The Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, BEIS has launched its consultation entitled ‘Heat in Buildings: The Future of Heat – Domestic Buildings.’
The consultation – which proposes that appropriate time, temperature and weather compensation heating controls are installed in residential properties at the time a new boiler is installed and that this is mandated in Building Regulations – follows recommendations made to BEIS in the HHIC paper ‘Boiler Plus – The next step in heating regulation.’
Stewart Clements, Director of HHIC, said: “As an industry, we have worked collaboratively to help bring this consultation to the market place, and I am pleased that the key ideas outlined by HHIC have been adopted by BEIS.
“We know that changing Building Regulations in 2005 to mandate that all domestic gas boiler installations should use a condensing boiler remains one of the most successful government interventions into the residential energy market to date, and I believe that mandating the installation of time and temperature controls with new boiler installations will prove equally successful.
“Adopting this policy will, at little additional cost to consumers and government, make a valuable contribution towards achieving the ambitious targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and reduce energy consumption which will reduce household energy bills.
“Currently, we install 1.6 million new gas boilers per year and if each of these boilers was accompanied by a full suite of heating controls, the carbon and monetary savings made would be substantial. I am pleased that HHIC could be instrumental in getting BEIS to investigate this option.”
The HHIC is part of the Energy and Utilities Alliance, EUA. A recent survey by EUA found that nine out of ten MPs believed that to improve energy efficiency in homes, a full set of heating controls should be fitted when a central heating boiler is replaced. Despite this backing, HHIC knows that the success of a policy like this depends on the support it receives from the heating installer, and so using its unique position in the market place HHIC will be supporting BEIS to engage directly with installers, using a quick and easy to complete survey.
To complete the survey, visit: www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/thefutureofheat
Or to read the consultation in full, visit: www.gov.uk/government/consultations/heat-in-buildings-the-future-of-heat
