A comprehensive Soil Resource Survey carried out for the Royal Horticultural Society by soil scientists at Tim O’Hare Associates (TOHA)for the proposed RHS Garden Bridgewater will provide an exemplar case study on the sustainable re-use and management of existing soils.

The proposed new garden – on the site of the former Worsley New Hall in Salford, to the north west of Manchester – has been designed by landscape designer Tom Stuart-Smith. Soils on the 63 ha site, which slopes down to the Bridgewater Canal on its southern boundary, range from a sandy loam, through alluvial silts and clays in the woodland areas, to peaty soils in the meadows abutting the canal.

Renewable heating expert Finn Geotherm is embarking on a project in collaboration with Lincolnshire-based renewable energy hub Greenio, that will see William Farr School in Lincolnshire become a truly green school.

The school is undertaking a £900,000 investment to install biomass and ground source heat pump technology which will completely replace its existing gas boiler system. The 16 week project is being led by Greenio, who are installing five biomass boilers, and subcontracting the ground source system to experts Finn Geotherm.

Finn Geotherm is installing two Lampoassa Eli 90 ground source heat pumps at William Farr, linked to around 10,000 metres of ground loop which is being installed underneath a football pitch adjacent to the school. The 180kW ground source system will run alongside Greenio's biomass boilers to generate all the heating and hot water required by the 1500 pupil comprehensive school.

The Gasmet APP is now available free of charge on both iOS and Android Smartphones, providing anyone with an interest in gas monitoring with quick and easy access to an enormous volume of highly useful information.

The APP contains a link to a library of information on 500+ compounds providing IR spectra in addition to chemical formula, molecular weight, boiling point etc. for each gas.

Quantitech is delighted to announce that the Gasmet Continuous Emissions Monitoring System (CEMS II e) and the portable (DX4000) FTIR analysers have been awarded an MCERTS certificate (Sira MC030014/08) demonstrating compliance with the MCERTS Performance Standards EN15267-3 & QAL 1 as defined in EN 14181. The certificate demonstrates enhanced performance across an extended range of gases.

The MCERTS certificate confirms the performance of Gasmet’s FTIR analysers for the measurement of CO, NO, SO2, NO2, N2O, HCl, NH3, H2O, HF, CO2, O2, CH4 and CHOH. However, Quantitech MD Ken Roberts says: “Customers will be particularly interested in this certificate because of the exceptionally good figures for Hydrogen Fluoride, and the data for Nitrogen Oxide and Formaldehyde are also very significant because no other FTIR is certified down to 150 mg/m3 NO in 40 vol-% water and no other instrument is approved for Formaldehyde at all.”

The OTT Hydromet Group has announced a new distribution strategy for the Sea-Bird Coastal product range of water quality sensors and monitors. “These instruments fit very well with our range of water monitoring technologies,” says OTT’s European Sales ManagerMarcus Meckelmann. “We also share similar customer bases, so the key Sea-Bird Coastal products will be available exclusively through OTT’s European subsidiaries and official distributors.”

A new electric-drive shredder designed and engineered by Austrian headquartered UNTHA, is set to increase capacity, profitability and safety levels in the pioneering wood recycling and biomass market. And, unusually for this sector, the ground-breaking technology is now available as either a static or mobile solution.

CP Electronics, a leader in the design and manufacture of energy saving lighting controls, has announced the launch of its very first range of smartphone apps which will enable contractors and end users alike to control their lighting remotely.

Suitable for infrared-enabled mobile phones working on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and above, the UHS7 and UHS5 apps will replicate the functionality of their handset counterparts. Broadly, users will be able to raise and lower lighting levels, turn lights on and off and select scenes – all from a smartphone!

Water level sensing technology from OTT Hydrometry is being used in an intelligent flood warning system that has been installed at a ford in Kenilworth, Warwickshire. The system, which was designed and installed by SWARCO Traffic, monitors water level in the Finham Brook where it passes under the A452, and warns drivers when potentially dangerous conditions arise.