Like many people in the UK over the last few years, I’ve become a lot more interested in how much energy my house actually uses. Gas prices have been very volatile due to the conflict in Ukraine, and now with further conflicts in Iran it looks like prices are expected to rise again.

Living in a Victorian home, which we are currently renovating, means I keep an extra watch on the heating bill. And, while our current set up works well, I started wondering whether the way in which the boiler was set up was affecting bills.

The boiler flow temperature is the one boiler setting that a homeowner can easily control, and one that can have an effect on how the boiler operates, and the energy it consumes. Here's how I changed mine, and what happened when I did.

What is the flow temperature and why does it matter?

Put simply, the flow temperature is the temperature of the hot water leaving the boiler and circulating around the heat emitters, such as radiators. Traditional thinking is that a higher temperature heats the radiators quickly, and brings rooms up to temperature fast.

This means when your boiler is installed, the plumber often sets the flow temperature high at 70°c, or occasionally even 75-80°c.

But, newer thinking suggests that running your gas boiler at a lower flow temperature can improve efficiency, particularly with modern condensing boilers which are designed to recover extra heat from exhaust gases.

The theory states that boilers actually run more effectively when the water returning to the boiler from the radiators is relatively cool, around 50°c. So, if the flow temperature is very high, the return temperature tends to be high as well, which then means the boiler spends less time operating in its most efficient condensing mode.

How I adjusted my flow temperature

Our heating system consists of a Baxi 24Kw EcoBlue condensing gas boiler, with cast iron column radiators and a Nest smart thermostat. The system works well, but I started wondering if it could operate more efficiently.

I decided to try an experiment to see if the theory about flow temperature worked in a real life situation. I adjusted the boiler settings to reduce the flow temperature to 63°C, and ran the heating system as normal for a full month throughout January 2026, to see if it would make any measurable difference.

The thermostat schedule stayed the same, and we heated the house exactly as we usually did. This meant the heating was on in the morning from 6.00am-9.00am, again at 12.00pm-2.00pm, another burst at 4.00pm-6.00pm and then finally again in the evening from 9.00pm-11.00pm. This maintained a steady temperature of between 19°C-21°C during the day, and around 18°C-19°C overnight.

Shop smart thermostats to help manage your energy consumption

What happened when I changed my flow rate

Lowering the flow temperature definitely changed how the system behaved. The radiators no longer blasted out intense heat quickly after the boiler fired up. Instead, they warmed up more gradually, and most importantly, the heating cycles ran for longer, but at a gentler level of output. I could also tell that the boiler was running in condensing mode, mostly because it was a lot quieter, which was an added benefit.

In theory this is exactly what you want. A condensing boiler operating steadily at lower temperatures should be more efficient. But did this translate into actual financial savings in our energy bills?

I tracked gas consumption through the app provided by my energy provider. It certainly looked lower. And there's no doubt that the house was warmer in a more constant way.

I looked back on the app and was able to compare January usage across multiple years. It's a good month for a test because it’s typically the coldest, and heating demand is high. The results were as follows:

• January 2026: 2,246 kWh
• January 2025: 2,412 kWh
• January 2024: 2,303 kWh

At first glance 2026 appears slightly better than 2025, but not dramatically different from 2024.

What do the results mean?

In summary, the change in flow temperature didn’t produce a huge drop in overall gas consumption. The difference between years was only a couple of hundred kilowatt-hours across the entire month.

Initially this seemed disappointing, but we have to factor in weather differences. 2025 wasn't an especially cold winter, so that almost certainly accounts for part of that variation, as even small changes in average outdoor temperature can shift heating demand.

In terms of actual money, the difference across the years I measured was around £40 for the month. This is still a good saving, but as gas prices in early 2026 were lower than in the previous couple of winters, there is a chance the cost comparisons were affected by the change in energy tariff changes, rather than the operation of the boiler. So even if the gas bill looked better, the actual gas usage was similar.

So did lowering the flow temperature help? Possibly a little, but not dramatically in terms of energy usage and costs.

Will I keep my flow temperature lower?

The financial gains however are not the end of the story. What did clearly change was how the heating system behaved. Instead of rapid bursts of heat followed by the boiler shutting down, (short cycling) where the boiler and the thermostat try to chase small 0.5°c increments, the system ran in longer, steadier cycles which is much more efficient. These longer runs are also easier on the boiler and are generally considered good practice, especially for condensing systems.

Another potential advantage is comfort. Lower flow temperatures often produce a more even indoor temperature rather than sharp swings between hot and cool. This is also seen in heat pump and underfloor heating set ups.

As a result, I believe that adjusting the flow temperature is still worth trying, especially because it’s simple and easily reversible. I've left my boiler at 63°c and I'm happy with that.

I had hoped for greater savings, but ultimately became more about fine-tuning an already functioning system, than achieving dramatic reductions in energy consumption.

The system continues to run reliably and comfortably at the lower setting, and the boiler is definitely running more smoothly. This is also evidenced by the pressure, which at 75°c often got up to 2.5 bar plus, while at 63°c it runs at no more than 2.0 bar. This again puts less stress on the system and reduces the risk of boiler problems or extra maintenance.

Overall, I'm pleased with the experiment as the house is consistently warmer, and more comfortable. The bills have reduced – even if only slightly, and the boiler is working more efficiently in its optimal range. For very little effort the rewards are quite impressive and substantial.

For more ways to reduce your energy bills, take a look at these energy saving tips, find out when to turn off your heating in spring, and make sure your draught-proofing measures are all up to scratch.

If you find yourself with no hot water but your heating still works, you'd be forgiven for thinking it makes no sense. We'd think the same too, which is why we've asked heating experts to explain why this problem occurs.

And, with a study revealing 1 in 5 of us faced heating issues this time last year*, it's probably important you arm yourself with this particular knowledge now, in case you find yourself in a similar situation before the winter ends.

From the simple steps you can take to fix the problem yourself to the faults where only a heating engineer will do, here's why you can sometimes have no hot water but your heating system still works.

4 steps before you call in a professional

The good news is, before you race to find a heating engineer to fix the problem, there are a number of checks you can perform yourself. While they may not always fix the problem, there's a chance they could – potentially saving you time and money in the process.

1. Check the pressure

"Start by checking the boiler pressure; most systems should sit between 1 and 2 bar. If the pressure is too low, the boiler may struggle to deliver hot water," explains Adam Knight, a lead engineer at BOXT. "Many boilers can be safely repressurised by following the manufacturer’s guidance, but you should never force any valves or overfill the system," he warns.

2. Look at the thermostat settings

“Next, make sure you also check the hot water thermostat," says John Klee, heating and technology expert at Best Heating. "It may sound obvious, but the temperature control can easily be turned down accidentally while adjusting the heating settings. Ensure the thermostat is set correctly and that the settings on the control panel match those on the boiler itself," he adds.

"Make sure the timer is set correctly, and if the controls use batteries, replacing them is a simple step that is also often overlooked," adds Adam Knight.

3. Check all visible pipework

"Your next step is to take a look at your radiators and any visible pipework," says Adam Knight. "Cold spots on radiators can be a sign of trapped air, which can usually be released by radiator bleeding. It’s also worth checking around the boiler for any visible leaks. But, if you do see water, don’t open the boiler casing or try to fix it yourself," he warns.

"In colder weather, also look for any signs of frozen pipes," says John Klee, noting that, "it’s also worth checking with neighbours to see if their supply is affected, as this can rule out a wider water service issue in your area."

4. Try a boiler reset

"Finally, try the simplest step which is to reset the boiler," says John Klee. "Switch it off, wait at least 30 minutes, then turn it back on to allow the internal components to fully reset.

"If your system has a diverter valve on a separate circuit, switch this off and on as well. This can often resolve minor faults and restore normal hot water flow."

When you'll need to call in a professional heating engineer

Tried all four steps? Then it's likely time to accept you need professional help, particularly given the advice from Adam Knight who says, "what you should never do is remove the boiler cover, interfere with internal components, or try to ‘reset’ the system repeatedly if it keeps failing.

If these basic checks don’t help, it’s safest to stop and call a Gas Safe registered engineer.”

So what could be the cause of the fact you have no hot water but your heating still works? Before you start searching and worrying about new boiler costs, our experts say the positive news is that you might not need to replace your boiler.

“When heating works but hot water doesn’t, the problem is often down to a specific component rather than the whole boiler," advises Adam Knight.

"In combi boilers, a faulty diverter valve is one of the most common causes. This valve directs heat either to the radiators or to your taps. If it sticks, the boiler may heat the home but fail to produce hot water for taps or showers. This is a common repair and does not usually require a new boiler."

"Although repairing or replacing a diverter valve is a relatively straightforward task for a qualified heating engineer," adds John Keel, "the component itself can be difficult to access. It should never be removed or tampered with by anyone who isn’t trained and certified to work on boilers.

"A Gas Safe-registered professional will be able to diagnose whether the fault lies with the diverter valve or within the boiler itself and advise whether repair or replacement is the most efficient long-term solution."

It can also keep you up to date with any boiler maintenance, he adds, as "an engineer can also confirm that your heating and hot water systems are otherwise functioning safely and efficiently."

Other potential causes

But, if the problem isn't a faulty diverter valve, there are also other situations when a professional is required.

"Another common issue can be a failed thermistor or temperature sensor; these components tell the boiler when to heat the water," explains Adam Knight. "If they stop working, the boiler may not respond to hot water demand, even though the heating is still running.

"Problems with the heat exchanger or pressure-related faults can cause similar symptoms and, in many cases, are repairable," he adds.

Worried you still might need a new boiler if you have not hot water but still have heating? Try not to worry until an engineer has found the problem is Adam's advice.

"Replacement is usually only considered when a boiler is older, typically ten to twelve years, or when several components start failing at the same time. If repair costs are mounting, parts are difficult to source, or the boiler has become inefficient and unreliable, replacing it can often be the more cost-effective and dependable option. An annual boiler service should help identify any potential issues," he says.

"But, in most cases, heating without hot water is fixable," he confirms. "The age, condition, and repair history of the boiler are what ultimately determine whether repair or replacement makes sense.”

Both your heating and hot water playing up? Find out what other boiler problems could be causing your system to act up. Plus, once any issues are fixed, make sure your boiler flow temperature isn't set too high to help you save your energy bills in winter.

And, if you do find out you're in need of a new boiler, find out if how Beth Murton, Homebuilding & Renovating's editor got on when she tried the BOXT next-day installation service.

*A study of 2,028 UK adults commissioned by BOXT, carried out by Sago UK between 5th and 7th March 2025 revealed one in five Brits (18%) have faced heating and hot water problems in February 2025.

There’s no doubt that winter is the worst possible time for your boiler to break down. When the weather has taken a turn for the worse and temperatures are plunging, you want your home to be as warm and cosy as possible.

What’s more, if it does break down then you could be faced with a lengthy delay while you try to choose a new boiler and, more importantly, find an available heating engineer to fit it. This is the time of year when they are busiest with installations and boiler repairs, so chances are you could be without heating and hot water for a while.

With the BOXT boiler installation service, however, the company can offer a next day installation service. Music to the ears of anyone with a boiler that has finally given up during a cold snap. To find out how easy the BOXT installation service is to use, I put it to the test to upgrade my old boiler with a newer model.

Why I wanted to upgrade my boiler

Although I have had my boiler serviced annually to ensure it’s in good working order, it’s now 14 years old and as each year passes the chance of problems developing is becoming more likely.

I've always been really pleased with my Worcester Bosch Greenstar CDi combi boiler, so I was keen to replace my boiler with something similar. I live in a three-bedroom, 1930s semi with one bathroom. I installed the boiler when I originally renovated the house 14 years ago and have had the same one ever since.

I've also upgraded the glazing throughout the house and replaced several radiators, although there are still a few more on the list to be updated as they have definitely seen better days now and don’t always heat up particularly well.

Our boiler is located in a cupboard in our kitchen and I had no plans to move it to a different location, so this install would be a straight swap from old boiler to new.

Getting started with the booking

I found the process of selecting my new boiler surprisingly straightforward. The BOXT website is easy to navigate and there are advice guides to talk you through how the process works.

I went straight to the boilers section to book my installation and had to answer a series of questions about my home and what heating setup I currently have. There’s nothing overly complicated to answer, and you’ll just need to provide responses to these sorts of questions:

• The type of fuel you use to heat your home (gas, LPG, oil)
• What type of boiler you have
• How you would describe your current boiler (old and inefficient, not working, doesn’t fit with your plans)
• Whether it’s wall mounted or floor standing
• How old the boiler is
• How long you see yourself living in your current home
• Whether you want the boiler in a different place
• What sort of house you live in
• How many bedrooms it has
• How many baths and showers you have (or plan to have)
• How many radiators you have
• Whether you have a water meter
• Where the flue comes out, the shape of the flue and how far your boiler is from an outside wall
• How far the flue is from the ground and how close it is to another property
• Whether the flue is under a carport and 30cm or more from a door or window

If you do struggle with any of the questions, there is an FAQ section on the website or alternatively you can call the helpline for advice.

Once you have answered the questions online, you enter your postcode and you’re then presented with a list of suitable boilers based on your answers.

Choosing my new boiler

I was given a list of around 20 different boilers from a range of leading brands, including Worcester Bosch, Vaillant, Baxi and Navien. Each option clearly details the key product listings, such as dimensions, heating output, hot water flow rate, warranty and how many radiators it can power. This allows you to further compare the different products to ensure you are selecting the one that best suits your home and your needs.

It also shows the fixed price installation cost option, as well as the monthly cost option and any discounts that are currently available. It’s worth noting that these change throughout the year. When I originally booked mine there was a free Hive mini thermostat offer, and currently there is a Black Friday boiler sale with a discount of £125 on all boilers.

Again, if at this point you feel you would benefit from speaking to an advisor to help you choose the best type of boiler for your home, you can contact BOXT to go through your options in more detail. As I’ve been really happy with my current Worcester Bosch boiler I was keen to replace it with something similar, eventually opting for the Worcester Bosch Greenstar 4000 30kw, which is the upgraded model to the one I already have in my home.

It showed a fixed price cost for the boiler and installation of £2,395. Having looked online for this specific boiler, the cost of the boiler alone to me as a consumer averaged around the £1,400 mark, but then I would have to also arrange for a heating engineer to come and fit it for me.

According to Checkatrade, installation costs alone can often average between £1,000 and £2,000, so the total price for the boiler and installation offered by BOXT seemed competitive. There were some cheaper and more expensive options available on the BOXT website, but I know this boiler brand and the model was suitable for our heating requirements. It also had the capacity for a few more radiators to be added to our heating system in the future if we needed it, and was offered with a 10-year warranty for peace of mind.

Having selected the boiler, I was then taken to the next stage where I could choose things like the heating controls. A programmable thermostat is included in the price, but you can upgrade to smart thermostats like Hive for an added cost.

I also had minor additional costs added to the quote for a plume management kit (£70) and a Shock Arrestor Boiler Protection Pack (£40), which were automatically added because of the answers I had provided to some of the questions. These were a requirement for the installation, rather than an option

You can also add optional extras such as a Magna Cleanse Flush (£199), which helps to clean out your system and prolong the lifespan of your boiler, and an in-line scale reducer (£65), which was recommended to me because I live in a hard water area. There is no obligation to add any of these other extras to your installation, so you can limit your costs if budget is your key priority.

You’re then taken to a final checkout screen where everything in your order is clearly itemised with the associated costs breakdown and a final total for the boiler cost. You can pay the total amount upfront, or there are also options for finance and monthly payment plans.

Booking the BOXT installation

Once you’re happy with your order, you go through to the calendar screen to book your installation date. Providing you place your order, provide any requested photographs and answer any questions that the in-house technical team may have before 3pm (see below for more on this part of the process), BOXT can offer a next-day installation.

The next day option was showing for me, but it’s worth noting that at really busy times of the year there might be a small additional charge for this due to increased demand. According to BOXT, this can range from £5 up to £150, but they say that between the months of April to August you wouldn’t expect to see a surcharge of any amount.

Saturday installations can also carry an additional charge, however, this again varies depending on the volume of installations already booked for that specific weekend and would generally range from £50-£100.

I’ve gone through the initial booking process on a couple of occasions after I originally booked mine, to check how availability differed if I was to make a completely new booking. I have been pleasantly surprised by how soon I could book an installation on all occasions, with the price ranges quoted above being accurate. I did this throughout the month of November, so at a time when you would expect the service to be particularly busy, too.

One thing you might also spot, however, is that some days actually show a discount for installation. So if your boiler hasn’t broken down and you aren’t in a rush to have your new one fitted, you could opt for installation at a slightly later date (the following week perhaps) and get the benefit of a price reduction. BOXT says that these discounts can be up to £150 if customers are in a position to hold off for their date of installation.

Having chosen the date, I got details of the arrival time of the engineer and who it would be, and then proceeded to payment.

Pre-installation

I quickly received confirmation of my booking, what I had ordered and when the installation was booked for. The email also advised me to download the BOXT app so that I could manage my booking, as well as upload the necessary photos of my current boiler and its location, which would be reviewed by the in-house engineers before installation.

BOXT explains that this is so its team can review your photos against your boiler order, “to make sure you have selected the perfect boiler for your home and avoid any surprises on your installation day.”

You’ll need to allow yourself a little bit of time to take the photos and upload them, especially if you are trying to meet the 3pm cut-off time for a next-day install.

Just like the website, the app is really easy to use and offered clear instructions on what photos were needed and, more importantly, what needed to be included in the image.

The required images included things like the current boiler location, the pipework above and below the boiler, the existing thermostat, the flue exit, the area around the flue and the gas meter. Uploading them was quick and easy, and once each section was ticked I received a notification that I would be contacted if there were any additional queries on my photos, but otherwise the installation was set to go ahead as scheduled.

Installation day

The engineer was confirmed to arrive between 7am and 10am and I was also told in advance that the boiler would be arriving by courier, and given a delivery window for that too.

My engineer arrived before 8am, which meant he was also here to accept delivery of the boiler and check everything. After showing the engineer where the boiler was, he did a quick check of the gas meter location and the thermostat before talking me through the process. He let me know that the gas and water would be turned off for a couple of hours, so I made sure to fill up the kettle and cook my porridge on the hob before he started!

He also explained it would take a few hours to remove the boiler and then fit the new one along with the new thermostat, so I had a clear idea of what would be involved. After that, I got on with my work in the other room and left him to it.

There were no problems with the install and everything was neatly fitted in place. Any mess was cleaned up and the kitchen didn't look any different to how it had done first thing in the morning.

Once everything was up and running, the engineer talked me through the boiler controls and showed me how to check the pressure in the system. He also fitted the Hive thermostat and set it up so I could operate the boiler from the thermostat, as well as the app.

The whole installation process was very efficient, professional and was completed without any issues.

BOXT boiler installation aftercare

After the boiler was fitted, paperwork such as the warranty, gas safety certificate and workmanship guarantee was uploaded to the app where I can view it. It also shows that the Building Regulations sign off will arrive via mail, six weeks after the installation (for free), or it gives you the option to download a copy from the Gas Safe website for a fee.

There's a copy of the final invoice in the app and a digital version of the boiler manual should you need to quickly find out some info. There's even a help section, with info such as Worcester Bosch boiler error codes and common heating questions so you can try and fix any simple issues yourself, should they arise.

Within the app you can also book a boiler service, report any boiler problems or book a boiler repair.

Should you use the BOXT boiler installation service?

Arranging to have work done to your home can often take longer than you might want, especially if you're stuck without heating and hot water due to a boiler breakdown. A shortage of tradespeople means getting something done in an emergency isn't always possible either. What's more, if you've moved house and don't yet have any contacts in the local area, then searching for a local heating engineer, checking out reviews and getting quotes for a new boiler can take a while.

With their quick, easy-to-use service and next-day installation offer, BOXT take away a great deal of that hassle for you. The company has an extensive range of products to choose from (more than you would be likely to get from your local heating engineer) and the entire process, from choosing the boiler to booking the installation and then having it fitted, went so smoothly that I wouldn't hesitate to recommend the service to friends and family. Communication was clear throughout the process, the engineer arrived on time and left everything in a clean and tidy state, plus the aftercare has been spot on too.

From looking at the reviews on the likes of Trustpilot, it would seem the majority of BOXT customers have had a similar experience. BOXT has an 'excellent' rating, with an average score of 4.8/5 and more than 50,000 reviews.

Although I didn't need to have my boiler replaced in an emergency, I can see how the BOXT service would make that situation a great deal less stressful too.

What I will say as one final point, however, is that my boiler replacement was relatively straightforward. I was replacing my boiler with a similar model, I wasn't moving my boiler to a new location and there were no issues with my heating system. It means I can't comment on how the service would be for a more complicated install, but I have no reason to doubt it would be any less of a success than mine was.

About this review and our reviewer

Beth Murton is the Editor of Homebuilding & Renovating. She has renovated two homes and in her current home she previously replaced the boiler and upgraded the heating system using a local heating engineer.

Products and services for this review were supplied at no cost, but we have not been paid to write this review. This is review of the BOXT service and installation, not of the boiler itself.

A combi boiler controls the water temperature for your heating system and hot water. It is the central hub that determines how hot the water being pumped to your radiators and taps is. So it makes sense that it's set up to ensure that you get the right heat output and your hot water is at the ideal temperature.

The combi boiler is one of the most common types of boiler found in homes, and fortunately, they are easy to operate. Most will feature simple-to-access controls for heat and water, allowing you to set the temperature. The key is to adjust the temperatures to suit the current conditions. Here you’ll find expert advice on what these should be and when to change them to achieve maximum efficiency and save on your energy bills.

Why combi boiler water temperature is important

You may not think that the water temperature on a combi boiler is that important, but it is, as Patrick Garner, Gas Safe Engineer at Heatable, quickly explains, “Getting the temperature right is important for comfort, safety, and efficiency.” He adds, “Too hot and you risk scalding; too cool, and there’s a risk of bacteria such as Legionella.”

Louis Georgiou, Operations Director at Essential Workwear, adds, “If your boiler is set too high, it works harder than it needs to, which can shorten its life and waste energy. Keeping it at the right level helps the boiler run smoothly and reduces strain on the system.”

Try these to appreciate the right combi boiler water temperature

Optimal water temperature for heating and hot water

The optimal temperature is not set in stone; the temperature typically varies for hot water and heating. Garner points out, “For hot water taps and showers, around 50 to 55 degrees Celsius is about right.” He adds, “For heating, 65 to 70 degrees is the norm in winter, but you can turn it down in summer when you don’t need the radiators running.”

Georgiou adds, “Around 50–55°C is hot enough for comfort and hygiene without putting the boiler under unnecessary pressure. Baths can be a bit cooler if you prefer, because you’re sitting in the water for longer, and high heat can feel uncomfortable.”

Georgiou finishes with some sensible advice for hot water temperatures, “The simplest way to handle temperature is to set your boiler at a standard temperature and then use mixer valves on taps and showers to fine-tune for each use. That way the boiler isn’t constantly being adjusted, and you still get the flexibility to choose what feels right.”

It is worth noting that if you add any new form of installation to your home, such as cavity wall insulation or new windows and doors, you may not need the same heat output from the radiators. This means you can turn down the heating output by around five degrees.

Benefits of turning down the temperature

You can control the temperature on a combi boiler by simply operating the controls typically found on the front of the boiler. There will be one for the hot water and one for the heating. This can usually be set separately.

Garner says, “Lowering the temperature even by a couple of degrees can save money because the boiler spends more time in its most efficient condensing mode.” This point is reinforced by the heating engineer who comes to service my combi boiler.

He suggested that I turn both the water and heating by five degrees (water now at 50 degrees and heating at 62 degrees) to see if I could notice the difference. He also mentioned that water shouldn’t go below 50 degrees to prevent bacteria from forming. His final piece of advice was to turn up the temperatures in the colder months if needed, but don’t forget to turn down when the weather warms up.

Turning down the temperature to an optimum temperature is also good for the boiler itself. It means it won’t be in action so often, resulting in less wear and tear on the internal components.

Other ways to optimise your combi boiler

Here are a few things you can do to control the temperature in the home.

1. Use a TRV

Most modern combi boiler powered central heating systems will include a TRV (Thermostatic Radiator Valve) on a radiator. If you do not currently have TRVs on your radiators, I recommend you get them fitted. This helps control the temperature from room to room, making it a more efficient and ultimately money-saving heating system.

2. Lower bedroom temperatures

Adjust your radiator valve so that the temperature in a bedroom is slightly lower (1-2 degrees) than the main living spaces. This helps save money and provides optimal sleeping conditions.

3. Set your thermostat

Most central heating thermostats have a timer. Use this to turn down the heat at night and raise it for when you get up in the morning. If no one is at home during the day, you can lower the temperature for these hours and set the timer to switch on the heating half an hour before you get home.

FAQs

Is running a combi boiler at maximum temperature a sensible choice?

There is no real benefit to running a combi at maximum temperature, as Garner shares, “Running a boiler flat out all the time not only wastes energy but can also shorten its lifespan."

He adds, “A better approach is to set it just high enough to be comfortable. In summer, many households turn the heating flow temperature right down or off, while keeping hot water at around fifty to fifty-five degrees.”

You can turn up the temperature on a combi to maximum if circumstances dictate, such as during a really cold winter or when you need hotter water. However, it makes sense to turn back to your standard temperature setting as soon as possible.

If you don’t maintain it, your energy bills will be higher, and the boiler will have to work harder than it should, leading to more breakdowns and the need for replacement parts.

How important is regular boiler maintenance?

Very important. You don’t want boiler problems, especially in the middle of winter, so you need to keep your boiler regularly maintained. Common practice is to get an annual service, which typically includes a visual check, internal inspection, and cleaning of filters, such as a rust filter, to ensure everything is running as expected.

An annual service will cost around £80-£100 and will also help ensure that any warranties are still valid. If you don’t get an annual service, it can void the warranty that comes with the boiler.

Getting your hot water temperature right is crucial for a warm bath or shower, as is designing your space to fully enjoy the experience. Check out our modern bathroom ideas, bathroom sink ideas and small shower room ideas for inspiration and new ideas.

There are many reasons why moving a boiler might be a job on your to-do list, but do you know what the task entails, how long it'll take and the likely costs involved? If not, our guide is here to help, whether you are renovating a house or need more cupboard space.

"Moving your boiler can be a great solution to free up space and reduce noise in your home, but there are a few things you need to consider first," explains Ian Palmer-Smith, appliance repair expert at Domestic & General.

If you are considering relocating a boiler in your home, read on to ensure you know exactly what is in store.

Is moving a boiler a DIY job?

If you were considering moving your boiler yourself, you will need to think again.

"Moving a boiler is not a DIY job, and should be carried out by a Gas Safe engineer," explains Ian Palmer-Smith. "The process requires proper planning, where the engineer will inspect the existing system and assess your home’s layout to ensure the boiler can be relocated safely."

Even though this is one of those DIY jobs to leave to the professionals, understanding the process, timescales and costs is still important.

The process of moving a boiler

If you have decided that your boiler would be better off in a different location to its current one, what can you expect when it comes to getting it to its new home?

Matthew Powell, founder and Registered Gas Safe Engineer at WarmZilla, explains the process.

• Initial survey: The engineer assesses the desired new location to ensure it complies with all building regulations, including ventilation requirements and safe distances from windows and doors for the flue.
• System drain-down: The entire central heating system is drained of water. The gas and water supplies to the boiler are safely isolated.
• Decommissioning: The old boiler is disconnected from the gas supply, water pipework, flue, and any electrical connections.
• Rerouting pipework: This is often the most labour-intensive part. New copper pipework needs to be run for heating flow and return, hot and cold water, and the gas supply. This may involve lifting floorboards or chasing into walls.
• Installing the flue: A new hole will be cored through the external wall for the flue terminal. The engineer must ensure the flue position adheres to strict Gas Safe regulations regarding proximity to windows, doors, and neighbouring properties.
• Condensate pipe: A modern condensing boiler produces wastewater (condensate) that needs to be drained. A new plastic pipe must be run from the boiler to a suitable internal drain (like a kitchen sink waste pipe). External runs are possible but must be insulated to prevent pipes freezing.
• Installation and commissioning: The boiler is mounted in its new location, and all new pipework and the flue are connected. The system is then refilled, and the engineer performs a series of safety checks and tests (commissioning) to ensure it's operating correctly and efficiently.

How much does it cost to relocate a boiler?

Clearly, this is a complex – but usually very worthwhile – job. You need to include the cost of moving a boiler into your overall renovation costs.

"The cost of moving your boiler will depend on the costs of labour, pipework and fittings, and any additional work required," says Ian Palmer-Smith. "In general, a longer distance between boiler locations will require more labour and work.”

"The boiler itself is not the cost – the expense comes from the labour and materials required for the move," explains Matthew Powell. "Homeowners should budget anywhere from £800 to £2,500+ for the relocation job alone.

"The final cost is influenced by the distance the boiler is being moved, the type of floors and walls the new pipes must run through and the complexity of the flue installation," continues Matthew. "Costs can also rise if there are any additional system components, like a magnetic filter or new thermostats, added at the same time."

How long does it take to move a boiler?

The good news here is that, in the majority of cases, moving a boiler is a fairly quick job, so your heating and hot water won't be out of service for long.

"Moving a boiler will typically take up to two days, but the timeframe largely depends on different factors, like the type of boiler, where the new position is, and if any additional work is necessary," explains Ian Palmer-Smith.

"Moving a boiler a short distance within the same room could take a single day," picks up Matthew Powell. "However, moving a boiler from one floor to another, or to the opposite side of the house, could easily take two to three days. This is due to the extensive new pipework required, lifting flooring, and potentially more complex flue arrangements."

Where is the best place for a boiler?

