DOMESTIC BOILERS


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A lateral shift for


“We would then expect from 2026 or even sooner that every appliance brought into the market will be convertible to 100% hydrogen. This is what many of the field trials taking place, mostly in the North of England, are intending to prove”.


T


he home heating industry is seeing its biggest shift in policy as we move towards a more sustainable future.


This is concurrent with technological advances in the industry. How quickly these newer technologies will be permeated depends largely on a forthcoming government decision.


Tighter efficiency requirements


The industry’s landscape is changing due to a combination of government regulation, technology innovation and increased consumer demand for a greener way of life.


This is unique in the sense that as opposed to building on the quality of existing boilers, we are seeing a lateral shift into new, more sustainable means of home heating. First, we anticipate a tightening of the efficiency


requirements for boilers over the next few years. An example of an efficiency regulation is that the modulation range must be able to go from a low


38 September 2022


level to meet the smaller heating requirements that present themselves in well insulated properties or smaller properties. Generally, for most combi boilers, this isn’t too much of an issue with modulation rates of 1 to 10 not being uncommon.


Countdown to hydrogen through blend-first


We also anticipate a hydrogen-ready consultation to take place. The Government will seek responses to the statement made within the Heating and Building Strategy of the decision by 2026 on whether only hydrogen ready boilers can be placed onto the market. This confirms the seismic shift we are witnessing which will play a crucial role in the distribution of combi boilers. To highlight how significant this decision is, the


traditional gas-only boilers that have been heating our homes for decades will be an obsolete product


boiler policy


Martyn Bridges, director of technical services at Worcester Bosch, discusses the changing tide of boiler policy on our way to a greener future


line for manufacturers in three and a half years. In response to this shift, we are already seeing manufacturers producing appliances that are hydrogen blend-ready. These can already accept up a 20% hydrogen and 80% natural gas blend, which is the first step in the phase to introduce hydrogen. These combi appliances can be likened to the automobile industry, initially rolling out hybrid models before moving entirely away from non- renewable fuel.


Trialling hydrogen


We would then expect from 2026 or even sooner that every appliance brought into the market will be convertible to 100% hydrogen. This is what many of the field trials taking place, mostly in the North of England, are intending to prove. A larger trial for hydrogen homes is planned for either Ellesmere Port or Redcar. A decision will be made on which of these sites gets the funding, where around 2,000 properties will be converted to a hydrogen heating system. Not only will this serve as a litmus test to see


how efficiently a hydrogen fuelled home will run, its success will instil confidence for the British public to expedite their switch to greener ways of heating their home. For an industry that has been quite stable and


boilers that have been relatively the same for the last 15 years, we are about to encounter some dramatic changes. We have always had requirements to increase efficiencies to the point where in the UK, only gas fire boilers that have an efficiency rate of 92% or more can be installed, which is close to peak performance. The future of this industry will look quite different to what we are accustomed to today. Adapting to change is a key component to long-term success in any industry. We must closely monitor the Government’s policy decisions, as well as social and environmental factors to see just how quickly we will need to implement this change.


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