Preface to the ninth edition

Each time a new edition of this book appears, it is proper that the authors should acknowledge the permission of the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers to use data from the current edition of the CIBSE Guide. To this invaluable work, extensive reference is made, both to present facts and to encourage the reader who may wish to pursue matters further. In some cases the presentation of those data may differ slightly from that of the source, simplifications being used in instances where these produce results adequate to match the inexactitudes of building construction on site. When the Preface to the last edition of this book was written reference was made to the then proposed revision to Part L of the Building Regulations. This was published in 1995 but did not address a number of key issues from the 1993 draft including regulations relating to air conditioning in non-domestic buildings. Since then a complete reappraisal of Part L has been undertaken and a new edition was published in two parts in November 2001 for implementation in April 2002. In anticipation of this, many of the new requirements contained in this new edition of Part L have been incorporated into this book. With the ever increasing need to reduce the energy consumption and produce sustainable solutions for our buildings, the role of the Building Services Engineer is at long last being recognised for the contribution the profession can make in terms of energy conservation, quality of the environment, sustainable solutions and minimising whole life costs. This edition has attempted to reflect modern trends in the industry and good current practice, whilst retaining much of the historical information from previous editions which provides the fundamentals for understanding the process of design development over the years, and the principles of operation for systems which may require some measure of re-engineering. Examples are the chapter on refrigeration where factors affecting the choice of refrigerant and the associated risk to the environment and health and safety are identified, the chapter on controls where new technologies have had a major influence upon the design and application of modern systems and the chapter on combined heat and power where the introduction of new technologies including fuel cells are expected to have a major influence on energy supplies for buildings in the future. In recognition of the proliferation of specialisms within the context of heating and air conditioning of buildings, the authors have drawn upon a range of expert knowledge to provide comprehensive coverage of the subject. Our thanks are due to many colleagues at Oscar Faber and friends in the industry who have provided willing assistance and valued