You can't just move a boiler anywhere you like – whether you want to put your boiler in a loft or a utility room, there are regulations you'll need to adhere to.

"Boilers need to be installed where there is sufficient airflow and easy access for maintenance, so should not be placed in a bedroom or bathroom for example," explains Ian Palmer-Smith. "Utility rooms, garages, and kitchens are more popular locations."

"The location of the flue is non-negotiable and must meet strict safety standards," picks up Matthew Powell. "A homeowner's ideal spot may not be feasible if a safe flue exit cannot be achieved.

"The new location must also have access to a suitable wastewater drain," continues Matthew. "Running a condensate pipe across a solid floor or to a distant drain can be complicated and add significant cost. If run externally, it's at risk of freezing in winter, which would cause the boiler to shut down."

Is boiler replacement better than relocation?

Perhaps you radiators are not working, or your boiler is starting to fail you – if you have had your boiler for some time, it might actually be a good idea to consider replacing it at the same time as the move.

"Before moving your boiler, check if it’s time to replace it instead, which could save you from a costly boiler repair in the future," points out Ian Palmer-Smith.

"If your boiler is more than ten years old and showing signs of inefficiency or wear, then replacing it could save you in the long-run."

FAQs

Is moving a boiler a good idea?

This depends on why you want to move it – there are many reasons why relocating a boiler can be helpful.

"Kitchen and home renovations are the most frequent drivers," reveals Matthew Powell. "A new kitchen layout or a home extension often requires the boiler to be moved to create space for new units or to fit the revised floor plan.

"Noise reduction is another one. Moving a boiler out of a high-traffic living area or a bedroom can significantly reduce ambient noise in the home. And don't forget improved accessibility," continues Matthew. "Relocating a boiler from a tight, difficult-to-access cupboard to a more open location makes annual servicing and any future repairs much easier for an engineer."

Double check, before moving your boiler, that any guarantees won't be affected if it is still in warranty too.

Is moving a boiler disruptive?

While this is not a job that takes too long, don't forget that there will be a level of mess involved and some making good will be required afterwards – so factor in internal plastering costs to your overall budget.

"The process will leave disruption," warns Matthew Powell. "Old pipework holes will need to be filled, walls may need replastering where new pipes have been channelled, and floorboards will have been lifted. The cost of redecorating is often not included in the engineer's quote."

If you have decided that you need a new boiler, be sure to research everything there is to know about choosing a new boiler first.

There is never an ideal time to run into boiler problems, but during the cooler months, they are even more unwelcome than usual – particularly as this tends to be the busiest time of year for plumbers, meaning a long wait to get the issues resolved.

Every home needs heating, and whether yours is delivered through radiators or underfloor heating, keeping your boiler in tip-top condition and being aware of any tell-tale signs that could indicate a problem on the horizon is so important.

With this in mind, we reached out to the experts to discover the most common boiler problems they come across, their causes and how you can avoid them.

Avoiding the most common boiler problems

Whether you have a gas boiler or an electric boiler, before delving into their potential problems it is important to know that many can be avoided with the right maintenance know-how.

"Most boiler problems can be avoided with a bit of forward planning and regular checks," explains Michael Zohouri, founder of Pyramid Eco. "Autumn is always a busy time. It's boiler breakdown season. That first cold snap reveals all the issues that have been quietly building up over summer."

"Boilers require an annual service to ensure they stay running safely and efficiently, helping to keep your energy bills as low as possible," picks up Ian Palmer-Smith, appliance repair expert at Domestic & General. "If you currently rent your home, your landlord should send a Gas Safe engineer to service the boiler each year. If you’re a homeowner, you will need to arrange this yourself."

1. Boiler pressure keeps dropping

If you notice that your heating isn't coming on as it should or that a suspicious looking light is blinking away at you, take this as a warning that you may need to find out how to repressurise a boiler.

"One of the most common problems is low system pressure," picks up Michael Zohouri. "It usually shows up when the heating stops working and there’s a warning light or error code. Often it’s due to a small leak somewhere, or trapped air in the system. You can top up the pressure yourself, but that’s only a short-term fix. The real solution is finding and fixing the underlying issue."

"This is often caused by a water leak in the system, or a failing pressure relief valve," explains Fantasic Services' and My Plumber's plumbing expert Zhelyazko Yanchev. "To fix it, top the pressure back up using the filling loop until the gauge reads around 1 to 1.5 bar when it’s cold.

"If the pressure keeps dropping, it’s a sign of a leak or a faulty part that needs professional servicing," continues Zhelyazko. "In general, to prevent this, check the pressure levels regularly and have the system serviced annually to catch any small leaks early."

2. Radiator cold spots

If your radiators are not working or aren't heating up as they should, or you notice cold spots on their surfaces, a good clear out could be what's needed.

"Something we come across a lot is sludge build-up," explains Michael Zohouri. "Over time, rust and debris collect inside radiators and pipework. It blocks the flow of hot water and makes the whole system work harder.

"You might notice cold spots on radiators or strange noises in the pipes," continues Michael. "A magnetic filter helps stop this, and a system flush every few years can make a big difference. It’s a simple bit of maintenance that can extend the life of the boiler."

"You can also bleed the radiators," adds Zhelyazko Yanchev. "However, if there’s sludge, a power flush will likely be necessary, which requires a professional. To prevent this from happening in the first place, consider using inhibitor fluid in the system."

3. Frozen condensate pipe

If your boiler isn't heating up effectively, your heating and hot water could be affected – but there could just be a simple explanation.

“A boiler that isn’t firing up as expected, or making gurgling noises when doing so, can be a sign of frozen condensate pipes," reveals Ian Palmer-Smith. "This will only occur if the weather is particularly cold, usually in the peak winter months. If this is the case, carefully attempt to warm the pipes up by applying a hot water bottle directly to them.”

"To prevent this from happening, look into insulating pipes and make sure the condensate pipe is the right diameter – both will reduce the chance of freezing," adds Zhelyazko Yanchev.

4. Loud banging noises

Not only are banging and loud gurgling sounds coming from your boiler annoying, they are also a sign that something is amiss. In fact, there are a couple of reasons this happens.

"Strange noises, such as banging and gurgling are often caused by limescale build-up on the heat exchanger, which is common in hard water areas – or it could be trapped air in the system," explains Zhelyazko Yanchev. "Bleeding the radiators can remove any trapped air. However, limescale needs chemical treatment or a flush, which is best handled by a professional. To prevent it from happening in the first place, installing a scale reducer or magnetic filter can help protect the system."

“If your central heating is making loud banging noises, this could also be another sign of low pressure in your boiler," adds Ian Palmer-Smith. "Luckily, this is a fairly common issue that is easy to tackle. You’ll need to check the pressure gauge on your boiler control panel. If this reads below 1 bar, increase this slightly to 1.5-2. If the pressure is any less than 1 bar it could mean less heat being transferred to the areas in your home where it’s needed. As a general rule, anywhere between 1.5-2 is usually the sweet spot.”

5. Boiler coming on at random times

If your boiler is coming on and going off unexpectedly, at times you really don't want or need it to, you could find yourself without hot water or heating at some inopportune moments .

“If you’re noticing your boiler is turning on or off sporadically throughout the day, you may need to simply adjust your timer settings using your boiler manual for help," explains Ian Palmer-Smith. "Check your heating controls too and that the central heating dial is turned up in case this has been accidentally knocked.

“Additionally, double check your thermostat settings," continues Ian. "If temperatures in the home are set lower than 20 degrees, your boiler may not come on – increase the temperature slightly and you should notice better performance.”

6. The red light keeps coming on

Few things cause the same level of panic as a red warning light showing up on the boiler – particularly once we enter the cooler months of the year and you realise you may have failed to prepare your house for winter.

“If you’ve noticed a red light appear on your boiler, this usually signals an error with the appliance – but this typically only requires a quick reset," reassures Ian Palmer-Smith. "The boiler reset button should be on the front panel and easy to identify.

"If the error persists, try turning the appliance off and on," adds Ian. "If it still continues, reach out to an engineer who will check if there is a bigger underlying problem.”

7. Sudden shut down

If your boiler very suddenly shuts down, this could simply be its reaction to a hidden issue that you have, until now, been unaware of.

"Blocked flues and poor ventilation are more common in older homes and modern boilers will shut down if they detect a problem – but the cause isn’t always obvious," explains Michael.

"That’s why annual servicing matters," continues Michael. "We check the flue is clear, the burner is working properly, and there’s no carbon monoxide risk. These checks are essential for safety and performance.

"It’s also worth checking your controls," adds Michael. "Sometimes the issue isn’t the boiler itself but an old thermostat or timer that’s stopped working properly. Replacing outdated controls with smart ones often solves the problem and makes the whole system more efficient."

FAQs

How often should a boiler be serviced?

In order to keep your boiler problem-free and ensure your winter isn't ruined by freezing cold showers and frosty radiators, regular servicing is key – and boiler service costs are well worth it in the long run.

“Boiler services can be booked at any time of the year. However, I always strongly recommend booking it ahead of the colder weather," advises Ian Palmer-Smith. "Ideally this would be in October, but November should also give you enough time before winter sets in. If your boiler was to break during the colder, winter months, you could be left with no heating for a period of time which is never ideal.

“During a boiler service, engineers will identify any potential issues before they develop into serious problems. Spotting a problem early on will help to extend the lifespan of your appliance," continues Ian. "A new boiler can cost up to £5,000 including installation so it is well worth servicing annually through boiler cover to prevent you needing to replace prematurely.

“Getting an annual boiler service will also ensure you are protected against carbon monoxide poisoning so it is crucial that you book this in each year ahead of time," adds Ian. "I also strongly advise getting a carbon monoxide detector if you do not have one already. Faulty boiler systems can leak carbon monoxide gas into your home, but without any colour, smell or taste, you need a detector to warn you of its presence to stay safe. They typically last five years before they need to be replaced.”

If you are renovating an older property or have simply been living in your home for quite some time, it may be time to upgrade your boiler – make sure you know everything about choosing a new boiler before parting with any money to ensure you select the right model for your needs and property.

Installing a boiler in a loft is becoming an increasingly attractive idea among homeowners investigating how much is a new boiler, for a whole range of reasons. As well as saving space in areas such as kitchens or utility rooms, it can also help reduce noise.

However, there are some important challenges to consider as well, particularly with regards to protecting the boiler against extreme temperatures and ensuring there is enough access for checks and maintenance.

We asked the experts to explains the pros and cons of a boiler in a loft, what types are best suited to this location and what are the regulations surrounding the job?

As well as it being vital to consult a Gas Safe registered heating engineer if you're considering a boiler in loft scenario, here's what else they recommend.

Boiler in loft – yes or no and which type is most suitable?

It is possible to install a boiler in a loft and there are certain benefits to be gained from doing so, especially with regards to saving space, reducing noise and improving the aesthetics of your home.

"All of our wall-hung domestic boilers are suitable for use in a loft," confirms Richard Farrow, senior product manager at Ideal Heating. "However, the system would probably need to be sealed (using a combi or system boiler), as an open-vent system would require the header tank to be located higher than the boiler, which could be difficult in a loft."

There must also be sufficient access for checks and maintenance. This will include proper, safe, access to the loft, which means a ladder with a handrail, boarded flooring leading up to and surrounding the boiler and adequate lighting. The boiler itself must also be hung on a brick or timber wall to ensure it is supported properly.

Installation requirements

There are plenty of considerations, including safety rules to take into account during the process of putting a boiler in a loft.

The boiler will need gas, water and electricity terminals installed and each of these will need isolation points so that they can be switched off safely. A vent will also have to be installed so that the combustion gases can be removed safely from the property and there will need to be proper access to the boiler so that maintenance can be carried out on it.

“While it may be tempting to put a boiler in your loft to save space downstairs, there are regulations that may restrict you from doing so for safety reasons," confirms Jack Cole, a heating expert at MyBuilder.com.

“There must be sufficient safe space in your loft to be able to fit your boiler, as well as your wall being able to hold the weight of your boiler. Your loft must also provide stable and secure flooring so you or a professional can safely carry out maintenance work on your boiler if needed.

“If you move your boiler into your loft, you have to ensure there are safe and adequate access points, including a fixed ladder, walkway, and lighting," explains Jack. "These items will help lower the risk of causing harm to you or your loft with a boiler in it."

Pipework connected to the boiler may also have to be resized or extended and this will add to the costs of installation.

Regulations regarding boiler in loft

There are a number of regulations governing boiler installation in the UK, all of them covered under building regulations. These regulations require all boilers to be installed by Gas Safe registered engineers, located in safe locations with proper flue placement and meeting a set of minimum energy efficiency standards.

"In principle, the regulations for putting a boiler in the loft are the same as fitting the boiler elsewhere in the house," says Richard Farrow. "Additional requirements for putting one in a loft are more related to health and safety issues such as ensuring there is a suitable loft ladder, the floor is boarded, and sufficient lighting is provided for a safe installation."

Regulations state that installations will require a high-efficiency condensing boiler (this requirement was set in 2005) and the engineer installing the boiler will have to notify the local authority after the installation, after which they will receive a compliance certificate.

Building regulations also require the boiler flue to be placed away from windows, doors, balconies, and public walkways, in accordance with specified minimum distances, which are dependent on the location of the boiler.

The regulations state that there must be at least 600mm between the boundary line of the building and the end of the flue and the flue must be positioned away from footpaths and walkways. It must also be 300mm away from windows or air vents and 1,200mm away from doors.

Flues must also be 25mm away from any guttering or drain pipes and at least 300mm above ground, roof or balcony levels. They should also be positioned 600mm away from neighbouring properties.

And finally, boilers must meet minimum energy efficiency standards, usually requiring a high-efficiency condensing boiler with an A rating. The updated boiler regulations of 2022 require that radiators must operate at a temperature no higher than 55°C.

Pros and cons of putting a boiler in the loft

Pros of boiler in loft

"Putting a boiler in the loft moves it out of the way and does not take up useful living space, such as a kitchen wall cupboard, or valuable space in utility rooms, when space is limited," says Richard Farrow. "Fluing is usually easier too," he adds.

Another benefit of putting a boiler in a loft is that this location will help to prevent noise from the boiler reaching the rest of the house. Concealing the pipes in the loft will also help to improve the aesthetics of other locations in the house, and may improve maintenance while also reducing the risk of accidental damage to the pipes.

Cons of boiler in loft

When it comes to the downside of putting a boiler in the loft, you may find if you're considering moving an existing boiler, you won't have the right type.

"Installation is also less easy as the boiler has to be carried up into the loft," notes Richard Farrow. "It is not as easy to check on the boiler, such as checking the pressure gauge, as you have to go up into the loft. The pipework might also be longer, which needs to be considered."

Temperature also needs to be taken into account as the extreme temperatures that a boiler might be subjected to in summer and winter may damage the boiler. However, in winter, the right loft insulation might be able to mitigate this to a certain extent. in summer the loft would need enhanced loft ventilation to keep the space relatively cool in the face of rising temperatures.

You'll need to ensure you have the right loft boarding and access arrangements in place and if height or space is limited, it might mean a flue is more difficult to install. This, again, will increase the cost of installation.

The increased distance from the water supply to the boiler might also mean a delay in the boiler supplying hot water. Furthermore, this will also mean extended pipework, which again could increase costs.

Given that the boiler will be installed higher up in the building, this also means that the pressure will be lower. If the existing mains water supply is already low pressure, that might adversely impact a boiler in the loft.

Cost of installing a boiler in loft

The cost of installing a boiler in the loft depends on a range of factors, such as the type of boiler, the layout of the property and the pipework involved. It will probably be more worthwhile doing this when a boiler needs replacing, rather than moving an existing boiler – unless of course you are planning on a complete home renovation or extension, in which case it may be wise to do it now while you are already being disrupted. Find out more about when to replace a boiler as a starting point.

The average cost for installing a new boiler in a loft typically ranges between £1,200 and £1,400 on average. However, this excludes any additional work, such as installing additional extensive pipework.

The key factors involved in installing a new boiler in a loft includes the choice of boiler, the distance between the new boiler and the existing pipework (and whether any new pipework is required), improved access to the loft, and flue installation.

In contrast, if you choose instead to move an existing boiler into a loft, the cost will range somewhere between £300 and £600.

Wondering if you really do need to install all the extra boarding and loft access to put a boiler in a loft? Don't cut any corners, warn the experts as it's simply not worth it. "Failure to meet these requirements falls short of British standards and may put you and your home at risk," explains Jack Coles. "A quick visit from a local Gas Safe engineer will help you understand if you can move your boiler into a loft and an estimated cost to do so."

Of course, if you are considering replacing or moving your boiler, you may be in the market for a completely new heating system in which case you could might want to look at more sustainable options such as an air source heat pump. Find out what the gas boiler alternatives are before you make your final decision on putting your boiler in a loft.

Did you know your boiler could be the secret weapon to cutting down on energy bills?

With Energy Saving Week underway in the UK, now is the perfect time to take a closer look at your boiler’s flow temperature as this simple energy saving tip could save you money and make your home more energy-efficient without sacrificing comfort.

In this guide, we’ll explain what boiler flow temperature is, why it matters, and how you can adjust it yourself to keep your energy bills in check. Whether your home is old or new, there’s an ideal setting for everyone –let’s dive in!

What is boiler flow temperature?

Boiler flow temperature refers to the temperature your boiler heats water to before sending it to your radiators.

John Small, home energy expert and owner of Ty Eco, explains: “Boilers are typically set to a flow temperature of 75°C to 80°C, but this could be making your system less efficient and driving up your energy bills unnecessarily.”

When your boiler’s flow temperature is too high, it works harder than it needs to, wasting energy and money. Lowering the flow temperature can make your boiler more efficient, especially during milder weather, whilst keeping your house warm.

What is the ideal boiler flow temperature?

Finding the right boiler flow temperature depends on your home’s insulation and the time of year.

John Small recommends a tailored approach: “For older homes, aim for around 55°C in warmer months and closer to 60°C in the winter. For modern, well-insulated homes, you can go as low as 45°C during spring and summer, increasing to between 50°C and 55°C in winter.”

Keep in mind that a lower flow temperature will mean your home takes slightly longer to heat up. However, the efficiency gains are well worth the wait, provided your home is well-insulated.

Mike Storey, insulation expert at UK Flat Roofing, adds: “Without proper insulation, any adjustments to boiler flow temperature will have limited impact, as heat will still escape through the roof, walls, floors, and windows. Insulation is often the most effective way to reduce energy costs and should be the first step before fine-tuning heating settings.”

How can homeowners avoid bill increases due to boiler flow?

Lowering your boiler flow temperature is a straightforward way to reduce your energy usage. John Small explains, “It’s estimated that turning down the flow temperature could save the average household around £65 a year.”

To adjust the temperature on your boiler you need to locate the temperature controls on the front of your boiler and use the plus and minus buttons or the dial to lower the heating flow temperature.

However, there are two key points to consider:

• Only for combi boilers: You should only adjust the flow temperature if you own a combi boiler. For boilers with a hot water tank, lowering the temperature too much can allow bacteria to grow.
• Don’t guess: If you’re unsure about the controls consult your boiler’s manual or a qualified engineer.

How to lower a boiler’s flow temperature yourself

To safely lower your boiler flow temperature, follow these expert tips:

• Check your boiler type. If you have a combi boiler, locate the temperature controls on the front.
• Refer to trusted guides like Nesta’s Money Saving Boiler Challenge or your boiler’s manual.
• Adjust the flow temperature gradually and monitor your home’s comfort.
• Don’t hesitate to call an engineer or plumber for help if you’re unsure.

John Small emphasises: “Lowering your flow temperature is a simple, effective way to cut energy costs, but always ensure your settings are safe and suitable for your system.”

By combining these boiler adjustments with effective home insulation, you can maximise your energy savings and combat energy price rises.

As Mike Storey reminds us: “Insulation is the foundation of energy efficiency. Without it, any savings from lowering boiler flow temperature will be limited.”

Optimising your boiler flow temperature could be your first step towards lower energy bills and a greener home. What’s stopping you from making the change today?

A biomass boiler is one of several renewable heating alternatives to consider if you're looking to switch from a gas or oil boiler. But they aren't suitable for every property.

Whether it is possible to install a biomass boiler in your home will come down to the type and size of house you live in. And even if you can do so, there are a number of additional considerations such as refuelling and cost, as well as your individual preferences.

In this article we asked two heating experts to talk through the biomass boiler pros and cons to help you make your decision.

The pros of biomass boilers

For homes that are not connected to the mains gas grid, a biomass boiler can be an effective alternative means of providing heating and hot water. Even though they are not as efficient as an air source heat pump, they are considerably more efficient than an oil-fuelled or LPG boiler, both of which are more costly and release considerable carbon emissions into the atmosphere.

1. Biomass boilers can reach high temperatures

“Biomass boilers can operate at temperatures similar to fossil fuel systems and at high outputs” says Ben Bevan, Director of Treco Green Heat. “Of the different renewable technologies available, biomass boilers are the best for larger, harder to heat properties, as not having to upgrade the property's radiators means they are great from a retrofit perspective.”

2. Biomass fuel is cheaper than other fuels

Once you have met the initial costs of buying and installing a biomass boiler, it subsequently generates savings on your heating bill, because biomass fuel can be a lot cheaper per kilowatt hour (kWh), than that for other heating technologies.

Local suppliers of wood can deliver in bulk, sometimes bagged up for easier handling. This in turn reduces the cost of biomass fuel per ton. It is also worth considering that logs may be cheaper again than buying in quantities of wood pellets, so if you have suitable storage space for logs and a biomass boiler that can burn them, this may be an option worth considering.

3. Running costs can be little or nothing at all if you have access to fuel

The running costs for a biomass boiler are also less than those for a gas boiler. If you have access to a ready source of wood fuel, such as a woodland area or know a local farmer who is keen to dispose of wood waste, then you may be able to fuel your biomass boiler for free.

4. Biomass boilers are low maintenance

Biomass boilers are almost maintenance free, explains Pete Downes, managing director of Commercial Biomass Ltd. "Some boilers feature ash compaction into a cartridge beneath the day hopper, and bulk stores of up to ten tonnes for pellets, meaning the ash container can need emptying as little as twice a year, and the fuel only needs topping up that often too.

"They are simple, easy to understand mechanisms," he adds. "Unlike something such as a gas boiler or a heat pump, most of the moving parts of a biomass boiler are powered by motors, gears and bearings. There is a control system, which is generally a touch screen, but on the whole the mechanics are quite simple.”

5. You don't have to upgrade your heating system

Biomass boilers produce a high temperature heat, which means you can connect it to the existing radiators on your old heating system.

“They can take the place of an oil boiler in many instances," explains Pete Downes. "As pellet boilers are similar in size and they produce high temperature heat, you don’t have to upgrade any radiators on old systems,"

6. Quiet to run and it can last decades

Pete Downes says biomass boilers can be quiet to run compared to alternative oil and gas boilers. “The domestic boilers make very little noise," he explains. "Even if you have a suction mechanism, in the case of a pellet boiler, you can set the time when it operates to a period when there is nobody home. If you get a good boiler and it’s well fitted it can last for decades."

7. They are greener than a fossil fuel boiler

The amount of carbon dioxide emissions released by a biomass boiler are the same as those absorbed by the tree while it was growing, therefore you are not adding extra carbon emissions to the atmosphere when using a biomass boiler. However, it is also important that new plants replace those that were used for fuel. This means that biomass is a far greener fuel than fossil fuels such as coal, oil or gas.

“Annually, a typical domestic property that a biomass boiler is suitable for will save in the region of 8 to 10 tonnes of CO2 compared to heating by oil” says Ben Bevan.

8. They can burn wood waste destined for landfill

There are four grades (A, B, C and D) of wood waste that ordinarily gets disposed of in landfills. This typically consists of offcuts, wood shavings, sawdust and wood from demolition projects. Two grades of this wood waste – A and B – can be used to fuel biomass boilers, instead of it going to landfill or an urban incineration facility.

Grade C wood waste which consists of wood containing preservatives and bonded material such as MDF, chip board and plywood, requires a special type of biomass boiler (WOODCO/Justsen WID (IED) design).

Grade D wood waste, consisting of wood contaminated with hazardous chemicals (such as creosote and copper, chrome and arsenic – CCA) can only be legally burned in municipal incinerators.

9. Government grants can help with install costs

Homeowners installing biomass boilers may be eligible for a grant of up to £5,000 under the Government’s Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS), which runs until 31st December 2027.

Under certain conditions, such as those property owners looking to heat multiple domestic buildings, the earlier scheme operated by the Government, the Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) is also available.

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The cons of biomass boilers

Some of the cons of biomass boilers are fairly obvious, such as getting a little smoke when they are first lit. "This is very brief and only lasts as long as it takes for the boiler to heat up and then you just see a heat haze at the top of a flue," says Pete Downes. But other disadvantages are a little more subtle.

1. Biomass boilers require lots of space

You will need much more space for your biomass boiler than you will for a gas boiler, because a biomass boiler is larger, especially if it includes a hopper that feeds the biomass fuel into the boiler. Even if it does not come with a hopper, you will still need space to store the fuel.

“The plant is physically bigger than other heating alternatives” says Ben Bevan, “and a dedicated area is required for fuel storage, so the spatial requirements are greater.”

Pete Downes agrees, adding: "Things such as a log boiler will require a large buffer tank and the rough rule of thumb for a log boiler is 50L/kW. These aren’t needed for smaller pellet boilers.

"Chip boilers also require a lot of space for fuel storage and they also need a buffer, though the rough rule of thumb is 30L/kW, less than a log boiler."

2. Biomass boilers cost more to buy and install

The initial investment involved in installing a biomass boiler is considerably higher compared to gas or oil boilers. Biomass boilers usually cost between £4,000 and £8,000, although you may be able to get a government grant under the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) to help with this.

That said, as Pete Downes points out, it's also worth bearing in mind that there is less funding up for grabs compared to heat pumps. “Biomass boilers have a slightly lower subsidy on the BUS Scheme than heat pumps – £5,000 instead of £7,500," he says.

3. You need to store biomass fuel carefully

Biomass fuel has to be kept dry, or it won’t burn efficiently. This means that either the storage space for the fuel has to be properly thought out and considered, or you will have to find an area with shelter in which the wood fuel can be left to dry out before feeding it into the biomass boiler.

4. Feeding a biomass boiler is harder work

If the biomass boiler does not come with a hopper, there will be more work involved in continually feeding the boiler with fuel – pellets, wood chips, logs or wood waste, unlike a gas boiler that uses gas straight from the gas grid.

“Along with annual servicing requirements owners can have varying degrees of interaction depending on the level of autonomy of the system” says Ben Bevan. “This includes weekly ash removal in winter, and manual topping up of fuel if there is no bulk fuel store with automatic feed.”

Pete Downes adds: "You have to refuel it, whether it’s bags of pellets, a pellet bulk store (very similar to having an oil tank filled), chips or a log boiler. You have to empty the ash, though pellet boilers are available with ash compaction. Even log boilers only produce a small percentage.”

5. If fuel isn't local it will increase your carbon footprint

If you don’t source the biomass fuel locally, there will be an additional carbon footprint involved in transporting the fuel to your home. This will mean checking what suppliers of biomass fuel are located in your immediate area.

FAQs

How often do you have to fill a biomass boiler?

It is important to choose the correct size of biomass boiler when you are making your initial purchase, because in order to ensure the boiler burns wood fuel efficiently, you have to match its output with your property’s heat demand. This means you have to consider the nominal output of the boiler and its fuel chamber size so that it meets your heating needs. The biomass boiler should match or exceed your property’s heat loss rate in order to keep up with your heating demand.

Modern biomass boilers can help with the combustion rate to a certain extent because they are equipped with Lambda sensors in the flue. These sensors constantly monitor the flue gases and adjust the air supply to ensure maximum efficiency.

As a rough guide, log boilers will require filling with wood fuel at least twice a day during winter. If the biomass boiler has a hopper attached, this will assist with feeding the boiler, thus you will merely have to ensure that the hopper is constantly supplied with fuel.

Why do biomass boilers use electricity?

Some biomass boilers are equipped with fans, electric controls and pellet feeders, which use electricity. This means that the boiler will not operate if there is a power cut and so you may want to consider some form of backup power if you live in an area where there is a high risk of power outages. The actual cost of the electricity will be minor compared to other renewable energy technologies such as heat pumps.

Biomass boilers like any other heating system have their advantages and disadvantages, and it’s important to weigh these up before committing to a purchase.

Biomass certainly isn’t suitable for all properties, but for those with large, hard to heat properties in rural areas, it can be a great solution and worth considering if weighing up biomass boiler vs gas boiler. It might also be worth considering an air source heat pump.

Gas, oil, and electric boilers may need replacing if they become inefficient and cause your energy bill to rise, need frequent costly repairs, or become obsolete because of advances in technology.

Another important factor to be aware of when considering boiler replacement is looming environmental legislation in the UK that could force homeowners to use alternatives to fossil fuel boilers, such as heat pumps. However, a new boiler is a significant investment, so it’s important to know when and if it is necessary to replace your boiler type.

We spoke to heating experts Hamid Salimi, product manager at Daikin, and Thomas Farquhar, co-founder and CCO of Heatio, to lay out the issues surrounding replacing your boiler so you can make an informed decision before investing.

Reasons to replace a boiler

Knowing when to replace a boiler can be tricky. By replacing it too soon, you may be getting rid of a perfectly good boiler that could have lasted another couple of years but leave it too late and you could end up with no heating, no hot water, and an expensive repair bill. Here are the reasons you may need to invest in a newer, more efficient boiler.

1. Older boilers can cause your energy bills to rise

The older boilers get, the less efficient and reliable they can become, so if you’ve noticed an increase in the cost of your gas bill, an old or faulty boiler may be the culprit. Thomas says a faltering boiler may use a lot of energy to heat your home to the temperature you require.

