From April 2018, all newly installed gas combination boilers will require a mandatory additional efficiency measure according to a new government policy code-named Boiler Plus.
This mandatory measure is intended to make UK homes even greener.
Well, it means that if you get a new gas combi boiler from April onwards, the company installing it need to work with you to decide which of the following measures will save you the most money and minimise your carbon footprint.
These are the options:
Flue gas heat recovery systems. Weather compensation. Load compensation. Smart controls with automation and optimisation functions. All of these measures will increase the energy efficiency of heating your home. This is important in order to save you money – after all, around 60% of cash spent on household bills goes towards keeping us warm.
Perhaps the most important measure here is the installation of smart controls.
“Smart controls with automation and optimisation functions.”
Government papers really know how to get us excited, don’t they?
What this means in practical terms is that there should be made available to you devices like smart thermostats and smart metres. These devices offer you the control you need in order to minimise your heating bill without sacrificing a warm home.
Core to Boiler Plus is the idea that none of us should have to wear three coats and a woolly hat when we’re sat in front of the telly just to save a few pennies. But we also shouldn’t be burning more energy than needed.
When we waste energy, we waste money – and hurt the planet!
Smart controls for your heating can allow you to slash your bills by only heating rooms to a specified temperature – and only when the room is in use, or about to be.
Many of the industry leading smart control heating systems use your smartphone and an internet connection to give you full control over your heating use. With one of these systems, you can always be sure that the heating is on when you get home without needlessly heating the house when you’re stuck in traffic – or popping for a cheeky pint on the way home.
Smart controls can even optimise your boiler’s energy use so that it switches off at exactly the right time to get the temperature you want. The old way tends to overshoot the mark.
And with this new boiler policy, all new boilers will be fully compatible with these new smart controls – and the installer should be informing you about your options.
Smart thermostats in particular, while they are more expensive, pay for themselves much quicker than any of the other measures by slashing your heating bills.
The new UK boiler policy – Boiler Plus brings the home heating market in to the 21st century and is yet another step forward towards a smarter, greener Britain.
Ready to go green? Apply for a boiler quote today and get a smart thermostat:
