On the 6th April 2018, new Legislation will require you to have implement ‘Boiler Plus’, which aims to increase energy efficiency through their heating systems.

This is going to be introduced by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), which will address energy efficiency through heating systems that will raise the bar for both manufactures and installers.

From April, Gas boiler performance will need space heating efficiency on all new boilers, no less than ErP 92%. The governments aim is to have a ‘Heat in Buildings’ programme, designed to maximise energy efficiency.

What will happen to homeowners and installers who do not comply?

Homeowners who knowingly allow non-compliant work to be carried out could also face prosecution and fines of up to £5,000.

What is FGHR? A Flue Gas Heat Recovery (FGHR) is a device designed to improve energy efficiency of the boiler by recycling the heat from the flue gases which would usually be lost into the atmosphere. Instead this heat is used it to preheat domestic hot water.

What is weather compensation? Weather compensation devices enable the boiler to read the outside temperature via a sensor so that the boiler can adjust the temperature of your heating accordingly.

What is load compensation? Load compensation measures the response of the heating system and adjusts the flow temperature based on what is needed to reduce fuel consumption.

Why are these changes being introduced?

This legislation is designed to help the UK meet the targets by 2020. More than £2.5 billion of Government funding was designated towards lowering carbon emissions for the period 2015 – 2021.

Some of the measures taken include:

– Investment of around £3.6 billion to upgrade around a million homes through the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) including extended support for home energy efficiency improvements from 2022 to 2028
– Upgrading all fuel poor homes to Energy Performance Certificate Band C by 2030 with as many homes as possible to be Energy Performance Certificate Band C by 2035
– Improve the energy performance standards of privately rented homes to Energy Performance Band C by 2030.

In addition, combi boilers, which make up a significant proportion of the market will require one of four additional requirements to be fitted. Each will need to be discussed with the homeowner and suited to each individual homeowners circumstances. What works for one customer, may not necessarily work for the next. It will mean each installation will include a consultancy aspect needed for each boiler swap. The measures available are:

– Load compensation – the ability to modulate the flow temperature from the boiler based on the actual room temperature, this requires the control and boiler to ‘speak’ the same language
– Weather compensation – the ability to modulate the flow temperature from the boiler based on the outdoor temperature, a system widely used in Germany.
– Smart control – A control that provides automation and optimisation.
– PFGHRD (Passive Flue Gas Heat Recovery Device)

From the feature-rich ecoTEC exclusive boilers, with built-in Passive Flue gas heat recovery (meaning it qualifies for Boiler Plus, straight out of the box) to the very simple and cost-effective VRT50 eBUS room stat for the very simplest way to comply, Vaillant offers a wide range of intelligent and easy to use controls.