A newer model may need less gas to reach the same outcome, therefore saving you money. Thomas added: "Savings very much depend on what system you are replacing and whether you are combining it with other technologies."

2. Frequent breakdowns can become common

Constant repairs can be costly, so it’s worth doing your sums to figure out if a new boiler could leave you better off in the long run. If you’re calling out a Gas Safe engineer more than once a year on top of your annual service, it’s probably time for a change.

3. Parts start to become difficult to source

As your boiler gets older, it can get harder and costlier to find spare parts when it needs repairing. If it’s very expensive to replace obsolete parts, it’s only worth repairing your boiler if it still operates to a high level.

4. New technology might save you money

Like almost every other technology, boilers evolve so newer models generally perform at a higher level, meaning greater efficiency and longevity.

Hamid adds: "The good news is that a well-designed heat pump installation is likely to outlast a gas boiler. The typical lifespan of a heat pump is between 15 and 20 years, so you can sit back and relax, knowing that you’ll be saving money, and reducing your carbon footprint, for decades to come."

Boiler lifespan

1. Electric boilers

Electric boilers typically last between 15 and 25 years, according to BOXT boilers, although Fischer Boilers claim their electric boilers "have no set lifespan".

Electric boilers also often only require an bi-annual service, which can help save on costs but are likely to cost more to run simply due to electricity being more expensive than gas.

2. Gas boilers

When it comes to the lifespan of gas boilers, this becomes a little more difficult to predict. According to major boiler manufacturers like Worcester Bosch and BOXT boilers, gas boilers last approximately 10 to 15 years before they become inefficient and at risk of regular breakdowns.

However, consumers have reported that their gas boilers have lasted as long as 20 years or more and Jo Alsop from the Heating Hub claims householders in Germany are typically given lifespans of 15 to 20 years for their gas boilers.

Alsop puts the discrepancy in gas boiler lifespan between the UK and Germany down to boiler companies normalising this much earlier lifespan through advertising but also acknowledges that quality of installation could also be at play. She also adds that often warranty length and lifespans are linked but actually this shouldn't be the case.

It's best off leaving a gas engineer to determine if your gas boiler needs replacing but be wary of advice to do so simply due to a part needing replacing.

That said, old or faulty gas boilers can cause carbon monoxide poisoning from gas leaks. Modern boilers manufactured by trusted brands are incredibly safe and come with a host of safety features, such as pressure gauges, sensors, trips, and relief valves.

Plus right now, if you replace your gas boiler you can make use of funding for a new heating system through the Boiler Upgrade Scheme.

Hamid Salimi, product manager at Daikin, adds: "The UK government is considering banning the installation of fossil fuel boilers in new homes next year. It is also looking into a wider ban on the installation of new gas boilers from 2035.

"Therefore, the boiler ban is unlikely to have an impact on most people for a while, but if you want to reduce your carbon footprint, take advantage of government subsidies, and possibly reduce your energy bills, you may want to consider an alternative sooner rather than later."

3. Oil boilers

Oil boilers have a lifespan of 10 to 30 years according to the experts over at JB Heating in Lancashire.

Sludge can build up in your oil boiler over time, which can restrict the flow of water. As a result, water can overheat and boil and make kettle-like noises. If untreated, sludge can have a real impact not just on fuel consumption, but also on your boiler’s lifespan.

Generally, the better quality your oil boiler, the longer it will last. However, how often you maintain it will factor into its longevity too.

Signs a boiler needs replacing

While different types of boiler may have different lifespans, knowing when to call time on your heat source can also come down to whether or not it is showing signs of any problems.

If your boiler is showing any of the below symptoms and is at the end of its predicted lifespan, it might be time to get an engineer to assess whether it is worth replacing it or not.

• Noise or unusual sounds Like a car, a strange noise could indicate a problem and should be investigated by a professional.
• Lack of hot water If your radiators are taking a lot longer to heat up, or you’re continually adjusting your boiler’s pressure, you should get it checked.
• Cold spots in your home This is a sign of uneven heating distribution, which is usually caused by a defect.
• High energy bills Unexpectedly high energy consumption signifies the boiler is running inefficiently.
• Frequent breakdowns Recurring issues may point to a failing boiler.
• Smell If you smell a sulphurous, eggy odour when you use your gas boiler, there’s probably a gas leak. Immediately turn off the boiler and contact a Gas Safe engineer.
• Gas light changes colour An orange or yellow flame may indicate that the burner isn’t burning correctly.
• Oil leaking A leak from an oil boiler is a sign something is wrong, and it should therefore be examined by a qualified engineer as soon as possible.

Shop new boilers

FAQs

What time of year should I replace a boiler?

If your boiler is approaching its expected lifespan, it's time to start planning a replacement. It's better to aim to replace your boiler during the off-peak season in spring or summer, ideally before the end of September. This is mainly to avoid having no heating in the colder months but demand is also lower in the warmer months, which can affect costs.

When should I replace a water cylinder?

Consider replacing your water cylinder if it’s showing signs of ageing and nearing the end of its lifespan, or if it is frequently leaking. You should replace your hot water cylinder every seven to 10 years and the best time to do it is during summer when demand is lower.

When should I replace an oil tank?

A quality domestic oil tank should typically last between 20-25 years but factors such as quality of installation, tank location, exposure to elements and frequency of servicing can affect its longevity.

It is also worth bearing in mind that steel oil tanks and bunded oil tanks will generally last longer than plastic oil tanks.

If your boiler is on its way out, it may be worth investigating ground and air source heat pumps, which offer an energy efficient, low carbon alternative way to heat your home. Heat pumps take in heat energy from a colder area, usually outside, raises its temperature and then move the heat into your home.

They are powered by electricity but produce much more heat energy than it uses in electrical energy, making it far more energy efficient than a gas boiler – typically three times as much. A heat pump provides heating and hot water and can work in combination with radiators, underfloor heating or other water-based heating systems.

Thomas adds: "An important thing for consumers to get right is to ensure they get the right size heat pump for their property - this is where a lot of the issues and misconceptions about heat pumps have come from. It needs to be the right size and therefore creates enough heat for the size of the property.

"Millions of heat pumps have already been fitted in countries across Europe, with countries like Norway having switched 66% of their homes! Heat Pumps are not a new technology, they are proven, effective and efficient around the world."

Choosing the best way to heat your home is not easy, but if you are comparing gas boiler vs electric boiler, we're here to help.

There are many types of boiler available to homeowners and whether you are considering a change due to rising energy prices or your existing model is on the verge of packing up, electric and gas versions are probably both on your radar.

"With the winter months approaching, the UK will now be gearing up their homes for the colder temperatures. The end of summer is a great time to consider investing in a new boiler, just before it will be needed for the winter," says James Longley, MD at Utility Bidder. "Gas and electric boilers are a recommended option for homes, however you should do your research and consider your lifestyle before purchasing."

We asked a range of experts for their opinions on both gas and electric boilers and have been exploring the pros and cons of each. This should help you come to a firm decision on the best option for your home, lifestyle and future needs.

How does each type of boiler work?

When choosing a new boiler it is important to understand a little bit about how they work. Let's begin with gas boilers.

Gas boilers

Despite being found in over 80% of homes in the UK, according to Viessmann, many people are still a little unsure of how they work. Like many other boilers, gas versions basically work by heating up water that is then passed into your home's heating system.

If you were to look inside a gas boiler you'd find a gas burner, which makes the heat, a heat exchanger, that transfers heat from a solid object into a fluid (such as water), the controls and a "diaphragm tank". These tanks make it possible for water to expand before absorbing any pressure surges that may occur during operation. In addition, gas boilers come with exhaust pipes that remove any carbon monoxide produced – hence why they require a flue.

Electric boilers

Electric boilers are common in households with no gas connection, just like oil boilers. Unlike oil and gas boilers, however, they do not require a solid fuel. Instead, they transfer energy to the heating elements within it to heat water for your home.

Energy efficiency

We'll start with the energy efficiency of both of these types of boiler – central heating efficiency being of particular concern for many homeowners right now.

"Electric boilers emit no exhaust fumes because they do not burn fossil fuels," explains Andy Kerr, founder at BOXT. "This means that none of the energy used to power the heating system is wasted. As a result, electric boilers often have the highest rating out of all the boilers available, especially when powered by renewable energy sources, like solar panels."

"It is now a requirement for all gas boilers to be A-rated for energy efficiency, meaning they must be at least 90% efficient," continues Andy. "Gas boilers can also cope with larger heating and hot water demands, meaning that they tend to be more efficient than electric boilers in bigger homes.

"Although an electric boiler may be more efficient, a gas boiler would be advantageous for all homes that have a gas supply as they are able to generate heat more effectively and cost less to run."

Running costs

One of the main considerations most homeowners will take into account when choosing a new boiler is cost – both in terms of initial purchase price as well as running costs. So how much is a new boiler?

"The price of electric boilers can range from £900 to around £4,000, whereas gas boilers can range from around £500 to over £6,000, making them more expensive," advises James Longley. "However, this is often due to the installation process taking longer compared to an electric boiler.

"Under the current government energy price cap, the cost of electricity in the UK is £28.62p per kWh, whereas gas is £7.42p per kWh," continues James. "Amounts can vary depending on the size of your home but, as an example, you’ll be spending £1.78 per hour for 24kWh of gas, compared to £3.43 per hour for 12kW of electricity."

"In general, the cost of operating an electric boiler would be two to three times more than that of a gas boiler," adds Anthony Smith, director at Midland Air Conditioning.

However, there are advantages electric boilers have over gas when it comes to costs.

"With fewer moving parts, you're less likely to spend a lot maintaining an electric boiler," points out Andy Kerr. "So, while they can be more expensive to run, you could save money in the long term due to reduced maintenance costs."

Ease of installation

Boiler installation is something that needs careful consideration, particularly if you are renovating and are keen to minimise disruption to your day-to-day life. It seems that electric boilers win first place here perhaps explaining, in part, why they are often considered one of the best gas boiler alternatives.

"Generally speaking, installing an electric boiler is slightly more straightforward than a gas boiler, and the process should only take 1-3 days in most cases," explains Andy Kerr. "This is because electric boilers do not need to be connected to the main gas supply or need a condensate pipe or flue to be fitted. However, they will still need all the associated pipework for your heating and hot water requirements."

"Installation costs for both will depend on different factors, such as property size, location and the rates of the engineer," picks up James Longley. "Both heating systems tend to take 1-3 days to install, however, a gas boiler may take longer due to more complex installations."

"The work with a has boiler must also be carried out by a Gas Safe registered engineer who can complete the job safely and to a high standard," points out Andy Kerr. "The same stands with an electrical boiler as this will need connecting and testing by an engineer with the relevant qualifications."

Boiler maintenance

Most people will be keen to install a heating system with minimal maintenance requirements, whether that means opting for a combi boiler or a system boiler. So are electric or gas boilers better on this front?

"Gas boilers require a higher level of maintenance and servicing as they are more susceptible to wear and tear," says Andy Kerr. "Boiler manufacturers recommend having a boiler service once every 12 months, ideally before the colder weather begins in autumn, so that you can make sure it’s in good working order come wintertime. In fact, you may well find that your boiler’s warranty isn’t valid if you fail to get it serviced annually, which could end up costing you significantly more in repairs should anything go wrong."

Safety

It is natural to feel concerned about the safety aspects of any boiler and when comparing gas and electric boilers, it seems that electric once again has the edge.

"Because electric boilers don’t directly use fossil fuels, there’s no need to worry about any gas leaks; however, ignoring problems with these boilers can still lead to issues and inefficiencies, so it’s important you ensure your boiler is properly maintained and regularly serviced," explains Andy Kerr. "Gas boilers can be more efficient, especially in larger properties; however, they do present more of a risk when it comes to safety. If there is a gas leak in your boiler, there is a significant chance of carbon monoxide poisoning.

"With this in mind, an electric boiler might be considered safer. However, it’s good to know that building regulations require a carbon monoxide alarm to be installed in every room containing an appliance that burns fuel," concludes Andy.

Longevity

Just as with ground source heat pumps, a boiler is a significant investment so you will no doubt be keen to ensure that whichever type you end up installing is going to last you for many years to come.

"Depending on the boiler's quality, electric boilers will typically last between 15 and 25 years," states Andy Kerr. "Electric boilers typically last longer than gas due to not having as many parts that make up the appliance. As a result, fewer problems are likely to occur, from general wear and tear to specific issues with parts.

"By comparison, a natural gas heating system will likely last 10-15 years," continues Andy. "This is due to the increased complexity of gas appliances. Some types of gas boilers may have a slightly longer lifespan, but electric boilers will last longer than their counterparts."

FAQs

Are electric boilers suitable for larger homes?

Electric boilers tend to work best in smaller properties.

"Electric boilers are commonly found in smaller homes for a reason: because they manage the demand without the running costs becoming too high," explains Andy Kerr.

"If you live in a smaller house or in an apartment but you still want efficiency, electric boilers are the most economical choice," explains Anthony Smith. "Your running cost is likely to be higher, but electric boilers have the highest efficiency rating since they do not emit any exhaust fumes. In other words, you get what you pay for since there is no energy waste."

Still undecided? Remember, gas and electric boilers are not your only option. If you are living off-grid or are interested in greener ways of heating you home, take a look at biomass boilers in our beginner's guide.

When it comes to heating your home, choosing the right boiler is a decision that can make all the difference – especially in the face of rising energy costs. Boilers play an integral role in heating our homes, so finding one that perfectly aligns with your household’s size, needs, and lifestyle is crucial.

But with so many options available, deciding between the different types of boiler, can feel overwhelming. There’s no one-size-fits-all answer, as factors like available space, water pressure, and installation costs all come into play.

That’s why we’ve turned to energy experts to break down two of the most popular options: combi vs. system boilers. In this guide, we’ll explore their differences and help you determine which option will deliver the most comfort and efficiency for your home.

What is a combi boiler?

A combi (combination) boiler is a space-saving solution, delivering both heating and hot water on demand without the need for a bulky hot water cylinder or cold water storage tank. Because combi boilers draw water directly from the mains, they are an excellent choice for homes with limited space and lower hot water demands – making them ideal for smaller households or apartments.

The main features of a combi boiler

• Compact size With a combi boiler, there is no need for additional water tanks or cylinders. Therefore, these units can be installed in kitchens, utility rooms, or inside cupboards.
• On-demand hot water Hot water is provided directly from the mains whenever required.
• Easy to install These systems are simple to install with less pipework compared to other systems. They are also faster and cheaper to install because they do not require additional tanks or plumbing.
• They are water pressure dependent Combi boilers rely on mains water pressure, so you may notice this affects their performance if you live in an area with low water pressure.

What is a system boiler?

A system boiler is designed to provide both heating and stored hot water, making these units perfect for homes where hot water demand is high. Using a hot water cylinder to store water, these boilers allow multiple taps or showers to run at once without any drop in water pressure. Unlike traditional boiler setups, system boilers don’t require a cold water tank, freeing up valuable loft space, and they can easily be integrated with renewable energy systems like solar panels.

The main features of a system boiler

• Hot water storage System boilers use a hot water cylinder to store water, ensuring you have a steady supply when needed.
• More space is required Although these units eliminate the need for a cold water tank, it does require a hot water cylinder, which can take up additional space.
• Better for low-pressure areas System boilers don’t rely on mains pressure for hot water supply.
• Solar compatibility These boilers can be integrated with solar thermal systems, offering potential long-term energy savings.

Comparisons: Combi vs system boilers

Space requirements

Combi boilers take up significantly less space than system boilers since they don’t need a hot water cylinder or cold water tank. While system boilers do require a cylinder for storing hot water, neither option needs a cold water tank, allowing homeowners to reclaim valuable loft space for other uses, such as a loft conversion.

Efficiency

When it comes to efficiency, the best choice between combi and system boilers largely depends on your household’s size and water usage. For smaller homes with lower water demands, combi boilers are often the more efficient option. They heat water directly from the mains as needed, avoiding the energy needed to keep hot water stored and eliminating the potential for heat loss over time.

However, for larger households, system boilers offer an advantage by storing hot water in a cylinder, allowing multiple taps or showers to run simultaneously without a drop in pressure. Joanna O'Loan, knowledge manager at the Energy Saving Trust, explains, "System boilers are more efficient than combi boilers at producing hot water, but heat can be lost from the hot water cylinder over time."

Jo Alsop, Co-Founder of The Heating Hub, adds that system boilers can be just as efficient as combi boilers when equipped with the right controls. "Providing a system boiler is set up with weather or load compensation controls, they are just as efficient as a combi boiler." Another key advantage of system boilers is that, "You still have hot water if your boiler breaks down," Jo adds. "We can usually get by without heating for a few days, but going without hot water is miserable and requires visits to family and friends!"

While both types of boilers are highly efficient, combi boilers may have a slight edge overall due to the minor heat loss that can occur with a system boiler’s hot water cylinder.

Installation ease and cost

According to Worcester Bosch's helpful boiler guide, combi boilers are generally easier and less expensive to install because they involve fewer components and less pipework, making them a straightforward choice for both new builds and replacements. System boilers, on the other hand, are more complex to install due to the additional hot water cylinder.

That said, both combi and system boilers are simpler to install than traditional setups since neither requires a cold water tank. However, installation costs may vary depending on the condition of your current plumbing system – particularly if significant upgrades are needed.

Costs

Combi boilers tend to have higher upfront costs, typically ranging from £1,000 to £2,000, but their simpler installation brings overall replacement costs to between £2,000 and £3,000.

In contrast, system boilers are generally more affordable, with unit prices ranging from £700 to £1,200, plus an additional £500 to £1,100 for the hot water cylinder. However, the more complex installation process raises overall costs.

Future Green Choices

As homeowners increasingly seek greener energy solutions, system boilers offer a key advantage. A hot water cylinder can store energy generated by solar panels, making system boilers a solid choice for homes looking to adopt renewable energy sources.

Jo Alsop, Co-Founder of The Heating Hub, also highlights that, "As 80% of UK households will move to heat pumps over the coming years, the majority of us will need a hot water cylinder again. My advice is not to remove a cylinder to fit a combi boiler – just swap the system or regular boiler instead, which will also be much cheaper!"

FAQs

Do I need a gravity fed water tank for a system boiler?

No, a system boiler does not require a gravity-fed water tank in the loft. Unlike traditional boilers, system boilers are pressurised and work with a hot water cylinder, eliminating the need for a cold water storage tank. This setup not only saves space but also removes the risk of pipework freezing in cold weather.

Do I need a system boiler if I want to install a heat pump?

While you don’t necessarily need a system boiler to install a heat pump, having one makes the transition much easier. Most heat pumps work in tandem with a hot water cylinder to store heated water, so if you opt for a combi boiler, you may need to reinstall a cylinder in the future if you decide to switch to a heat pump.

According to Joanna O’Loan, knowledge manager for Energy Saving Trust, "As part of the UK Government’s plan to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050, fossil fuel heating systems will be phased out, making it a good time to consider low or zero carbon heating systems, such as heat pumps."

How do you know what size boiler you need?

According to the Worcester Bosch website, "You should chose the boiler with the correct output for your home, there is no need or benefit of choosing a higher output than you need." To help find a boiler with the right output for your home, they have created a helpful 'find a new boiler tool.'

If you are still undecided about the best type of boiler for your household, read our essential guide to choosing a new boiler to help you make a more informed decision.

At the end of 2009 I moved into a Grade-II listed building I'd spend several years restoring and extending. And while we had done everything we could to ensure both the older building and new extension were as thermally efficient as they could be, heating a large home comes at a cost.

As the property wasn't connected to mains gas – instead relying on a very old oil-based heating system – I was keen to look at more renewable and eco-friendly options. After researching a number of options ranging from heat pumps through to biomass boilers, the latter eventually turned out to be the most cost-effective and tried and tested solution — at the time.

But, even with hours of research, actually living with a new system usually brings up a series of moments when you think 'if only I'd known that'. Not necessarily because you would dramatically change what you had done, but because when you're armed with the right facts, you can usually make most things work or run a little better.

Here, I share my hard-won wisdom regarding living with a biomass boiler in order to help you make an informed decision as to whether this is the right option for your home.

Why did I choose a biomass boiler?

Although the biomass industry has developed in the years since I installed my boiler, when it comes to the reasons why I chose biomass, many of the factors remain as true today as they were then.

While the installation costs were expensive, running costs were going to be cheaper than they were with fossil fuels. Connecting to the gas mains wasn't an option, leaving oil, LPG and heat pumps as the only options. As I was also on a quest for a more renewable energy, fossil fuels were never an option.

Why not heat pumps?

Installing a ground source heat pump was certainly feasible as there was enough land, but early calculations suggested it would be more expensive to install than biomass.

As we already knew we would have to have an archeologist on site when digging the footings in order to check for Roman remains, it also felt too risky. Had anything been discovered, we potentially would have been forced into finding an alternative system at a stage when the architectural plans and building regulations had been signed off.

Thankfully they didn't — just a few non-Roman tile remnants, a toy car and some Coke cans.

There was also the issue of finding floor space for a plant room to house everything in the house, whereas biomass could be located away from the house.

And while air source heat pumps have since evolved to become a popular choice for homeowners seeking a more carbon-friendly method of heating their homes, they weren't as common in the late 2000s and I struggled to find out enough about their cost, efficiency and ease of use.

As we were also dealing with a council, who at the time, was perhaps less forward thinking, adding one or more heat pump units to the exterior of a listed building would likely have caused a further issue at planning.

With all things considered and based on the amount of energy we would need to generate in order to power a wet central heating system in the listed building, underfloor heating in the new extension and hot water throughout, our only non-fossil fuel option was a commercially sized biomass boiler.

Six things I wish I'd known

1. Always check your access route

As there was a lot expected from the biomass boiler in terms of the amount of heating and hot water it had to generate, a commercially sized boiler was the only option available. This meant we had to house not just a large boiler, but also a five tonne fuel store for the wood pellets. These would need to be blown into the store via a pipe connected to the delivery truck. These then automatically fed into the boiler hopper when it called for fuel to burn.

The boiler hopper could be topped up by hand, but this wasn't necessary as long as the store was full.

It seemed a great solution on paper and one which meant we didn't have to load bags of pellets by hand. The only problem? We lived along a narrow country lane, and as well as the width of the lane being quite tight, it was also lined with low-hanging trees and had one or two tight bends.

At the time, we didn't think to check how big a delivery lorry carrying multiple tonnes of pellets would be. Turns out it's not just wide, but also very high. But we didn't find this out until we moved in and needed to stock up on pellets.

Some truck damage, angry drivers, a few refusals to deliver to the address and lots of phone calls meant we eventually found a supplier who could accommodate us, but it was unnecessary stress that could have been avoided with foresight.

Given biomass boilers are often cited in rural locations, it's always worth checking in advance with potential suppliers to find out more about their trucks. The same applies if you are ordering bags of pellets too. If you're ordering in bulk to benefit from cost savings, this will mean a pallet truck being able to access your property.

2. Not all pellets are created equally

It's easy to think all wood pellets are the same — but they're not. Industry standards exist for a reason. Buy cheap pellets and you run the risk of them being different sizes or formed from the wrong type of timber by-products.

It turns out even a few wood pellets that are just a few mms longer than the others can cause havoc when they're being drawn into the boiler from the hopper. They twist and turn as they're being sucked in and can end up lodging widthways, subsequently blocking the pipe.

Likewise, if your pellets aren't formed well and start to crumble, or haven't been dried correctly, they'll turn to dust and block the pipes, or clump together if damp and become impossible to feed into the boiler.

Do your research, make sure you're buying from a certified supplier — the details of how to find one are in our guide to what is biomass fuel.

This all leads nicely onto my next point: check your boiler and hopper frequently.

3. Check your biomass boiler more regularly than you think you need to

You need a separate space to house a biomass boiler and hopper; ours was located in a garage. It wasn't connected to the house but was easily accessible. However, out of sight out of mind can lead to the assumption that all is working well.

I'd advise you don't make the same mistake as me — especially given part of your biomass set up includes a thermal store or buffer tank which stores the heat and can do for quite some time if large enough. This means, even if your tank has stopped working or your fuel has run low, you will still have heat for quite a while before it runs out and you notice any problems.

For some reason, ours always ran out overnight making for some cold mornings with no heat or hot water. The fault log on the boiler would reveal the problem had occurred at least one day beforehand, but the back-up measures in place meant we still had heat. All very good, until the thermal store runs out too.

As a result, during the winter, I ended up popping into the garage every few days to make sure it was all still working well and to negate any issues. At the time, it also wasn't easy to get deliveries quickly, so visually checking pellet levels was essential to avoid last-minute bagged deliveries which were more expensive than bulk blown-in orders.

4. Don't underestimate how dusty pellets are

Wood pellets may well be compressed and appear dust-free on the surface, but when blown in or loaded into a boiler, they will create more dust than you imagine.

The inside of the garage was quite rough and ready and given it was only being used as a plant room, we didn't consider making any improvements. There were visible trusses, breeze block walls and while it had been cleared of most items, we did try storing bikes and garden toys in there. It was short-lived.

I soon learnt smooth walls and floors and covered storage would have been preferable as it was hard to maintain the dust levels. A commercial or older vacuum (check out our round-up of best vacuum cleaners for dust) is a must in the area to keep the space clean, as is wearing old clothes when clearing blocked pipes, loading pellets or emptying ash.

5. Have somewhere to dispose of the ash

As a result of burning the fuel, you'll have ash to dispose of on a regular basis. How often depends on the size of your boiler and how much fuel you burn. As an aside, if you don't empty it, your boiler will switch off for safety reasons, so it's worth including a quick visual check in your routine rather than waiting for it to become full.

There are a number of ways you can dispose of the ash. My top tip would be to make sure that whichever option you choose is close by.

It can usually go into your garden recycling bin (not always ideal given some councils only collect during spring to early autumn), be disposed of at your local tip (again into garden refuse areas), or you can use it on your garden.

All great options, but ash is dark, dirty and dusty meaning it doesn't take much disturbance for it to spread far and wide. If disposing into a bin for collection, make sure it's outside but located close to the garage. Would I have transported mine to a tip — absolutely not. You can use it on your garden, as I did, so visit the RHS for ideas on how to use it in your compost heap to make a great fertiliser.

6. If running high and low temperature emitters from one source, understand what can be achieved

A biomass boiler is capable of producing high temperatures which is why it is often considered a good option for older homes with radiators rather than underfloor heating.

However, if you are planning on using your biomass for the dual purpose of supplying heat to radiators and underfloor heating, you'll need to make sure your manifolds are set up in the right way. Underfloor heating needs a lower temperature than radiators meaning you could fall into problems with one of the emitters being too warm or too cold.

On our system, I do remember there being some issues with getting the balance right between the two. For that memory alone, I'd urge you to make sure you have lots of conversations with your installer about how your biomass boiler will service both systems efficiently.

I've been asked if I would install a biomass boiler again and if the circumstances were the same, I'd certainly consider it — although there's no doubt it's an expensive option and one which you are more likely to choose based on environmental preferences rather than cost. However, I'd also have some caveats in place before forging ahead.

I'd do a lot more research into where I could obtain fuel, more investigation into how best to install and operate it to serve both an old and new property, and I'd be far more aware of the seasonal peaks involved in needing wood pellets. During the spring and summer we could go for months without needing a top-up, but come winter we'd need several deliveries and this was problematic during cold peaks when everyone was doing the same.

Research and planning are key when working with a system that's not as well understood as other types.

Flashing error codes, no pressure and fluctuating temperatures can mean the need for a new boiler is just around the corner.  And when your hot water and heating fails, the first question that comes to mind is probably: how much for a new boiler?

When it comes to replacing a boiler, you know it's not going to be cheap. Different types of boilers bring with them different costs, and then there's installation to think about as well. 

Here we look at the factors that affect the price of a new boiler, what you can expect to pay, as well as the cost of installation and any additional costs.  

Factors that affect new boiler cost

“The price of a boiler depends on the type, whether it be a combination, system or open vent boiler. It also depends on the size or output of the boiler.” explains Mark Wilkins, Training and Technologies Director at Vaillant. Here we take a quick look at what can make a difference to the price you pay. 

1. Boiler type and model

Boiler prices vary depending on type and model. Combi boilers are all in one units and are typically the least expensive. While other types of boilers such as conventional and system boilers need additional elements, which push up the overall cost. A top of the range model will have different features to an entry level model, which will add to the cost. 

2. Size 

Larger homes need a larger boiler, which will affect the cost. Larger boilers typically have a larger capacity to ensure that they work efficiently. 

3. Efficiency rating  

Check the efficiency rating of a boiler. As a general rule more efficient boilers cost more up front, but will offer lower energy bills. New boilers are A-rated and offer 90% efficiency. A+, A++ and A+++ rated boilers add even more efficiency.  

4. Brand 

Like most products, different brands offer different qualities. More expensive boilers typically offer better quality components, and a longer lifespan. Budget boilers will have cheaper components that will typically need replacing sooner.  

5. Warranty 

A warranty typically means how long a manufacturer will repair a boiler after installation. Shorter warranties reduce the price of a boiler, while longer warranties will increase the price. Look for at least a 7-year warranty.  

What is the average price of a boiler?

Gas boilers at the budget end of the price range can be purchased for around £500-£600, but can cost as much as £3000 depending on different factors. Oil boilers are typically more expensive starting at around £1000 with high end costs around £4000. Biomass boilers start at around £4000 but can cost as much as £10000+.  

What is the average cost to install a new boiler?

