Archive for the ‘General’ Category
Registered Plumber And E.ON Water Save Scheme
Energy conservation and efficiency is once more hitting the plumbing industry headlines with news of the latest initiative from the Chartered Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineering (CIPHE), who have joined forces with energy company, E.ON, to launch the ‘Save Water Save Money’ campaign.
CIPHE registered plumbers and professional heating installers will be able to play a significant role in helping to protect the environment, save homeowner’s money and also obtain their annual membership of the CIPHE paid by E.ON. It also represents a powerful reinforcement of the need to complete approved and recognised training to qualify as a plumber in order to register for the present scheme and future industry initiatives.
The scheme involves the simple fitting of a free E.ON ShowerSave flow regulating device, which reduces water wastage by creating a constant flow of 7.6 litres of water every minute, irrespective of changes in water pressure and, consequently, can help customers save 10,000 litres of water a year and reduce household energy bills.
Each E.ON ShowerSave device, which carries a 15-year warranty, will enable plumbing and heating professionals to test if the current shower flow rate is of a level that would suggest that the homeowner would benefit from fitting an E.ON ShowerSave.
As a positive incentive, registered plumbing professionals will have their 2011 membership of the CIPHE – an important trade body credential - paid for by E.ON if they complete the installation of 200 devices by the end of March 2011. Membership discount will be given for those who complete less than 200 but a complete year’s paid membership plus a discount applied for the following year will be given to all those who fit more than 200 units.
Qualified plumbing and heating installers are now expected to take a significant role in helping to drive forward energy efficiency by providing energy assessments on existing installations and advising on the new green energy technologies.
The entry route for both men and women interested in training to become a plumber is open to all levels of background experience on the industry standard City & Guilds Plumbing NVQ 6129 level 2. This course introduces all the necessary foundation knowledge and practical skills which enables a student to progress through the required levels to be fully competent and industry ready.
Prince Charles Installs Solar PV – A Plus For Green Electrical Training!
Recent news that the Prince of Wales had been granted permission to install 32 solar photovoltaic panels on the south-east roof of Clarence House, his central London residence, and which has been a royal home for 170 years, gives another tremendous confidence boost to the UK’s embrace of renewable technology.
Despite of recession and austerity budget cuts, increasing numbers of men and women are entering the trade skills industry to train to become an electrician, and this now must take on board the use and installation of green energy appliances. Today’s trainee electrician is to be involved in the UK’s rolling out of replacement energy sources, the most important being Solar PV and Heat Pumps, in order to help meet the government’s commitment to lowering the country’s carbon emissions by 2020 and beyond.
The installation of solar PV panels is the latest in a line of renewable energy projects enacted by the Prince of Wales household, which not only aims to cut carbon emissions, but also raise the profile of green technology. Clarence House has previously installed energy efficient boilers and lights, while other royal properties possess wood chip boilers.
Approval of the planning application by Westminster Council, means the solar panels, which will be hidden from view by the high parapet balustrade on the Grade I listed building, are expected to produce around 4,000 kilowatt hours of ‘green’ electricity a year - equivalent to the household average in the capital.
Coincidentally, approval of the Prince’s solar PV scheme was announced alongside energy regulator, Ofgem, revealing that a record number of homeowners had installed solar panels during the past month. As a result of the introduction of the Government’s “feed-in tariff” scheme, which pays PV system owners for the green energy they generate, 2,257 solar panels were fitted, up from 1,700 in July and 1,400 in June.
All those who have become seriously interested in taking electrical courses, will begin learning the foundation theory and practical knowledge on the City & Guilds Electrical NVQ 2330 level 2 before advancing to the NVQ level 3 and the opportunity to undertake a number of knowledge and skills development modules.
Tiling Can Take You In A New Direction
For many of you who are reading this, the likelihood is that you may be considering a change of career or you are currently actively looking to start out in a new work direction. There may indeed, be those tradesmen who have been affected by industry cutbacks to work patterns, and learning another training skill can only add to your skillset.
All the current indications show that the UK is making a forward, albeit slow recovery from recession, and the latest trade growth figures are heading in the right direction. Many Government and private development schemes around the country have been recently announced, helping the Construction industry to move forward and should be seen as reassuring signs for future work prospects.
One of the easiest and quickest ways of entering the construction industry is to train to be a professional tiler. And of course, it makes sense when it forms part of being a builder, painter and decorator. A City & Guilds NVQ Tiling qualification is relatively straightforward if you have previous hands-on experience in other types practical problem-solving work.
