British Gas, owned by giant energy group Centrica and the UK’s largest installer of boilers, says that it has brought back the boiler scrappage scheme in order to help people reduce their energy bills and reduce emissions.

British Gas has teamed up with boiler manufacturer Worcester Bosch to offer a £400 discount which is valid when swapping a G-rated boiler (one of the worst) for an A-rated boiler (the best).

People wishing to use the scheme have to buy a Worcester Bosch high efficiency boiler and have to trade-in their old model (G-rated), in order to qualify for the £400 discount.

British Gas reckons this will be a very popular scheme and it was rolled out on 30th May, 2011 and will last until a month later, 30th June.

It is designed to emulate the success of the Government’s very popular boiler scrappage scheme which provided vouchers for those people installing new high efficiency boilers. It worked on the same principle; the vouchers were available for those who replaced an old, inefficient boiler, with a new one. The problem with that scheme was that it was capped, so thousands of people were unable to take advantage and missed out.

British Gas now intends to help all those thousands of households who were unable to make good use of the Government boiler scrappage scheme. They estimate that there are still over three million old boilers out there being used in the UK; ones that ideally need replacing as soon as possible.

British Gas says that last year alone, they installed over 120,000 new energy efficiency boilers and that the new devices can help save householders an incredible 25% off their energy usage every year.

To apply for the new boiler scrappage scheme, you don’t have to be a British Gas customer and there is no limit to the number of discounts which you can apply for, as long as they are made before the end of June.

The Energy Spring Clean Expert at British Gas, Charlie Brown, said:
“An inefficient boiler is one of the biggest sources of wasted energy and money in the home, which is why we’ve launched a boiler scrappage scheme as part of our Energy Spring Clean campaign to help consumers reduce waste and cut bills.”

He continued:
“It’s really important to ensure that your boiler is in a good condition and working efficiently during the warmer months so that there are no nasty surprises when temperatures drop. It doesn’t stop with your boiler, however: there are lots of simple changes you can make around the house to reduce unnecessary waste, such as turning down your thermostat or using a standby saver.”

Carl Arntzen, who represents Worcester Bosch, said:
“Whilst the Government led scheme ran for just a short time, it helped raise awareness of the twin issues of energy and boiler efficiency in the minds of consumers. Anything we can do to help perpetuate this has to be a good thing which is why we are supporting the British Gas scrappage scheme.”

He added:
“It is therefore important that we continue to spread the word amongst consumers about the genuine benefits available, in terms of lower fuel bills, from installing a new high efficiency boiler.”

The British Gas scheme is set to be very popular, so all those interested should apply as soon as possible.

Guest Article by Neil Camp 

Producing new boilers is the main occupation of manufacturers Baxi and Worcester-Bosch, but both companies like to express their opinions as to Government initiatives and plans regarding the heating industry.

But both put thoughts of new boilers to one side for a moment as they responded to the Government’s recent publication of its Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) policy document. This sets out how the £860 million ear marked within the scheme will be spent and allocated over the next few years. The aim is to provide financial support, for the long term, for renewable heat installations and this, believes the Government, will further encourage the greater uptake of the technology.

Baxi has, in their words, “…broadly welcomed…” the policy document.

Simon Osborne, the company’s Specification Channel Manager, said:
“We are encouraged by the main thrust of the RHI documentation. The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has clearly learnt the important lessons from the Feed-in Tariff (FIT) framework and created an approach which will ensure technologies can be assessed in real life installations. The £15m funding could create around 25,000 installations under the Renewable Heat Premium Payments which will demonstrate the benefits renewable heat can deliver by 2015.”

Mr Osborne continued:
“However, there is still clarity needed on key areas. We are disappointed that the definitive tariff levels for the domestic sector have not been revealed and we look forward to the publication of this information in May 2011. We also need detail on how dwellings will be assessed as eligible and whether the RHI tariff will be metered or deemed.

“On the plus side, we are pleased to see that a clear link between RHI and the Green Deal has been expressed. Whilst there is a delay with implementation, the Government has honoured the commitment that installations completed after 15th July 2009 will be eligible for payments from 2012.”

The RHI Policy Document says that until October, 2012 a full system of payments will not be in place, but until that time, up to 25,000 household installations will have a quarter of the budget guaranteed.

The people at Worcester, Bosch – one of the largest manufacturers of new boilers – were a little less enthusiastic about the document, saying that it had created more questions that it had answered.

Head of Government and External Affairs at Worcester, Bosch Group, Neil Schofield, said:
“We welcome any initiative that attempts to bring the benefits of renewable heat generation to greater numbers of people, but today’s announcement focuses very firmly on the industrial, commercial and public sectors. There are a number of questions yet to be answered for the domestic sector which leaves the picture confused.”

He went on to say that:
“The fact that mainstream households will not be able to access RHI until October 2012 has led the Government to try and bridge the gap with the RHI Premium Payment, but we will not get details on this until May 2011. My take on it is that there is going to be some sort of grant subsidy made available for those who want to install now.

“In particular, the information on payments is vague as is the criteria by which a property will be deemed to be of sufficient standard to qualify for the RHI. My suspicion is that it will be Band D properties and above, but we need more information.”

New boilers production will continue whatever the questions being raised, but it appears that the Renewable Heat Incentive has a few hurdles to jump through yet.