“Obviously every job is different”, shares Duncan Craig, owner of MaxGas Boiler Services. “But a straight swap for a combi boiler and horizontal flue would cost around £1800 for a cheaper boiler with no upgrades, filters or scale reducers etc as already in place. On the upper end a top end Vaillant with smart controls, new filter etc could run to about £4000 including labour. If a power flush is needed then this would be an additional cost on top.” The prices for other popular gas boiler types – system, conventional – typically sit within this price range as well. 

Oil boiler prices can be a little higher with the average price including installation being around the £4000 mark. But again, factors such as type, size and how easy/complicated it is to install will have an affect on the overall cost. Get a few quotes from local trades to help give you a guide. 

Biomass boilers are part of a biomass heating system that use natural fuel resources such as wood pellets to create heat and hot water. Expect to pay around £4000+ for a heating system with installation adding an extra £2000-£10000 to the overall cost.

What type of boiler do I need?

The standard option for a residential home is gas or oil. Gas boilers are by far the most common option with oil boilers typically found in rural areas where it’s difficult to get connected to the mains gas grid. 

If on the mains gas grid the common options are combi, system and conventional. Combi boilers are popular due to their cost, size and ease of installation. These are typically suited to smaller homes with around ten or less radiators. 

Conventional boilers use separate tanks and a pump to move water around the system. These are ideal for larger homes with more than one bathroom. A system boiler uses a water cylinder to store and heat water and is a good choice for larger homes with one or more bathrooms with high pressure showers. 

Can I get help with the cost of a new boiler?

There are a few schemes available that can help with the installation of a new boiler. The ECO (Energy Company Obligation) scheme looks to help low-income households improve the energy efficiency of their homes to reduce bills. But as you might expect there is a criteria to meet to be eligible. Check the Help from your energy supplier page on the government website.

The Boiler Upgrade Scheme offers grants to people who are looking to upgrade to a more sustainable form of heating. Current grants include £7500 towards the installation of an air source heat pump or ground source heat pump, and £5,000 towards a biomass boiler. Note, you cannot get a grant for a hybrid heat pump system (i.e. a gas combi boiler and air source heat pump). 

FAQs

How long does it take to install a new boiler?  

“A boiler replacement can be very straightforward but it all depends on whether any other work needs carrying out on the heating system”, shares Mark Wilkins, Training and Technologies Director at Vaillant.

“A like-for-like simple boiler swap can normally be completed in a day. We always recommend speaking to your installer to confirm the timeframes of your boiler replacement.”

How much do new radiators cost? 

Installing new radiators is an often forgotten cost when installing a new boiler. It’s not always critical that you invest in new radiators at the same time, but it is recommended, especially if the radiators are over five years old. Radiators rust and small bits of rust can get into the boiler which can lead to issues and expensive fixes. Consult with your installer to see what they think.

If you do need to invest in new radiators, expect to pay around £100 per radiator for standard white radiators. Prices will differ depending on size, type and brand. Column and designer radiators will typically be two or three times the cost of a standard radiator.   

To keep a new boiler working at its best it will need to be serviced regularly. Check out our boiler service costs guide to find out how much you can expect to pay. To help save on running costs and energy bills a simple DIY option is to fit thermostatic radiator valves. 

A shocking video showing flames coming from an Ideal boiler after it caught fire inside a home has prompted an urgent safety recall on the product

The incident was not an isolated one either with reports of fires from other Ideal boilers fitted in households across the UK. 

The government has now released a safety warning for the boilers with Ideal Heating  issuing product recalls for the types of boiler that are affected.

Combi boiler sets on fire

The video shows an Ideal Heating Logic 2 Combi Boiler on fire inside a home's utility room with two men waiting for the fire brigade.

The government has published information on Ideal Heater's boilers as they explained the product poses a fire risk due to its dry operation, where the boiler lights gas but fails to cool down the heat generated.  

Three reported incidents have occurred where Ideal boilers continued to operate despite the heat exchanger being full of air at low pressure.

This led to significant heat exposure, causing plastic components to ignite and result in fires outside the appliance. One report even mentioned a customer having to extinguish flames.

Ideal forced into issuing product recall

The fires prompted Ideal Heating to issue a product recall for their Ideal Heating Logic 2 Combi & System Boiler Range.

The recall applies to all boilers in these models with a production date of prior to the January, 8 2024.

Ideal Heating stated: "We are directly contacting everyone who has registered the warranty of an affected boiler and asking them to visit www.idealsupport.co.uk to register their details to enable us to arrange an engineer visit or call us free of charge on 0808 175 9173.

"Customers can also check if the boiler in their home is affected using the dedicated webpage www.idealsupport.co.uk or by calling the freephone number 0808 175 9173."

The government has compiled a list of all affected Ideal Boilers to help those who could be affected.

Am I safe to continue to use my Ideal Boiler?

If your boiler does not meet this criteria then Ideal Heating have stated you are safe to continue to use your combi boiler.

Ideal Heating put out a statement on the ongoing situation, saying: "Following our customer notice issued on 1st February, we can now inform customers we will be rolling out the product safety upgrade from the end of this month. In the meantime, customers can continue to use their boiler.

"We are also aware of content circulating on social media platforms regarding an incident, which remains under ongoing investigation."

"We would like to reassure customers that they can continue to use their boiler. This advice has not changed. However, we are advising that boilers should be repressurised to 1.5 bar."

We reveal how to repressurise a boiler in our how to guide.

Boiler manufacturers may face a government probe into “unjustified” price hikes imposed on consumers because of the so-called boiler tax.

Claire Coutinho, the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, has called on the Competition and Markets Authority to look into the home heating market, which was recently accused of spreading anti-heat pump propaganda in a bid to protect its own interests.

The news comes as fuel poverty in the UK rises amid spiralling energy price rises.

What are the price increases for boilers?

In January it was reported that boiler companies announced a £120 rise in installation costs, branding it a “boiler tax” in response to the the Clean Heat Market Mechanism (CHMM).

Ministers claim the scheme is an essential part of meeting the 600,000 heat pumps installed per year by 2028 target.

The policy mandates that 4% of heating manufacturers’ sales should be from heat pumps or else they face fines.

Why were boiler prices increased?

Worcester Bosch, Vaillant, Ideal and Baxi, who control 90% of the market, have previously warned that costs would be passed onto consumers to cover the costs of any penalties incurred by failing to meet the required level of heat pump sales.

Lord Callanan, responding to a question in the House of Lords regarding the ‘boiler tax’, stated: “There is no such thing as a boiler tax, and therefore it is impossible to scrap it.

“We will be implementing the Clean Heat Market Mechanism because it is an essential part of meeting the 600,000 heat pumps installed per year by 2028 target and our carbon budget.”

The home heating industry has been accused before of trying to persuade the government to promote hydrogen heating instead of heat pumps as it was claimed this would cause less disruption to gas companies' business models.

Competitions inquiry launched into boiler companies

Claire Coutinho accused leading boiler companies of "unjustified price hikes for gas boilers" that was working against the interests of homeowners.

She stated: “These pricing decisions have called into question whether the home heating industry, which has four companies dominating 90% of the market, is working as well as it should and delivering the best outcome for consumers.

“We are calling for the Competition and Markets Authority to conduct a review of the home heating appliance market to understand whether any weakness in competition is contributing to prices being higher than they would be in a well-functioning market.”

The "boiler tax" has been given the green light to go ahead despite manufacturers warning the costs would pass on to consumers. 

Speaking in the House of Lords, energy efficiency minister Martin Callanan announced that the Clean Heat Market Mechanism (CHMM), known as the "boiler tax", will go ahead next year in a bid to ramp up heat pump installation targets.

The Clean Heat Market Mechanism aims to roll out 600,000 ground and air source heat pumps a year by 2028.

Government denies scheme is a 'boiler tax'

Lord Callanan confirmed the Clean Heat Market Mechanism would be going ahead and denied it was a "boiler tax".

Lord Callanan in the House of Lords responded to a question regarding the ‘boiler tax’ stating: “There is no such thing as a boiler tax, and therefore it is impossible to scrap it.

“We will be implementing the Clean Heat Market Mechanism because it is an essential part of meeting the 600,000 heat pumps installed per year by 2028 target and our carbon budget.”

Lord Callanan has previously slammed companies with “vested interests” and accused them of launching “campaigns of misinformation against heat pumps”.

'Boiler tax' sparked anti-heat pump campaign

A DeSmog investigation revealed the UK’s largest gas boiler trade association, the Energy and Utilities Association (EUA), had paid a Birmingham-based PR company, WPR, to spread stories critical of heat pumps.

Articles and media appearances were alleged to have criticising the government's Clean Heat Market Mechanism (CHMM), which will fine boiler companies who fail to meet heat pump quotas.

The scheme is another government measure aimed at increasing heat pump adoption such as the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS).

However, Juliet Phillips, the UK energy lead for think tank E3G, stated: “The so-called ‘boiler tax’ is a scam created by the manufacturers. The clean heat market mechanism does not require them to raise the price of boilers.”

CHMM delayed until April 2025

Despite the CHMM being confirmed, the scheme, which was set to be introduced in April this year, was pushed back April 2025.

There were media reports that the government was in talks to scrap boiler tax due to price hikes from boiler companies, but it will now only be delayed.

David Cowdrey, director of external affairs at the MCS Foundation, a charity who fund renewable energy projects in homes, criticised the delay stating: “It is extremely disappointing to see that the government has postponed one of the most important policies for getting the UK off fossil fuel heating. 

"The clean heat market mechanism is crucial to the rollout of heat pumps, which are the only viable option to decarbonising at scale the 17% of UK emissions that are created by heating our homes.”

“The government needs to immediately set out plans for how it intends to fill the huge gap in heat pump plans that they have just created. We need clear and consistent policy more than anything, and without that the UK’s target of installing 600,000 heat pumps a year by 2028 is in serious jeopardy.”

Lord Callanan addresses heat pump 'misinformation'

Lord Callanan also used his speech to hit back at the apparent anti-heat pump campaign, saying: “My Lords, I’m supportive of a sensible debate on competing technologies, but planting misleading and false stories about heat pumps to negatively affect public support for the technologies is frankly a disgrace. And the big boiler manufacturers who fund the EUA should be ashamed of themselves.”

He said: “There are a number of people taken in by the misinformation being spread, primarily with people with vested interests. I'm not going to mention names but people have a vested interest in maintaining our current supply of gas boilers and the like."

Responding to the comments, Mike Foster, the chief executive of the EUA, said: “Last year we categorically denied we had instructed a PR agency to run an anti-heat pump campaign. There was no such campaign and there was never any payment made by EUA or its members to finance something that frankly did not exist.

“As an organisation, we believe all technologies are needed to decarbonise heat and have said so repeatedly, in the written press, TV, radio and online.”

It has been reported the Energy Secretary, Claire Coutinho, has held talks to scrap the proposed boiler tax that was set to be introduced in April this year.

Coutinho and other government ministers are potentially on the verge of caving in to boiler company demands after multiple companies announced their intention to raise the price of their boilers by up to £120 in response to the boiler tax.

Despite the government's commitment to increase the number of air source heat pumps the government have been forced into rethinking their strategy due to the potential rise in costs to homeowners.

What is the boiler tax?

The 'Boiler Tax' comes from the government's Clean Heat Market Mechanism (CHMM) where boiler companies will be forced to offset 4% of their yearly gas or oil boiler sales with heat pumps, escalating to 6% starting April 2025, or face fines.

For each unit companies fall short by they will face a fine of £3,000 each time with the aim of decarbonising the home heating market.

The government also hope this will help reach the target of 600,000 heat pump installations each year.

Companies announced price rises in response to boiler tax

Boiler companies have reacted to the plans by raising the prices of their boilers in anticipation of the fines.

Numerous companies have claimed the targets are unrealistic and would leave them no choice but to face the fines and that this cost will have to be passed onto customers.

Worcester Bosch, Vaillant, and Baxi have all announced their intentions to raise the price of their boilers by up to £120 with Baxi directly referring to it as a "market mechanism levy".

Energy Secretary reportedly holds talks to remove boiler tax

Following the announcement by some boiler companies over their intentions to raise the price of their boilers the Energy Secretary, Claire Coutinho, has reportedly held talks to scrap the boiler tax.

The Sunday Times has claimed Coutinho has held discussions with boiler companies and government officials about scrapping the scheme

The Sunday Times also revealed one government source who said: “Boiler manufacturers have saddled families with indefensible price hikes — this is not right. We’re looking again at the policy, and expect manufacturers to do the right thing and remove their price hikes immediately.”

This is despite a Department for Energy Security and Net Zero spokesman previously stating the CHMM targets were "realistic and fully achievable" and the government provided "flexible options to make heat pumps easy and affordable to install".

However, Mike Foster, Chief Executive of the Energy and Utilities Alliance, who represent boiler companies, said: "If the government formally announce the scrapping of the fines then I expect the boiler manufacturers to respond immediately and announce they are rescinding their price increases."

Boiler manufacturers have announced boiler costs are set to rise by as much as £120 following the government's introduction of a Clean Heat Market Mechanism.

Some of the leading UK boiler providers have announced they will increase prices as they will not be able to meet the government's high heat pump targets with the government aiming to use the scheme to help meet their target of 600,000 heat pump installations a year.

The Clean Heat Market Mechanism will result in all boiler companies who fail to meet their heat pump quota being fined, which boiler companies claim will be "inevitable", and have announced these costs will be passed down to customers.

What is the Clean Heat Market Mechanism?

The Clean Heat Market Mechanism (CHMM) is part of a comprehensive strategy in the UK to promote investment and innovation in the heating industry, with a focus on making heat pumps more attractive to consumers. 

Supported by policies such as the Energy Security Bill and Powering Up Britain, the CHMM aims to create a stable policy environment and provide incentives for the heating industry.

Key objectives of the CHMM include:

• Reducing upfront costs of heat pumps to encourage their installation
• Lowering running costs of heat pumps compared to fossil fuel boilers
• Supporting the expansion of heat pump manufacturing and of ground air source heat pump installations
• Increasing the number of skilled heat pump installers and maintaining high installation standards
• Promoting innovations to enhance the appeal, efficiency, and ease of adoption of heat pumps

To facilitate adoption of heat pumps and stimulate market growth, the government has introduced financial support measures like the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) and the Heat Training Grant.

The CHMM is set to be introduced in April 2024 to March 2025 and will require boiler companies to equate 4% of their total sales to heat pumps in the first year and 6% in the second year, otherwise fines will be placed on these companies.

Why will this cause an increase in gas boiler costs?

Boiler companies claim the government's targets in the scheme are unrealistic and will force them to impart the cost of the fines onto consumers.

Worcester Bosch noted that the heat pump market in the UK had not reached a "sufficient scale" yet. The company anticipates facing "inevitable" fines as a result of regulatory changes, which would likely be transferred to its customers. 

The company emphasised that this decision was not driven by commercial motives but rather as a response to changes in legislation.

Worcester Bosch put out a statement saying the fines over the next four years alone they would inevitably receive would be "close to turnover."

Vaillant also stated they would be placing additional charges for their boiler as a spokesperson stated: “There are multiple factors announced by the Government that will impact Vaillant. The current process does not allow manufacturers the full visibility of how many heat pumps sold are MCS registered. 

“Given the changing market dynamics and push for heat pump installations generated by CHMM, we in the current circumstances are left with no option but to act.”

How much will the increase be?

Gas boiler manufacturers, including Worcester Bosch, Vaillant, and Baxi, have stated they are set to implement price hikes of up to £120 as soon as the CHMM is introduced.

Worcester Bosch has announced a £120 increase for all its gas boilers, while Vaillant plans to raise prices by £95. Baxi, on the other hand, disclosed a "market mechanism levy" of £120 on its residential gas boilers.

A Department for Energy Security and Net Zero spokesman said: “We have not required any increase to the price of gas boilers. 

“Targets are realistic and fully achievable, providing industry with flexible options to support our ambition to make heat pumps easy and affordable to install. 

“This is alongside making it easier to get a heat pump by increasing the Boiler Upgrade Scheme by 50% to £7,500 – tripling applications in the week after it was rolled out.”

There are several types of boiler to choose from if you are looking for a new heating system for your project. The best option is likely to depend on a host of factors including the size of your home, the type of property you live in and whether or not your boiler's eco credentials are a priority.

The most common boiler type is condensing gas boilers such as combi boilers. But, when choosing a new boiler they are not always the best option. If you have more than one bathroom or poor mains water pressure in your area, there might be better alternatives. Meanwhile if you are looking to reduce your carbon footprint, you might be better off with a heat pump or other green heating option.

Types of boilers: Common and specialist options

Here we take a closer look at the popular boiler types and alternative options to reveal what they do, how they work and their pros and cons  

1. Combi boilers

Combi – short for combination – boilers are one of the most common boiler options in the home. They are compact – typically wall hung – and get their name from the fact that they generate hot water for baths and sinks and supply a heating system from a single unit.

Fed by a cold water supply, combi boilers heat up water when it is needed. The cold water goes through an internal heat exchanger that warms up the water to a specified temperature before being directed through the pipe to the appropriate outlet. This is why it may take a few seconds for the water to warm up. They also negate the need for a hot water tank.  

So what are the pros and cons of a combi boiler? 

PRO - Efficient and cheaper to run
The water warms up immediately, so you don’t need to wait for the water to warm up in a tank before you can use it. Plus, a new combi boiler has around 90 percent efficiency (though this does reduce over the years) which makes them comparatively cheap to run. And they typically come with long warranties making them cheaper to fix.

PRO - Compact and easy to maintain
Combi boilers are typically smaller than most boilers and all its components are neatly tucked away inside a single unit which you can access by removing the front panel. The single unit design of a combi boiler means that they are quicker to install than heating systems with separate tanks and easier to maintain as they are self contained. Their popularity means that most gas engineers know how to work on them.

CON - Comprised water flow
The water flow is controlled by one source, so the flow rate will drop when more than one outlet needs hot water. A simple example is when using the hot water in the kitchen at the same time as running a bath. Ideally you want to be using one at a time.

CON - Limited options
Combi boilers are not compatible with power showers as they need access to a hot water cylinder which a combi boiler doesn't have. Most combi boilers are not solar heating friendly and can ideally only connect up to ten radiators or less. 

2. Heat only boilers

Heat only boilers are also known as conventional or regular boilers and are typically found in older homes. They use a separate cold water tank (commonly found in the loft) along with a hot water cylinder, a feed and expansion tank and a pump to help move the water. The cold water tank stores the water which feeds the hot water cylinder which heats up the water which is then fed to taps and radiators via a pump.

Heat only boilers are ideal for larger homes with more than one bathroom and have a loft space for a water tank. 

But what are the pros and cons of a heat only boiler?  

PRO - Good water flow and no pressure worries
The water flow isn’t affected like a combi boiler. You can get an even flow out of several taps at once. And, you don’t need to rely on the mains water pressure to ensure that you will get a decent water flow. Heat only boilers use a pump to distribute hot water so you always get a constant and reliable supply. 

CON - Heat up times and efficiency
A hot water cylinder will only heat the water in the tank and once this has been used you will need to wait for the  water to warm up again before you can get more hot water to taps and radiators. If your radiators are not heating up you may have another problem. They are not as efficient as a combi as the heated water isn’t always used in one go, meaning it needs to be reheated.

CON - Need more space
Conventional boilers need more room than a combi boiler as they need a storage space for a water tank, or tanks, and space for a larger than a combi boiler hot water cylinder.  

3. System boilers

System boilers are like an upgraded heat only boiler. They are similar to conventional boilers in that they need a hot water cylinder to heat up water. But the main difference is that they don’t need a water tank to supply the water to the hot water cylinder as the cylinder is connected to the mains water supply. Other components such as pumps are built-in with a system boiler.

They are an ideal choice for larger homes where a conventional boiler is a good option, but you have low mains water pressure. 

PRO - Space saving
Take up less space than a conventional boiler as they do not need a water tank, you only need a hot water cylinder. And as all the parts are integrated they are typically smaller than a conventional boiler.   

CON - Size and pressure
Tank size can limit how much hot water you have available at any time and if you have low mains water pressure this can have an effect on the water pressure throughout the system.  

4. Oil boilers

Oil boilers are a heating system that uses oil - rather than gas or electric - to produce heat and hot water for a home. They consist of a chamber where the oil is stored and heated and passed onto a heat exchanger which warms up the water which is then distributed to an outlet.

They are a popular choice in rural areas where there is no direct access to the mains gas grid. But they do require regular maintenance to keep them working. But it is worth noting that new oil boilers will only be sold until 2035 as the UK government looks to go net zero by 2050. Check out oil boiler alternatives to see what is available. 

PRO - Ideal for remote locations
Oil boilers are an independent heating source as they don’t rely on being attached to a mains gas grid. They can be installed pretty much anywhere, but you will need a regular source of oil or a storage tank to ensure you don't run out.  

CON - Expensive and not environmentally friendly
Oil boilers are powered by oil which means they produce carbon dioxide (CO2), which has an impact on the environment. They can be expensive to run with fluctuating oil prices making it difficult to determine costs.  

5. Biomass boilers

Biomass boilers are a heating system that uses organic materials, such as wood pellets to generate heat to warm up water. Typically, a stove provides heat for a room and can be fitted with a back boiler to provide hot water for a heating system.

PRO - Environmentally friendly
Biomass is a renewable energy source that has a lower carbon footprint when compared with fossil fuels and contributes to sustainable energy practices. They are also an affordable option with pellets and wood being reasonably cheap and easily accessible.  

CON - High installation costs
Biomass boilers are not cheap to install with the initial installation costs typically being four or more times the price of a combi boiler.  

6. Ground and air source heat pumps

Technically ground and air source heat pumps are not boilers, but they have a very similar purpose – to heat water for a heating system. Ground source heat pumps use a network of pipes that are buried underground and extract heat from the ground. A heat pump then amplifies that energy into heat to be used in the home.

Air source heat pumps extract heat from the air, so they are typically installed outside, and move the air through a vapour compression cycle to make it more useable. The heat from the air gets absorbed into a fluid, to become a gas, which is then compressed and used in a heating system.

As part of the government's drive to reach net zero they are offering incentives to entice homeowners to make the switch. Check out our What is The Cost to Replace a Gas Boiler With a Heat Pump? guide to find out more. 

PRO - Low running cost
Both ground and air source heat pumps have lower running costs than a gas boiler with ground heat pumps almost half the cost. They are more efficient and will typically last longer than gas boilers. 

CON - High installation costs
They are much more expensive to purchase and install than a gas boiler, but government grants can help reduce the initial installation outlay.    

FAQs

British Gas has sent out warnings to 50,000 of its customers that their boilers could be at risk of breaking down following 'the big switch on' this winter.

'The big switch on' is the time of year when households collectively turn on their heating to avoid the winter chills.

A boiler breakdown could of course add another cost to energy price rises homeowners are already expected to pay this winter.

Why does 'the big switch on' cause problems?

'The big switch on' is when most UK households start to use their heating systems in winter.

As temperatures begin to drop many households start to use their boilers for the first time in months, only to discover their boiler isn't working.

This can cause a spike in demand for heating engineers at the same time and result in a delay to homeowners getting their heating working properly. 

What do British Gas advise to avoid this problem?

Finding that your heating system doesn't work, just as you start to need it can be a nightmare, not only due to being unable to heat your home, but also due to how much the repair might cost or if you need a replacement boiler.

Homeowners will be wondering what causes these breakdowns. British Gas service and repair engineer Joanna Flowers stated that whilst boilers are dormant: "Air can enter the system and form bubbles, which stops them from working efficiently."

Flowers advised homeowners that if your radiators are not working: "If you notice cold spots, switch your radiators off and after they cool, turn a radiator key in the valve at the top to let the air out.”

British Gas also advise to always test your heating systems before the temperatures begin to really drop so you're not left without heating when you need it most.

Common boiler problems to look out for

British Gas have offered a number of other common issues with boilers that you can run into this winter, and solutions for each one:

1. Low pressure

Symptoms: Boiler switches off, banging sounds, radiators furthest from the boiler stop heating.

Solution: Increase pressure using the filling loop. Reset the boiler, and if the pressure keeps dropping, it might indicate a pipe leak requiring an engineer's check.

2. Frozen condensate pipe

Symptoms: Gurgling sounds, failure to fire up, especially during low outside temperatures. 

Solution: Thaw the frozen pipe using warm water or a warm compress. Detailed steps for dealing with frozen pipes are available.

3. Boiler or thermostat settings issues

Symptoms: Boiler not coming on or erratic firing, error message on the thermostat or blank panel.

Solution: Check timer settings, adjust if necessary. Ensure the central heating dial is turned up. Verify and adjust thermostat settings, replacing batteries if needed.

4. Pilot light out

Symptoms: No visible pilot light, boiler won’t fire up.

Solution: Follow boiler instructions to reignite the pilot light. If gas smell or unusual signs are present, don't attempt reignition. Contact the emergency gas line. If the pilot light persistently goes out, consult a Gas Safe engineer.

5. Boiler locks out and needs resetting

Symptoms: Lock-out light keeps coming on, error codes on the control panel, boiler won’t fire up.

Solution: Attempt a reset using the boiler reset button or following the manual's instructions. If this fails, try switching the boiler off and on. Persistent need for resets might indicate a larger issue, requiring an engineer's inspection.

Thousands of homeowners could be forced to fork out thousands of pounds to upgrade their electricity supply if the government's oil boiler ban goes ahead.

The oil boiler ban, which could ban new oil boilers in off-grid homes by 2035, could potentially create chaos by forcing homeowners to seek electrical-based alternatives for their heating solutions, despite many rural homes not having the appropriate electrical supply coming into their homes to support the switch.

This could leave homeowners with a difficult and expensive choice to make if they want their homes to remain warm.

Details of the oil boiler ban

The oil boiler ban is seeking to ban all new oil boilers in off-the-grid homes by 2035 as part of the government's plans to meet their net zero emissions targets by 2050.

The ban would force households that cannot use gas boilers to seek more eco-friendly alternatives.

The oil boiler ban is to be included in the Energy Security Bill, which is set to be confirmed later this year.

Oil boiler ban likely to force homeowners to install heat pumps

The ban, which was first suggested in 2021, primarily targeted homes off-the-grid because of their relatively high emissions and expensive fuels, such as oil boilers.

The hope was to make these homes more eco-friendly and to move these homes, and eventually all homes, off fossil fuel-based heating options, and also boost the lagging uptake of heat pumps in the UK, which are seen as a more eco-friendly alternative to more traditional boilers.

The ban would affect 6% of UK households and force them to quickly find alternative heating solutions, and given that most of these households are not connected to the gas grid, they would have to explore gas boiler alternatives.

Homes will need a large enough electric supply

A supply capacity of 18.4kVA is generally sufficient to deliver enough domestic supply and connections are typically able to permit the flow of up to 23kVA for shorter durations of time, according to the energy company UK Power Networks. However, this does not account for the increased electrical demand of heat pumps.

This has led to concerns the oil boiler ban could be coming too soon with the National Grid not being able to cope with the increased demands for electric heating. 

A lack of both electricity grid and capacity-trained installers and engineers poses significant barriers to the switch to heat pumps within the next few years.

How much will this cost?

UK Power Networks has released a publicly accessible summary detailing the average expenses and timeframe for their services to upgrade homeowners to a three-phase electricity supply.

Three-phase electric supply is a type of electrical power distribution system, which, unlike single-phase electricity that has only one live conductor, has three live conductors, providing a more balanced and efficient way to deliver electricity.

In 2022, the typical expenses for upgrading to three-phase supply are as follows:

• 12% of Phase 3 upgrades cost £1,700 – £3,500 (+VAT)
• 70% of Phase 3 upgrades cost £3,500 – £6,000 (+VAT)
• 18% of Phase 3 upgrades cost over £6,000 (+VAT)

When asked for estimates on 2023 costs the Energy Networks Association (ENA), who represent UK network operators, refused to answer but did say: "Providing a valid ‘general estimate’ isn’t possible, as providing a 3-phase connection is a bespoke undertaking for sites with exceptional needs, so costs vary depending on the requirements of the individual site."

Ban leaves homeowners with an "invidious choice"

The decision has been met with significant opposition with concerns ranging from the costs to rural homeowners to the inability to meet the demand for more electric heating.

Sir Geoffrey Cox, the former attorney general, said the ban would leave off-the-grid homeowners with an "extremely invidious choice" as they will be forced to pay for heat pumps or other expensive heating solutions.

He stated: “Those of us who live in small rural communities are going to be plunged disadvantageously and prematurely into making a decision like this."

Operators working to make upgrading "as simple as possible"

The ENA claim work is being done to help those who need to upgrade their homes infrastructure.

A spokesperson for the ENA spoke to Homebuilding & Renovating, saying: “With the rapid uptake of heat pumps, electric vehicles and other low-carbon technologies, network operators are working hard to ensure that the rules and regulations in place as well as the infrastructure itself are fit for purpose, including for those impacted by the oil boiler ban.

"The majority of customers can connect new technologies without any issue. A small percentage of customers will require an upgrade to the fuse which protects their home's power supply, and this would be undertaken during the installation of any equipment if required."

The ENA claim electricity distribution network operators are working to ensure consistency of approach throughout the country to make it "as simple as possible" for customers upgrading their home technology.

The government has announced significant amendments to the Clean Heat Market Mechanism (CHMM), softening penalties for boiler manufacturers who fail to meet heat pump sales quotas.

These changes follow intense lobbying from the heating industry who threatened the CHMM would increase boiler prices by up to £300 as they claimed air source heat pump demand was not high enough to meet targets.

But with a reduction and extension of the scheme that was previously proposed as a "boiler tax" we look at how this could impact boiler prices.

What is the Clean Heat Market Mechanism?

The Clean Heat Market Mechanism is part of a broader policy framework aimed at promoting investment and innovation in the heating industry and to make heat pumps more appealing to consumers in the UK.

