When Boiler Plus was first rolled out in April of this year, it was warmly welcomed by the heating controls industry. After all, this new legislation not only sets a new minimum performance standard of 92% ErP for domestic gas boilers in England for both new and replacement installations (Scotland and Wales are exempt for the time being), for the first time ever it also made timers and room thermostats an explicit requirement. Electrical Review spoke to Dean Jepson, European Managing Director at SALUS (pictured)
The thinking behind Boiler Plus is to give consumers the power to achieve the greatest comfort and energy savings in their home. At the same time, it helps the government step up its Clean Growth Strategy and brings the UK heating market in line with other EU countries – a win win all round. However, due to the poorly worded first draft of Boiler Plus that was released in October 2017, the government (BIES) had to issue a revised draft in January 2018, following by two sets of FAQs in an attempt to clear up the confusion.
Unfortunately, the confusion surrounding Boiler Plus remains, and lies in the simple yet wholly misleading definition of a ‘Smart Thermostat’ by Part L Building Regulations. A Smart thermostat complete with Automisation and Optimisation is now one of the four added efficiency measures that the homeowner must take when installing a combi boiler according to Boiler Plus. However, Part L’s definition of a Smart Thermostat is one that does NOT require remote control or internet connectivity. This outright contradicts the definition by BEIS and HHIC which clearly states that Smart Thermostats are products that enable remote control of a central heating system via a tablet, smartphone or desktop.
This inaccurate definition has sparked a trade war within the heating controls industry with many unscrupulous manufacturers exploiting this loophole and claiming that their Smart Thermostats are fully compliant with Boiler Plus. In reality, however, they are not connected thermostats but cheaper non-connected devices that offer minimal advantages to the consumer.
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has pledged to review Boiler Plus in April 2019 – exactly one year after the policy was unveiled – their prime concern being to ensure that consumers are not being adversely affected by the confusion. From a manufacturer’s perspective, a one year period where this uncertainty is allowed to continue is wholly unacceptable. It is entirely incompatible with the supply chain and the product development period required to bring appropriate products to market.
Further grievances of Boiler Plus are that it was rushed through in a mere six month period when a standard phase-in phase out period for products following new regulations is normally two-three years minimum. Also, should next year’s policy review rightfully conclude that Smart Thermostats are indeed internet connected, who will compensate the homeowners and suppliers who have already installed non-connected solutions that were wrongly marketed as Boiler Plus compliant?
