The Government has just announced that the boiler scrappage scheme, written about in this blog a number of times (see Boiler Scrappage Scheme and Boiler Scrappage Scheme Gains Momentum), is now a reality with firms like British Gas and Baxi wading in with their support.

Now some observers have pointed out that as a new boiler, installed, can cost between £2,000 and £3,000 in total, many might regard the grant as a little miserly. Also, there’s a bit of red tape involved as well. You can’t pop down the council and ask for 400 notes, then promise you’ll have a new boiler as soon as you can get down to B&Q.

There’s a system to follow and its starts by getting an official quote from a heating engineer who’s on the current Gas Safe Register. Because, everyone should remember that only someone on the current Gas Safe Register can work on gas appliances. This is not a DIY job. And the quote has to detail the cost of replacing a Band G boiler, or equivalent, with a Band A boiler. The bands are organised in the SEDBUK (Seasonal Efficiency of Domestic Boilers in the UK) rating scheme and Band G might have been used in the Titanic. A good way to tell quickly if you have an old boiler, is to see if it has a permanent pilot ignition, is it a back boiler, or was it installed before the legislation in 2005 which insisted on only modern, condensing boilers being installed?

The Heating and Hotwater Industry Council (HHIC) reckon that there are still over four million Band G boilers in use in Britain today and they operate only at 70% efficiency, whereas Band A deliver 90% plus efficiency.

Right, once you have a pucker quote you contact the Energy Saving Trust (EST) and, if you qualify, they issue a £400 voucher which lasts for 12 weeks. Once you have paid for the finished installation of your new boiler, you send off the installer’s invoice and the voucher, and the EST send you £400 back. It’s on a first come, first served basis, so don’t hang about.

British Gas, who are never slow on the uptake, have quite cleverly matched the Government’s £400 with £400 of their own, meaning that you lop £800 off your installation bill – a somewhat more meaningful amount.

British Gas has the clout of course, installing around 120,000 new boilers in Britain every year.

The CEO of British Gas owner Centrica, Sam Laidlaw, said:
“If the UK is to meet its tough carbon reduction targets, it is vital that old, inefficient energy technologies are replaced. The Government’s boiler scrappage scheme is, therefore, a very welcome initiative; it will assist the replacement of the country’s four million inefficient domestic boilers with new boilers, which can improve energy efficiency by up to 30% – an important step towards lowering carbon emissions.”

His words were followed up by Phil Bentley, Managing Director of British Gas, who said:
“We want to help customers take advantage of the new boiler scrappage scheme, so we’re offering to match the Government’s £400 allowance, which means customers can cut a total of £800 from the cost of a new boiler from British Gas. As the country’s leading installer of energy efficient boilers, we know that new boilers help lower fuel bills by as much as £235 a year.”

Baxi also welcomed the scheme, with their CEO, Mark Kelly, saying:
“The boiler scrappage scheme gives a real opportunity for households to upgrade their current boiler to the most efficient available. Whilst considerably lowering the carbon footprint of each household it will also save families over £200 per year in fuel costs.

“Baxi is pleased with the timing of this announcement as we have just launched a high efficiency version of the old Baxi Bermuda back boiler, which is one of the G band boilers. Previously, a replacement meant re-siting the boiler, re-routing all the pipe work and redecorating; the new high efficiency model is a genuine, simple replacement which fits into the same place with minimum disruption.”

Guest Article by Neil Camp

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A Baxi Ecogen micro-combined heat and power unit is being trialled by Scottish Gas and Link Housing Association.

The pair have teamed up and will trial the micro-combined heat and power unit, one of the first of its kind to be installed in Scotland, in the home of a Link tenant. The Baxi Ecogen delivers renewable electricity and heat by utilising bio-natural gas.

One of the main advantages with such a unit is that the carbon emissions are reduced by generating electricity at the point of use – avoiding the system losses associated with central power production. And while it burns gas, the unit also generates electricity, making it a potentially very cost effective way of heating and providing energy in the home. This is why there is a great hope that equipment like this will help reduce fuel poverty.

The brainchild of Scottish Gas, it was they who approached Link and asked if a suitable home could be found to run the tests. And both they and Link are currently monitoring the results with keen anticipation that cost savings will be made for the user.

Willie Clemie, Technical Service Manager with Link Housing said:
“We were pleased to extend our existing relationship with Scottish Gas by taking part in this innovative trial project. In line with our Affordable Warmth Strategy we are looking forward to finding out more about the unit’s potential to bring cost saving benefits to tenants and also how it may help to reduce the impact of fuel poverty.”

Deborah Skelton Business Development manager for Scottish Gas, Contract Partnerships, said:
“This is the first Baxi Ecogen micro-CHP boiler to be installed in Scotland and we are very pleased to be a part of this project with Link Housing Association.

“Baxi Ecogen is a fully automatic gas fired wall mounted condensing heat only boiler which will produce up to 1kW of electricity for the tenant. The electricity excess to requirements at the time of production will be fed back into the national grid which will have good cost savings for the tenant as well as saving energy and reducing carbon emissions.”

Guest Article by Neil Camp 

Boiler manufacturer Baxi Group had added its substantial weight behind calls for a boiler scrappage scheme.

The Company’s CEO, Board of directors and many of its employees have signed the petition which is urging the Prime Minister to adopt a concept similar to the car scrappage scheme which has proved so successful for the automotive industry.

Mark Kelly, CEO of Baxi, said:
“There are approximately 16 million standard efficiency boilers operating in UK homes today. Of these, 4.2 million [according to HHIC] are SEDBUK band G boilers.