The CHMM, supported by the Energy Security Bill and Powering Up Britain policies, seeks to provide a clear and stable policy framework along with incentives for the heating industry and the broader market.

The scheme aims to do this by:

• Reducing the upfront costs of heat pumps and support households and building-owners with heat pump installations to kickstart the market;
• Reducing the running costs of heat pumps, including relative to fossil fuel boilers;
• Supporting an expansion of heat pump manufacturing in the UK;
• Growing the numbers of skilled heat pump installers, and maintain high standards in the quality of air source heat pump installations; and
• Supporting a range of other innovations to broaden the appeal, efficiency and ease of adoption of heat pumps.

In order to assist households in adopting heat pumps and to stimulate market growth by achieving cost efficiencies, the government has introduced a set of financial support measures. These include the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) and the Heat Training Grant.

What are the latest updates to the Clean Heat Market Mechanism?

The government has revised the penalty structure for manufacturers who fall short of heat pump sales targets. The new measures include:

• Reduced fines: The penalty for missing heat pump quotas has been cut from £3,000 per shortfall to £500 for the first year of the scheme starting in April 2024.
• Phased implementation: While the initial penalties have been eased, the government has signalled potential increases after 2024, subject to consultation.
• Additional support for households: The government has increased funding for heat pump grants, with an expanded budget of £295 million for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme to reduce upfront installation costs.
• Relaxed planning rules: New planning regulations will allow households to install heat pumps closer to property boundaries, making installations more accessible.
• Delayed start date: The CHMM will now begin on 1 April 2025, rather than April 2024 as originally planned.

What were the previous regulations?

Under the original CHMM, boiler manufacturers were required to sell a proportion of heat pumps relative to their gas or oil boiler sales.

Key details of the initial regulations included:

• Quota targets: 4% of boiler sales had to be heat pumps in 2024 and these targets will now be 6% in 2025.
• Severe penalties: Non-compliance fines were set at £3,000 per missed heat pump in 2024 and expected to increase in subsequent years.
• Market challenges: These regulations applied only to large manufacturers selling more than 20,000 boilers annually in the UK, excluding smaller firms.

The high fines prompted fears of price hikes for gas boilers, with manufacturers such as Worcester Bosch raising boiler prices by £120 in response to the CHMM.

Reaction to the CHMM changes

The revised CHMM penalties have been welcomed by industry representatives but have drawn mixed reactions regarding their potential effectiveness in meeting the government’s heat pump targets.

Mike Foster, Chief Executive of the Energy and Utilities Alliance, described the changes as a victory for consumers: “The scheme no longer unfairly penalises businesses and consumers. This is a big win for households across the country.”

However, some environmental groups worry that the reduced fines may slow the UK’s progress towards its net zero goals. The original plan aimed to drive heat pump installations from 40,000 annually to 600,000 by 2028.

Worcester Bosch’s CEO, Carl Arntzen, said the changes reduce immediate pressure but highlighted lingering challenges: “While the fine reduction eases short-term concerns, the UK heat pump market still lacks the scale and infrastructure to meet these ambitious quotas without significant investment.”

Impact on boiler prices

The softened penalties may reduce the immediate risk of sharp price increases for gas boilers.

Worcester Bosch previously estimated a £300 rise per boiler unit under the initial penalty regime, but with fines now capped at £500 per shortfall, the impact on prices could be less severe.

However, long-term price stability remains uncertain. Manufacturers may still face increased costs from scaling up heat pump production and compliance with evolving regulations, potentially passing these costs onto consumers in the future.

Increased government funding for heat pumps may help alleviate financial barriers for households considering a switch, but demand for the technology remains sluggish due to high upfront costs and infrastructure requirements.

The government’s revisions to the CHMM represent a compromise between encouraging heat pump adoption and addressing industry concerns.

While these changes may ease pressure on manufacturers and consumers in the short term, achieving the UK’s net zero targets will require sustained investment and policy adjustments.

For now, the reduced penalties offer some relief, but the longer-term impact on boiler prices and the heating market remains to be seen.

Changes to the Boiler Upgrade Scheme are to be considered under a new government consultation to make it easier for homeowners to access the grant.

The consultation will seek ways to increase the numbers of vouchers being claimed by homeowners. It will also look at how to make it easier for homeowners to install air source heat pumps using the grant to meet the government's target of 600,000 heat pumps installed a year by 2028.

Some of the proposed changes include removing EPC and insulation barriers to make more homes eligible, reducing costs by 25%, as well as variable vouchers for homes with different heating systems to receive larger grants. 

What is the Boiler Upgrade Scheme?

In May 2022, the Government introduced the £450 million Boiler Upgrade Scheme to help people afford heat pumps. 

This means the government provides vouchers to help you pay for the initial installation of a renewable heating system.

If you switch from fossil fuel heating to a more eco-friendly option, like ground source heat pumps or, in some cases, biomass boilers, you can get grants of up to £6,000. For air source heat pumps, the grant can be as much as £5,000.

What will the consultation look at?

The consultation is proposing changes to numerous areas of the scheme, which include looking at:

• Increasing the grant amount for different homes
• Revising EPC rating requirements
• Allowing homes with poor loft or cavity wall insulation to access the scheme too
• Allowing biomass boilers with a cooking function to be purchased with the grant

On the government's website it states: "In this consultation, we set out proposed amendments to the Boiler Upgrade Scheme and are seeking views on whether we should be able to differentiate grant levels in different circumstances, whether to retain or amend the existing Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) requirements, and whether biomass boilers with a cooking function should be eligible under the scheme."

Why are the government proposing changes?

The proposed consultation has been introduced in order to encourage the underwhelming ground and air source heat pump installation figures, which are significantly below government targets.

Ofgem revealed only 15% of the available boiler upgrade scheme vouchers have been redeemed so far this year, with 13,766 of the 90,000 Boiler Upgrade Scheme vouchers used.

This follows a report showing Britain is lagging behind in its uptake of heat pumps compared to the rest of the world and is the second worst European country for heat pump take-ups.

According to Ofgem, the UK government's goal of installing 600,000 heat pumps per year by 2028 seems unlikely to be achieved, as only a total of 42,779 heat pumps were installed in the UK last year.

The UK's Climate Change Committee (UKCCC) has emphasised that the high costs of heat pumps, the shortage of trained installers, and the absence of energy-efficient measures such as insulation, which are crucial for heat pump effectiveness, are the primary reasons behind the low installation figures, and suggested unless changes were made the heat pump uptake would continue to suffer.

Aiming to reduce heat pump costs by 25% by 2025

The government has expressed its plan to introduce the Future Homes Standard, which will require new buildings to use low carbon heating starting in 2025.

They have also outlined a concept called the Clean Heat Market Mechanism (CHMM). This will require heating appliance manufacturers to achieve specific targets for the percentage of low-carbon heat pumps they sell compared to fossil fuel boilers, starting in 2024. 

The aim is to encourage investment and innovation in the manufacturing and installation processes, and transform the appeal of heat pumps.

The government is also collaborating with the industry to lower the initial cost of heat pumps. They have set a goal to decrease costs by at least 25% by 2025, with the ultimate aim of making heat pumps equally affordable to purchase and operate as gas boilers by 2030 at the latest.

Removing EPC obstacles for homes

Further changes have been suggested to the requirements for EPC ratings in homes looking to use the Boiler Upgrade Scheme.

To make sure that the Boiler Upgrade Scheme only covers properties suitable for low carbon heat technologies, the current scheme makes it necessary for a property to have a valid EPC (Energy Performance Certificate) that's less than 10 years old and doesn't have any pending recommendations for loft or cavity wall insulation. 

This requirement exists because fitting a heat pump in a well-insulated home reduces the property's heat demand and ensures the efficiency of the heat pump installation.

Out of the 8,146 vouchers requested under the scheme up to July 2023 where there were still outstanding EPC recommendations, 70% have been successfully processed and paid by Ofgem. 

Additionally, the House of Lords Environment and Climate Change Committee said that the use of EPC ratings and the connected insulation conditions should be removed.

The committee also recommended that households should be provided with dependable guidance concerning the variations in operational costs based on different insulation levels.

To simplify the process for consumers it is proposed future applications for properties with unresolved recommendations for loft or cavity wall insulation will be allowed, as long as a newly issued EPC is provided during the voucher redemption stage.

This flexibility also aims to reduce inconvenience for homeowners who may want to have the installation and insulation done simultaneously.

Variable grants could be offered to lower income households

As mentioned the Boiler Upgrade Scheme offers grants of £5,000 and £6,000 for heat pumps and biomass boilers, but these grants could set to change based on your property and current heating source.

Future grants may be differentiated between various property types, existing fuel sources, and property owners to provide fairer costs for consumers.

For example, homes with oil boilers, which tend to be rural homes, it has been suggested larger grants should be provided to cover the extra costs involved in transitioning to heat pumps. This could mean oil boiler owners could be offered grants of over £6,000 to switch to heat pumps.

It is hoped this change will make it more likely for lower income households and homes where the cost effectiveness of heat pumps is currently seen as a deterrent will be swayed to take up the scheme to the more eco-friendly alternative.

Alpha offers a diverse array of energy-efficient heating solutions that cater to various needs.

From the A+ rated E-Tec boilers to their hybrid system that offers the best of both worlds, and the contemporary air source heat pumps – all designed for efficiency, Alpha offer a range of solutions to your heating needs.

As the UK emphasises the need for homeowners to align with eco-consciousness in order to achieve the 2050 net-zero goals, making decisions about home heating becomes a complex task. Balancing environmental responsibility with financial prudence often feels like a difficult challenge.

However, with Alpha's comprehensive range of boilers, heat pumps, and hybrid systems, you no longer have to make an either-or choice between being environmentally friendly and economically smart. 

Alpha’s offerings provide the bridge that connects these two vital aspects, ensuring that your home heating aligns with both eco-friendly practices and budget-conscious decisions.

Alpha’s E-Tec Hybrid combines reliability and renewability

Alpha’s E-Tec Hybrid presents an ideal opportunity to embrace renewable heating without sacrificing the reliability of well-established gas boilers.

The E-Tec Hybrid integrates the qualities of the Alpha E-Tec 33 boiler with the Alpha E-Tec EHP external heat pump unit. When augmented by the Smartech controls, this results in a sophisticated heating and hot water system, presenting environmentally-conscious consumers with an eco-friendly heating alternative.

Engineered for maximum efficiency, the E-Tec Hybrid system employs a combination of real-time energy prices and outdoor temperature data, which enables the system to select the most optimal heating configuration, ensuring your living space is warmed efficiently.

The system also engages the gas boiler to supply hot water on demand. A key feature of Alpha's hybrid solution is its adaptation of heating flow and water temperature within radiators, aligning with homeowner’s heating needs and external temperature conditions.

Flexibility also takes centre stage in the E-Tec Hybrid's design. It allows for manual adjustment of the maximum water heating capacity for the heating circuit. However, it's important to note that this capacity is still influenced by exterior temperatures, as the system continuously calculates and employs the most judicious heating strategy.

Providing convenience for homeowners

If you are looking for an environmentally friendly heating solution but are lacking in places to store it, Alpha could provide a solution.

For residences lacking an airing cupboard or seeking to reclaim valuable storage space, the E-Tec Hybrid offers a spacious alternative as the hot water is instantaneous so there is no need for hot water storage taking up room.

The E-Tec hybrid is also compatible with existing pipework, relieving homeowners of concerns about extensive modifications to their heating setup, such as radiator upgrades.

Discover more about the E-Tec Hybrid and its space-saving, efficient heating capabilities by visiting: https://www.alpha-innovation.co.uk/FAYT 

Harnessing earth, wind, and hydrogen for a sustainable future

By purchasing an alpha heating product you could be making an 'Alpha difference', which includes a commitment to:

• More Earth and wind and less fire: Step towards a greener tomorrow with potential gas energy savings of up to 60%.
• Introducing hydrogen: Prepare for the future as our entire boiler range adapts to the upcoming 20% hydrogen mix by 2023.
• Lasting support: Enjoy peace of mind with market-leading warranties of up to 13 years, complemented by specifically designed optional extras, such as the PremierPack wall-mounting jig, which also offers two-years extra warranty.
• Durability: Alpha’s heating solutions boast high-quality components, helping to ensure longevity and performance.
• Infused with intelligence: Seamlessly control your renewable energy systems with our suite of Wi-Fi-compatible controls.

If you are interested in Alpha’s products then you can follow them on Facebook and Instagram to see all their latest updates.

Although the oil boiler ban has been pushed back to 2035 homeowners will still be searching for oil boiler alternatives.

The Prime Minister announced plans to ban oil boilers in off-grid homes – mostly rural – as part of the government’s drive towards net zero.

This could force around 1.5 million households to turn to eco-friendly alternatives such as air source heat pumps and we take a look at these options.

Oil boiler alternatives: What will replace oil boilers in 2035? 

The proposed oil boiler ban would force owners homes with oil boilers to seek alternative sources of heating.

Fortunately, there are a number of alternatives to suit every property and every budget.

1) Ground source heat pumps 

Ground source heat pumps capture natural heat from the ground and then distribute it into the home's heating system.

Running costs are likely to be around 45% lower compared to a natural gas boiler, according to energy expert and Homebuilding & Renovating contributor Tim Pullen.

However, they can be expensive to install, costing between £2,000 to £15,000, depending on size and brand, and are generally only suitable for homes with outdoor space for tubes that need to be buried below ground and the interior space for the hot water cylinder. 

2. Air source heat pumps

Air source heat pumps move heat from one place to another using a compressor and a circulating structure of liquid or gas refrigerant to extract heat from the outside air and pump it indoors using electricity.

However, concerns have been raised about the cost of installation and how suitable they are for some homes, especially considering the UK’s aging and energy-inefficient housing stock.

Some experts advise that heat pumps should only be installed in insulated buildings because the technology’s efficiency is higher when the flow temperature from the heat pump is lower. A heat pump in a poorly insulated building will cost more to run and have higher carbon emissions. 

Also consider hybrid heat pumps, which offer a halfway house if you’re looking to replace your boiler. They essentially comprise a heat pump and another heat source (such as a boiler) that are combined into one system.

3. Hydrogen-ready boilers

Hydrogen-ready boilers use a combination of natural gas and hydrogen. They are undergoing trials in the UK to assess their safety and efficacy and are expected to be rolled out between 2023 and 2025.

4. Biomass boilers

Biomass boilers, also known as wood-fuelled heating systems, burn logs and wood chips or pellets to run central heating, hot water boilers, or to heat a single room.

They are growing in popularity but are not widely installed throughout the UK. It is estimated that less than 5% of the UK’s homes use them – but this figure is expected to grow in the next decade.

At first glance, burning wood may seem archaic and not at all carbon-efficient, but biomass boilers burn significantly less than fossil fuels. 

5. Hybrid solar panels

Hybrid solar panels use both solar PV and solar thermal panels to produce heat and electricity. 

As the sun shines on the panel, the light is absorbed by the PV cells and the heat is absorbed by the solar thermal element. They do not take up as much space as PV or thermal panels, making them ideal for homes with smaller roofs.

Energy expert and Homebuilding & Renovating contributor David Hilton says you can expect to pay around £10,000 for a 4kWp system, buts adds the cost will depend on factors such as the manufacturer, components required, and installation fees.

6. Infrared heating panels

Infrared heating panels are an alternative to a central heating system that is typically easier to install. The panels emit infrared energy which is absorbed into solid objects, and the thermal mass of these objects have the ability to hold three times more energy than air, so infrared heating will level out any rises and dips in your home’s temperature.

What is the best replacement for oil heating?

There is no single ‘best’ replacement for oil heating, as the optimal replacement solution for one property may be inappropriate for another.

Installing some oil boiler alternatives can have wide-ranging benefits for homeowners, including lower energy bills and a reduced carbon footprint.

However, it is wise to seek the advice of a heating professional, especially considering the UK’s ageing and energy-inefficient housing stock.

Are oil boilers going to be banned?

New oil boilers are set to be banned from all homes in 2035 after previously being set to be banned in 2026 in rural homes.

The oil boiler ban was announced in the Energy Security Bill, and the decision was met with significant opposition from some politicians, who have expressed concerns about costs to homeowners.

Fears have also been raised that the ban is coming too soon and the National Grid will not cope with the increased demands for electric heating due to a lack of electricity grid and capacity-trained installers and engineers.

Only 13,766 of the 90,000 Boiler Upgrade Scheme vouchers have been redeemed, according to Ofgem's monthly statistics.

The scheme, which seeks to encourage ground and air source heat pump installation through grants, has previously been criticised for its lack of promotion by the government.

The government has promised action to promote the scheme, but experts warn that unless fundamental issues are resolved then take-up will not improve.

What is the Boiler Upgrade Scheme?

The government introduced the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) to assist homeowners in England and Wales in covering the initial expense of installing heat pumps to boost the uptake of the carbon-friendly technology.

Under this policy, which has a budget of £450 million, eligible homeowners can receive grants of £5,000 for air source heat pump installations and £6,000 for ground source heat pumps. Homeowners must made up the difference in cost if their project goes over that amount.

Heat pumps play a crucial role in the UK government's commitment to achieving net zero emissions by 2050. The residential heating sector presently contributes to 14% of the carbon emissions in the UK. 

Over £119m budget left for this years BUS vouchers

The BUS‘s monthly statistics show only 16,156 vouchers out of the 90,000 available have been issued between May 2022 and June 2023, according to Ofgem's monthly statistics.

However, the number of vouchers redeemed is even lower at 13,766. The BUS has a remaining budget of £119,901,000 for the second year of the scheme.

These figures will be concerning to the government as they have already extended the BUS until 2028 as part of their Powering Up Britain announcement after the House of Lords environment and climate change committee released a report in February revealing the UK's "disappointingly low" uptake of low-carbon heating systems.

Funding of the scheme was initially £450 million until 2025 before the extension, which did lead to concerns the scheme could run out of money three years early, but based on Ofgem's figures, the £450 million could struggle to be used by 2028.

600,000 installations annually 'unlikely to be achieved'

The scheme aims to issue 30,000 grants annually in England and Wales, but recent government figures show that it only managed half that in its first year.

According to Ofgem, the UK government's goal of installing 600,000 heat pumps per year by 2028 seems unlikely to be achieved, as only a total of 42,779 heat pumps were installed in the UK last year.

The independent Climate Change Committee has stated that 15.3 installations per 1,000 households will be required to achieve the UK's net-zero target by 2050. However, at the current rate, it could take over 600 years to reach the Climate Change Committee's target of having 27.2 million homes with heat pumps by 2050.

This follows a report showing Britain is lagging behind in its uptake of heat pumps compared to the rest of the world and is the second worst European country for heat pump take-ups.

Why is the BUS running short?

The lack of installers and the expenses associated with adequately insulating homes for heat pump readiness have been identified by experts as the primary factors responsible. 

This information was revealed in the recently published data on grants allocated since the programme's launch in May 2022. These findings come on the heels of the UK government being deemed "significantly off track" by the country's climate watchdog.

The UK's Climate Change Committee (UKCCC) has emphasised that the high costs of heat pumps, the shortage of trained installers, and the absence of energy-efficient measures such as insulation, which are crucial for heat pump effectiveness, are the primary reasons behind the low installation numbers. 

The rollout of the BUS in its first year was also delayed with applications only being accepted from November 2022 rather than the official start date of May 2022.

Government promises to promote the scheme

The government has said uptake will soon improve and announced measures to improve understanding of the scheme.

In February, the House of Lord's Environment and climate change committee recently released a report revealing the UK's "disappointingly low" uptake of low-carbon heating systems due to factors such as the government's insufficient promotion of the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, limited public awareness, and inadequate independent advice.

Since then number has only dropped further with the government's own figures showing that the number of vouchers used has dropped since March. 

The government has announced its plans for broader promotion later this year. In order to meet the climate change targets set for the UK, the government aims to install 600,000 low-carbon heat pumps annually within the next five years. Presently, the installation rates are only approximately one-ninth of this target.

The government recently announced it is committing £5 million towards increasing the number of heat pump installers in the UK through a new Heat Training Grant, which will provide aspiring heat pump installers with £500 discounts on the costs of engineering courses.

A spokesperson for the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero, which is responsible for the scheme, said: "Industry has reported an increased level of enquiries and we are confident that deployment will increase as the year progresses."

The UK government has confirmed that plans for an oil boiler ban, previously targeted for 2035, will no longer move forward.

A government spokesperson has told Homebuilding & Renovating “We will not force anyone to rip out a working boiler" although bans on oil boilers in new properties are still set to go ahead this year.

Instead, the focus will shift to encouraging households to adopt low-carbon heating alternatives, like air source heat pumps, by making them more appealing to homeowners through financial incentives and simplifying installations.

Shift away from oil boiler ban

The oil boiler ban was originally aimed at phasing out all new oil boilers by 2035 as part of the government’s broader strategy to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

The proposed ban, which also included restrictions on gas boilers, would have required households to transition to eco-friendly heating solutions.

However, the government has now opted for a voluntary approach. A spokesperson for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero explained: “We will not force anyone to rip out a working boiler and are making heat pumps more affordable by providing £7,500 towards the cost through the Boiler Upgrade Scheme.”

What is the oil boiler ban?

The oil boiler ban was aimed to ban all new oil boilers in all homes by 2035 as part of the government's plans to meet their net zero emissions targets by 2050.

The ban, which also includes a gas boiler ban, would force households to seek eco-friendly oil and gas boiler alternatives.

The oil boiler ban is still set to be included in the Warm Homes Plan later this year, banning oil boilers in all new homes.

Focus switches to promoting low-carbon heating alternatives

The revised strategy aims to make homes cleaner and more affordable to run by introducing upgrades like insulation, solar panels and heat pumps.

To further promote low-carbon alternatives, the government has allocated an additional £30 million to the Boiler Upgrade Scheme for this financial year and nearly doubled its budget for the next, bringing the total to £295 million.

Planning regulations are also being revised to facilitate the installation of air source heat pumps. The removal of rules requiring pumps to be installed at least one meter from property boundaries will provide homeowners with greater flexibility.

The government spokesperson added: “We recognise there is still more to do to encourage consumers to switch to low-carbon alternatives such as heat pumps and have recently announced plans to remove planning constraints to make them easier to install.”

Ban previously labelled 'a ULEZ for rural communities'

The decision to scrap the oil boiler ban will be welcomed by some rural homeowners such as former environment secretary George Eustice who criticised the ban calling it “a ULEZ for rural communities”.

He advocated for owners to adopt eco-friendly fuels to run oil boilers instead of an outright ban.

Sir Geoffrey Cox, the former attorney general, also described the ban as an "extremely invidious choice" for rural, off-the-grid homeowners as they would be forced to pay for heat pumps or other expensive heating solutions.

The decision to abandon the oil boiler ban reflects a shift toward incentivising voluntary adoption of low-carbon heating technologies.

As part of the government’s updated approach, further details will be unveiled later this year in the Energy Security Bill and Warm Homes Plan.

By focusing on financial support and regulatory adjustments, the government aims to promote a gradual transition to greener heating systems without imposing strict mandates. This strategy aligns with the UK’s broader goals for energy efficiency and reducing emissions by 2050.

New rules proposed by the Scottish Government will prevent new buildings from having gas boilers installed from as early as next year.

The proposals would prevent the use of heating systems which produce “more than a negligible level of greenhouse gas emissions”.

The rules will come into effect from April 2024 if they are passed and will apply to homes and workplaces.

The UK has seen a spike in the uptake of air source heat pump installations as stricter legislation for boilers looms.

Heating a 'huge contributor to carbon emissions’ 

Green co-leader and minister for zero carbon buildings Patrick Harvie said the proposed rules pushing people towards instead installing air source heat pumps are “essential to deliver our commitment to make buildings zero carbon by 2045”.

He told The National: “Along with transport, heating Scotland’s homes and buildings is one of the biggest contributors to our carbon emissions and we know we have to take bold action to meet our climate obligations.

“These regulations will mean that direct emissions heating systems – like gas boilers – will no longer be installed in new homes and non-domestic buildings. Instead, they will be replaced by climate-friendly alternatives like heat pumps and heat networks.

“This change is essential to deliver our commitment to make buildings zero carbon by 2045. It will also mean that people who buy new homes will know that their home is future-proofed against the need to have to switch heating systems in the future.”

What is the Scottish government's boiler ban plan?

The Scottish government has introduced a ‘Heat in Buildings’ strategy that sets out the nation’s vision for the future of heat in buildings.

Its stated aim is that by 2045 Scottish homes and buildings are "cleaner, greener, and easy to heat, with homes and buildings no longer contributing to climate change as part of the wider just transition to net zero".

The plan also brings in statutory fuel poverty targets requiring that in 2040 no more than 5% of households are fuel poor and no more than 1% are in extreme fuel poverty.

When will England ban boilers in new homes?

England and Wales are set to ban gas boilers after 2025, but this only applies to newbuild properties – there are no plans to phase out gas boilers in existing homes.

The Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) grants households £5,000 to help switch from a gas boiler to a low-carbon heat pump and is designed to help homeowners in England and Wales afford the upfront costs of installing a heat pump.

The £450m policy provides homeowners with grants of £5,000 to have air source heat pumps installed, and £6,000 for ground source heat pumps. However, the Lords Climate Change Committee described the scheme as "seriously failing" because of the low uptake of heat pump grants.

The Committee on Climate Change (CCC) said around 14% of the UK’s carbon emissions comes from heating our homes and the Boiler Upgrade Scheme will be a key driver to help the UK reach its net zero targets of 2050. It is hoped it will help ensure all new heating system installations will be low carbon by 2035.

Householders who bought upgrades to improve the energy efficiency of their boiler may actually be paying more for their energy because the parts are shoddy imports, an investigation has found.

The parts, manufactured in China, break energy efficiency regulations in the UK but have still found their way into people's homes, despite not being to the correct standard. This is due to the parts being sold to plumbers who then, often unknowingly, install them.

Now, experts are warning both plumbers and boiler owners to be vigilant that parts really do conform to UK standards before they are fitted.  Here we take a look at which boiler part is affected, how the part is meant to improve energy efficiency, plus how to spot a dodgy non-energy efficient alternative. You can also check out our energy saving tips for other ways to help bring down your energy bills.

Which boiler part is being mis-sold?

The problem surrounds water circulation pumps, which are used to improve how gas boilers and heat pumps move water around a home.

The British Pump Manufacturers Association (BPMA) says more than 100,000 non-compliant pumps manufactured abroad are being sold in the UK every year and claims the UK has “very lax” rules overseeing the market.

Steve Schofield, BPMA’s chief executive, told Construction Management: “We estimate that circa 10% of the one million central heating pumps, technically known as circulators, being brought into the UK are non-compliant.

“Once fitted, they are costing consumers hundreds of pounds every year on their heating bills, and it is seriously impacting the UK’s ability to meet its net-zero obligations.

“Continental European countries have much stricter regulatory policing regimes and are not being targeted in the same way.”

Why water circulation pumps can improve energy efficiency

Heating systems use a circulation pump which helps move the heated water from a boiler to rooms throughout a building.

Traditional circulation pumps can use a lot of energy to keep hot water flowing through the pipes. 

High efficiency circulation pumps, however, are designed to use less energy to perform the same task. This can result in significant energy savings in households.

Why dodgy water circulation pumps cost more

Schofield says the global microchip supply crisis is exacerbating the problem because the imported pumps use AC motors that are cheaper than permanent magnet motors that use microchips to vary the speed of the pump to reduce energy consumption.

The Chinese three-speed pumps use around 100 watts of energy, compared with 30 watts for the permanent magnet design.

Pump systems provider Wilo claims non-compliant pumps seen by its engineers are being manufactured to look like compliant pumps and some even carry fake CE markings that stand for ‘China Export’.

The China Export Mark means that the product was manufactured in China and is not the same as the recognised CE mark (which stands for "Conformité Européene") signifying that products sold in the European Economic Area (EEA) have been assessed to meet high safety, health, and environmental protection requirements.

No registration, testing or auditing is required to use the China Export mark. Products bearing the China Export mark vary in quality and have no regulatory requirements, risk assessments, safety assessments, or quality tests.

How to spot a non-complaint water circulation pump

While experts have warned that spotting water circulation pumps that aren't to the appropriate standard is very difficult, there are subtle difference in the "CE" mark.

While the genuine "CE" mark is spaced out, the fake "CE" mark is often closer together with little spacing between the letters. 

It is also worth checking the water circulation pump's energy use figures. If this is greater than 85 watts or it has an EEI figure larger than 0.23, you could have a non-standard pump.

A good indicator is also whether or not your water circulation pump is always running or not. The modern UK pumps that are to standard have variable speed settings to save energy so if it runs at all times of the day, it might be a clue that you don't have the correct standard of water circulation pump fitted. 

Boiler service costs are often an afterthought once you have had a brand new boiler installed. However, if you want to keep your boiler in tip-top condition you will need to have it serviced at regular intervals. So how much will a boiler service cost and how often will you need to have it serviced?

Obviously if you are choosing a new boiler, it will be serviced when installed, but there are some factors which impact service costs going forward. A service will also reveal if you need any new parts to get it back running efficiently and effectively, ultimately keeping running costs down.  

Here we give you expert advice on boiler service costs, what a service should include and how often your boiler should be serviced.  

Boiler service costs: How much does it cost to service a gas boiler?  

The cost of a service depends on a number of factors but as general rule you shouldn’t be paying any more than £100 as Martyn Bridges, Director of Technical Services for Worcester Bosch, reveals: “A boiler service is typically between £70 and £100, however, some service providers offer service contracts which also cover breakdowns.”

If you are paying for a one-off boiler service you will typically have to pay more than if you are having regular services or are on a contract. As an example British Gas charges £99 for a one-off service and from £93 if you are tied into an annual service.

