ErP Not the Whole Picture

We now have ErP and from what I have seen so far, nothing has changed, as we all knew it wouldn't, but reading through Trade magazines, manufacturers are banging on about their boilers and ErP and to use their controls to achieve A+, this is all nonsense as I pointed out in a previous Blog on ErP and is making some installers believe that by simply installing these products they are giving the end user an efficient system, just because a label says so, well it does not, there is far more to creating an efficient system and I think boiler manufacturers are misleading by suggesting their boiler with their control will achieve optimum efficiency, they are taking a far too simplistic view.

What we need to remember about boiler efficiency for example a boiler with an efficiency of 95% is this that efficiency was found under test conditions in a laboratory, with NO reflection on reality of a heating system in a home, now I am not against the tests, as all boilers have the same test conditions, it is a fair way to show the boilers potential efficiency,

When we buy a boiler to install and it has a tested efficiency of 95% it is down to us to try and maximise this efficiency, but it will be unlikely we will achieve the full efficiency, this will be down to installation constraints and home owners desires, we will have to sacrifice some of the boilers efficiency to fulfill these constraints, some of the constraints are

Type of heat emitter used, are we installing new or connecting to existing
Controls
Customers required room temperature
Boiler flow temperature

Now, if you are connecting to existing radiators, you are assuming that these radiators were initially correctly sized for the room heatloss, to get the most efficiency out of the boiler we need to have as low a flow temperature as we can, this ensure we have a return temperature below the dew point to maximise condensation and so drive up the efficiency, most radiators fitted years ago tended to be over sized, plus the boiler is often oversized, so don't just replace like for like with boilers, always check, most homes these days have added double glazing and quite likely would have higher levels loft insulation than when the heating was first installed reducing the heatloss of the building thermal envelope, this can allow a lower flow temperature to the radiators but still covering the room heat loss, but without full calculations this will just be an assumption.

If you are installing new, then you can size the radiators for low temperature, which will drive up the boiler efficiency, or you may be able to install UFH, which allows even lower temperatures, to really get the most out of the boiler for UFH. My preference is to run the boiler at the correct flow temperature for the UFH, 30-50 degrees C depending on floor coverings, rather than heat to 65-70 degrees C and then blend it down at the manifold, why do this, well that is my personal opinion anyways.

We then have the customers requirements, when do they want the heating to operate, what temperatures do they want the rooms to achieve, if they want the living areas at 24 degrees C well the system will not be as efficient, we as installers can only advise, the customer gets what they want

We then need to determine the best controls for the system, does the property need to be zoned, do they require access via their phones, or do they prefer a standard dial thermostat, again we can only advise on what we believe is best for efficiency, but the customer has to use the controls, so it has to be something that suits them, not us.

The system needs to be commissioned correctly, this not only means commissioning the boiler to the manufacturers instructions, but also ensuring that the controls work correctly, ensure that the system is correctly balanced to give the require delta T across the radiators an unbalanced system will effect the system efficiency.We also need to ensure good deaeration, simply filling and venting the rads, then turning the system on and checking the radiators are warm then off we go is not good enough, correct deaeration is one of the most important things for system longevity, ensure good quality automatic air vents are used, but remember these are just for filling and draining, so once the system is fully deaerated they should be closed, as they can ingress air into the system on cooling, its also a good idea to install a good quality micro air bubble remover at the hottest part of the system, something like a Spirovent RV2 remember. You also need to take the system temperature up to a high temperature, even for underfloor heating, this releases the gasses from the water which can then be vented off ensuring that the system is gas free and allows correct pH.

So in the real world to get an efficient heating system is more than just an ErP rated boiler, using their specified controls to get a piece of paper that says A+ we have to look at the whole system, the boiler does not just sit there on its own, its connected to a distribution system which is connected to heat emitters, true efficiency comes from the system and not just the boiler and control, many factors will crete the system efficiency or inefficiency, the blinkered view of ErP that the boiler and controls are the main factor to system efficiency is wrong in my opinion and will lead to consumer complaints.

Boiler Servicing

I have read in some of the trade press, that apparently "The Industry" is calling for boiler servicing standards, after a recent investigation by Which, Really!, since when have Which been anything to do with the heating industry, this sort of stuff really bugs me, people who know nothing of our industry trying to tell us what we should or should not be doing, also, who is this "The Industry" I don't know of any installers calling for this boiler servicing standard, but its time we as installers are heard.

