Category: General

The gas boiler domination of the UK home heating market seems to be a major issue for the Government in their attempts to meet net zero targets.

The future of gas boilers in a net-zero world is a subject of intense debate and significant policy action, especially in countries committed to reducing carbon emissions and combating climate change.

As the UK aims to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, the role of gas boilers—currently a predominant source of home heating—must evolve to align with these environmental goals. This transition involves several key areas: technological innovation, regulatory changes, consumer behaviour, and alternative heating solutions.

Technological Innovation

Advancements in boiler technology are crucial for reducing the carbon footprint of home heating. Modern gas boilers are significantly more efficient than older models, with some achieving near 95% efficiency in converting gas to heat. However, to meet net-zero targets, further innovations are necessary. One promising area is the development of boilers that can run on hydrogen, a fuel that produces water when burned, rather than carbon dioxide. This could allow existing gas networks to be repurposed for hydrogen, minimizing infrastructure changes.

Regulatory Changes

The UK government has already set regulatory milestones to phase out the installation of new gas boilers. From 2025, for instance, new build homes will be required to install heating systems that use renewable energy sources instead of natural gas. These regulatory changes are designed to gradually decrease the reliance on fossil fuels for home heating and encourage the adoption of greener alternatives.

Consumer Behaviour

Achieving a net-zero world also depends on changing consumer behaviour. Homeowners need to be informed about the environmental impact of their heating choices and encouraged to consider greener alternatives. Government incentives, such as grants and loans for installing renewable heating systems, play a critical role in facilitating this shift. Additionally, public awareness campaigns can educate consumers about the benefits of reducing energy consumption and choosing more sustainable heating options.

Alternative Heating Solutions

The move towards a net-zero future will involve a diverse mix of heating technologies. Heat pumps, both air source and ground source, are seen as a leading alternative to gas boilers due to their ability to efficiently convert electricity into heat. However, their high upfront cost and the need for significant modifications to existing homes are barriers to widespread adoption. Other alternatives include district heating schemes, which supply heat from a central renewable source to multiple buildings, and solar thermal panels.

Challenges and Opportunities

Transitioning away from gas boilers presents several challenges, including the high cost of installing new heating systems, the experience of Gas Safe engineers offering boiler troubleshooting, the readiness of alternative technologies to meet the demands of all properties, and the need for a skilled workforce to install and maintain new systems. However, this transition also offers opportunities for innovation, job creation in green technologies, and the potential for significant reductions in household energy bills over the long term.

There have never been more CCTV cameras on homes and business properties in the UK than there are today.

Add in all the cameras in doorbells, dashcams, and camera phones and you can be pretty confident that you are under the watchful eye of some form of security camera every time you enter a public space.

In business settings, CCTV is no longer the sign of a business that has taken its security to the next level as it once was. It is now expected, and any company that fails to install a wired CCTV system stands out a mile away. Criminals will be drawn to you, clients will avoid you, and staff may well feel unsafe working for you.

Simply put, business CCTV is an absolute must and the only decisions that you really need to make are which system to install and where to install it.

However, before you go right ahead and stick cameras up all over the place, you first need to consider the legal obligations that you have in terms of public privacy.

It may surprise you to find out that there are still extensive rules that you need to follow given just how many cameras can be found in public these days, but there are and as a business owner it is your duty to ensure your company abides by them.

Do I need permission to get CCTV?

No, you can buy CCTV cameras without any sort of licence or application, the rules are purely focused on their use.

What rules do I need to follow as a business owner with CCTV?

Here are the most important regulations that you need to follow as a business with a commercial CCTV system:

Install Appropriate signage

Signs alerting those nearby that they may be under observation is a must when installing commercial CCTV.

It is also a clever strategy for warning off any criminals who might be lurking nearby and cannot spot CCTV cameras from outside of the perimeter.

Cooperate with the Police

Of course, cooperating with the police is something that you are legally obligated to do no matter the circumstances never mind just in relation to CCTV installation but if the police do request images from your cameras you are required to provide them free of charge.