Independent local boiler engineers will often charge slightly less than a national chain so its best to check first. Mark Wilkins, technologies and training director at Vaillant suggests: “Your local heating engineer will best advise on the cost of a service as it varies depending on their offer. Some installers will service a product annually for a fixed fee, whilst others offer an insurance-style package covering the replacement of spares and labour where needed.” 

Duncan Craig of MAXGAS Boiler Services gives an insight into how much an independent typically costs: “The standard cost to perform a routine inspection and maintenance service on a wall-mounted boiler will typically cost between £60 to £90 including VAT depending on which company you use.”

He goes on to say that a service may reveal that further servicing may be needed. “Depending on age, manufacturers' service intervals or as a result of tests whilst doing an interim service that indicates more extensive servicing is required. 

"For example, Worcester Bosch boilers instructions ask the engineer to perform a test on the performance of the boilers fan to check how clean the heat exchanger is inside. If the fan test is below a certain reading on a gauge then a full strip down and clean is required and new gaskets and spark electrodes are often replaced at this time if required or thought sensible at the time. 

"These types of service vary in cost depending on exactly what parts are recommended and the labour time involved. But typically a strip down and clean service with new electrodes, burner door gasket etc., would cost between £150 to £225 depending on make and model of boiler." 

How much does it cost to service an oil boiler? 

Oil boilers are typically more expensive to buy and run than a gas boiler but servicing costs are on a par with a gas boiler. You should expect to pay less than £100 for a service, but again – like gas boilers – different variables can affect how much you have to pay.  

What variables can impact the cost of a boiler service? 

Boilers come in all shapes, sizes and ages which can have an effect on the cost of a service, but this isn’t always the case as Mark Wilkins from Vaillant informs Homebuilding & Renovating: “The size and age of a domestic boiler is unlikely to impact the service cost. However, the type of boiler may vary the cost as sometimes additional work is needed like checking expansion vessels and pressure relief valves, also additional qualifications may be needed when working on unvented hot water cylinders.”

Location doesn't have any great bearing on the cost of a service, being relatively consistent across the country. However, the distance a gas engineer has to travel can put up the cost — so look for someone local.

Other variables that can affect the cost – though not directly related to service costs – are emergency or out of hours call outs and repairs and replacements. Both can add significantly to the cost of maintaining your boiler.  

There are other extras you may need to pay for, too. "If you have a hot water cylinder, you will also need this servicing annually, and it's often a good idea to have this done at the same time as servicing the boiler, if your engineer is suitably qualified. This will inevitably add to the cost of your annual boiler service," says Claire Lloyd, editor-in-chief of Homebuilding & Renovating.

"We may have other gas appliances, such as gas hobs and fires, which also need servicing annually. Again, it makes sense to have them serviced at the same time as your boiler, but this will all add to the final bill. British Gas currently charge £167 to undertake both a service on your boiler and a gas hob, for instance."

Is a boiler service worth it? 

A boiler needs to be maintained regularly to keep it working efficiently, so a boiler service is definitely worth it. Nobody wants their boiler breaking down in the middle of winter when it's needed most. Being without hot water and heat is a definite no and regular servicing will help keep a boiler running. 

But it’s not just the obvious lack of heating and hot water that can cause issues as Bridges from Worcester Bosch explains: “It is important to have your boiler serviced annually, not only to maintain its efficient operation but also to comply with the warranty terms and conditions. An annual service may also be needed to replace any seals, gaskets and perhaps electrodes that may have a requirement to be pro-actively replaced.”

The downsides to not getting your boiler serviced are obvious for the most part, but different manufacturers have different conditions as Bridges tells Homebuilding & Renovating. “You will need to check your boiler manufacturer's terms and conditions, but you may lose the warranty cover on your boiler if you don’t have it serviced annually. 

"You might also leave yourself more exposed to a boiler breakdown as the service would identify parts that could be showing signs of wear. Finally, the combustion settings need to be checked and if necessary reset to optimise efficiency.”

What does a full boiler service include? 

This may differ depending on what type of boiler you have and how old it is but an annual service will first start with a visual check where the engineer will look for any obvious signs of issues and make sure the pipework is up to scratch and there are no leaks.

The next step is to remove the boiler cover and check and clean components inside the boiler. 

Craig from MAXGAS Boiler Services describes what to expect from a service: “It should include removing the front cover, visual inspection of boiler and internal components, checking for leaks and signs of corrosion, electrical safety check and check polarity. 

"Also, if a condensing boiler, [this will involve a] check and clean of the condense trap if required and clean of the magnetic filter. If a sealed system e.g. a combi boiler or system boiler, then drop system pressure and check expansion vessel pressure, top up if required. Finally combustion checks using flue gas analyser and adjust gas valve as per manufacturers instructions to ensure the boiler is operating efficiently.”

If any components are not working as they should, the engineer may suggest replacement. It's often best to get the problem fixed quickly as the longer it is left the worse the problem may get. 

How often should a boiler be serviced? 

You will need to check the manufacturer's warranty and terms and conditions to make sure, but most boiler manufacturers expect the boiler to be serviced every 12 months to keep it in good working order. If it is not serviced regularly then the manufacturer is within their rights to void the warranty.

If you have boiler cover/insurance then this will typically state the same. If the boiler is not serviced regularly – typically 12 months – then the policy could be invalidated. So again make sure that you check the fine print of your policy to see how often you have to have it serviced.

If you are the landlord of a property a regular annual service is not a choice, but a legal requirement. And, the benefit of a regular service is that it will spot problems early and save you money in the long run.  

When should you service your boiler? 

It is worth noting that homeowners are not legally required to have their boiler serviced regularly. However, boilers typically come with a five to 10 year warranty, which means that if there is a genuine fault with the boiler during the warranty period, it will be fixed for free by the manufacturer. That said, for the warranty to remain effective, the boiler will need to be serviced every 12 months from the date of installation. 

But what is the best time of the year to get your boiler serviced? "Late spring, summer or early autumn are good times of the year to have your boiler serviced. Once 'heating season' begins, heating engineers tend to be busier with call-outs. And should your boiler need a new part or a serious fault is found, you don't want to be without heating for any longer than necessary in the colder months," says Claire Lloyd, editor-in-chief of Homebuilding & Renovating.

Who should service your boiler? 

A boiler needs to be serviced by a qualified person. “A boiler should be serviced each year by a Gas Safe-registered engineer," Wilkins from Vaillant explains. 

"Servicing your boiler will help to make sure it stays safe and uses fuel efficiently. There are clear requirements for servicing a boiler and in all instances, the manufacturer’s instructions should be followed for service and maintenance requirements."

Bear in mind that some local heating engineers specialise in particular brands. It's often a good idea to choose someone with expertise and experience with your brand of boiler.

How long do boiler services take? 

This will depend on what type of boiler is being serviced but expect a service to take around an hour. If, however, issues are found, then the service could inevitably take longer. Consult your engineer who will be able to give you more details. 

If you have a combi boiler a standard service should be slightly shorter and can take as little as 30 minutes. 

Climate campaigners have warned that the UK government may allow new houses to continue to be fitted with gas boilers – despite rules designed to phase them out.

A coalition of over 40 architects, housing organisations, energy companies, financial institutions, installers, aviation companies, manufacturers and civil society organisations claim ministers are mulling a loophole for the forthcoming Future Homes Standard, which aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from new homes.

They have written to the housing minister to seek confirmation that there will be no new gas grid connections permitted. The legislation could have a huge impact on anyone undertaking a self-build or renovation project.

What is the Future Homes Standard?

The Future Homes Standard is a set of rules that will come into effect from 2025 to ensure new homes produce less carbon emissions.

It is expected that no new homes will be able to connect the gas network from 2025 as part of the Future Homes Standard. Instead, they will be equipped with energy-efficient insulation and heated by a low-carbon heating source such as an air source heat pump or hydrogen boilers.

Dr Matthew Scott of the Chartered Institute of Housing and a signatory of the letter, said: “The Future Homes Standard is critical to ensuring that the homes of the future are affordable and aligned to our statutory Net Zero commitments.

“By reaffirming its prioritisation of heat pumps and other low-carbon heating solutions such as heat networks alongside fabric efficiency, the government can give a clear signal to the housing sector that the homes they will be building – and letting – in the coming decades will be truly fit for the future.” 

What loophole do campaigners fear will be exploited?

The campaigners claim a loophole would allow new homes to be fitted with “hydrogen-ready” boilers, which are functionally similar to standard gas boilers. There are also concerns hydrogen gas for hydrogen heating may never be adopted across the UK as an alternative to fossil fuels.

Juliet Phillips, Senior Policy Advisor at E3Ga signatory of the letter, said: “Connecting newly-built homes to the gas grid, during a gas crisis, is a disaster for energy bills, energy security, and the climate emergency.

“Experts have repeatedly concluded that hydrogen will not provide a nationwide solution for heat decarbonisation. Hydrogen-ready boilers could act as a wolf in sheep’s clothing, allowing new homes to be connected to the gas grid, with little chance they will be supplied with green hydrogen any time soon.

“We encourage the government to instead firmly double down on readily available clean tech solutions such as heat pumps.”

How could the loophole be closed?

Ministers are to consult on the Future Homes Standard this month. A gas boiler ban in new build homes from 2025 was expected, but the government's language changed when it published its Heat and Buildings Strategy in October. 

The government said in the strategy that it plans to consult on whether it is "appropriate" to prevent new build homes from being connected to the gas grid in England from 2025. 

The prospective gas boiler ban is yet to be officially confirmed within the Future Homes Standard guidance.

Following strong local opposition during a 10-month consultation process, energy companies British Gas and Cadent have changed their proposal to create the UK's first hydrogen-fuelled village.

The initial proposal would have forced nearly 2,000 homes in the village of Whitby, Cheshire, to switch from natural gas to hydrogen heating or face having their gas supply cut off.

However, after a significant backlash, the companies have now given residents the option of either adopting hydrogen or continuing to use natural gas for their home energy needs.

What is the Energy Security Bill and what powers does it give energy companies over homeowners?

The planned Energy Security Bill proposes a trial in a village where approximately 1,000-2,000 properties would be converted from natural gas to hydrogen heating. 

Spearheaded by gas networks the trial would test the feasibility of repurposing the existing gas network infrastructure in the local area for 100% hydrogen use in order to create the UK's first "hydrogen village".

However, the planned Energy Security Bill provides the gas distribution networks (GDNs) the right to go into people’s homes and install hydrogen boilers without their consent.

The Energy Security Bill also includes draft proposals for a "hydrogen levy" on consumers' energy bills to help fund hydrogen production in the future.

One peer Baroness Worthington, who was the lead author of the UK's 2008 Climate Change Act, was scathing about the powers the Energy Security Bill would grant private companies. She called it: "“inefficient, potentially dangerous and expensive experiment” that “serve[d] the interests of gas distribution and boiler companies”.

It is unclear how she will vote when the Energy Security Bill reaches the House of Lords.

Why were the households going to be forced off gas?

The government clarified that the use of hydrogen boilers would not be mandatory with heat pumps as an alternative option and that Gas Distribution Networks (GDNs) would only exercise their power of entry "as a last resort".

According to Cadent, one of the GDNs, they would have only exercised their authority to enter a person's home only to guarantee their safety, leveraging the same powers already held by gas companies to prevent gas leaks. 

On the other hand, Northern Gas Networks maintained that they may have entered a person's home if they refused to switch from gas, as they claimed doing so could compromise the safety of the trial.

How were they able to keep their gas boilers?

Residents of Whitby were able to keep their natural-gas boilers after significant protests to the proposal.

A number of concerns were raised, such as safety concerns regarding hydrogen, which included uncertainties over pipe leakage and brittleness, despite government assurances that safety was a priority in the trial.

Additionally, residents also pointed out that hydrogen can be less cost-effective and less efficient than alternative eco-friendly solutions such as heat pumps, electric boilers, and district heating. 

Although the trial would have been subsidised for the first two years of the trial, beyond this point residents would have been required to pay the costs of the heating.

What is going to happen with the Energy Bill now?

The government's plans to create the first hydrogen-fuelled village will continue as planned as later this year the government will announce the site of the pilot, with Redcar in Teesside being considered as a potential alternative location.

Marc Clarke, Cadent’s head of hydrogen consumer, has announced a number of changes to the scheme in response to the residents of Whitby's complaints.

He stated that now participants who choose to participate in the pilot program will receive a cash payment of £2,500, along with newly installed hydrogen appliances that will be maintained free of cost for the duration of the program. 

Additionally, Cadent has confirmed that at the end of the trial, homes will be reconnected to their natural gas supply, and new natural gas-powered appliances will be installed at no additional charge.

In addition to this, Clarke announced, "Our new proposal means that you will have a choice to participate or not, and there will be two options to choose from. You can either choose to get involved with the hydrogen village programme, and help pave the way to a greener future. Or you can choose to stay on natural gas if you do not wish to participate.”

Biomass boiler costs will be a big factor when deciding whether to invest in this alternative to gas and oil boilers.

The two big advantages of operating a biomass boiler in your home to drive your heating are that biomass is more environmentally and climate friendly than oil and gas and, secondly, the biomass fuel, at present, costs less.

As with many renewable energy systems, the major initial hurdle is the installation cost, but there are, under certain circumstances, grants of up to £5,000 available under the government’s Boiler Upgrade Scheme to assist with this.

This guide breaks down the key costs, including the capital cost, ongoing maintenance fees and fuel costs.

How much does a biomass boiler cost? 

The cost of a biomass boiler varies according to the size of the boiler and the type of fuel it burns, typically ranging somewhere between £4,000 and £21,000. However, the average cost is currently around £16,000. 

If the boiler is automated, such that fuel is fed automatically into it, this too will bump up the cost, with automated models costing significantly more than manually fed models. The benefit however is having a system which is lower maintenance.

The installation of a biomass boiler will also require the fitting of a hot water storage cylinder, if you don’t already have one. 

Properties with existing combi boilers will not have a water cylinder and so one will have to be fitted, along with all the associated pipework. This could increase the installation costs by £1,000-£2,000. 

This will be in addition £200-£250 per day installation charge levied by a professional biomass boiler installer fitting the biomass boiler. The installation will usually take one to two days to complete.

How much could I save with a biomass boiler?

The average biomass boiler that burns wood pellets currently costs around £15,000 to £16,000, compared to circa £2,000 for an oil-fired boiler and £2,000-£3,000 for a gas-fired boiler. However, when it comes to fuel costs, biomass fuel is much cheaper, with wood pellets costing 3 pence per kilowatt hour (kWh) compared to around 9.3 pence per kWh for an oil-fired boiler and 10.3 pence for gas. 

Installing a biomass boiler can also save up to 40% on your energy bill as a gas boiler alternative, although this depends to some extent on various factors, such as the size of the house and the amount of energy needed to heat it. In general, once it is up and running, a biomass boiler will be much cheaper to run than oil, gas and electricity.

A biomass boiler can also displace around 9 tons of carbon emissions per year and may increase the value of your home as homebuyers are increasingly prioritising properties with renewable energy systems installed when making buying choices.

How much is a small biomass boiler?

The size of the boiler depends on the amount of space for storing the biomass fuel, which means that biomass boilers tend to be larger than other types of boiler. The cost also depends on the type of fuel, whether it is pellets, chips or logs.

• A small manual-fed log-burning biomass boiler usually costs £5,000-£13,000
• A large manual-fed log biomass boiler costs £13,000-£16,000
• A small automated pellet biomass boiler costs £15,000-£21,000 
• A large automated pellet biomass boiler costs £22,000-£31,000

How much does biomass boiler maintenance cost?

A biomass boiler will require a professional service at least once a year and current costs for this range between £180 and £450.

Burning wood fuel always produces some ash, which falls into an ash pan. This needs to be removed every one to four weeks, but it can be used as fertiliser in the garden or fed into a compost heap. Dry, high-quality fuel will produce less ash but might cost you more overall.

How much does biomass fuel cost?

There are three different types of wood fuel, specifically pellets, chips and logs. 

• Wood pellets usually cost £245 per tonne 
• Wood chips cost around £59 per tonne 
• Logs around £99 per tonne

It’s a good idea to buy fuel in bulk to keep costs low. A wood pellet biomass boiler in an average house will usually use 2-5 tons of wood pellets across the winter.

Wood chips are less dense than pellets and therefore are more expensive to transport, and they need more space to store them. For this reason, they are usually not suited to domestic premises.

Wood pellet and wood chip biomass boilers are often automated, via a nearby hopper, and so do not require manual feeding, but will need more space (around 10m2) and will be a more expensive initial investment. 

Can you get a grant for a biomass boiler?

Under certain circumstances, grants of up to £5,000 are available to help with biomass boiler costs under the government’s Boiler Upgrade Scheme. However, this grant is limited to properties in rural locations that are not connected to the gas grid. 

These properties also need an emissions certificate to show that polluting emissions will be minimised. Self-build properties are not eligible for this grant.

Grants were previously available under the Renewable Heat Incentive, but this government scheme ended in March 2022. Anyone who managed to sign up for it before the scheme ended will receive quarterly payments for seven years.

Britain’s Got Talent star Amanda Holden and TV comedian Alan Carr spent last summer renovating a pair of adjoining apartments in rural Sicily.

Holden brought the former social housing flats in Salemi in southwestern Sicily for a staggering one euro – about 88p – each.

Amanda and Alan have renovated their own homes in the past, but neither of them has tackled a project of this scale before. 

The pair’s refurbishment journey was captured by a camera crew for the eight-part BBC show Alan and Amanda’s Italian Job.

Knocking through to make a two-bedroom apartment

Amanda, 51, bought the flats, which overlook the stunning Siclian countryside, for her and close friend Alan, 46, as a summer-long refurbishment. She felt they would benefit from a major project after the difficulties of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Upon seeing the properties, which had mould-covered walls and debris everywhere, Alan said: "This is going to involve more than plumping up the cushions."

Despite being celebs, Alan and Amanda got their hands dirty with clearing rotting, rat-gnawed furniture out of the properties, smashing down bricked-up windows and walls, and plastering all under the watchful eye of locally-based British builder Scott Thompson, who the pair called their ‘rock’.

Finished with Italian Terrazzo flooring... and a disco ball

The pair sourced beautiful local traditional Sicilian marble and tiles, and combined religious iconography and Sicilian touches with a sleek, minimalist design for ‘Casa Alamanda’ - the name they eventually called the home.

In the dining room they added a jaw-dropping custom-built marble table and throughout the kitchen and living area, they installed stunning Terrazzo as their stone flooring idea, They also installed simple yet eye-catching light fixtures made by gluing together three vintage second-hand tiles as well as a disco bath in Holden's pink bathroom.

Alan Carr meanwhile went for a serene green for his ensuite, highlighting how different his interior design tastes ended up being compared to Amanda Holden, who was more into a touch of Hollywood glamour. 

And in part due to this, the project was not without tension. After the work was completed Amanda asked Alan: “Do you think we should go into business?

Alan replied: “No, I think it would be the end of our friendship.”

In the final episode, Amanda concludes: “We’ve pulled together to breathe new life into our empty apartments. We’ve managed to marry Sicilian traditions with Amanda and Alan’s personalities. We did exactly what we wanted to do. Brick by brick this place has come back to life.”

The property was set to be sold and the money donated to UK charities after the show finished filming.

Why are Italian towns selling homes for one euro?

Several Italian towns are selling off vacant houses for €1 each to keep dying towns and villages alive. Young Italians are migrating to the city to seek work, leaving ageing populations and empty homes.

The supply comes from elderly Italians who have nobody to leave their house to, or younger citizens who have inherited properties in areas they have no intention of relocating to.

Second homes in Italy are taxed, so selling these unused houses for a nominal sum may make financial sense. If these homes are refurbished and occupied they are worth more to the towns than leaving them empty.

New owners are required to submit details of a renovation project within two to 12 months of purchase (although this varies from authority to authority), start work within one year, and complete it within the next three.

Renovation is in the region of €20,000-50,000 depending on the size of the property, plus legal fees of about €3,000 on top.

You can watch Amanda and Alan's Italian Job series in its entirety on BBC iPlayer.

Installing natural gas boiler alternatives can have wide-ranging benefits for homeowners, including lower energy bills and a reduced carbon footprint, but with so many systems available, how do you know which one is right for your home?

Roughly 80% of UK homes are heated with natural gas boilers, but the government has targeted 2035 as a cut-off date for installations of these boilers in existing homes. 

Instead, the government is advocating the take-up of air source heat pumps and ground source heat pumps to help the UK reach net zero. It has pledged that 600,000 heat pumps will be installed per year by 2028. 

Making the switch from natural gas boilers to cleaner systems will be an important step towards net zero, and there is a wide range of alternatives to choose from. In this guide we’ll look at the systems available, how they work, and the benefits of choosing greener heating systems.

What are the benefits to gas boiler alternatives? 

There are four key benefits to swapping your natural gas boiler for a low-carbon heating system: 

1. You’ll have lower bills: Lower-carbon heating systems typically cost less to run than natural gas boilers, and seeing as around 60% of average energy bills for the year come from gas boilers, according to Viessmann, upgrading a more efficient alternative could help with your monthly outgoings.
   
2. You’ll use less energy: Most new gas boilers can be up to 95% energy efficient but boilers that are over 10 years old could have a drop of around 30%. Opting for a renewable heating system, such as a heat pump, which delivers more heat energy than the electrical energy it consumes, means you’ll waste less energy.
   
3. They’re better for the planet: Low-carbon heating systems do what they say on the tin: they emit less carbon, utilising cleaner and sustainable sources of power.
   
4. They’ll futureproof your home: Not only will a low-carbon heating system reduce the risk of carbon monoxide building up in your home, but you’ll be future-proofing and adding value to your house.

 What gas boiler alternatives are there? 

Air source heat pumps

Air source heat pumps (ASHPs) use a small amount of electricity, captured from the air, to absorb the natural heat from a cold place and replace it in a warmer one. 

They have comparatively low running costs to natural gas boilers, but they can be expensive to install without funding (more on this below). 

They work very efficiently in homes with good insulation and airtightness, but they might not be suitable for every home without certain changes to your home - for example, you’ll need to have exterior space for the heat pump and interior space for the hot water cylinder.

Cost: Air source heat pumps installation costs can range between £12,000-£17,000, according to EDF Energy, while Octopus Energy put its lowest ASHP installation at £8,000. 

Ground source heat pumps 

Ground source heat pumps (GSHPs) harness natural heat from the ground which is then distributed into your home's heating system.

Running costs are likely to be around 45% lower compared to a natural gas boiler, according to energy expert and Homebuilding & Renovating contributor Tim Pullen, but, like with ASHPs, they can be expensive to install. 

They are generally only suitable for homes with outdoor space for tubes that need to be buried below ground and the interior space for the hot water cylinder. 

Cost: A basic ground source heat pump costs between £2,000 to £15,000, depending on size and brand, according to Pullen.

Hybrid solar panels

Hybrid solar panels combine the technology of solar PV and solar thermal panels to produce both heat and electricity. 

The panels have pipes built-in to the collector (which has refrigerant inside that absorb the sun’s energy), as well as fluid circulating between the water cylinder and the collector. This means that as the sun shines on the panel the light is absorbed by the PV cells and the heat is absorbed by the solar thermal element. 

These panels are ideal for homes with smaller roofs because they do not take up as much space as PV or thermal panels. 

Cost: The cost will depend on factors such as the manufacturer, capacity of the system, components included and the installer. But energy expert and Homebuilding & Renovating contributor David Hilton says you can expect to pay around £10,000 for a 4kWp system.

Biomass boilers

Biomass boilers burn natural materials such as wood pellets, chips or logs to provide heating and power hot water boilers. 

While burning wood may not seem that carbon-friendly, biomass boilers are a low-carbon system because they burn significantly less than fossil fuels. 

Biomass boilers tend to be the size of a four-drawer filing cabinet, which you will need storage space for. You will also need somewhere to store your fuel and keep it dry. 

Cost: Hilton says that a fully automated wood pellet boiler installed using a typical weekly hand feed option should cost between £11,000 and £15,000, while a fully installed automated system with pellet hopper and delivery fuel system would typically cost between £20,000 and £25,000.

Hybrid heat pumps

Hybrid heat pumps offer a halfway house if you’re looking to replace your boiler. They essentially comprise a heat pump and another heat source (such as a boiler) that are combined into one system. 

They work according to predetermined settings which change between the two different heat sources. For example, you could have your boiler providing your hot water and the heat pump providing space heating.

In homes where a heating system is already installed it may make a lot of sense to go for a hybrid solution. And hybrid heat pumps are very well suited to older properties that may require higher heating system temperatures for colder days in winter.

Cost: Some pre-manufactured hybrid products range from around £5,000 upwards for the materials, then the installation costs will depend on whether significant changes are required to your pipework and the radiator sizes. 

Infrared heating panels

Infrared heating panels offer an easy-to-fit alternative to a central heating system. The panels emit infrared energy which is absorbed into solid objects, and the thermal mass of these objects have the ability to hold three times more energy than air. This means that infrared heating will level out any rises and dips in your home’s temperature.

Cost: Standard infrared heating panels cost between £120 and £180 each. However panels with more complex designs will cost between £300 and £500.

Hydrogen-ready boilers

Hydrogen-ready boilers run on natural gas and a 20% blend of hydrogen, and are undergoing trials in the UK to assess their safety and efficacy. They will also have the capability to run on a 100% hydrogen gas network. It is thought that hydrogen-ready boilers could be rolled out between 2023-2025.

 What financial assistance is available?

The aforementioned Boiler Upgrade Scheme is one of many air source heat pump grants (which covers funding for biomass boilers, too, as well as ground source heat pumps) and you can find additional ground source heat pump grants.

If you live in Scotland, you can apply for £7,500 towards the cost of a new heat pump under the Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan scheme.

There’s also some solar panels grants you can utilise to help lower the cost of installation. 

A government consultation is underway that could ensure hydrogen-ready boilers are ready to install in UK homes from 2026.  And if implemented, the consultation could pave the way to a ban on natural gas-only boilers being sold from 2026.

“Mandating hydrogen-ready boilers will give industry the confidence to prepare supply chains to ensure the benefits of the potential transition are maximised,” said the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), which announced the consultation.

It also marks a significant update after the government said last year it would not make a firm decision on what role hydrogen heating will play in UK homes until 2026. 

Hydrogen-ready boiler prototypes are under development by the likes of Baxi Heating and Worcester Bosch, so far running with a hydrogen mix of 20%. The consultation, which ends in March 2023, is unlikely to immediately look at converting hydrogen-ready boilers to run on 100% hydrogen gas. 

What are hydrogen-ready boilers?

Hydrogen-ready boilers run on natural gas and a 20% blend of hydrogen, and have the capability to run on a 100% hydrogen gas network. 

These boilers have been trialled across the UK but are not yet available to homeowners. It is thought that they could be rolled out between 2023-2025. 100% hydrogen boilers are also undergoing extensive trials but are not likely to be released to the UK market for several years. 

One of the benefits for homeowners who install a hydrogen-ready boiler is that it will enable a smooth transition to hydrogen when it is introduced to the UK gas grid. This means that homeowners will be able to avoid disruption caused by changing cookers or boilers. 

The Energy Networks Association (ENA), the industry body representing energy network operators in the UK, said earlier this year that it is preparing to introduce 20% hydrogen into the regular UK gas grid from 2023.

Will there be a natural gas boiler-only ban?

No new homes are expected to be connected to the gas network from 2025, as part of the Future Homes Standard. But uncertainty remains over the timeframe for the phase-out of natural gas boilers in existing homes.

An outright ban date of 2035 for existing homes has been widely reported in the media, but the government’s language has softened since publishing the Heat and Buildings Strategy in 2021. 

And this week’s consultation echoed the lack of an outright ban, with ministers writing: “The government has set the ambition to end the sale of new and replacement natural gas only boilers from 2035.” 

Will hydrogen-ready boilers be safe?

Heating homes with hydrogen was shown to be feasible and safe in September 2021, following the results of the first HyDeploy pilot trial at Keele University. 

In the trial, 20% hydrogen was injected and blended into Keele University's existing private gas network, which supplies 30 faculty buildings and 100 domestic properties.

Earlier this year, hydrogen-ready boilers were installed at the Royal Berkshire Hospital in what is believed to be the first use of this technology in the NHS.

However, there has been some pushback against hydrogen, with one review concluding that there were still technical difficulties to overcome before it becomes a viable widespread green alternative.

How much will hydrogen-ready boilers cost?

Hydrogen-ready boilers will be sold at the same price as natural gas boilers, as a result of the UK boiler manufacturers ‘price promise’ made in 2021 by the boiler industry’s big four manufacturers (Baxi, Worcester Bosch, Vaillant and Ideal).

The government’s consultation will examine these costs further, with ministers writing. “The government needs confidence that consumers will not face a premium for their purchase.”

A hydrogen-ready boiler could cost up to £2,500 to install on average, according to Boiler Central. 

Why hydrogen?

Hydrogen is expected to play a significant role in the decarbonisation of heavy industry and the transport network, and the government wants to utilise hydrogen alongside air source heat pumps and ground source heat pumps to help homeowners save on their energy bills and cut their use of fossil fuels. 

This is because the main by-product of burning hydrogen gas is water, which represents a way of greening up the gas grid.

The government published its Hydrogen Strategy in 2021, which laid out plans for up to 35% of the UK’s energy consumption to come from hydrogen by 2035. 

If your boiler breaks down in the middle of winter it’s panic stations — no hot water, no heating. You can get a repair to get it up and running again. But if your boiler’s getting on a bit, it could be time to think about getting a new one.