The three week NVQ fulltime courses are strongly recommended for obtaining a complete understanding and practical skillset for most of tiling jobs required in both domestic and commercial applications. This will invariably cover such basic skills as correct spacing, lining up the patterning or working neatly over or around a corner, step, or column, applying a screed and surface preparation before beginning the tiling itself.
At a professional skills centre, courses are built to suit all types of time schedule requirements and there’s opportunity to learn on two consecutive weekend tiling training sessions comprising an entire course of weekdays.
The good news is that these days, tiling does not mean fixing endless walls with standard plain white ceramics! The seemingly infinite varieties of patterned tiles, finishes and sizes now available on the market guarantees a different task every day.
Specialist tile courses can be taken to learn how to work with the natural products like Granite, Marble, Limestone and Slate, which have become increasingly popular as they have become more affordable.
Heat Pump Event For MPs Boosts Training Confidence
The Micropower Council held a special renewable green energy event at the Houses of Parliament last month. In addition to 30 Peers and MPs, including Greg Barker MP, the Minister of State for Climate Change, the demonstration was attended by senior Civil Servants and interested parties, with over 170 guests able to talk directly to Micropower Council members.
The event was held to demonstrate how air source heat pumps have quickly established themselves as one of the most efficient and effective low carbon alternatives to gas and oil heating. In addition, over the past two years, live winter trials have been conducted to confirm how effective air source heat pumps can be throughout a British winter.
As a result, an Ofgem carbon score has been approved, which can be used for both CERT (carbon emissions reductions target) and CESP (community energy saving programme) funding schemes.
The event organised through The Micropower Council aimed to send a clear message to Westminster that industry is already working together to develop the products that will help reduce energy use and are ready to scale up production with Government support.
The government has set a target of 15% of energy, to be derived from renewables by 2020, and a significant growth in installing ground and air source heat pumps is seen as part of the drive to meet this commitment. Heating accounts for over 35% of the overall CO2 emissions for the UK each year. Installing a heat pump provides an opportunity to reduce carbon emissions, save on fuel and provide a sustainable solution.
The market value for both ground and air source heat pumps in the residential, commercial, public and industrial sectors is forecast at more than £50million in 2010 which, when added to installation costs of about £13million, gives an overall estimate of around £65million.
Heat pumps are used to heat buildings and water in the commercial, industrial and residential sectors. In many European countries, heat pumps have been an accepted system and technology in all three sectors for around 20 and 30 years.
The future of the plumbing industry will be very much dependent in knowing how to understand and assess green energy requirements and correctly install the new renewable energy appliances. Becoming a plumber at an approved and accredited trade skills training centre, which can provide dedicated green energy knowledge, will play an important role in the transformation process, as well as embarking on a solid career path.
Both men and woman, from any background, with or without prior experience or training can become plumbers. The entry level course to gain all the necessary foundation knowledge and key practical skills is the City & Guilds NVQ 6129 level 2.
Courses can be taken over different time periods according to personal circumstances and there’s opportunities to train on a series of weekend plumbing courses.
17th Edition IEE Wiring Regulations Due For Change.
The 17th Edition of the IEE Wiring Regulations, published 1st January 2008, is scheduled to be subject to a major revision in June 2011. Plans for a change of name and the inclusion of topics that are not dealt with in detail by the present edition, will then most likely come into force on 1st January 2012.
The new revision, to be known as the IET Wiring Regulations, is currently only a proposal and the changes introduced by the revision are not limited to key areas only.
A large part of the revision will be devoted to dealing with the new subjects being covered, which will include, in particular, medical locations, measures against electromagnetic influence and devices for protection against overvoltage (surge protection). Many small revisions will also be addressed throughout the regulations, and there is also a new section covering operating and maintenance gangways.
Section 710, Medical Locations, covers not only hospitals, but also healthcare facilities of every type, such as doctors’ and dentists’ surgeries. The new regulations are intended to deal with the reliability of supply in these locations, and to reduce the risk of electric shock. Included will be medical IT distribution systems with special isolating transformers, supplementary equipotential bonding and “safety service” power sources that will ensure continuity of supply.
Section 444 of the revised regulations deals with electromagnetic influence, and is intended to aid compliance with the requirements of the EU EMC Directive, already covered in UK law by SI 3148. Updated advice will be offered on installation of mains power cables and common bonding of multiple power sources in order to achieve the best EMC performance. Compliance with Part P of the Building Regulations depends on compliance with the Wiring Regulations, so when the new version of the regulations comes into force, the implication is that electrical contractors and building inspectors who provide Part P certification will need to have specialist knowledge about the EMC performance of electrical installations.
Section 534 covers the selection and applications of surge protection devices, which are used to minimise the effects of voltage transients produced by natural phenomena, such as lightning and by switching operations.
