Boiler Plus: “A Welcome Dose of Common Sense” in the quest for heating efficiency

This week’s long-awaited launch of the Department of Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy’s (BEIS) Boiler Plus initiative has been praised for its pragmatism by a leading industry spokesperson.

Martyn Bridges, Director of Technical Communication and Product Management at Worcester Bosch, says that the government’s latest heating efficiency policy proves that lessons have been learned from previous failed initiatives.

Bridges comments: “Boiler Plus is the first major policy change in a long while that is as practical for the home-owner as it is for the government. Here we have an initiative that makes better use of what we already have as an industry, which is efficient heating technologies, a reliable gas network, and a committed network of heating engineers. In that respect, it’s a very welcome dose of common sense from BEIS and a far cry from some of the renewable-based incentives of the recent past.”

Under new requirements, every replacement gas combi-boiler installed in England will need to be accompanied by time and temperature controls, plus at least one of a list of four energy efficiency measures.

Bridges continues: “The important message for installers to relay to their customers is that the energy efficiency enhancements available to them will generally pay for themselves in a matter of months, thanks to the energy savings that they will deliver. Granted, many home-owners remain unfamiliar with concepts such as weather and load compensation, but this could be just the policy we need to encourage greater uptake of more sophisticated heating controls.

“There is, of course, still plenty of work to be done to ensure carbon emissions are curbed but, as far as stepping stones towards that go, Boiler Plus is a solid, short- to medium-term option.”