Boiler replacement costs might frighten you, but a new more efficient boiler is a long-term investment that will save you money in the long run — and some of the big names in heating like British Gas can give you great interest-free deals to help ease the financial burden.  

5 signs a boiler is about to break down

Your energy bill will end up costing you more if your boiler isn’t working as well as it should. And if your boiler stops working suddenly, it’s a nightmare when you’re left with no heating and hot water at this time of year.

To help make sure that this doesn’t happen you need to spot the tell-tale signs that your boiler could need replacing sooner rather than later.

1. Lack of heat and hot water
This is one of the most obvious signs that your boiler may be on its last legs. If your boiler isn’t working properly, the heat from it won’t reach the right temperature and won’t move heat around – no matter what temperature you turn the thermostat to.

2. Pressure keeps dropping and rising
If the pressure on your boiler keeps dropping, you may have a faulty valve or a leak on your system elsewhere which may lead to your boiler failing.

If the pressure on your boiler keeps rising you will need to know how to reduce boiler pressure before it causes any serious damage. Your boiler might have a release valve or vent that isn’t working properly. Ideally call in a professional as soon as possible to get it sorted.

3. You can hear strange noises
A normal, healthy boiler typically produces a faint humming sound when in use. But if you start hearing banging noises or strange gurgling sounds then there is something amiss. It might be something as simple as trapped air, but it could be a more serious problem so it’s best to get it checked ASAP.

4. Fluctuating water and heating temperatures
Another reason could be that a part in the boiler has become blocked and isn’t letting the water flow consistently. This can be caused by rust from old radiators or sludge in the heating pipes. To help sort the issue you need to call in a professional. When looking for a gas safe engineer to fix your boiler, make sure that they are on the Gas Safe Register. 

5. Leaks and unpleasant odours
Leaks and strange smells are not normal for a healthy boiler. If there are pools of water appearing around pipe joints and under the boiler, this probably means there's a leak. It might be condensation on the pipes but most likely not.

If you have a gas boiler and you notice unpleasant smells this could be gas or carbon monoxide escaping and needs to be dealt with swiftly to prevent any safety risks.  

Why an efficient boiler is essential (especially in winter)

How do you know if your boiler is working at optimum efficiency? You don't. You might have an energy-efficient boiler, but if it isn't maintained and looked after properly, it may slowly become more inefficient.

But don’t panic, there are ways to keep your boiler in tip top condition. An annual boiler service is an easy and inexpensive way to keep your boiler in prime condition. But what benefits does an efficient boiler bring?

Lower heating bills are the big benefit, and with costs spiralling every chance to save money is welcome. Plus, you get a more reliable heating system – something everyone wants in the winter – and it will be better for the environment. Everyone’s a winner.

Why a new boiler is a good long-term solution for reducing energy bills

As your boiler gets older, it may get less efficient. It might still be chugging away nicely after 10 years, but it’s likely that it won’t be running as well. This isn’t good for your energy bills and it's not good for the environment. The rising cost of fuel and an inefficient boiler is not a good combination. The simple solution is to invest in a new more efficient boiler, but what type of boiler is best for you?

There are basically three main domestic boiler types to choose from: combi, conventional and system. Combi boilers are over 90% efficient, cheap to maintain and good for small-medium sized homes.

Conventional boilers are often more suitable for older homes with large households, while system boilers are similar to conventional but can be better for more modern central heating systems. Talk to a professional who will help you decide what’s best for you.  

Ovo Energy customers can now apply for a smart boiler worth £7,500, which will be installed for free as part of a new trial. 

The energy supplier, together with UK Power Networks and tepeo, plans to install zero-carbon boilers that will cut households’ carbon emissions by 40%, and lower their energy bills following soaring energy price rises this year. 

Checking your boiler is working efficiently can be a quick and easy energy saving tip for lowering heating bills, but this trial could be particularly valuable for households with inefficient or old boilers. 

Only 30 households in East and South East England will be selected for the 12-month trial, and homeowners will be able to keep the boilers at the end of the trial. 

How do these smart boilers work?

OVO Energy says the Zero Emission Boiler (ZEB — pictured above) operates like a battery, storing heat until it is required, then distributing it through the home at the cheapest and 'greenest' parts of the day.

The smart boiler automatically works out when the grid is likely to be greener and uses flexible energy tariffs when it needs to charge, so households use less power and save energy while lowering their carbon footprint. 

Under the trial, participating households will be charged at their standard rate for their energy use, then OVO will check how much electricity was used under the smart boiler and add credits to their bills so households pay a lower rate. 

Households will pay around 12p per kWh on the trial. This is in contrast to the current capped unit rate for electricity under the Energy Price Guarantee of 34.04p per KWh.

The ZEB boilers will work with radiators and underfloor heating systems, although you will need to have a smart meter and hot water cylinder installed to be eligible. The boilers take around one to two days to install. 

Ovo chief executive Raman Bhatia said: “With household heating accounting for 17% of the UK’s carbon emissions, Neat Heat [trial] drives forward our commitment to promoting zero carbon living and a sustainable future, whilst helping our customers to lower their energy bills through the provision of smart green tech solutions.”

Ovo customers can register for the trial online.

A couple in their 70s have thanked an “angel in disguise” for installing a free replacement boiler in their home after their old boiler stopped working. 

Ann and Keith Hartley, aged 71 and 74 respectively, live in Burnley and had faced the prospect of a winter with no heating due to not being able to afford a new boiler. 

Making use of government and charity grants is one of many valuable energy-saving tips to help homeowners manage energy price rises, and one of these CIC is the Disabled and Elderly Plumbing and Heating Emergency Response (Depher). Here's how they helped the Hartleys.

A free boiler replacement thanks to goodwill

The Hartleys contacted Depher, which provides free and discounted plumbing and heating services for vulnerable households, and were initially informed by founder James Anderson that it would cost £1,695 for a replacement boiler and installation.

According to LancsLive, the Hartleys only had around £1,000 to put towards a new unit, so Mr Anderson posted a tweet asking for donations to cover the rest of the required cost. A few hours later an anonymous member of the public donated the £695 needed to purchase the unit. 

Mr Anderson then helped the couple apply for a £400 rebate from Burnley Council and said he would install the boiler for free, meaning the couple had to pay nothing towards it. 

“We didn’t think it was possible for somebody to help us, it doesn’t normally happen to us,” Mrs Hartley told the Press Association (PA).

“We were both dumbfounded, we were stuck for words… [Mr Anderson] was like an angel in disguise to be quite honest, we were both very emotional about it.”

Tackling the cost of living crisis

Mr Anderson launched Depher in 2017 after being alerted to a rogue trader who had quoted a vulnerable man £5,500 for a new boiler he did not need. 

Depher, a CIC (community initiative company), is reliant on public donations to cover the cost of labour and materials, allowing it to provide free or discounted heating and plumbing services to those who need it most.

In addition to fitting replacement boilers, the CIC has also topped up people’s electricity meters, provided vulnerable children with birthday presents and cake, and delivered food bank shops.

The work has even come to the attention of actor Hugh Grant, who has made donations of several thousand pounds to Depher, which reinvests any profit into the work it does for the community. 

“The cost-of-living crisis is causing anxiety and depression, which is really, really bad,” Mr Anderson told the PA. “So it had come to a stage where I thought, ‘I’ve got to do something about this, I’ve got to help them as much as I possibly can.’”

What home improvement grants are available?

Low-income or vulnerable households can benefit from government schemes such as the Warm Home Discount scheme, which provides a one-off rebate on your energy bill, and the Energy Company Obligation, which offers funding towards energy-efficient home improvements. 

The following support is also available:

1. Insulation grants - some schemes offer financing towards installing cavity wall insulation and loft insulation
2. Window replacement grants - some scheme exist across the UK to help cover installation costs
3. Government help with energy bills - try these funding options to help with your energy bills, and to make home improvements that can lower your energy usage 

Underfloor heating with combi boilers is an important option to explore for those who either do not yet have the budget for a heat pump or those adding underfloor heating to an extension where the existing home is already run off a combi boiler.

Wet underfloor heating has become a very popular heating solution as it provides an even heat across a room as well as being extremely long lasting.

It can also be cost-effective and energy efficient to run if installed well with a network of pipes embedded into the floor that all return to a manifold.

Our expert guide tells you everything you need to know about installing underfloor heating with combi boilers.

Can you add underfloor heating with combi boilers?

There is no reason why you cannot use a fossil fuel boiler such as a combi boiler, system boiler or heat only boiler to provide the heat for underfloor heating.

The main benefit of using a combi boiler is cost. Combi boilers are generally far cheaper to buy and fit than heat pumps. 

However, the downside is that underfloor heating needs to operate at a lower temperature and as such, if you are using underfloor heating with combi boilers, you will need to adapt your system to appropriately regulate the temperature.

If a high temperature boiler (i.e. a combi boiler) is used in the system then a blending valve needs to be fitted to the underfloor heating manifold to regulate the temperature in the pipes and prevent the floor from overheating and potentially getting damaged and/or cracking.

What is the best boiler system to have with underfloor heating?

The best heating system to have is underfloor heating with a heat pump as this is designed to run efficiently at a lower temperature. 

If you do not yet have underfloor heating but are planning to carry out an underfloor heating installation then the best advice is design the system for a very low temperature solution such as a heat pump and then design in a blending valve if you install a boiler instead. 

This will allow for an easy change if you want a heat pump at any time in the future. This may mean that you have more and thicker pipework that is looped closer together, and potentially more manifold ports, but you will also have more flexibility and less hassle should you wish to embrace low temperature solutions in the future.

If you do not design your system with a heat pump in mind, if you later add one and the piping and looping is not designed for a heat pump, this may mean your system does not operate as efficiently and may potentially cost more to run.

What if I also have radiators on the same system?

A combi boiler has a second heat exchanger for central heating and this is a closed loop pumped system that circulates water through the radiators and underfloor heating. 

The blending valve on the manifold limits the heat being delivered to the heating circuit but if the boiler is too large then there may be a need for a buffer cylinder to be installed to act as a heat store. These are typically anything from 50 litre up to 200 litres depending on the boiler capacity and the building heat load. 

If there are radiators on the heating system as well as underfloor heating then you have two options if you are running them from a boiler:

• You can either size the radiators to run at a lower temperature and then have the underfloor heating and radiators all running at the same temperature;
• Or you can run the radiators at high temperature and the underfloor heating at the lower temperature. 

On the latter, you can separate them with a number of valves if you want separate zones but the blending valve and buffer tank will cool the water for the underfloor heating.

What size combi boiler is best for my project?

A combi boiler has no hot water cylinder and heats the water for your bath or shower instantaneously. The water temperature is lifted by 35 degrees and the flow rate will vary according to the power of the boiler. It is therefore important to ensure your combi boiler is large enough to cope with the demands of your home and underfloor heating.

As an example, a 24kW boiler will typically lift the water temperature at around 11 litres per minute but a 40kW boiler will be able to lift the temperature at around 17 litres per minute. 

Many homes will have bigger boilers installed in order to have better showers but this does tend to mean that the boiler output can be too large for the central heating and then result in short stop-start cycles, which will potentially make your system less energy efficient.

The solution is having a boiler with modulation, which is the ability for the boiler to vary its power output. Better boilers have a wider modulation capability meaning they can ramp down further which may also help. Basic modulation may mean that a 30kW boiler can deliver three different outputs, say 30, 20 and 10kW. A better boiler may have 15 stages meaning it can ramp down from 30kW to 2kW in 2kW steps.

Essentially, it is not only size that you need to consider but modulation capabilities. 

This stunning 'Hobbit House' in one of the Shire counties not only visually blends into the landscape but is green at its core too.

The eco home, which is a self build project, is kitted it out with its own borehole water supply for irrigation, solar panels and a biomass boiler. 

Meanwhile a living roof is not only a striking feature akin to a home from Lord of the Rings, but minimises the visual impact of the house and provides a habitat.

The home in Grinshill, Shropshire, is now up for sale for £1.75 million through estate agent Strutt & Parker. 

It was originally "brought to life" in 2017 after its current owner built the home on a plot of land at the bottom of the garden, explains Alastair Summerfield, Director of Strutt & Parker Shrewsbury.

And any potential buyer will be impressed with its eco credentials and layout for modern living. 

A living roof blends into the landscape

Perhaps this eco house's most striking feature – and one for which it has been dubbed the 'Hobbit House' – is its sloping living roof.

"Three Oaks has a fantastic eye-catching design – in particular the sloping living roof – but is also incredibly well suited to everyday living," says Mr Summerfield.

"The sloping sedum roof helps to reduce the visual massing of the property — key for a property of this size and in a location such as this. In fact, from the adjacent hill, a local beauty spot, this self build blends into the landscape," adds Claire Lloyd, editor of Homebuilding & Renovating.   

But aesthetics aside, it also serves a practical purpose in helping to keep the temperature stable inside the house, including aiding to prevent overheating in summer. 

"The living roof helps the home’s thermal performance and is a great draw for flora and fauna,” says Mr Summerfield.

Green roof such as this can also help in noisy environments, providing an element of sound insulation. That said, noise doesn't appear to be a worry for this home as it is nestled within the Shropshire countryside, far from any busy traffic on nearby roads.

Living roofs also absorb water well, reducing rainwater run-off, and as such can help to mitigate against flooding.

Solar panels give the home its own power source

This self build has solar panels installed on the upper deck of the roof to give the property its own renewable energy source.

Whilst the property is connected to the grid, the solar PV panels mean it won't put pressure on the national grid, which given there's 7,000 square foot of internal space, is an added bonus.

An electric Aga in the kitchen capitalises on the home's generation, too.

There's a biomass boiler with intelligent heating

Biomass boilers burn organic material – often in the form of wood chips, pellets or logs – which is renewable, to create heat. This is considered preferable to gas or oil boilers that use fossil fuels.

The self build is set up to use this biomass boiler in conjunction with 'an intelligent heating system' to help with heating costs. This includes underfloor heating throughout the home. There are also Aga log burners, which can be found in several rooms including its library.

The home being well-insulated – it has an EPC rating of B – helps to reduce running costs.

Family area opens up to bring the outdoors in

One of the great features of this house is the double bifold aluminium doors in the family area.

These open up onto a paved garden terrace that makes the entire space feel like one area. The two spaces are beautifully linked to work together with a continuous flow of Porcelanosa tiles throughout. 

The terrace leads on to one acre of gardens too.

The double bifold doors are also recessed with no step between the indoor and outdoor spaces, again to make it feel like one area.

"The kitchen opens out onto a large decked terrace which is brilliant for entertaining, as well as bringing the outdoors into the home," explains Strutt & Parker's Mr Summerfield.

Large ceiling windows in the family room add light to the space too.

The property actually has two kitchens, the second can be accessed privately with the possibility of being able to turn the area into a self-contained annex.

Open plan kitchen and diner for modern living

The kitchen is designed by Luxury kitchen company Smallbone, with a Gaggenau fridge-freezer, electric Aga and an inbuilt Miele coffee machine and microwave. 

The kitchen and dining room area whilst boosting open plan living is divided into split levels, linked by a curved stairwell with tile treads, to make sure the space stills feels homely.

A glass balustrade keeps the area feeling open plan as well as making sure there is plenty of natural light.

The dining room on the mezzanine floor overlooks the kitchen and is 37ft in length.

The kitchen has not one but two islands, one large central island with a marble work surface plus a second with oak top and breakfast bar.

The whole open space makes for a great place for the family on a daily basis but also for entertaining guests.

"The main reception area in the house gives a real wow factor and lends itself to family living — it’s spacious, has great natural light and the split level aspect provides useful ‘zoning’ whilst still being open plan," explains Mr Summerfield.

Bedrooms bathed with natural light and outside access

The 'Hobbit House' has four bedrooms, each with an en suite bathroom and bespoke inbuilt wardrobes from Hammonds.

But what makes the rooms particularly special is how yet again it manages to bring the outdoors inside with glass doors and floor to ceiling large windows.

A stunning eco home that sets an example

The Hobbit House is on the market with Strutt & Parker for £1.75million and currently under offer.

Hydrogen boilers are an exciting new technology which could revolutionise the way we heat our homes, helping to lower energy costs and decrease our carbon emissions.

Currently around 85% of homes are heated with polluting natural gas, of which the main by-product is carbon dioxide. Heating our homes this way accounts for around 14% of the UK's carbon emissions, according to the Committee on Climate Change, and this is a significant obstacle for the government, which is striving to make the UK net zero by 2050.

In contrast, the main by-product of burning hydrogen gas is water. Hydrogen heating represents a way of greening up the gas grid, and hydrogen boilers can be a viable low-carbon heating system in the future. 

This is everything you need to know about hydrogen boilers, how they could benefit your home and when they will be made available. 

What is a Hydrogen Boiler?

A hydrogen boiler works in a very similar way to natural gas boilers. Whereas natural gas boilers burn gas (or methane), hydrogen boilers burn hydrogen. This creates hot flue gases that can be used to heat water. 

And What Are Hydrogen-Ready Boilers?

Some hydrogen boilers will be able to run on 100% hydrogen as well as natural gas, but other hydrogen-ready boilers, such as Viessmann's Vitodens 100-W gas condensing boiler, run with a hydrogen mix of up to 20% and 80% natural gas.  

In the first HyDeploy pilot trial in 2020, 20% of hydrogen was injected and blended into Keele University's existing private gas network, which supplies 30 faculty buildings and 100 domestic properties. 

There is another hydrogen mix trial underway in Winlaton, a village near Newcastle, where 670 homes have become some of the first in the UK to trial natural gas blended with hydrogen. The trial is expected to conclude in 2022. 

Benefits of Hydrogen Boilers

A major benefit of owning a hydrogen boiler is that it will reduce your carbon emissions, making your home environmentally friendly. 

It could also help to decrease your long-term energy bills. Hydrogen is more energy efficient than natural gas - there is equal energy in 1kg of hydrogen as there is in 2.8kg of gas, according to Power Technology - and this means you’ll use less fuel. 

Furthermore, when the UK’s gas network is able and ready to switch from methane to hydrogen, those with hydrogen-ready boilers won’t need to replace their heating systems. No changes will be required to pipework or radiators, and you won’t need to install a water tank. 

Plus, any hydrogen-ready boiler that is installed initially to run off natural gas should only require one hour’s labour to convert it to hydrogen.

Will Hydrogen Boilers be Cheap to Run? 

In July 2021, the boiler industry’s big four manufacturers confirmed that a hydrogen-ready boiler will cost no more than its natural gas equivalent. Baxi, Worcester Bosch, Vaillant and Ideal confirmed that a new price-promise will be introduced which could save homeowners £2.3 billion. 

Boiler Guide estimates that pricing would be similar to natural gas boilers - somewhere between £400 to £3,000 before factoring in the installation.

Are Hydrogen Boilers Available?

Hydrogen boilers are not yet available to homeowners. And the government confirmed in its Heat and Buildings Strategy that while 100% hydrogen heating is being trialled nationwide, it will not make a firm decision on what role hydrogen will play in heating the UK’s homes until 2026.

Both Baxi Heating and Worcester Bosch have developed 100% hydrogen boilers which are undergoing testing in the UK, and both manufacturers have called on the government to fast-track their market release for 2025.

Martyn Bridges, director of technical communication and product management at Worcester Bosch, told Homebuilding & Renovating that clarity from the government is important as to the next steps for release. 

“The sooner they say yes to placing hydrogen and hydrogen-ready boilers onto the market, the sooner we can get the investment needed to begin developing our portfolio.”

When this decision is confirmed, it could mean that millions of British households will either need to replace their boilers with heat pumps or install hydrogen-ready boilers capable of running on hydrogen gas.

The government's Hydrogen Strategy in 2021 laid out the groundwork for ensuring up to 35% of the UK’s energy consumption comes from hydrogen by 2035.

Are Hydrogen Boilers Safe?

Last year the government had to reiterate that hydrogen boilers will be safe after a study claimed hydrogen boilers could cause four times more explosions than natural gas boilers. 

Significantly, though, the study also revealed no carbon monoxide was created from the boilers - a major safety plus compared with natural gas boilers - and that the faulty boilers could have been fixed by installing two excess flow valves to easily regulate how hydrogen flows through the pipes.

Bridges said of the study: “The headline should have been that hydrogen boilers will save lives because there is no carbon monoxide created from hydrogen, which is by far the biggest hazard with burning gas. We are very confident that hydrogen is safer than natural gas.” 

And energy expert David Hilton, director of Heat and Energy Ltd and a contributor to Homebuilding & Renovating, remains upbeat over the future use, and safety, of hydrogen boilers. 

“Yes, we’re dealing with hydrogen, but the information is there to ensure boilers are safe. We need to look at how safe our infrastructure is, which can be done through annual inspections, and this will be especially important when the government changes the mix of hydrogen blend within the gas network.

“Another way to mitigate the risks is to have a transition period. For example, hydrogen is not compatible with steel pipes, so there’s a lot of transitions that need to happen: it may be that every house which uses a hydrogen boiler needs to be checked first.”

Are They a Viable Alternative to Heat Pumps?

While renewable tech such as air source heat pumps and ground source heat pumps, which run off electricity, will be vital in heating our homes, this technology will not be suitable for all homes. 

This is where hydrogen boilers can step in. But experts believe that the future of renewable heating will comprise both solutions.

Rick Bruins, business development manager at Remeha, part of BDR Thermea Group in the Netherlands. told Homebuilding & Renovating that a small heat pump would be effective for tackling outside temperatures up to 0ºC, then when it starts to freeze, the hydrogen boiler would begin to heat up the home. 

“Installing a heat pump with enough power to heat a home which is -10ºC is very expensive, but hydrogen is expensive too, so the combination of the two would make for a cost-effective solution,” said Bruins.

Eco heating systems need to have two things: zero CO2 emissions and a long life. One of the biggest decisions on any renovation or self build project is how you’re going to heat your home, and with gas boilers on the way out in new builds, eco heating systems are certainly a step in the right direction.

Whether you opt for an air source heat pump or alternative methods of home heating, it's vital that eco heating systems are installed with efficiency in mind. This means providing your home with enough warmth throughout the year while keeping environmental impact to a minimum.

In this guide, we look at how to go about choosing the right eco heating system for your home, comparing cost-effectiveness with levels of sustainability, so you can make an informed decision.

Why Choose Eco Heating Systems?

The typical gas or oil boiler will last 10-15 years before its efficiency has dropped to a point where it can no longer be used. This means that a house with a design life of 80 years will need seven or eight of them during that time.

Each replacement requires time and effort on your part while not being very good for the planet — thanks to the CO2 embodied in its system’s manufacturing. An eco heating system, however, should last longer, and make savings on emissions that outweigh the CO2 produced by manufacturing its replacement.

Which Are the Most Affordable Eco Heating Systems?

Budget-friendly eco heating systems are, ideally, ones you don’t install, because your house is so well insulated and airtight that dedicated heating isn’t necessary. 

This is, in all practical senses, impossible. Even if a thermally efficient house could be built, people would still need hot water, and therefore something to heat it. That could be done with solar energy, and the all-solar house has been done, but it is not cheap or easy and it’s a bit unpredictable. 

That said, the principle of improving thermal efficiency to minimise the heat demand remains the cheapest, and in some senses the greenest, option. Good insulation and airtightness is key to creating a warm, sustainable home. 

It will last for the life of the house it’s installed in, and extend that life by making the building more suitable for future demands. Meanwhile, CO2 embodied in the manufacture of the insulation will be recovered multiple times in emissions savings.

As such, before looking to eco heating systems, investing in the fabric of the building, to reduce your heating demand, should arguably be is the first priority, particularly when building a new home or taking on an extensive renovation.

Which Eco Heating Systems Are the Greenest?

The greenest option for eco heating systems is either a water source heat pump (which takes heat from a large body of water) with a heat battery, or a ground source heat pump. 

These pumps operate with equal efficiency night and day. A battery will store the heat produced, allowing the heat pump to be run at night when the carbon intensity of grid electricity is at its lowest (demand can often be met wholly by wind farms and nuclear plants). 

Heat from the battery can then be used for underfloor heating and hot water during the day. Be sure to sign up to a green electricity supplier like Octopus or Ecotricity, as well, for maximum efficiency. 

Systems of this type have effectively zero CO2 emissions and last 20 to 30 years, but the capital cost is high. This is where thermal efficiency like insulation and airtightness comes in, allowing the use of a smaller system to help mitigate this cost. 

Having said that, air source heat pumps are almost becoming the default standard for self builders and renovators. (Swapping your gas boiler for an air source heat pump is becoming more mainstream for owners of existing homes.)

This may principally be because there is no water available for a water source heat pump and not enough unshaded land for a ground source (or the bore hole alternative to the latter proves prohibitively expensive). But perhaps this is also because they are cheaper than the alternatives and more likely to be familiar to the local plumber or heating engineer. 

They are less efficient but are nonetheless a better option than a gas or oil boiler.

Eco Heating Systems: Which Is the Best Option?

It's now common knowledge that fossil fuels are a problem, but biomass isn’t perhaps the answer either. We can always grow more wood, but the embodied CO2 from manufacturing and transporting the fuel is still a huge cause for concern. 

That leaves electricity. There are times of the day and days in the year when the carbon intensity of grid electricity is zero. Each new wind or solar farm that opens, and each coal-fired power station that closes, makes this a better option. 

The only other alternative on the horizon is hydrogen heating as a replacement for grid gas, but that is still in its infancy in the UK. 

Having established that electricity is to be preferred, it is difficult to ignore the three- or four-fold efficiency advantage that heat pumps offer. Alternatives like modern, efficient night storage heaters and infrared heating (quick reacting, with low capital cost) have their place, but are seldom a whole-house option.  

New technologies are emerging all the time, like the Heat Wayv microwave boiler, which will likely offer whole-house heating, but it is not yet available for purchase.  

At present, heat pumps are the only proven technology, and used with a hot water cylinder, remain the best option. 

In the immediate future, the question is then not so much, ‘will a heat pump work for me’, but more, ‘how do I get my house ready for a heat pump’?

The UK government has confirmed it will not proceed with the previously suggested gas boiler ban set for 2035.

A spokesperson for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero stated: “We will not force anyone to rip out a working boiler and are making heat pumps more affordable by providing £7,500 towards the cost through the Boiler Upgrade Scheme.”

This announcement signifies a major policy shift, moving away from mandatory bans toward incentivising greener heating solutions such as air source heat pumps, new insulation and solar panels.

Gas boiler ban scrapped for existing homes

The UK government has officially announced it will abandon plans for a gas boiler ban, previously suggested for 2035.

Instead, the focus will shift to voluntary adoption of low-carbon heating alternatives, supported by financial incentives and relaxed planning rules.

The gas boiler ban, along with the oil boiler ban, were originally delayed until 2035 after initially targeting 2025, has now been abandoned altogether. The policy was part of the government's Future Homes Standard and Warm Homes Plan, which are set to be introduced later in 2025.

Instead of enforcing a ban, the government is prioritising measures to encourage greener heating options. A spokesperson for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero emphasised the new approach, stating: “We recognise there is still more to do to encourage consumers to switch to low-carbon alternatives such as heat pumps and have recently announced plans to remove planning constraints to make them easier to install."

What is the gas boiler ban?

The gas boiler ban is part of the government's plan to gradually phase out gas boilers and replace them with more environmentally-friendly gas boiler alternatives.

It will affect those looking to install new boilers existing homes, with gas boilers no longer being permitted. However, there won't be an outright ban on gas boilers, and the Warm Homes Plan confirmed that no one will be forced to remove them from their homes.

To help homeowners move away from natural gas, a Boiler Upgrade Scheme was also launched in April 2022, giving grants of up to £7,500 towards the cost of installing heat pump technology. This is to ensure sustainable heating alternatives cost the same to install as a gas boiler.

What gas boiler alternatives are there?

The government is focusing on the development of two key heating systems for the future of home heating in the UK; heat pumps and hydrogen boilers.

Heat pumps offer a climate-friendly heating solution as an alternative to natural gas boilers, however, they are, at present, an expensive technology to install comparatively, with the cost of installing an air source heat pump or ground source heat pumps can range between £6,000-£18,000.

The Boiler Upgrade Scheme will see new grants of £7,500 available to homeowners installing heat pumps. In some cases, such as with the installation of an air source heat pump, this could bring the cost of installation to a similar level as that of a new gas boiler.

While the Boiler Upgrade Scheme is only set to run until 31 March 2028, the Warm Homes Plan also outlines that the government will work with industry to bring down the cost of heat pumps, ensuring they cost the same to buy and run as gas boilers by 2030.

There are also biomass boilers, which homeowners can also get a £5,000 grant for under the Boiler Upgrade Scheme.

Other replacements for your gas boiler include:

• Solar thermal panels
• Log burning stoves
• Hydrogen heating

FAQs

Will my energy bills go up?

The Warm Homes Plan has proposed shifting levies from electricity to gas in order to reduce the running costs of heat pumps. How this will operate is unclear, however, it does mean that energy price rises could continue.

Heat pumps are are three to four times more efficient than traditional boilers, according to the Energy Saving Trust, and a standard air source heat pump installed in an average-sized, four-bedroom detached house would be between £395 and £425 cheaper to run a year than an old “G-rated” gas boiler.

The government’s decision to move away from the planned gas boiler ban marks a change in its strategy for reducing household emissions.

Instead of pursuing mandatory measures, the focus will shift to incentivising the adoption of low-carbon heating alternatives through schemes like the Boiler Upgrade Scheme and updates to planning regulations.

Further details on the government's revised approach will be outlined as part of the Future Homes Standard and Warm Homes Plan, set to be introduced later in 2025.

The government has finally published the much-anticipated Heat and Buildings Strategy, and while there are a number of funding commitments that may seem great on the surface, when we dig down they leave a lot to be desired. 

