P18-19 Electrical Heating BEAMA:Layout 1 14/12/2021 14:52 Page 19 Electric Heating


UK Power project, meanwhile, aims to generate 10.5 GW from wind and solar by the end of the decade, brought straight to the UK from Morocco by subsea cables. The cost of lithium-ion batteries has fallen by 89% since 2010. And the cost of offshore wind turbines has dropped 50% since 2015 alone, and those scheduled to be built in 2025 are expected to be even cheaper. All of this reinforces the importance and


viability of electrification of heat for the UK, and although we will need a mix of technologies including electric resistance heating to achieve our net zero goals, the front runner in the mix is the heat pump. Although there was a mixed reaction to the Heat & Building Strategy which was launched in October, it is clear from the support that the Government has offered the heat pump industry that this time it means business. The boiler upgrade scheme, combined with


the Government’s ambition to reduce the cost of heat pumps and the electricity to power them, demonstrates a clear commitment to the sector and hopefully will underpin the mass market roll- out of the 600,000 heat pumps per year that we need. With such a large prize, is there a more


opportune moment for the electrical wholesale market to get more involved in the heat pump market?


Heating controls for energy efficiency To a large extent, heating controls have become part of the fabric of our life. It’s known that many householders use the room thermostat as a handy on/off switch for their heating without really giving the device a great deal of thought. The recent trend towards smart versions has raised the profile of the humble thermostat to some extent, but the recent ‘Boiler Plus’ review from Government noted that customers receiving smart controls under this policy measure “tended not to make the most of their ability to save energy. Rather, they use them in a similar vein to a conventional thermostat, switching the heating on when they are cold.” All of this suggests that there is much to be


done to help householders use heating controls in the most appropriate way. Yet there remains a significant opportunity to move towards heating controls that will reduce energy consumption whenever they are operational. If you were to look ‘under the bonnet’ of the


room thermostat in a modern home, you may well find that it communicates with and controls the boiler in an almost identical way to how it was done a century ago. Specifically, controlling by sending an on/off signal to the boiler, turning it on when room temperature dips below the setpoint and off when the setpoint is exceeded. This type of control will still limit the output of the central heating boiler in relation to the desired main comfort temperature in the building, which is the key function of a room thermostat. However, it fails to fully optimise the efficiency benefits of modern boilers. This means that we have condensing boilers installed in


ewnews.co.uk


homes that rarely operate in their efficient condensing mode, and modulating boilers that rarely, if ever, modulate.


Manifesto for change This is why BEAMA has released its manifesto for heating controls, which includes a call for all room thermostats to include load or weather compensation as a minimum standard. These advanced, but commonly available, room thermostats work out the amount of heat needed to maintain the setpoint and control the boiler accordingly. As a result, the boiler operates more efficiently and provides better levels of comfort to the occupants. Recent research commissioned by BEAMA and carried out at the University of Salford demonstrates that the amount of gas used by a boiler for heating can be reduced by 10-12% over the course of the heating season by replacing a standard on/off room thermostat with one using load or weather compensation. These savings are largely independent of user interaction so would be widely achieved in practice. Determining whether a room thermostat


incorporates load or weather compensation should be straightforward for the supply chain. These devices are now classified as temperature controls under the Energy Labelling regulation from Class I through to Class VIII, and manufacturers are required by this regulation to provide information on which temperature control class each product belongs to. A Class I temperature control is a standard on/off room thermostat, while those products indicated as Class IV, V or VI incorporate load or weather compensation.


The BEAMA manifesto is calling for the following:


1.Minimum standards by 2022 for all room thermostats installed to be a minimum of Class IV. The tests mentioned above demonstrate clearly that Class IV, V and VI room thermostats deliver a significantly better energy performance compared to a Class I room thermostat.


2. Implementation by 2025 of a strategy to transition to ‘Directly Modulating Room Thermostats’ where technically feasible. Class V and VI should be the preferred option for heating systems and there needs to be a UK plan to widen the applicability of these controls in practice over the medium term. Industry would support this by working towards a suitable open communication protocol to facilitate the wider uptake of Directly Modulating Room Thermostats and providing improved information and training for installers.


The path to zero carbon requires every home


to adopt the best performing energy efficiency technology available. It is time for the Government to take the role played by heating controls seriously and to actively drive towards the application of best practice technology in all existing homes, and as part of all heating installations.


January 2022 electrical wholesaler | 19


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48