[Commercial ACS with Buderus]
John Neal, Buderus Technical Trainer, outlines the new commercial ACS training options that are available through Buderus.
We have seen in recent times a significant growth in commercial installation work and today's commercial boilers are designed specifically to meet this rapidly growing market.
As Europe's largest manufacturer of high efficiency condensing boilers for both domestic and commercial use, Buderus is in a unique position to be able to offer installers and heating engineers the products, the expertise and now the hands-on commercial ACS training to meet their changing needs, and the needs of their customers.
Boilers like the Buderus 800 range are equally suited to both commercial and large domestic applications. There are models with 43kW or 60kW outputs which come within the scope of the ACS qualifications required for those handling domestic heating installations.
Any installer must have CORGI ACS qualifications to be allowed to connect a heating installation to the gas mains. ACS certification comes in two parts - a core syllabus covering safety regulations, fluing and ventilation (know as CCN1 for natural gas) which must be completed before taking the ancillary element for boilers (known as CEN1), both of which are necessary before an installer is allowed to work on a boiler installation.
This domestic certification allows the holder to install boilers rated up to 70kW's which could well be sufficient for anything but the really large home - perhaps with a swimming pool.
For larger properties, and light commercial installations, the Buderus GB162 has been designed as a wall mounted gas fired condensing boiler with outputs of 80kW and 100kW. This of course, requires the commercial core element of ACS (COCN1) to be obtained together with the boiler element (CIGA1). For those installers already holding domestic accreditation who have been working with gas a 'changeover' option (CODNCO1) is an alternative route.
Buderus now offer both of these courses at their new West Thurrock training centre, where fully plumbed commercial systems allow installers to get properly acquainted with the technology as well as the theoretical aspects of commercial installations.
In order to be certain about which certification is required - if the boiler does not exceed the 70kW rating and manufacturers literature specifies the boiler as being to BS5440, then the domestic ACS will apply - if the boiler is 70kW or over and manufacturers literature specifies this to be to BS6644 then commercial ACS is required.
To help installers in the domestic or commercial sectors, and in addition to the new commercial ACS courses, Buderus has also introduced comprehensive training packages to support all their boiler ranges which include boilers with outputs from 19kW to 19,200kW. These training courses cover all aspects - new technology, new legislation and regulations, best practice, general product overview, individual product ranges, fitting and servicing, associated controls and commercial system design. They are specifically geared to practical, hands-on training with fully plumbed products in tailor-made workshops to cover all aspects from assembly and fitting to fluing, control options and burner matching.
Buderus courses include a commercial range overview, plus in-depth courses on each of their commercial boiler ranges including the GB162 and GB162 cascades, the GB312, SB condensing boilers, GE high efficiency cast iron boilers, RC20/RC30 controls, 400 modular controls overview and application plus a comprehensive instruction course for hydraulics and commercial system design.
The hands-on product courses are available at various Buderus training centres around the country including the brand new purpose built facilities at West Thurrock, which is the main centre for Buderus' new ACS courses.
The courses offer installers four or five day courses depending on what qualifications are already held. Buderus's technical training team carry out the in-depth product training ready for an external assessor to conduct the final assessment. Certificates are then awarded which authorise the installer to carry out work on commercial installations such as schools, hospitals, old peoples homes, bed & breakfast hotels, etc..
Modern commercial boilers are very different from the large and inefficient types which are found in boiler houses up and down the country. New regulations are leading the impetus to replacement with energy efficient models. Keeping up to date with these latest trends is important for the heating system specifier and Buderus training courses provide all the information needed by the go ahead engineer and installer.
