INDUSTRY STANDARDS
Fergal Finn, NSAI Standards Officer and Sean McBride, OFTEC Ireland.
IRELAND’S FIRST CODE OF PRACTICE FOR HEATING AND PLUMBING IN HOMES IS LAUNCHED – WHAT IS IT AND HOWWILL IT MAKE PLUMBING BETTER…. Raising standards formodern Irish plumbing and heating
U p to now, Ireland has never had its own Code of Practice for heating and plumbing in domestic dwellings. In other European countries, organisations take the existing European Standards (EN) and draft their own specific Codes of Practice. The S.R. 50 series of Standard Recommendations, newly published by NSAI (Ireland’s National Standards Body) have been drafted as Codes of Practice for all those involved in the heating and plumbing industry. They are one-stop- shop documents that bring together the requirements of various relevant standards, building regulations and best practice. Fergal Finn, the NSAI Standards Officer helped compile the new Codes of Practice for S.R 50-1: ‘Water-based heating systems in dwellings’ and S.R. 50-3: ‘Hot and cold water supply for dwellings and their curtilages. He explains, “The existing European Standards cover a region that extends from the south of Portugal to the north of Norway. But one size does
not fit all. For example, Ireland and the UK are the only member states that use an unvented water storage tank, so a separate clause had to be written in just for us. “There are also significant water infrastructure differences between the UK and Ireland which impact on how plumbing and heating systems work. In the UK, water pressure is guaranteed, in Ireland it is not. That’s why in Ireland instantaneous water heaters or combi boilers should not be installed. Pressurised systems in Ireland are fed by the cold- water storage tank in the attic; in the UK it’s fed directly from the mains. “Traditionally, Irish plumbers, designers and architects study British handbooks for guidance - such as those published by Corgi or CIBSE - but they don’t include those Ireland-specific quirks.” The Codes of Practice were arrived at following years of debate by committee members made up of time-served plumbers, engineers, representatives from government, academia and consumer
bodies. Their main aim was to help and encourage designers and plumbers to ensure that central heating and water supply systems are not only designed and installed correctly and safely, but are also energy efficient and meet manufacturers’ criteria.
FAIRNESS BENCH While the S.R. 50 Standards
Recommendations were written primarily for plumbers, they can be used in many ways. The Standards set a baseline for heating and water supply systems in domestic dwellings. Heating and plumbing contractors can use the Standards to support the inclusion of equipment and components in their pricing and demonstrate compliance of their work to clients as well as using it as a Code of Practice. Fergal believes the Standards set a “fairness bench.” “If a plumber is costing a job fairly he can use the Standards to back that up. He can explain to the client that he has chosen
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