Introduced in 2005 the new Building Regulations Part L has changed the scene as far as boilers are concerned. According to the new requirement, all boilers replaced or installed must be of high efficiency rating. This includes condensing and combination boilers which utilize a larger heat exchanger (or a secondary heat exchanger) to recoup some of the heat that would normally be released into the atmosphere with the exhaust gases. Since some of the energy can be reused, the boiler can generate the same amount of heat with less fuel.
This new requirement raised the bar not only in terms of energy efficiency but also in terms of the quality of the service and installation. Since the systems are more integrated and work off each component more closely, it requires the system installer to have deep understanding of the power demand, both input and output of each component (such as the boiler, the heating controls, the radiators and the hot water cylinder).
Industry research calculated that since the introduction of part L of the building regulations, the savings of carbon emissions made by the UK domestic heating market have been substantial. Recently conducted research puts the amount of carbon emission reduction at around 2.4 million tonnes. The researchers further calculated that if the industry did not apply the new Part L requirements, and continued installing SEDBUK D rated boilers, the carbon emissions from domestic heating would have grown by over one million tonnes since 2005.
At current levels there is still large potential for reducing the carbon emissions generated by the domestic boilers in the UK. There are around four million old boilers which are significantly less efficient than modern SEDBUK A rated boilers. Replacing such old boilers with an A rated boiler can reduce carbon emissions by around 30%. Each home in the UK produces an average of 5 tonnes of CO2 per annum. Across the whole population, domestic heating accounts for around 16% of the UK’s CO2 emissions.
The government is trying to encourage carbon reducing behaviour within the home heating sector. It has scrapped stamp duty for carbon neutral homes and has introduced the home information packs which have an energy performance certificate as part of the pack. However, the stamp duty benefit does not apply to the vast majority of inefficient homes around the country making it less effective. The home information packs (with their energy performance certificate component) also have drawbacks in that they are only produced when the house is sold, and thus not having enough of an impact at other times to encourage reduction in carbon emissions.
There are other ways to take proactive action on reducing carbon emissions from domestic heating sources. One of the most effective among them is the renewable energy route. The UK government has set a target of building 3 million new homes by 2020. It is estimated that if 10% of these new homes adopted renewable energy solutions (e.g. solar thermal) to supplement traditional heating solutions (such as gas boilers), the savings would be around 150,000 tonnes of carbon on a yearly basis.
A combination of legislation and education can help the government achieve stretching targets of reducing the nation’s carbon emissions. By following training professional development guidelines, the UK plumbing and heating industry is widely ready for the market to steady and move towards more energy efficient systems and renewable energy technologies.
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