Do not use CCTV imagery unless essential

Only ever watch or record images for a genuine security or business related reason. You should also delete old footage when it is no longer required and never store footage unnecessarily.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBssv-9VEDY&pp=ygUVY29tbWVyY2lhbCBjY3R2IGxhd3lz

Do not record in private spaces

It is illegal to record anyone without their permission in spaces where they have a realistic expectation of privacy. Not that you would ever consider doing so anyway, but toilets, bathrooms, and changing rooms are all spaces that should never be fitted with CCTV.

Follow these rules and your commercial CCTV system should protect you nicely for many years to come without landing you in any hot legal waters along the way.

CCTV is now ubiquitous on construction sites across the nation as well as car parks, offices, retail stores and pretty much any other commercial site.

Since their invention all those years ago, the main purpose of CCTV has been surveillance, recording activity for future action, whether by the police or by the camera owner.

However, CCTV has a major psychological impact on criminals that often goes under the radar. It is impact that leads to a significant drop in criminal activity on any site where cameras are installed and is an effect that goes far beyond simply wanting to avoid being detained.

In this blog, we will examine the psychological impact of CCTV systems as a whole on the general public, as well as examining the effect in closer detail in relation to theft and vandalism within the construction industry in particular.

Construction site CCTV

A construction site camera system is a fantastic tool for any building site for a number of reasons.

Most people are aware of the benefits of CCTV I regards to observing criminal behaviour and tracking down the culprits but are less aware of the psychological impact that a cameras presence can have on most potential intruders and on staff themselves.

Here are just some of the psychological impacts of CCTV surveillance.

Increased sense of safety for staff

Installing CCTV will instantly improve staff safety on your site. The mental effect this has is just as big as the physical one, reassuring staff that they are safe on your site and allowing them to relax and focus on their work.

Knowing that you are taking care of their needs, this can often lead to a noticeable rise in staff retention, productivity and a more positive employer-employee partnership.

Deterring criminals

The main purpose of CCTV in the first place. Seeing CCTV cameras on your sight will send a shiver down the spine of potential criminals, triggering their flight instincts and stopping most crimes from happening in the first place.

Sure, if something does occur, CCTV is great for tracking down the culprit, be we usually find that our clients report a significant drop in criminal activity following installation and this can be put down to the psychological effectiveness of a CCTV tower.

Increased sense of difficulty

Most criminals are after an easy life, looking for any property where the reward on offer far outweighs the risk of getting it.

A CCTV tower tips this internal balance in your favour, telling passers-by that if they wish to steal or vandalise your property there is a very high risk that they will be caught red handed.

Wrongdoers might not realise it themselves but every time they pass a potential target they are weighing up the potential pros and cons and a CCTV tower is a pretty big tick in the cons column for them and in the pro column for you.

For more information on the benefits of a CCTV tower, get in touch with our expert team today.

If you are still using the same office security measures that you were using 10 or even 5 years ago, you are behind the times and an upgrade is needed to protect your workers and your most valuable assets.

The fact is that in the modern business world, basic traditional security measures simply won’t cut the mustard. Failing to get with the times and invest in the latest security technology is asking for trouble and dramatically increases you chances of suffering a security attack, either physical or cyber.

On the positive side of things, you have come to the right place. We are one of the UK’s biggest providers of security technologies and have put a huge amount of work into our office specific security services.

In this article we will look at just a few of the most effective technologies that are completely transforming the business security landscape in 2023.

What is the purpose of office security?

The goal of office security is first and foremost to keep your staff and your customers safe. If you can’t do so, your business is doomed for failure as your reputation both as an employee and as a service provider will swiftly plummet.

Office security must not only protect people but also data, with both physical and online copies of sensitive information of the upmost importance.

By eliminating threats you will likely see a marked upturn in staff productivity levels as well. After all a happy workforce is a productive workforce.

Mobile Technologies for Office Security

Mobile CCTV

Gone are the days where the only place you can monitor you CCTV is from a single room somewhere inside your office.

These days, mobile CCTV solutions allow you to log into the feed anytime and anywhere using an app on your phone.

This is great if you want to check on the status of your office at night or can’t make it in that day and want to ensure that everything is well.

If you have a security firm that you use for all your security needs, you could also grant them access to the feeds so they can perform their duties more effectively.

