Introducing BPF Pipes Group

Introducing CIPHE’s Industrial Associate BPF Pipes Group.

Who is BPF Pipes Group? Find out more in the guest blog below:

The British Plastics Federation (BPF) Pipes Group is the leading trade association representing manufacturers of plastic piping systems in the UK.

The BPF Pipes Group have worked closely with CIPHE for many years and are delighted to be an Industrial Associate member. We have been representing UK manufacturers of plastics pipes and fittings since 1962. With the number of UK member employees around 6500, about 288,000km pipe installed annually and with combined members annual turnover of about £9.5 billion, the plastic pipe industry is a major part of UK building services and civils infrastructure. The BPF Pipes Group is dedicated to promoting the development, acceptance and usage of manufactured plastic piping systems at all levels in the Building, Construction, Civil and Utilities Industries. A key objective is to work with a range of stakeholders across the industry to raise standards through best practice guidance.

Application areas covered within Building Services

Increasingly, plastic piping systems are fundamental to every building project. Applications include hot and cold water supply, heating and cooling including warm water underfloor heating, district heating/heat networks, ventilation, air conditioning, sprinklers and above and below ground drainage.

How we work

The group is split into Technical Groups encompassing the wide range of applications covered by plastic piping systems. Each group comprises experts in the field from our members companies and Pipes Group personnel.

• The primary purpose of the Technical Groups is to share issues of common interest to members.
• The Pipes Group supports its members to successfully contribute to standardisation work in the UK and internationally. This activity runs across all areas of Pipes Group business - civils, utilities, and building services. In addition to seeking direct input to develop standards needed to underpin business, we build links with other organisations to promote the correct use of standards. Good product standards are essential to all manufacturing businesses and for purchasing products suitable for their intended use and service conditions. Our members participate in national and international standards meetings to produce appropriate product and system standards.
• Our Future Industry Group provides a forum for members new to the industry to meet, learn, discuss and influence the future work of the Pipes Group, and develop into the industry experts of the future.

Published documents

We have a library of best practice technical and specification documents with information and recommendations on technical points, specifications, installation and maintenance and signposting relevant regulations and standards to that application. We also have a series of webinars on various industry topics. These are all freely available to read and download from our website https://www.bpfpipesgroup.com/technical-information/overview/

Technical guidance:

A great resource for anyone in the industry working in areas such as design, specification, manufacture, installation, maintenance or sales.

• Domestic hot & cold water supply and central heating systems            
• District heating systems                                   
• Warm water underfloor heating systems
• Air admittance valves for domestic properties
• Managing sound transmission inside buildings  
• Waterless traps
• Discharge to drains from domestic properties
• Sealing gaps around pipes in buildings
• Testing the lifetime of plastic piping systems for domestic applications  
• Discharge from unvented hot water storage cylinders into plastic sanitary pipework systems
• Environmental bulletins - introducing Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) and Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) and how to use them in building design to aid product choice for sustainable plumbing systems – updated version to be published in early 2024

Specification guidance:

A quick and easy way to find out about current British, European and international standards for differing applications.

• Specifications for pipes and fittings for hot and cold water applications inside buildings
• Specifications for plastic pipes, chambers, manholes and covers for drainage and sewerage applications
• Guide to leaktightness testing of gravity drains and sewers

Webinars:

Our series of webinars are presented by experts from our member businesses and are free to view.

• Air admittance valves – an introduction
• The right choice – the role of EPDs in the selection of pipe systems
• The role plastic pipes will play in delivering net zero
• Designing drains and sewers

Environment

The environmental credentials of all construction products are under scrutiny. In the UK housing sector, most new properties use plastic pipes for hot and cold water systems chosen because they meet operational needs, pipe sizing requirements, jointing preference and installation demands. Plastic piping systems contribute very little to the overall impact of a construction project. Nevertheless, in seeking to meet the UK’s commitment to bring all greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050, every bit counts.

Our members products are not ‘single use plastics’  in the way that some other plastic items/products may be. Often household plastic piping systems are replaced due to consumer choice not because they have reached the end of their functional life. We are actively working with our members to reduce our carbon footprint by a variety of paths such as recycling, re-use, use of recyclates, reducing waste and lower carbon manufacturing and transport impacts.

New technologies for hydrogen fuel gas networks have been developed. Technically, pipe materials have been characterised in relation to time, temperature and stress, for example to ISO 9080 to give predictable performance.

New materials such as bio-based polymers are contributing to sustainable plumbing solutions.

For more information, visit our website at www.bpfpipesgroup.com