“Replacing these boilers with high efficiency boilers will help to reduce carbon emissions and annual fuel bills for homeowners. Any support that can be provided to accelerate the replacement of these older boilers would be of benefit to the homeowner and the wider economy.

“The construction industry has also been particularly badly hit in this recession and there have been many, many redundancies in manufacturing, distribution, builders and installation companies. This is a double whammy for the government as every redundancy could mean less tax collected and more benefits to pay out.

“This scheme would stimulate demand for gas boilers and help manufacturers, plumbers’ merchants and Gas Safe heating engineers. Millions of these old boilers could be replaced by modern boilers which are more than 90% efficient and, with proper controls on the system, annual savings of more than £200 could be saved on the household gas bill (according to the Energy Saving Trust).”

The brains behind the scheme is plumbers’ merchant Mick Williams, who has identified five main reasons why such an initiative should exist.
Firstly, the economic argument which states that for every household that changes from an old boiler, to a more efficient model, could be in line for savings of over £200 a year in energy bills.

Secondly, the environment argument, which states that replacing just some of the 4.5 million boilers that are less than 70% efficient, thousands of tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions can be saved every year.

Thirdly, and back to economics, the boiler scrappage scheme would support existing jobs for plumbers, builders and suppliers suffering from the recession, and create new green jobs and training places.

Fourthly, and still on economic arguments, British manufacturers would also benefit, since a high proportion of gas boilers are still made here in the UK.

Finally, an overall argument, is the boiler scrappage scheme would actually be far greener than its car equivalent, as building regulations say that by law, all new boilers fitted in homes have to be efficient condensing boilers (in other words, more efficient than the ones they replace).

Guest Article by Neil Camp

Some thought the old inefficient back boiler was gone for good, but the engineers at Baxi and Valor are determined that all is not yet lost.

They have just raised the flag about a house in Leeds which is one of the first in the UK to have a new high-efficiency back boiler fitted. Out went the householder’s 15 year old back boiler and gas, and in came a Baxi Bermuda BBU HE and Valor Dimension electric fire.

Baxi reported that their customer was thrilled with his new, high-efficiency back boiler:

“The installation went very well," he says. "It took less than a day to remove the old boiler and flue and replace them. The fire surround and back plate were removed, but they came out easily and were refitted once the installation was complete.

“The only pipe work that needed altering was in the fireplace, to change the side for the water pipe, which was so much easier than re-siting the boiler and having new pipes fitted throughout the house. And we didn’t need to redecorate.

“The new boiler is working very well. It’s much quieter than the boiler we took out, and we are enjoying plenty of hot water. We chose the Classica fire in the pewter finish. It’s really realistic and very easy to operate. In fact, we’ve been able to ‘fit and forget’.”

Baxi’s work is a meaningful reprieve for the back boiler which was in danger of extinction. Back boilers, traditionally low in efficiency, can only be fitted in homes that have no option. In other words, homes in which cannot be fitted with a high efficiency condensing boiler; a requirement by law that comes under the Building Regulations, Part L. And these boilers have to be at least A and B SEDBUCK rated (higher than 86% efficiency, although in 2010, only A rated boilers – more than 90% efficient – will be allowed).

But with the Baxi Bermuda BBU HE being over 90% efficient, it can rightly take its place in the boiler hall of fame. It also has a Class 5 NOx rating (the best), so it helps to protect the environment.

The trick with the Baxi Bermuda BBU HE is the integral condensate pump allows the condensate to be discharged into the drain via a 10mm pipe which fits neatly along the skirting. And it’s the condensing ability of the back boiler – taking heat from the combustion process and waste gases – that makes the this back boiler as efficient as its contemporaries.

The Baxi Bermuda BBU HE package comes complete with a Valor Dimension electric fire. This, say Baxi, is state of the art and features the very latest patented hologram technology to create an exceptionally lifelike three dimension coal effect fire. Powered from a conventional plug socket, it will produce around 2kW of heat output.

Guest Article by Neil Camp

For people installing a new boiler, or radiators, or replacing other bits of their central heating system, or for people worried about the effectiveness of their system, the option of powerflushing often crops up.

Firstly, what is powerflushing and when is it appropriate to use such a technique on your central heating system.

Powerflushing is a radical method of getting rid of sludge and sediment which gets built up in your central heating system. It involves using an electric pump to force water through the pumps, literally pushing all the muck out of the system.

This muck is a common cause of radiators having cold spots at the bottom, as the sludge which can build up stops the full circulation of the hot water within the radiator.

But power flushing can be a time-consuming and expensive procedure, with plumbers charging varying rates depending on the size of the system. Quotes can vary from £150 to nearer £500. And people should be aware that the technique of power flushing is only effective if the system has been pre-treated with the right chemicals in order that the sludge and sediment is softened to a degree that it can be power flushed. Without this first part of the process, your money will be wasted.

These chemicals will also help any build-up of lime scale.

Although, it has to be said that some plumbers believe that if these chemicals are used properly, then a normal draining and refilling of the system, will work just as well as a power flushing. So it’s not the option for everyone.

This appears to be reinforced by The Domestic Heating Compliance Guide which comes together with the Building Regulations. It states that when a new boiler is installed, then the system should be thoroughly cleaned and flushed out before using. Not power flushed notice, just flushed. This means that a normal draining and flushing through with water would do the job. And if some preparation is carried out the right chemicals, then so much the better.

So, power flushing can seem like a good idea, but you had better make sure it’s a worthwhile expenditure, otherwise it can be simply a waste of money.

Guest Article by Neil Camp