Super boring boiler people made up some fairly nice regulations to make sure your new boiler is fitted, but fitted better.
Boiler Plus & what you should know
If you're already aware of Boiler Plus, you're most likely working in the heating industry or you've become profoundly lost in a Google search. If though, you're a homeowner soon looking to have a new combi boiler installed, read on to quickly educate yourself on what you should now be expecting from the installation.
Quick 2024 update
Boiler Plus is old news. It’s become ‘the norm’ for quality and isn’t something you should really worry about or research. You’re welcome for talking you out of reading our own article.
What the hell is Boiler Plus?
As of April 2018, every time a new combi boiler is fitted in a UK home - the installation company or engineer now has the added responsibility of making sure it complies with a new Government standard, they're calling Boiler Plus.
Boiler Plus dictates that the installation must be one of a combi boiler with an efficiency rating of at least 92% and include at least one of the below features & functions. What's installed to meet Boiler Plus minimum standards is generally at the installers discretion, but you can always request an alternative feature or more than one, but this will likely incur additional costs.
Don't know your Worcester from your Baxi? Read our short article on boiler brands.
Feature (Put Simply in Heatable terms) | |
Flue Gas Heat Recovery System | Just as interesting as it sounds. A device capturing heat that would otherwise be wasted and using it to heat your system again, clever. |
Weather Compensation | An outdoor thermometer communicating the outside temperature to your boiler, so it can adjust accordingly and be more efficient. |
Load Compensation | Similar to weather compensation but measuring the ambient temperature inside your house and altering the amount of hot water that's delivered to your radiators. |
Smart Thermostats/Heating Controls | One of those fancy devices that allows you control your home heating from apps on your smart phone/tablet etc - most likely the consumers preferred option. |
Aren't I just being forced to unnecessarily spend more?
The pimary reason for the Government implementing Boiler Plus is to help UK homeowners better manage their home heating systems and so in turn, their energy bills. The technology that the scheme dictates must be installed, really does have a postitive effect on your homes efficiency and therefore, your energy spend - so it's hard to be too cynical about that. It will also help to reduce the countries carbon emissions, which the Government have targets for - everyone's a winner.
The Smart choice - Heatable recommends choosing a boiler package with a Smart Thermostat. They're easy and (almost) fun to use, plus they're genuinely fantastic for helping you keep a close eye on your energy usage. Certain models are now compatible with home voice assistants like Amazon Alexa so you can scream at the robot lady when your house is too cold.
Summary
Boiler Plus is ensuring you receive a better quality of combi boiler installation in your home that will last longer, reduce your energy consumption and shrink your bills - surely making it one of the better Government legislations?
An average 3-4 bedroom UK family home, could potentially save up to £300 a year on energy bills under Boiler Plus regulations. That could get you a family holiday away from it all, whilst you monitor the ambient temperature from the poolside, drink in hand. Worse case scenario, you can make sure the burglers are freezing.