Under the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, grants of £5,000 will be offered to homes from April 2022 to fit an air source heat pump, with grants of £6,000 offered to fit a ground source heat  pump. There is a budget of £450 million, which may seem high, but that only amounts to 90,000 homes. Considering that there are around 29 million homes with gas boilers that number is not even a splash in the ocean. It is also way short of the government target of installing 600,000 heat pumps a year by 2028. 

Another point here is that £5,000 is only just about half the cost of a simple heat pump installation. The cost of a full heat pump retrofit could be nearly three times this figure if we consider the upgrades required to homes’ insulation, radiators and hot water cylinder to make the home anywhere near compatible with a heat pump system.

Most heat pumps require low-temperature emitter circuits to be efficient. Simply lowering the flow temperature in your existing radiator circuits will not result in enough heat being released into the room and the balance will be completely wrong, so they need to be correctly designed to be fit for purpose.

This is perhaps the elephant in the room. Our current boiler heating engineers are not all trained on low-temperature systems. Would this budget not have been better spent on training the new generation of installers and perhaps subsidising VAT on home improvement measures to help make them heat pump ready?

‘Five More Years of Limbo’

We have been told that heat pumps will save us money when compared with gas boilers. This is, however, not my experience. 

On paper they do save on carbon emissions, which is why the government is so keen on them, but the margin of (efficiency) error is large, so on all but the very well-insulated and airtight homes - which have a properly designed and installed system - the running costs inevitably will be lowest for a gas boiler.

On the plus side, the so-called gas boiler ban on new homes has been delayed until 2035 but any decision on what role hydrogen heating will play in the future gas grid has been put off till at least 2026. That still gives us around five more years of limbo. 

Manufacturers cannot really commit to upscaling production of 100% hydrogen-ready boilers (most current boilers are partially hydrogen-ready in that they can operate on up to 20% hydrogen in the gas mix) and therefore homeowners will not know whether they should invest in a new boiler or a heat pump system. 

Once there is a government commitment with legally-binding milestones, the investment be easier to justify, and we can be more certain that our hard-earned cash is not being thrown at a scheme would could leave us all worse off than if we did nothing. 

Take the Initiative

These green initiatives are positive in as much as they are at least an indication of the direction things are likely to go, but taking the initiative is important to ensure your home is cost-effective.

My advice is to insulate and draughtproof your home, recover waste heat, manage the heat in the whole home on a room-by-room basis, and then do your research and install the wisest heating source according to your use, location and affordability. 

Self builders have the advantage in that they have better control of the choices and can also implement strategies that allow for easy change at a later stage as, and if, required.

Do not be driven in your decision-making by government ‘what ifs’ or the time-frame of incentives. Do the best you can for your property and if there is a small pot of gold at the end of that rainbow then that is a bonus. 

The Heat and Buildings Strategy is a significant new publication which could have wide-reaching implications for homeowners in England.

Having been delayed multiple times, the government Strategy was published on 19 October and pledges £3.9 billion of new funding for decarbonising heat and buildings to help the UK meet its net zero target. 

These plans include the Boiler Upgrade Scheme launching in April - a renaming of the Clean Heat Grant - and an innovation programme to accelerate the growth of the heat pumps market. 

There’s also targets to ensure no new fossil fuel boilers are sold after 2035, but no-one will be forced to remove their existing natural gas boilers.

However, the Strategy has been criticised for failing to introduce a domestic retrofitting strategy and for delaying a decision on how to integrate hydrogen heating into our homes until 2026. 

This is what you need to know about the measures that will be introduced, and how they could impact your home. 

What is the Heat and Buildings Strategy?

The Heat and Buildings Strategy is first of its kind in England, laying out a roadmap to tackle emissions in homes and businesses. 

Its publication coincides with soaring energy price rises which could affect millions of households over winter. Roughly 14% of the UK’s carbon emissions comes from heating our homes, according to the Committee on Climate Change (CCC), and the Strategy gives clear signals to homeowners about the need to improve their energy efficiency. 

Business and Energy Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said of the Strategy: “Recent volatile global gas prices have highlighted the need to double down on our efforts to reduce Britain’s reliance on fossil fuels and move away from gas boilers over the coming decade to protect consumers in the long term.  

“As the technology improves and costs plummet over the next decade, we expect low carbon heating systems will become the obvious, affordable choice for consumers.”

Which Pledges Have Been Announced?

• The Boiler Upgrade Scheme — funding for homeowners to help install low-carbon heating systems such as heat pumps
• A plan to lower heat pump costs
• A Heat Pump Ready innovation programme to help make clean heat systems smaller and easier to install and cheaper to run 
• Targets to ensure all new heating systems installed in UK homes by 2035 are either using low-carbon technologies, such as electric heat pumps, or support new technologies like hydrogen boilers
• £3.9 billion of new funding, including £950m to go towards the Home Upgrades Grant scheme, to be used by local authorities to support low-income households with carrying out energy efficiency upgrades

Boiler Upgrade Scheme

Launching in April, the £450m Boiler Upgrade Scheme will enable households to apply for government grants of £5,000 or £6,000 to install low-carbon heating systems. 

The government says that homeowners who choose to install a heat pump on the scheme will pay a similar amount as if they were installing a traditional natural gas boiler. 

In the government's 10 Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution published last year, it pledged to fit 600,000 heat pumps per year by 2028, but Mike Childs, head of science at Friends of the Earth, fears the grants won’t lead to enough heat pumps being installed. 

“Of course this is presented to look fantastic, and with industry backing, but a quick glance reveals it to be quite modest. £450m delivered via individual £5,000 grants means 90,000 heat pump installations over three years,” he said. 

“That just isn’t very much, and won’t meet the prime minister’s ambition of 600,000 a year by 2028. Investment will drive down the cost of heat pumps, and technical innovation plus skills training is a part of this, but so is scale. These grants will only incentivise the best-off households.”

Heat Pump Costs Will Fall

In a bold pledge, the government is aiming for low-carbon heating systems such as heat pumps to cost the same to buy and run as fossil fuel boilers by 2030. It says that big cost reductions of between a quarter and a half by 2025 are expected, as the market expands and technology develops.

However, details are sparse on how this will be achieved, and the challenge facing the government is stark. 

The cost of installing heat pumps can range between £8,000-£14,000, and while they can lead to long-term energy savings, a recent report by the Energy and Utilities Alliance revealed 80% of people said that this was either too excessive and they couldn’t afford to pay (54%), or that they would pay it only with financial support (26%). 

‘Heat Pump Ready’ Innovation Programme

A £60m innovation fund will be launched to grow and expand the heat pump market. This will provide funding to drive technological innovation which will make heat pumps smaller, easier to install and cheaper to run in the long-term. 

Natural Gas Boiler Target

The natural gas boiler ban looked set to commence from 2035, but the government has stopped short of announcing an outright ban.

Instead, the Strategy says that while only low-carbon heating systems will be installed in homes from this date, no-one will be forced to remove their existing fossil fuel boilers.

The government plans to use the transition of the next 14 years to help households gradually move away from fossil fuel boilers in an affordable, practical and fair way.

Levies Will be Shifted From Electric Bills

There will also be a shift in levies away from electricity bills over the next decade. This is to ensure that the price of electricity falls meaning heat pumps will be no more expensive to run than gas boilers. A call for evidence is expected to be published with decisions made in 2022. 

Key Strategy Criticisms

Industry groups had advocated for the introduction of a national retrofit strategy as part of the Strategy. The government confirmed that insulation will be improved in social housing and for those in fuel poverty, and announced plans for “upgrading as many homes as possible to achieve EPC band C by 2035 where cost-effective, practical and affordable”, but it stopped short of introducing a new insulation or retrofitting plan. 

Brian Berry, chief executive of the Federation of Master Builders (FMB), said of this omission: "If there is no detail in the Strategy on how we can address the megatonnes of carbon lost through the leaky walls and roofs of our homes, it will have failed and the benefits of installing heat pumps risk being lost."

(MORE: We Need to Talk About Insulate Britain’s Demands for our Homes)

And Paul Testa, founder of Paul Testa Architecture and contributor to Homebuilding & Renovating, added that he was surprised at the lack of energy-efficiency measures announced, saying, “we need to do more than just decarbonise our heat network, we need to reduce our demand as well”.

Meanwhile, the government also confirmed that hydrogen heating won't be used in homes for at least five years, a disappointing outcome for Worcester Bosch, which is currently trialling its 100% hydrogen boiler prototype.

CEO Carl Arntzen said:  “Whilst it is encouraging to see that hydrogen is still on the agenda and is referred to within the Strategy, it is a shame to see that a decision around hydrogen won’t be made until five years from now."

What’s the Reaction Been?

Phil Hurley, chair of the Heat Pump Association, welcomed the "bold steps" towards accelerating the installations of heat pumps on homes. 

“The announcement will give industry and installers a huge confidence boost that now is the time to scale-up and retrain in preparation for the mass roll out of heat pumps, as well as making heat pumps more affordable, so all consumers can soon access and enjoy the benefits of reliable low carbon heating that stands the test of time.”

And Keith Anderson, chief executive of ScottishPower, said of the Boiler Upgrade Scheme: “Ready access to support grants will kick-start the demand for electric heating, allowing the industry to accelerate the delivery of electrification and quickly bring down upfront costs through innovation and growing the supply chain.” 

But Mike Foster, CEO of the Energy and Utilities Alliance believes the Strategy is “insufficient for the scale of the challenge we face".

Commenting on the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, he said: “The grant hardly sets the world alight and is insufficient to the scale of the challenge we face in terms of reaching Net Zerio.”

“It subsidises 30,000 heat pumps being installed each year and is well short of the support needed to get to 600,000 heat pumps installed each year by 2028. My suspicion is that the Chancellor is putting the brakes on the Prime Minister’s flight of green fantasy.”

The government says that elements of a report claiming hydrogen boilers could cause four times more explosions than natural gas boilers have been “cherrypicked”.

The government-backed study by Arup attracted mainstream media attention last week, which said hydrogen boilers could cause 39 blasts and 65 injuries per year in the kitchen or lower floor. This was compared to nine detonations and 17 people getting hurt due to natural gas (methane) boilers. 

But the Department of Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has pushed back against the report, saying some of it was “cherrypicked”, and stating it still finds “hydrogen can be made as safe as natural gas”.

A spokesman added: “All necessary safety assessments will be carried out and measures will be put in place to ensure that hydrogen is stored, distributed and used in a safe way.”

Hydrogen heating could become a valuable way to heat our home because the main by-product of burning hydrogen gas is water, which would help to reduce carbon emissions created by natural gas boilers. The study also pointed out that the move to hydrogen heating would eliminate the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning, which kills around 60 people every year.

But many will regardless feel concerned at the study’s findings, and all eyes will be on the government’s forthcoming Hydrogen Strategy to deliver practical long-term safety measures. 

Will Hydrogen Boilers be Safe?

In June, the business department announced the outcomes of a 3.5-year long project, called Hy4Heat, part of which looked at the safety of using hydrogen inside homes. 

The study assessed 100% hydrogen boilers which were used with the same types of gas pipes and safety measures which are designed for natural methane gas. 

The researchers found that installing two excess flow valves could easily regulate how hydrogen flows through the pipes, to ensure it remains safe but within useable limits, reducing the potential for incidents which could cause injuries. 

Notably, the authors of the Arup study also found the risks from hydrogen boilers can be mitigated by installing excess flow valves in the pipe network.

Discussing the Arup analysis, David Hilton, director of Heat and Energy Ltd and a contributor to Homebuilding & Renovating, said that it “is really helpful to challenge the government to ensure the safety of hydrogen boilers. This is part of the government’s job, to amplify potential issues. It’s good to have people saying ‘this could be a problem’.” 

But Hilton remains upbeat over the future use, and safety, of hydrogen boilers. “Yes, we’re dealing with hydrogen, but the information is there to ensure boilers are safe. We need to look at how safe our infrastructure is, which can be done through annual inspections, and this will be especially important when the government changes the mix of hydrogen blend within the gas network.

“Another way to mitigate the risks is to have a transition period. For example, hydrogen is not compatible with steel pipes, so there’s a lot of transitions that need to happen: it may be that every house which uses a hydrogen boiler needs to be checked first.”

Are Hydrogen Boilers Available Now?

Not yet. But Baxi Heating and Worcester Bosch have developed 100% hydrogen boilers which are undergoing testing in the UK, and both manufacturers have called on the government to fast-track their market release for 2025.

How Much Will Hydrogen Boilers Cost?

In July, the boiler industry’s big four manufacturers confirmed that a hydrogen-ready boiler will cost no more than its natural gas equivalent. Baxi, Worcester Bosch, Vaillant and Ideal confirmed that a new price-promise will be introduced which could save homeowners £2.3 billion. 

Boiler Guide estimates that pricing would be similar to natural gas boilers — somewhere between £400 to £3,000 before factoring in the installation.

What are the Benefits of Owning a Hydrogen Boiler?

A major benefit of owning a hydrogen boiler is that it will reduce your carbon emissions, making your home environmentally friendly. 

Additionally, it could help to decrease your long-term energy bills. Hydrogen is more energy-efficient than natural gas — there is equal energy in 1kg of hydrogen as there is in 2.8kg of gas, according to Power Technology - and this means you’ll use less fuel. 

Furthermore, when the UK’s gas network is able and ready to switch from methane to hydrogen, those with hydrogen-ready boilers won’t need to replace their heating systems. 

No changes will be required to pipework or radiators, and you won’t need to install a water tank. Plus, any hydrogen-ready boiler that is installed initially to run off natural gas should only require one hour’s labour to convert it to hydrogen. 

A new boiler with built-in WiFi can run on gas and hydrogen, and could help homeowners to reduce energy bills and carbon emissions. 

Around 14% of the UK’s carbon emissions comes from heating our homes, and to help the UK reach net zero by 2050, the government will ban gas boilers in new-build homes from 2025, before phasing them out entirely by the mid 2030s.

Heat pumps and hydrogen heating are two advancing technologies for helping to decarbonise existing homes, and Viessmann has made a significant step as it prepares for the expected introduction of hydrogen to the UK gas grid in the near future. 

The German-based company’s new WiFi-integrated Vitodens 100-W gas condensing boiler is capable of running with a hydrogen mix of up to 20%, through Viessmann’s Lambda Pro combustion control technology.

This not only helps to reduce carbon emissions, but ensures that the boiler will continue to operate efficiently if the UK gas grid supplies a blend of up to 80% natural gas and 20% hydrogen (this blend was trialled at Keele University last year).

How Energy Efficient is it?

Viessmann says that up to 94% of the fuel used by the Vitodens 100-W is converted into heat, and this efficiency can be increased with the addition of weather compensation controls. These controls ensure the boiler burns no more fuel than the exact amount required to match the heat lost from your home.

As the push to decarbonise boilers escalates, a microwave boiler was announced earlier this year that pledges to have an energy efficiency rating of 96%.

And it Can be Controlled via WiFi?

The built-in WiFi means the boiler can be completely controlled remotely, using your smartphone or tablet, via the ViCare app. And one of the benefits of this is that it makes servicing the boiler much easier.

(MORE: How to design a smart home)

You can use the app to glance whether there are any problems, and in the event of the boiler needing professional attention, the app will automatically notify your designated heating engineer. The engineer can then remotely access and make adjustments to the boiler. 

How Much Will it Cost?

Viessmann doesn’t state how much the boiler costs to install - this is attainable via a heating specialist calling to discuss your enquiry. But the company says that the Vitodens 100-W can help to reduce annual fuel bills by up to 15%, through low fuel consumption and low carbon emissions.

One of the ways it does this is through the ViCare app, which allows users to set preferred daily routines which are saved automatically, and look at gas consumption and cost savings to make informed decisions.  

Is Hydrogen the Future of Gas Boilers? 

Viessman is the latest big name to incorporate hydrogen technology into their products, and hydrogen heating could have a big role to play in the green future, especially as heat pumps won’t be suitable for every household.

Baxi Heating and Worcester Bosch are currently trialling working prototypes of their hydrogen boilers, and they share a benefit with Viesmann’s new boiler: they will be easy to replace gas boilers in existing properties. 

As yet, their 100% hydrogen boilers are not yet available to purchase, but Boiler Guide estimates that pricing would be similar to natural gas boilers - somewhere between £400 to £3,000 before factoring in the installation.

However, a criticism of hydrogen heating is that it can be costly to produce, which means supply could be limited. 

Biomass boilers may not work for every home, but in the right setting can be a great option if you are looking for a reliable, renewable and sustainable heating option. I know because I heated my home with one.

But, if you're not familiar with the technology and are wondering exactly how they work, we've prepared this expert and first hand guide to biomass boilers to help you decide if it's the right choice to power your own home's heating system.

Choosing biomass essentially comes down to location, available space, price and if you have easy access to fuel, but as each type of boiler has different attributes, here's what you need to know.

What do biomass boilers burn?

"Strictly speaking, if you ask what is biomass fuel, the answer is it's anything that's been grown and burns," says Gordon Traill, founder and director of Treco. "Technically it includes things like straw and perhaps recycled materials. However, in relation to what most people consider as biomass, there’s a choice of wood pellets, logs and wood chips."

This is primarily down to the fact that these types of wood based products offer a cleaner burn. Biomass is also considered a carbon-neutral fuel, as CO2 is absorbed by trees as they grow (photosynthesis). And even though CO2 is emitted when the fuel is burned, the amount produced is measured as equal to that absorbed during growth, along with any additional carbon produced while manufacturing and transporting the fuel.

Types of biomass boiler

When it comes to the different types available to you, biomass boilers are identified by the type of fuel that they use – wood chip, logs or wood pellets. But, what's common to them all is that they burn the fuel to heat hot water, which in turn supplies your heating and domestic hot water system.

However, understanding which type of biomass boiler suits your property best involves taking a more in-depth look at how each type works in order to understand the pros and cons of biomass boilers.

The best starting place is perhaps understanding how much fuel is needed to heat the average home each year – something that is less easy to visualise if you have previously used fossil fuels such as gas, oil or LPG.

Once you appreciate the quantity of fuel required, then you can begin to understand why the type of biomass boiler you choose matters so much.

Log fed biomass boilers

"If we talk about a typical house, the government says the average household uses 25,000 kilowatt hours per year," says Gordon Traill. "So if we take that example of 25,000 kilowatt hours for heating and hot water in relation to a log boiler, it equates to around seven tons of logs a year."

Log boilers are gasifying batch boilers. They operate at much higher temperatures, gasifying the logs, increasing efficiency to over 90%. The boiler will have a log burning chamber that requires logs of equal lengths and thickness to be loaded in and then the door is closed for the duration of the burn.

Ideally a single "burn" or batch of logs is sufficient to heat the home and the hot water storage cylinder for at least a 24 hour period in the winter months.

"However, when you look at the overall usage per year and consider that the seven tons has to be fed, by hand, into a relatively small burning chamber, that’s a lot of fills each year," adds Gordon, noting how in winter it could be up to three times a day in the coldest weather. For some homeowners, this simply isn't an option.

Wood pellet biomass boilers

Wood pellets are considered the most consistent biomass fuel in that they are usually even in size and density. Typically made from forestry waste or by-products, the standard type in the UK is 6mm pellets, made from softwood with a low moisture content.

The benefit of a wood pellet boiler over a log fed one is that they have a box or store next to them known as a hopper. The size of the hopper depends on the output of the boiler, but every hopper has an auger (a bit like a corkscrew) that delivers the pellets to the burner chamber. The benefit of a larger hopper is that your wood pellets can be blown into it from a delivery truck - rather than you needing them to load them by hand from bags.

Alternatively, pellets are available bagged, typically in 10kg or 15kg bags delivered by the pallet load. "I’d alway suggest you opt for as large a pellet store as you can," says Gordon, "as you’ll be able to get a better deal in terms of fuel. As soon as you start having bag deliveries, unless it's a very small property, then there’s a lot of work and they're much more expensive."

It's something I can confirm first-hand, as although I had a commercially-sized biomass boiler, it still burnt wood pellets, so we included a five ton hopper as part of the installation. This meant a delivery truck could arrive, connect to the hopper and blow pellets directly inside.

On those rare occasions when blown-in pellets weren't delivered (read 6 things I wish I'd known before I installed biomass to find out why this can happen), having to handball them in every few days was not feasible as a long-term solution and always worked out to be more expensive.

Wood chip biomass boilers

Wood chips are often made from a variety of different timber products including logs, roots, twigs, bark and leaves, and in a similar way to wood pellet biomass boilers, wood chip versions have a bulk fuel store which means fuel can be loaded in larger quantities, rather than by hand.

If you are producing your own wood chip on site, this can be done using plant machinery. Blown-in deliveries are also available, but will cost a little more.

"Wood chip boilers are the cheapest form of biomass heating," says Gordon Traill, "and it’s what I use myself. However, they are more suited to much larger properties or small-holdings. I've got a farm," explains Gordon, "so I essentially have a mini scheme which covers both commercial and domestic use.

"In addition, wood chip comes in at a lower cost than any of the alternatives per kilowatt hour. In terms of sustainability they’re really good as well," he adds, "because the fuel often doesn't have to travel as far, especially if it's sourced on site.

"But, for a small home, they're not always very appropriate," says Gordon. "On a larger scale or at a commercial level however, then they can be a great option."

Where to locate a biomass boiler

Biomass boilers generally aren't installed inside your home, so it's important to understand how much space you need and where it should be located. Unlike combi boilers for example, which are often located in utility rooms, your biomass boiler won't be as close to hand so you can't keep a regular eye on it in the same way.

It's common for biomass boilers to be located in a dedicated plant room – although this doesn't have to be a purpose built room. "You need a space about the size of a single garage to house the boilers and fuel store," says Gordon, although how close that space is to your house, isn't as important when it comes to performance.

"As long your pipes are well insulated, the impact of the distance from the house to the boiler is negligible. The losses are so small, it doesn't need to be right next to it." You will of course however need to make sure that it has sufficient ventilation and is considered appropriate by your chosen biomass supplier and installer.

In terms of where I located my biomass boiler, I was fortunate to have an unused garage within a few metres from the proposed end of a new extension. However, the plant room with the heating manifolds for the hot water, radiators and underfloor heating that the hot water had to reach was another 20 metres away. Nonetheless, this never appeared to affect its efficiency in any way.

While the some boilers may only be the size of a four-drawer filing cabinet, it is mainly the fuel storage that requires more space and needs to be accessible, as you'll either be loading by hand or ensuring a delivery driver with a bulk fuel order can get within 20m of your hopper.

How a biomass boiler transfers heat

"Biomass boilers are installed with what's known as a thermal store," explains Gordon. "This stores the heat that burning the fuel creates, the principle being that even if the fuel has run out, the thermal store acts like a battery. It stores the energy and your heating could be running for many hours after the boiler has completely gone out.

"The bigger the thermal store, the longer it will run," says Gordon. "It's exactly the same as the principle with solar batteries. However, it simply stores energy, which means you've got to keep putting it back in. Once the thermal store has run out, so will your heating and hot water."

Speaking from experience, this is another reason why it's important to understand how they work when working out your energy needs to choose the right renewable energy. On those occasions when the boiler had stopped working, the size of my thermal store meant it could continue supplying heat for at least 24-36 hours before we realised. But, when it stopped, this meant taking a trip to the garage, resolving the problem and then waiting for enough fuel to burn to heat the system back up.

It's not as simple as simply re-igniting your gas boiler, so regular checks are recommended - even if your heating is working well.

Assessing whether a biomass boiler is right for you

The size and thermal efficiency of your home has an impact

In big, hard-to-heat properties, the general view is that biomass offers a good option, but less so in more typical new builds or conversions. Likewise in larger new builds biomass can be and is a viable option, particularly if you are looking to be less fossil fuel reliant.

"For me, biomass really starts to work with larger, more difficult to heat properties," says Gordon Traill. "Listed buildings for example," says Gordon, "are a great example of when they can be beneficial – providing plenty of high temperature heat but at a lower running cost."

Cost will be a deciding factor

The main reason they may not be so suitable for smaller properties usually comes down to biomass boiler costs.

The cost of biomass boilers varies far more than oil or gas boilers. The cost will also vary with the type of boiler, the level of automation and sophistication, as well as with size and quality.

"I think that realistically, with the boiler, fuel store and all the relevant install, work and connections to the home, you’re looking at upwards of £25,000," says Gordon. "Some companies may offer it for less, but it will also depend on the size of the system.

"There are some boilers which are very small scale, but there aren't so many of them around, even though they're very good. And, if it was a very small property, then they would be powered with bags of pellets, a less convenient option for some.

"When you get to much larger biomass boilers, many of the people that either run log boilers or chip boilers are self supplying," says Gordon. "So they have some woodland, they live in the country, and they have the availability to get the timber which means the running costs are significantly lower. For a large scale system, this could be as low as 4.5 pence per kilowatt hour," he confirms.

"Unfortunately, biomass boilers get little government support," explains Gordon, "so while you can get £5,000 for a biomass boiler under the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, they are still expensive. It’s just an inescapable fact," he says.

Biomass boiler efficiency vs other fuels

As the efficiency of any heating system will play a part in assessing if biomass is right for you, it is broadly similar to oil or gas, achieving around 80 to 90% efficiency. However, it's the running costs which show a marked difference, compared to air source heat pumps for example, says Gordon.

"It's a little more complicated than saying their efficiency rate isn't great compared to air source heat pumps which claim to operate at a 300% CoP efficiency rate," notes Gordon. "The reality is, this is a moving seasonal number and won’t always equate to that level.

"Electricity which heat pumps need is around 30 pence a kilowatt hour. So, if you get three to one, then you're still paying 10 pence a kilowatt hour for heat. If you if you're getting less than three to one it could be 12 to 14 pence, which is expensive.

"Wood pellets cost around £350 a ton and will deliver around 5000 kilowatt hours per ton which means you're getting around 7.5 pence a kilowatt hour more of delivery," explains Gordon.

"However, if you were to buy logs, they’re actually significantly more expensive than anything else," says Gordon, "which is why most people we would recommend a log boiler to have their own supplies of timber.

"If you were to base your fuel costs on the price of beautiful pallets of kiln logs, they would probably come in around 20 pence a kilowatt hour, which is why they are more suited to homes with woodland."

Making a choice

While deciding if a biomass boiler is right for you involves looking at your existing home or potential build, if you have decided on installing one, there are some key questions to consider when it comes to making the right choice. These involve looking at not just the boiler itself, but also the supplier and installer.

Consider the repuation of the manufacturer, how long they have been in operation and their compliance with the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS). The installer must also be HETAS registered, just as a gas boiler installer needs to be Gas Safe registered and an oil boiler installer needs to be OFTEC registered.

"One thing worth mentioning when it comes to making your final choice," says Gordon, "is that you should always try to buy from a manufacturer that has support in the UK. Check that they work with a supplier where there are trained technicians who can provide spares if things do need repairing.

"It can also help when it comes to annual servicing and maintenance," he adds, "as you won’t be able to find people who can help in the same way you can for fossil fuel boilers." Approved service engineers also have to be on the MCS list.

With regards to the boiler, once you've decided on fuel type, also think about the control system – does the control system address the whole house or individual zones? Does it have remote monitoring and can it be controlled from a PC or App?

Ask about the burner control as the quality of the burner determines the efficiency of the boiler. Good boilers automatically control the air flow over the burner, ensuring it always operates at optimum efficiency and allowing the heat output to match the demand (called modulation).

Also make sure it comes with at least a two year warranty (parts and labour).

FAQs

What size biomass boiler do I need?

"Generally speaking, properties have an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) and as a rule of thumb, this is your starting point for working out the size of boiler you need," says Gordon Traill. "If you divided your annual consumption by 1500 you'd end up very close to the boiler size.

"So, for example, if you took 25,000 kilowatt hours, divided by 1500, theoretically, you'd need a 16 to 17 kilowatt boiler. In reality, they don't make 17 kilowatt boilers, so it would be 20 to 25 kilowatt.

"EPCs are very helpful from our point of view. People are always look at the energy ratings, but the interesting information for us is the is the kilowatt hours for heating and hot water," says Gordon. "Beyond that, we would calculate all of the things that anybody would do if they were sizing an oil or gas boiler."

How long will a biomass boiler last?

"A good quality one will stand the test of time," says Gordon. "It's almost indefinite, because of the level and weight of construction involved. They are designed to last, particularly those who come from Austrian and German manufacturers."

Does a biomass boiler need much maintenance?

Maintenance will vary with the level of sophistication and is an issue that needs to be directed to the supplier and clearly understood for any particular machine.

In broad terms, boilers will need an annual maintenance service, but, otherwise, the main maintenance you will need to undertake will be regular ash removal (I would empty mine at least a few times each month during the winter), and making sure the area around it is kept clean. My system had a control panel that displayed any faults, so I would also check this on a regular basis.

Still wondering if a biomass boiler is right for you? Gordon Traill shares some final words of advice.

"I think basically anything that an oil boiler or an LPG boiler can do, a biomass boiler can do. It’s a high temperature heat source so it operates in the same way. Therefore, it's really a case of weighing up whether it's right for your situation.

"As they are on the expensive side, installing a biomass boiler is an ethical decision for people at the moment to reduce carbon emissions," he adds, "as it's still going to be better than fossil fuels.

"If you are considering where to invest your heating budget," says Gordon, "I always say the first money to spend in your heating scheme is on your home insulation and the fabric of the building. The benefit is, if you can do this, anything you install will work more efficiently.

"But, in those instances where you have a listed building for example, and sometimes not all the changes can be made, a biomass can be a good option as you will need a higher temperature heat source. After the initial investment, the running costs will always be lower than other fuel."

If you do live in a listed building and are considering all your renewable options, be sure to check out our guide to solar panels on listed buildings.