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Heat policy for domestic boilers


Following the political upheaval of 2016, the heating industry has been waiting patiently for some kind of policy direction. Stewart Clements, director of the Heating and Hot Water Industry Council (HHIC), picks through some of the current political activity in the HVAC sector


H


eating accounts for 65% of all domestic energy use, therefore we need to reduce emissions and the


amount of energy being consumed. The best way to do this is through the deployment of energy efficiency technologies and to deploy them we need some clarity and direction. Practical, affordable and realistic steps must be developed, with energy bill reductions in mind.


The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BIES) gave the industry an early indication on the future of heating policy in December 2016 (earlier than my prediction of 2017) when it launched a consultation entitled ‘Heat in Buildings: The Future of Heat – Domestic Buildings.’ The consultation, which proposes that,


appropriate time, temperature and weather compensation heating controls are installed in residential properties at the time a new boiler is installed and that this is mandated in Building Regulations follows recommendations made to BEIS in the HHIC paper ‘Boiler Plus – The next step in heating regulation.’ Once seen (by some) as shiny new toys with an uncertain shelf life, intelligent heating controls are a prevalent part of our industry. That said, many homes still do not have even the minimum heating controls (TRVs). This needs to change. In 2005 the government improved the


energy efficiency of the residential heating sector at little additional cost to consumers, by mandating that all new domestic gas boiler installations should use a condensing boiler. In order to find further heating efficiencies, HHIC believes that mandating Boiler Plus systems is the next logical step.


Boiler Plus is defined as “a heating appliance with an additional unit that optimises the performance of the heating system”. HHIC presented the Boiler Plus research paper to BIES (formerly DECC) in 2015.


34 July 2017


The are approximately nine million inefficient boilers in the UK. A large proportion of these are over 20 years old and would be classed as ‘zombie’ boilers with old technology that never seem to die yet remain highly inefficient


Stewart Clements HHIC director


Since then we have been encouraged by the interest shown in our research paper. As an industry, we have worked


collaboratively to help bring this consultation to the market place, and I am pleased that the key ideas outlined by HHIC have been adopted by BEIS. I believe that mandating the installation of time and temperature controls with new boiler installations will prove equally successful. Adopting this policy will, at little additional cost to consumers and government, make a valuable contribution towards achieving the ambitious targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and reduce energy consumption which will reduce household energy bills. Currently, we install 1.6 million new gas


boilers per year and if each of these boilers was accompanied by a full suite of heating controls the carbon and monetary savings made would be substantial. I am pleased that HHIC have been instrumental in getting BEIS to investigate this option. HHIC are also working to improve the efficiency of existing boiler installations. BEIS estimate that heat related activities account for a third of UK greenhouse gas emissions and nearly a half of the energy we use. Much of this heat demand stems


from the combustion of gas in domestic boilers. Therefore, upgrading the average efficiency of the UK boiler stock would have a significant impact upon the UK’s primary energy use and consequent greenhouse gas emissions. There are approximately nine million inefficient boilers in the UK. A large proportion of these are over 20 years old and would be classed as ‘zombie boilers’. These are boilers with old technology that never seem to die, yet they remain highly inefficient – costing homeowners in terms of higher bills, the planet in terms of higher carbon dioxide emissions and a contributor to poor air quality – compared to a modern condensing boiler.


HHIC believes that more needs to be done to encourage homeowners to consider replacing their old ‘zombie’ boiler. Replacing a Band F or G (~70% efficiency) boiler with an A-rated (>90%) appliance could reduce the carbon footprint of a typical UK household by 0.7 tonnes of CO2e each year, as well as reducing gas bills by approximately £150.


In November 2016 HHIC launched the


‘Retro Boiler’ label- the labels- which are similar to the EU energy label- are produced by boiler manufacturers and issued by registered gas engineers on all non-condensing boilers with a permanent pilot light, when visiting homes to undertake servicing or maintenance work. Visit www.centralheating.co.uk/energy- labelling/retrospective-boiler-labelling


www.heatingandventilating.net


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