HVP Magazine

As of 2021, there were estimated to be 4.4 million homes not connected to a gas grid, accounting for around 15% of domestic properties – many of which use carbon-intensive oil or LPG systems. The Future Homes Standard 2025 also dictates that new homes cannot be connected to the gas grid. As a result, there is a need for more environmentally friendly heating systems for use in off-grid homes. For HVP, Corey Gooding, Strategic Account Manager at BAXI, explores both existing and new heating options for off-grid homes and explains what living with low-carbon heating is really like for a property’s occupants. https://lnkd.in/eAkbZste

In his latest column for HVP, Tommy Lee-Zmuda, installer and founder of The Boiler Business, explains how to avoid Google Business Profile suspensions. https://lnkd.in/emf-iN_f

Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) are the primary tool used to quantify the energy performance of an individual building, but they do not tell us what we need to know. Energy Systems Catapult has proposed significant reforms to EPCs, aiming to better align them with the nation’s climate targets. For heating installers, these changes are crucial to understand as they reshape how energy performance in homes is measured and improved. For HVP, Fay Holland, Senior Energy Policy Advisor – Heat Decarbonisation & Local Energy at Energy Systems Catapult, assesses the current limitations, and the future potential, of Energy Performance Certificates. #EPCreform https://lnkd.in/ejmhiWyZ

Once the black sheep of the radiator world, valves are no longer merely an afterthought in design. Jackie Kilgallon, Showroom Manager at Zehnder Group UK, explains how the unassuming radiator valve is stepping-up in the design stakes to make a statement of its own. https://lnkd.in/ei_wGahi

With autumn almost behind us, and a rise in the energy price cap, Steve Sutton, Technical Manager at Heating and Hotwater Industry Council (HHIC), discusses secondary heating and why now is the time to get your customers’ gas fires serviced. https://lnkd.in/eejwF7db

In the government’s mission to decarbonise domestic heating, the estimated 4.4 million UK homes that are off the gas grid are some of the most challenging to plan for. Many of these properties are located where the electricity supply may be insufficient to power a heat pump, charge a car, etc., and the network provider may not even grant permission to install one. In off the gas grid, oil and LPG boilers are dominant. To transition to greener forms of heating, one option that's being considered is biofuel – but it may not be a simple transition. Martyn Bridges, Director of Governmental and External Affairs at Worcester Bosch, explores the outlook for HVO oil-fired home heating. #biofuel #offgridheating https://lnkd.in/eWYeUqsy

Concealed cisterns are a bathroom design dream - they offer sleek aesthetics, have space-saving benefits, and offer improved hygiene for the end user. But although they present exciting opportunities for plumbing and bathroom installers, these systems can also come with installation challenges. Andrew Shankster, Training Manager at Geberit, offers some advice to help installers navigate the potential issues that can arise with concealed cistern installations. https://lnkd.in/eaymuXfD

Daikin Europe has opened a new Sustainable Home Centre in Manchester today. The centre, located in the James Hargreaves newly built Swinton branch, builds on the wider partnership between Daikin and Greater Manchester Combined Authority, to support the latter’s first-of-its-kind Five-Year Environment Plan committing to urgent action to achieve net-zero. https://lnkd.in/eEz2R5ax

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has announced that Gateshead Council, the London Borough of Islington, and E.ON UK have secured a share of £9.8 million funding under the Heat Networks Investment Project delivered by Triple Point Heat Networks Investment Management. This is the final announcement of successful awards for the Heat Networks Investment Project (HNIP), a scheme which launched in 2018 and closed in 2022, which has provided £304 million in grants and loans to support the development of heat networks across England and Wales. The projects funded under the HNIP will supply over 700 GWh of lower carbon heat and cut more than 81,000 tonnes of carbon emissions. In Gateshead, an extension to an existing heat network funded in Round 3 of HNIP will connect an additional 1,250 new homes using geothermal heat from a mine water heat pump. In Islington, an innovative solution harnessing waste heat from local London Underground stations has received funding to connect the project to a new mixed-use development. The Silvertown Quays development in East London will benefit from a pioneering energy network that will deliver low carbon heating and cooling to 6,500 new homes. #heatnetworks

With water pressure issues affecting homes across the UK, a growing number of installers are being tasked with finding a quick and cost-effective solution. Andy Thompson, National Sales Manager – Plumbing and Heating at Wilo UK, offers best practice insight into specifying and installing a water pressure booster. https://lnkd.in/e72m5UDN