One of the most contentious debates in the food industry at the moment is product labelling. When is a piece of British Pork actually British? Funnily enough, it need only be packed on these shores to be called British.

Consumer groups have said enough is enough and are demanding changes, but the same issues are being played out it the heating industry over the claims of some boiler manufacturers when it comes to the efficiency of their products.

Because when you talk about boilers, the name of the game is efficiency. Unfortunately for the marketing men, most boilers will always look mostly alike, many are hidden in cupboards and all do basically the same thing, heat water. So go faster stripes are not really going to win anyone over.

But the one big differentiator for all boilers are their efficiency levels. The installer (usually a heating engineer) will recommend whether you need a combi, regular, or system boiler, but when it comes down to efficiency, the consumer is having an increasingly bigger say.

Efficiency saves the consumer money (greater efficiency, less energy, lower bills) and helps the environment. And this efficiency is readily understood by the consumer.

In the good old days, the average central heating would care little about the cost of the operating system. Now, it’s almost the only thing people do care about.

And so does the Government, devising rules that say that unless there is no choice, your property should have a high efficiency boiler (and that means more than 90% efficient, and A rated).

This is measured on the SEDBUK scale and a set of tests were devised, and trials run, to determine the efficiency levels of almost all boilers available in the UK.

Low and behold, most of the boilers scored high with many, thanks to condensing technology, in the late 80 per cents, or the low 90 per cents (in other words, within the building regulations of the day). Then the 2010 SEDBUK figures came out (to coincide with building regulations which now say that only boilers of 90% efficiency, or more, are allowed).

And now some boilers are dropping 2% (into the unfortunate B rating zone), as the heating bodies that regulate the SEDBUK levels feel that they have been a little lenient in the past and manufacturers a little too persuading in their interpretation of rules.

The manufacturers are upset at the authorities changing the goal posts, but many environmental groups are livid it’s almost been like the fox guarding the hen house and the SEDBUK ratings are just not strict enough.

Things are set to change in a couple of years, when the European Commission introduce a new set of directives (and two new layers, A+ and A++) are introduced, but until then, the industry has got to guard against losing credibility in the eyes of the public.

The heating industry has to be transparent and ensure people that they are being honest about ratings and performances. If they don’t try hard to keep the people’s hearts and minds, they will find the big boots of Government all over their industry.

Guest Article by Neil Camp 

The new SEDBUK 2009 ratings, which were introduced on 1 October 2010 and will last until the new EuP Directive from the European Commission becomes in force in around 2012, are worrying for the manufacturer of Worcester Gas Boiler units.

The Worcester Gas Boiler manufacturer, one of the largest in the UK, says that SEDBUK is confusing customers and indeed, risks alienating them from the concept and aims surrounding energy efficiency.

SEDBUK stands for Seasonal Efficiency of Domestic Boilers in the UK and it basically concerns the efficiency of individual models of boilers. For example, a boiler over 90% is Rated A, and those between 86% and 90%, a Band B. This is effectively an academic distinction, because the latest building regulations state that only Band A boilers can be used, unless there is a very good reason (architecturally mainly) for using a less efficient boiler.

But what irks Worcester, and other boiler manufacturers, is that they believe that the institute behind the SEDBUK figures – the Building Research Establishment – has taken into account what they believe are misleading efficiency claims.

Thus, the new 2009 SEDBUK ratings cap the efficiency figure that a manufacturer can use to promote its boiler which, says Worcester, effectively reduces that figure by around 2%. This might not seem a lot, but many boilers are currently on 90.5% efficiency, which means they are just within Band A (according to the SEDBUK 2005 ratings). Drop those two per cent and the problem is clear – they suddenly, in promotional terms, become Band B boilers (within the SEDBUK 2009 scales) and not as saleable.

The director of marketing and technical support at Worcester Gas Boilers, Martyn Bridges, believes this is wrong and that the Building Research Establishment is confusing people. He says:
“The BRE has ignored the fact that it isn’t the boiler manufacturer which calculates the percentage efficiencies, it is the Test House or notified body used. To introduce very significant changes to the ratings is creating considerable confusion amongst both installers and consumers. We believe it is unnecessary as all the facts and the uncertainty of measurement were pointed out to the BRE some 10 or 11 years ago when SEDBUK was introduced.

“We have managed with this scheme, with its faults, since 1999 and consumers now have a knowledge about this particularly as it is similar to the labelling seen of fridges and freezers for example. At a stroke, the BRE has discarded more than ten years of consumer education, causing unnecessary confusion in the marketplace, particularly in light of the fact that boiler ratings will have to change anyway when the EuP Directive comes into force in two years’ time.”

Expect more strong opinions from Worcester Gas Boilers and other manufacturers as the SEDBUK 2009 ratings take a grip and the European Commission’s findings casts a shadow with its own directive.

Guest Article by Neil Camp