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RADIATORS boilingpoint Lessons from the past T Compact with Style K3
“Radiators are very much ‘fit for the future’ but as always, correct sizing will need to be undertaken to ensure that they keep the home warm and cosy.”
size of the radiators to provide a larger metal surface area to heat the air in the room to the level required to provide comfort heating. You can achieve the extra boost radiators need by replacing the existing single or double panel radiators with K3 radiators that have three panels and three sets of fins – providing the additional metal surfaces you need but without increasing the radiator footprint on the wall. These combined with additional levels of insulation will work well. So new low temperature heating systems offer additional opportunities for the products we know and love and have used virtually every day of our working lives, for years. There’s no need to change what we do, just an element of changing how we do it and the questions we ask when undertaking an installation or specifying for a heating system design. Radiators are very much ‘fit for the future’ but as
always, correct sizing will need to be undertaken to ensure that they keep the home warm and cosy. But can radiators work well with air source heat pumps? Very definitely yes they can - and they already are in a host of installations across the UK.
he plumbing and domestic heating industry, throughout the UK, is aware of the need to lower the carbon emissions
from the systems we install, service and maintain. As part of the move to achieve this, we have also seen widely published government targets to see 600,000 heat pump installations per year by 2028. So, with the drive to Net Zero, we discuss what has
worked and what has become a barrier to seeing installers developing their business model to include the installation of low carbon technologies.
Market conditions
The government has launched numerous schemes to stimulate the market. All are designed to incentivise the consumer, make the technology more affordable and see a greater number of installations, however, many schemes have failed, some abruptly, after a very short period. There are a variety of reasons for this failure
and research focused on installation businesses indicated that there is around 10 to 16 hours of admin and paperwork for the installation of a heat pump compared to 1 to 2 hours for a gas boiler. We do, however, see the same businesses
becoming certificated only through Competent Persons Scheme (CPS) and competently, successfully, and diligently installing heat pumps for customers without BUS or other funding.
Consumer protection
Originally when low carbon technologies were seen as new, consumer protection was a big thing for government. However, it is another cost burden to the business and therefore the consumer, often creating a false sense of security if something really does go wrong. It has been suggested that most warranty claims made have not been paid, often using complicated terms and conditions to avoid payment back to the customer. You do not need a consumer code nor an
A Compact K3 radiator from Stelrad - more heat from the same radiator
insurance backed guarantee to install a gas boiler or a heating system, instead there is already the broad legislation framework in place that a customer can use if something goes wrong, including, Consumer Rights Act 2015, Consumer Contracts Regulations and Distance Selling Regulations. If this legislation is already in place and working, why do we need something different
for heat pumps? The simple answer is, maybe we don’t. We need to educate customers, make sure customers understand what they are buying and help installers get the right messages to their customers and have good contracts in place.
Business certification
So, who sets all the requirements for consumer codes, overburdening quality management systems and standards that create barriers to installers? Well scheme owners are responsible for setting certification scheme standards. In the case of CPS, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities sets the scheme requirements and uses British Standards to set the installation expectations, in the case of MCS, they are responsible for developing their own scheme and installation standards. This may well create the issues and barriers.
What does history tell us?
Well, it was not so long ago we had a problem in the gas industry with CORGI, making commercial decisions which overstepped their role as a scheme owner. To address these concerns, industry spoke out about the issues, and we saw the development of Gas Safe Register. It does not try to define industry competence or set standards, but instead recognises industry developed standards (British Standards, IGEM standards etc) and it does not get involved or overstep its role into wider industry matters. MCS are currently the only route to obtaining BUS funding, but there are now calls being made at government for an equivalent or alternative body to be recognised using industry defined independent installation standards. APHC is working closely with these
organisations to help explain to BEIS (the Government Department responsible for overseeing this area) what is important for industry and business development and what an alternative new scheme may look like.
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