Boilers have been replaced at a amazing rate over the past few years. Registered Social Landlords have a responsibility to ensure that their stock have energy efficient boilers and the Government recently had an incentive scheme for replacing the really poorly performing boilers. So is there anything else that we can do?
Well there are some key options for people to bear in mind when thinking about trying to improve the efficiency of their boilers, even if it is an A rated boiler.
1. Install Weather Compensation onto your boiler. Many new boilers are equipped with a option for Weather Compensation but few are installed. Basically this is a thermometer on the outside of the house that lets the boiler know what the temperature is and then make automatic compensation for this. So if it is a warmer day outside then you need less heat in your home and vice versa. These systems are estimated to make your boiler 10% more efficient.
2. Install a PFGHRD – Passive Flue Gas Heat Recovery Device. These are systems that take the heat from the exhaust air and use it to preheat water. These work really well in the winter months when you are using your heating system. The domestic hot water is preheated using the exhaust gases and this means that less energy is needed to heat the water and also that it heats up quicker, thus also saving water. These systems can give some significant savings on the heat load of the domestic hot water. It is estimated that they can match the amount of heat saved by a solar thermal system.