At present, individuals on electrical courses are able to undertake the NVQ 2382 17th Edition Wiring Regulations course as a key knowledge and skill module as part of a course progression at a leading UK skills training centre.
The entry level for men and women wishing to train to be an electrician is the City & Guilds NVQ 2330 level 2, which provides all the required foundation and practical skills to be assessed for advancing to the next learning level.
Electrical Training On The Rise.
New figures just released by the vocational education organisation, City & Guilds, reveal that over the last 12 months, electrical installation has become the nation’s most popular industry skill, with 97,411 certified learners across the UK, while the number of individuals joining vocational learning schemes climbed by 11 per cent.
The news that training on electrical courses is on the rise due to the after-effects of the recent economic downturn is a great boost to current trainees and all those who are looking for a secure career path in the trade skills industry. Without doubt, training to be an electrician in today’s economy looks to be a safe bet!
According to Chris Jones, director general and CEO, City & Guilds, growing numbers of people are recognising the value of work-related learning and equipping themselves with the right skills and training they need to succeed and lead in today’s fast-paced economy. “With apprenticeships and work-related learning now a firm priority on the UK’s education agenda, demand for skills-based courses in electrical installation has never been higher”.
The number of certified learners in electrical installation between 1 June 2009 – 31 May 2010 show London and South East England with the highest number of electricians closely followed by the West Midlands and the North West.
According to the figures, electrical installation is also the most popular vocational course in a number of cities across the UK, including Southampton (1,003), Manchester (970), Liverpool (888), Nottingham (858), Sunderland (453) and Maidstone (258).
Below shows the City & Guilds regions and the number of certified learners in electrical installation between 1 June 2009 – 31 May 2010:
1. Southern – 14,150
2. Eastern – 11,101
3. London and the South East – 9,818
4. North West – 9,684
5. West Midlands – 9,552
6. Yorkshire – 8,910
7. South West – 7,998
8. East Midlands – 7,539
9. Wales – 6,972
10. Northern – 4,997
11. Scotland – 4,281
12. Northern Ireland – 2,409
The established electrical industry entry course is the City & Guilds NVQ 2330. This extensive series of learning units provides all the necessary theoretical knowledge and practical skills required to be verified and assessed by an approved and accredited City & Guilds training centre to be competent enough to progress onto the required next level, the City & Guilds NVQ 2356.
Obtaining the mandatory level of skills learning is essential in order to be considered correctly qualified to start an apprenticeship scheme and go on to train on more specific course modules.
Plumber Retraining For A-Rated Boilers
Changes to Part L of the Building Regulations means that plumbers will no longer be able to specify B-rated condensing boilers from October 1 onwards. It is therefore, being recommended that installers of SEDBUK Band B boilers should urgently seek advice.
However, installers can continue to fit Band B boilers until April 2011 - but only if the order was taken before October 1, 2010. Oil-fired combination boilers, can also continue to be installed.
Until now, many plumbers were comfortable with the less efficient technology and carried on installing what they knew and recognised. It may often have been the case that when a Band B boiler was removed, installers saw a familiar boiler with just a secondary heat exchanger to extract more heat, being put into place. The incoming changes to the Building Regulations mean that the fitting of these types of boilers will be no longer legally permitted.
Sales of Band B boilers are reported to account for approximately 10-15% of the UK market, or around 150-180,000 boilers each year. Often, these boilers are bought through DIY chains, or the internet and are very price sensitive.
It therefore, means that any plumber who still gets the majority of their work from installing Band B boilers, should be strongly advised to book themselves onto a training course as soon as possible for the new Band A boiler, which offers increased flexibility of positioning and flueing.
As a result of the urgent demands for safe, clean, green energy, many of the former methods of heating are being rapidly made obsolete. Today, those who enter the industry to train as a plumber, at an accredited skills training centre will learn both the theory and practical knowledge necessary to meet the demands of modern plumbing as well as for the prexisting water supply and heating systems.
The first point of entry is the approved City & Guilds Plumbing NVQ 6129 level 2 course, which introduces the required foundation knowledge, including Building and Water Regulations, Health & Safety, water supply, heating, boiler and radiator systems, as well as the key and common plumbing principles of pipework, valves and drainage.
Flooding, Drainage and Digital Plumbing!
In recent years, the UK, in common with other countries, has been on the receiving end of what appears to be unusually, excessive rainfall and land flooding. Whether the cause is due to major shifting climate change, or periodical, abnormal weather patterns is the big debate.
