UK helped towards sustainable construction
Wolseley, distributor of construction materials, has opened a showcase for sustainable building products and construction methods, which aims to accelerate the UK's move towards sustainable construction. 
Renewables target deemed achievable
The Renewables Advisory Board (RAB) has reported the UK could generate 14% of its total energy from renewables by 2020 if a set of identified radical policy changes are put into effect quickly. Recommendations include accelerating grid studies, streamlined consenting processes, early introduction of revised support mechanisms and, most importantly,
Thorn lights up DG One Leisure Complex
The £12.75m DG One Leisure Complex, Dumfries opened in May 2008 offering unrivalled leisure facilities including a multi-purpose sports hall, 25m 8-lane competition pool, health and fitness centre as well as a café.
IET nominated for Royal Television Society award
A series of short films produced by the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) to promote science, engineering and technology to school students has been nominated for a Royal Television Society (RTS) Educational Television award.
PRODUCT NEWS
ABB general machinery drive range extended to 22 kW
The power range of the ABB general machinery drive has been extended to 22 kW. The drive is targeted at applications primarily found in food and beverage, material handling, textile, printing, rubber and plastic, as well as woodworking.
Taking inspiration from the ocean
Festo, in conjunction with the specialist display technology company, Effekt-Technik GmbH, has developed a bionic jellyfish - known as AquaJelly - to demonstrate swarming behaviour. Each AquaJelly is able to sense various aspects of its environment and to function completely autonomously, but is also endowed with communicative faculties that enable
Protection for office desktop systems
The new iDialog uninterruptible power supply from Riello UPS offers compact and versatile power protection with advanced features for office-based desktop PCs, workstations and small entry-level servers.
Electrical junctions protected in wet conditions
The cost difference between an electrical enclosure offering IP54 and IP67 protection is huge.
All-In-One tester reduces contractor toolbox clutter
With the Martindale range of Veritest all-in-one testers, a single contractor can now perform the complete suite of the 17th Edition of the IEE Wiring Regulations, thereby boosting productivity.
Going, ready or not
September 2008 sees the biggest change in lighting protection standards for over 20 years, as the old BS 6651:1999 Protection against Lightning is finally withdrawn, to be fully replaced by BS EN 62305:2006.