Guest Article by Neil Camp 

Users of oil boilers are being advised to seek out new heating technologies as the price continues to rise, but also there is a question mark over the future of the supply marketplace.

The Worcester, Bosch Group – which manufactures one of the best known range of heating devices in the UK – believes that users of oil boilers are being assailed from two angles: the ever rising price of the commodity oil (which then increases the price of heating kerosene) and a concern about the marketplace.

Although the oil price fluctuates (depending on political unrest in the Middle East and environmental disasters), it is likely to keep rising say City analysts mainly because as the world economy recovers, the demand for oil from the emerging markets will intensify. Experts say that the price per barrel (at around $40 before the first Gulf War), is likely to stay around $110 and then climb to nearer $150 at the end of 2011. Some experts reckon that the price could reach $220 a barrel by
the end of the year.

A further pressure is possibly market manipulation which is leading to a lack of transparency in the market. Recent reports in the media suggest that a oil boiler fuel comparison website which set it’s store out as an independent which listed the best prices. In reality, the media has shown that the website was owned by an oil company and that prices quoted were up to 25p more a litre than the average market price.

The situation is causing some concern at Government levels and Charles Hendry, the Energy Minister, has asked the Office of Fair Trading to take a close look at the off mains gas grid (those who can’t access mains gas) to see how commodity pricing is effecting users of oil boilers.

Director of Marketing and Technical Support, at Worcester, Bosch Group, Martyn Bridges said:
“Consumers need to shop around to get the best oil price for their domestic heating systems, not just rely on their usual supplier or a supposed price comparison website. It is becoming clear that there are some sharp practices being employed, not least the charging of up to £200 for delivery, which is normally bundled into the cost of the oil.

“My own view is that the market for oil boilers has reached its natural floor now. We expect there to be a market for the replacement of oil boilers for many years to come as the technology tends to have a long operational life and there are more than one million households in the UK which still rely on oil for heating.”

Such is the problem with the price of the commodity on international markets, that the demand for new boilers has dropped steadily over the last ten years, with 100,000 units sold in 2000, dropping to 60,000 last year.

Worcester, Bosch reckon that some hope may lie in the increasing use of bio-oil which is included as part of the Renewable Heat Incentive.

Mr Bridges added:
“Installers also need to be advising anyone off the mains gas grid is to investigate the potential for renewable technologies, such as solar thermal and solar pv, or perhaps heat pumps in conjunction with an oil boiler, in order to give households an element of energy security and a hedge against rising commodity prices.”

But, for the moment, the users of oil boilers look in a precarious position as regards pricing.

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 

Worcester Bosch Boilers welcomes the watering down of the European Commission forthcoming EuP Directive which is designed to force heating manufacturers to produce more energy efficient products.

The EuP Directive is set to go live at the end of 2011 and Worcester Bosch Boilers is just one of the many UK manufacturers who were worried that it would be based on unrealistic standards.

But following lobbying from the Heating and Hot Water Industry Council (HHIC), the body which represents the UK’s heating industry, and OFTEC, the Commission has taken a step back from the brink.

One of the biggest bones of contention involved the current SEDBUK banding scheme which is used in the UK. This grades boilers in terms of their energy efficiency levels and condensing technology has allowed UK manufacturers to claim that most of their units are rated A, if not B. The band A means that a boiler is over 90% efficient, with many achieving efficiencies of 96% and even 106%.

When the EuP Directive was first put forward in draft form some years ago, the condensing boilers were to be graded B which shocked the UK heating industry. Not only did it suggest that the boilers were somehow less efficient than they should be, but that it would cause a great deal of consumer confusion. Boilers which had been graded in the A band for many years, would suddenly become B band. The idea was that this would be a common standard across the whole of Europe.

Following an intense period of lobbying and negotiations, it now appears that the band A will remain as is, but two new bands will be introduced for more efficient technologies (including renewable technologies). Thus, band A+ and A++ will be introduced.

Another issue which became contentious was the Directive’s planned requirement for each boiler to be manufactured and then delivered with all the ancillary controls systems. This would include room thermostats, time-clocks and many fixtures, and fittings. Again, the UK argued that this plan would be impractical, given the vast number of different properties in which boilers are installed. One box of fittings would not work.

Again, it appears that this ambition has been dropped. Another concession is over the initial plan that oil fired boilers should not exceed 35 milligrams per kWh of NOx emissions. This now appears to have been scaled up to an allowable 120 milligrams per kWh for oil fired boilers and 35 milligrams per kWh for gas fired boilers.

The Director of Marketing and Technical Support at Worcester, Bosch Group, Martyn Bridges, said:
“I am pleased to say that there has been a realisation within the Commission that initial drafts of EUP Directive were not workable, particularly for the UK heating industry. The requirement for controls to be dispatched with the boiler was impractical due to wide variations in the size of houses and the ability of different individuals to use and programme more complex control devices. In addition, the NOx emissions requirements would probably have been practically impossible to meet.

“We now have a much more practical set of proposals which can be implemented within the UK market, but still set a demanding target for UK heating manufacturers.”

The EuP Directive will go before the Regulatory Committee by mid 2011 and likely to become law in the autumn.

Worcester Bosch Boilers is one of many manufacturers who will no doubt breathe a sigh of relief that the Directive has, in their eyes, become more workable.

Guest Article by Neil Camp