What is Boiler Plus?

New Legislation ‘Boiler Plus’ is being implemented on 6th April 2018. Boiler Plus aims to improve the way homes in the UK use energy by increasing the efficiency of their heating systems.

The new legislation forms part of the Government’s ‘Heat in Buildings’ programme designed to maximise energy efficiency. The introduction of Boiler Plus is the first major piece of legislation since the UK went “all-condensing” in 2005 - becoming the first country to do so in the process.

From April 2018, all boilers must have a minimum ErP efficiency of 92% and all installations must have time and temperature controls fitted, if they aren't already present and working correctly.

In addition, combi boilers, which make up a significant proportion of the market will require one of four additional requirements to be fitted. Each will need to be discussed with the homeowner and suited to each individual homeowners circumstances. What works for one customer, may not necessarily work for the next. It will mean each installation will include a consultancy aspect needed for each boiler swap. The measures available are:

• Load compensation - the ability to modulate the flow temperature from the boiler based on the actual room temperature, this requires the control and boiler to ‘speak’ the same language
• Weather compensation - the ability to modulate the flow temperature from the boiler based on the outdoor temperature, a system widely used in Germany.
• Smart control - A control that provides automation and optimisation.
• PFGHRD (Passive Flue Gas Heat Recovery Device)

From the feature-rich ecoTEC exclusive boilers, with built-in Passive Flue gas heat recovery (meaning it qualifies for Boiler Plus, straight out of the box) to the very simple and cost-effective VRT50 eBUS room stat for the very simplest way to comply, Vaillant offers a wide range of intelligent and easy to use controls.