In a rare case of the Scottish Government being second place to their English cousins when it comes to welfare initiatives, it has announced a boiler scrappage scheme for Scotland, just as the English scheme comes to an end.

As with similar schemes, it is set-up to target those homes with old and inefficient boilers. It’s expected that some £2 million in grants will be made available for those Scots wishing to replace a ‘G’ rated boiler, or older, as designated by the Seasonal Efficiency of Domestic Boilers in the UK (SEDBUK) guidelines. People will be able to apply for a grant worth £400 towards an accepted replacement.

Scottish Housing and Communities Minister Alex Neil said:
“Through the boiler scrappage scheme we will help people replace inefficient old boilers for new energy saving models and importantly, put money back into the pockets of householders. At the same time we are providing an economic stimulus for the heating industry, supporting jobs and helping the industry get through this financially difficult time.”

The Scottish boiler scrappage scheme is part of the devolved Government’s Energy Efficient Action Plan for Scotland. This, when finalised, will set out a range of policies and initiatives designed and put in place with the specific aim of reducing energy consumption.

The scheme starts on 24th may, 2010, and those wishing to take advantage of the gas boiler scrappage grant of £400, should either telephone 0800 512012, or seek information online at the Energy Saving Trust website. The Scottish gas boiler scrappage scheme comes under the control of the Scottish Government’s Energy Saving Scotland advice network. And as with the English scheme, vouchers get dished out on a first come, first served basis. And it will operate up until the £2 million of grant monies have been exhausted.

Rules apply of course. First and foremost, the homeowner can only redeem the £400 voucher for cash once the work is complete and then only with registered Gas Safe and CLE installers, or those belonging to The Scottish and Northern Ireland Plumbing Employers’ Federation.

Only an ‘A’ rated boiler is acceptable as the replacement; one certified within the Energy Saving Recommended Scheme. These are usually high efficiency condensing boilers and are over 90% efficient due to their twice-use of the energy produced.

Robert Burgon, director of The Scottish and Northern Ireland Plumbing Employers’ Federation, said:
“The Scottish boiler scrappage scheme will be a great opportunity for many households to upgrade their inefficient heating systems which will be costing them many hundreds of pounds each year in wasted fuel costs. Installing a new system will not only help the environment it will also help save up to £190 each year on their heating bills.

“Like many other industries the plumbing and heating sector has been badly hit by the recession and the scheme will give a boost to many of our members businesses.”

Guest Article by Neil Camp

Has the dreaded time arrived when you need to look at gas boiler prices and you want to know how much it is going to cost? It is not an every-year occurrence so since the last time you ventured out, they may have changed. You may also need to know the difference between each one as there are so many to choose from.

How they work 

npower is the first energy company to announce that it will continue its own boiler scrappage scheme once the Government scheme, which was launched in January and within six weeks had helped over 50,000 households to a new boiler, closes, possibly in April 2010.

npower has over six million residential gas and electricity accounts in the UK.

npower maintains the initiative as it was also the first energy supplier to announce an in-house scheme on the back of the Government plan. When the Government stepped in with the popular £400 grant towards replacing an old ‘G’, or ‘X’ rated boiler for an ‘A’ rated boiler, npower, like British Gas, doubled it to £800.

But whereas the Government scheme eligibility relied on customers with inefficient boilers (‘G’, ‘X’ rated), npower had a different criteria: the boiler only had to be over ten years old, meaning that more households could quality for their £400 grant.

The boiler scrappage scheme had been very popular and was started by a plumber petitioning Number Ten. It has not only benefitted a beleaguered industry in tough recessionary times, but helped thousands of people rid themselves of old inefficient boilers. It is reckoned that a modern A rated boiler will save a householder at least £200 a year in energy bills, as well as help the environment.

SEDBUK ‘A’ rated boilers tend to be condensing boilers which achieve a plus 80% energy efficient rating because they not only use the heat from the initial combustion process, but also take heat from the resulting exhaust fumes.

Kevin Miles, the Chief Executive Officer of npower retail, said:
“The scrappage scheme has proven to be extremely popular and if take-up continues at the same rate, we expect the Government’s scheme to close in April. However, there are still approximately four million households with G-Rated boilers in the UK, which is why we are pledging to continue npower’s boiler scrappage scheme.”

Guest Article by Neil Camp

Modern day heating boilers are quite sophisticated devices and their optimum performance can often depend on the installed controls and their settings.

In order to appreciate the importance of controls and help people understand how they work and their role in the life of an efficient boiler, the Worcester Bosch Group, makers of some of the country’s leading gas and oil boilers, has developed a special part of its website to devote to the various buttons and read-outs.

Each featured control has its own page and as well as a straightforward summary, there is a demonstration video to support all the facts, figures and diagrams. What’s more, there is also a section so that Worcester customers can look for old controls that might be fitted on their boiler – but are no longer for sale – and find useful information on their operation and current effectiveness.

Martyn Bridges, Worcester’s director of marketing and technical support, said:
“Although most manufacturers have controls information available online, we have decided to go much further with our new controls section.

“Heating controls are becoming an increasingly important element of the heating system and the right controls are vital to ensuring the homeowner can get the most out of their heating system. Our new area on the website will help both the homeowner and the installer; it will be a valuable tool that we expect to be very popular.

“Each set of controls has its own guide and is split into one of three groups: basic timers, digital controls and new generation controls. We also explain the difference between timers, thermostats, programmers and programmable thermostats.”

This is also a useful service for heating engineers who need information on installation and proper working perimeters of key boiler controls.

The Worcester Bosch group has one of the largest ranges of boilers available in the UK.

Guest Article by Neil Camp

Condensing combi gas boilers or combination boilers as they are also known are generally the most popular, accounting for around 50% of all new boiler sales in the UK. They are called combi boilers because they provide the dual function of a central heating boiler and efficient water heater.