Access Control

Access control is a popular phrase in the security industry and can apply to both physical and online security. Fingerprint or eye scanners are a great way to protect devices such as PCs that contain sensitive information and can also be used to grant or deny access remotely to the office itself.

These are far more reliable and secure than traditional access readers that simply need a code.

Keyholding

Keyholding is not a technology in itself but rather a service where a professional security firm will monitor the technologies that you do have in place.

If your smart CCTV or alarm system picks up and intruder using AI, they will instantly send an alert to your security firm allowing them to use the set of keys you provided to access the site and deal with the situation.

When asked to name a cosmetic treatment that helps eliminate wrinkles and gives your face a smoother and more well rested complexion the average person may say Botox, a facelift, or, at a push chemical peels.

Tear trough dermal fillers are probably not the first thing that would spring to mind, which is a shame as they are one of the most effective, low risk, and minimally invasive treatments of the market that can be used to tackle wrinkles and dark circles in the under eye area.

The tear trough, just below the lower eyelid but above the cheek is one of the most troublesome areas of the face and one of the first to show the drop in collagen production that occurs as we enter our late 20s.

Hollow eyes and under-eye circles can leave you looking tired or sad when your face it at rest, even if you are feeling the complete opposite and many people understandable turn to cosmetics to reverse these effects.

There is no more effective way of doing just that that a treatment of tear trough fillers, a non-invasive procedure that involves hyaluronic acid based dermal fillers being inserted around the orbital bone, adding volume, smoothing sagging skin and eliminating shadows.

What do tear trough fillers do?

Tear trough fillers add volume to the under eye area, covering up dark blood vessels and filling out hollow sockets to reduce the appearance of shadows.

Even better, the injection of hyaluronic acid will naturally boost hydration and collagen production in the area, leading to healthier looking clear skin around the eye. Hyaluronic acid is known for its absorbent nature, and can hold as much as 1000x its weight in water meaning the effects of injection will only improve in the weeks following treatment.

There are very few potential draw backs to tear trough fillers which makes it call the more surprising that many people have never even heard of them and the treatment is less popular than other injectables such as Botox.

This is changing fast, however, and we have seen the popularity of dermal fillers soar over the past few years, with interest in tear trough fillers expected to grow rapidly in the years to come.

What are the biggest benefits of tear trough fillers

Tackling dark circles

Dark circles under eyes are some of the most annoying aesthetic problems to experience, drawing constant comments from friends and family alike about how you need to get more rest and are looking a bit tired.

If you just can’t seem to get rid of dark circles no matter how well rested and hydrated you may be, they may well be a consequence of hollow eye sockets and tear trough fillers the only way to achieve relief.

Limited downtime

There is no real downtime associated with tear trough fillers and you can return to work immediately after leaving the clinic.

Your doctor will provide you with some basic aftercare advice such as avoiding makeup for a day or two, but this is far less disruptive procedure than surgery and even other non-surgical treatments.

Few side effects

The hyaluronic acid based nature of tear trough fillers means that the risk of side effects is slim. This is a substance your body is used to dealing with and is very unlikely to cause any problems by adding more.

There may be a bit of sensitivity or soreness around the injection site for a few days but within a week you should feel completely back to normal, with a fantastic new look to go along with it.

Immediate and ever improving results

From the moment you leave the clinic your tear trough fillers will begin to work their magic and without just a couple of days you achieve the rejuvenated look you have been dreaming of. Even better as hyaluronic acid absorbs a huge amount of moisture, up to 1000x its weight, the plump and healthy appearance will only improve over time until the tear trough filler Glasgow eventually begins to dissolve.

Non-permanent results

Seen by most as a negative, but the fact that this is not a permanent filler, and it will dissolve over time is also a relief and a reassurance to nervous and first time patients who are concerned about being stuck with an appearance that they do not like.

If you are not comfortable with the way that the filler makes you look, unlikely but not impossible, you have two choices, wait for it to naturally dissolve and your original appearance to come back, or if you hate it completely, visit a cosmetic doctor and they will be able to dissolve it for you.

We find that the majority of people’s only wish is that the filler lasted longer and can’t wait to return for a top-up treatment as soon as they need it.