We know that in the UK, flooding has always occurred in one or more areas, every year, and costs millions of pounds in repairing the damage caused to thousands of homes, businesses and agricultural land. Property and landowners have shouldered the main responsibility for safeguarding their properties, but often passed onto plumbing contractors to sort out. Now the government is stepping in to take more precautions against flooding.
The government have launched a new scheme in Gloucestershire to help deal with potential drainage problems, which should make life much easier for plumbers! They have produced digital drainage maps so any ongoing drainage issues can be identified early enough in order to be able to fix it before escalating into a more serious matter.
The drainage contractors will use portable equipment that can receive GPS location data to show chambers, manholes, catch pits and the drains location to be recorded. Although the procedure is so far being operated in Cheltenham and Gloucester, other councils have already shown a lot of interest in the new scheme.
Domestic customers can hire local drainage companies to map drains in land around their homes to obtain a record of where any pipes run beneath the ground, whether a smallholding or a detached property with a large back garden.
The development of technology like GPS within the plumbing industry has been greatly facilitated in recent years with the urgent concerns of climate change as a result of man made carbon emissions. This has led rapidly to the renewable sources concept and the bringing in of green energy, now playing an increasingly important role in plumbing services.
Anyone who wants to train to be plumber, has many exciting course options to learn the specific skills of solar energy or heat pumps installation. All students will be required to start their career path on the industry recognised and approved City & Guilds NVQ Plumbing 6129 level 2 course, which provides all the underpinning knowledge and practical skills necessary to be able to progress to the next course level, on the way to be considered a qualified ‘competent’ plumber.
New Homes Bonus Scheme A Boost To Skills Training
Last week, it was announced that English Councils are to be offered extra money for every newly-built home, as part of a coalition government scheme, “New Homes Bonus”, aimed at easing housing shortages and which will also offer an incentive to local authorities.
This once again, is good news for the construction firms and trade service suppliers who will be involved, and is a boost to the construction industry as a whole. It also provides reassurance and optimism for future job prospects to the many people who are currently training to be an electrician or learning the plumbing trade.
With endless media talk of slow recovery from recession and slowdown in trade growth, it’s always good to hear the news on the ground, as it were, from the frontline of the trade industries.
Under the “New Homes Bonus” programme, the Government stated that it will match the council tax raised on each new home for a period of six years to help boost house building, which has been at a lower level, due to slow recession recovery.
There were 120,000 homes built last year and there are 4.5m people in England who are on council waiting lists.
The Government, ” ..will not tell communities how or where to build … but the New Homes Bonus will ensure that those communities that go for growth reap the benefits of development, not just the costs”.
There will be undoubtedly, many men and women who currently are looking to start a new career that will provide a more steady future. The skills of construction industry trades such as plumbing, electrical, gas and building are always in demand, and with the widespread use of green energy heating and lighting systems being increasingly adopted across the UK, future career prospects look to be assured.
City & Guilds NVQ courses are the recognised, established route for entry level students and the leading UK skills training centres can also provide accredited renewable energy courses within a dedicated classroom environment.
Gas Safe Plumbers To Provide Safety Certificate
We have all read or seen on the TV, the horror stories that are reported when a Gas appliance was incorrectly installed as a result of a lack of knowledge and proper qualified training. Schemes have been set up by official trade bodies to try and help customers avoid the cowboy element of the trade industry and ensure they are protected and their property is safe when having gas fitting work carried out.
Syntegra Consulting, the national energy consultancy based in Reading and London recently launched ‘Green Surveyor’ a new division aimed at the professional plumbing industry.
The intention is to establish a nationwide network of Gas Safe plumbers to provide nationwide gas safety certification and associated letting compliance related safety certification services to homeowners, landlords, property agents, solicitors and small businesses covering all areas of the UK.
As part of the team they will be offered live opportunities to undertake work locally at competitive prices as a result of leads and instructions generated by the Green Surveyor on-line and media based sales and marketing campaigns.
Homeowners and landlords will benefit from Green Surveyor’s one-stop-shop expertise in the areas such as gas safety certification, residential and commercial Energy Performance Certification, Electrical Safety Certification, Portable Appliance Testing, as well as the provision of Green Surveyor Letting Compliance Packs, Property Agent Services and Fire Risk Assessments.
Individuals who wish to enter the professional industry and become a Gas Fitter are required to undertake full and approved training at an accredited skills training centre in order to be fully qualified at the required standard. Only fully trained, qualified and experienced personnel can enter the Gas Safe register to self certify as well as being eligible to join other approved schemes such as Green Surveyor.
Often a popular and a key route will be to learn and qualify as a plumber on structured NVQ 6129 course levels before undertaking gas training, and thus, provides an all-round knowledge and skillset for future work opportunities within professional industries.
