to book through a residents’ app, witha 24-hour gym and fitness studios. A considered interiors palette, developed in collaboration with Naomi Cleaver, brings a sense of unity across these amenities, whileoutside, a landscaped realm provides access to nature, alongside seating and BBQ areas, and a 200m running track encircling the building on this level. Moda, The Mercian is built with quality health and wellbeing at the forefront,and secured a highly sought-after Fitwel three-star certification –the highest recognition from the world’s leading authority on healthy buildings–the first of its kind in Birmingham and one of the first in Europe. The tall, slender proportion of the tower rising above the precast stone-clad podium is wrapped in a dynamic mix of bronze metal fins and glazed panels. This façade emphasises the verticality and elegance of the building form, brings contrast in tone and texture, and references the former Timmins brass works once located on the site.

To reduce embodied energy, minimise site wastage and deliver consistent quality on a restricted city centre site, the façade was constructed from just over 3,600 unitised panels as well as many of the other key work-packages including the bathroom and utility pods that benefited from a prefabricated assembly with offsite manufacturing.

Within the shoulder form, residences begin to ascend with generous one-bed apartments through to two and three-bed apartments up to the 13thfloor where the shoulder level relates to a mid-rise datum found across Broad Street. On the upper floors of the tower, a combination of one, two and three bed apartments continue upto the 41st floor, where the three bed penthouses are offered private outdoor terraces.

Designed as a 21st century smartbuilding, data on thermal comfort levels, Co2 and lighting conditions is automatically tracked in real-time through the residents’ appand can be adjusted to meet wellbeing standards and environmental performance.

The technology also allows residents to monitor their energy usage andcosts in real time, encouraging them to minimise these. Additionally, easily digestible data on carbon output and anonymous data on where their sustainability is ranked across the neighbourhood to incentivise green behaviours, further contributing positively to the building’s overall environmental performance.

The building operates 100% on renewable energy from wind, tidal and solar sources. As a longterm operator, Moda Living bulk buys the renewable energy for 12 months at a time, passing the cost savings onto its residents.

Contributing further to its ESG and social value impact, an Employment Hub was set up in collaboration with the West Midlands Combined Authority and contractor Sisk to deliver hundreds of local jobs and apprenticeships during construction, equipping them with valuable skills.’

With such anapproach, delivered on the build-to-rent model, itwill help to ensure that Birmingham has the next generation of residential offer to attract and retain the changing demographic of people working in the city, from young professionals to couples and families. Not only tapping into a rejuvenated city infrastructure, including the newly extended West Midlands Metro tramand surrounding regenerated canal network, the building also stands to tap into the social infrastructure of a better connected, healthier, and greener city.

www.glennhowells.co.uk IG: @glennhowells