I want to use this blog to get the opinion of fellow installers and service engineers on what WE, the real industry think should be the standard for boiler servicing, lets have the opinion of the real industry for once, it is time our input is what takes precedence.

I urge everyone to leave comments and suggestions on what they consider the standard of gas boiler servicing should be, hopefully the trade press will pick up on this and maybe even Gas Safe and for once our voice could heard.

I will give my opinion on how I personally see servicing and what i believe should be done, this is obviously just my own personal opinion and I don't expect for one minute that everyone should agree, in fact i'm depending on it, as installers and service engineers it is important that WE discuss these matters and that our opinions are listened too.

Firstly I don't think there can be a standardised servicing regime, as we have different boilers that require a different approach, I am also basing this on Gas boilers.

All Boilers
Visual inspection of the installation and visual inspection of the flue termination and in my opinion on completion of service, vent all radiators to clear any trapped air

Open Flue Boilers
In my opinion these boilers need to be stripped and cleaned each year, the fact that they are open means they draw in dirt, dust and lint which can affect performance, I don't see any other ways with these boilers.

Balanced Flue Boilers
Now these boilers, although not quite as bad as open flue boilers, still draw air direct onto the burner, so again the combustion chamber can become dirty quite quickly, so I would think an annual strip down would be the best way.

Modern Condensing Boilers
Now in my opinion this is where things change, these boilers are clean burning, air is drawn in and then pre-mixed before ignition, this method means there is much less chance of debris entering the combustion chamber, now I am influenced by a manufacture whose boilers I installed for many years and followed their servicing regime, with these I believe there is nothing wrong with an annual check with an analyser, if the performance is within tolerable figures compared to manufactures recommendations, then I feel no further action is required, but on every 4th service, burner and condense seals should be changed, along with ignition electrodes, as preventative maintenance obviously with condensing boilers the condense trap must be cleaned each service, if on checking with an analyser the readings are not within tolerable figures then further investigation will be required

Sealed Systems & System Boilers
On all sealed systems it is very important that the pre-charge pressure of the expansion vessel is checked annually and adjusted if required, incorrect expansion vessel pressure causes probably the most boiler problems and systems failing to operate

We have to balance between ensuring the boiler is functioning efficiently and safely, but also have to consider the cost of the service to the homeowner, if they have a new condensing boiler and on first service the engineer is stripping it down I feel this is a bit OTT and really not called for.

Well its now over to you guys, lets have some input and lets get some control back on our industry, these things should be based on what we feel needs to be done, not some pen pusher or a consumer magazine.

Lets Take Back our Industry

In my opinion the so called experts who make the rules and regulations for our industry are old dinosaurs, who do not keep up with technology, the regulations move so slowly in the UK by the time they make changes to take in a new technology, it has moved on 5 times further, so we are always behind, or is it other factors that hold them back.

One of my biggest gripes with the regulations, is G3, now the last time I had to resit my G3 course (A ticket when first achieved was supposed to be for LIFE) nothing had changed from when I first took the course many years before, we are still been told to use a thermostat & over heat stat and a 2 port valve, why? technology has moved on, yet we are still expected to rely on a bi-metal strip for temperature control, the majority of boilers and certainly the boilers I install have the ability to control the unvented cylinder much more accurately and safer, simply with a sensor direct from the boiler, yet this is not permitted under the so called regulations, why, well in my opinion it is because the influence the control manufacturers have, as they don't want to lose the sale of their products, 2 port valves & cylinder/over heat stats, the other reason is the silly money the likes of WRAS want to approve the use of the sensor technology with unvented cylinders, in the region of >£20,000.00 I am led to believe, I doubt the boiler manufacturers would hold back this technology, as they build it into their boilers, so is it the control and cylinder manufacturers.
Now one of the boiler manufacturers I use is approved for sensor control when used with their unvented cylinder, now this cylinder is made for them by a cylinder manufacturer who mass produce cylinders, it is exactly the same as their own branded cylinder, as all unvented cylinders are, so why can we not use this across all cylinders, well as previously stated, WRAS want their palm crossed with silver and I expect the control manufacturers would try and reject the idea as well, my opinion, just ignore it, if the boiler has the sensor technology it is far more accurate and safer than current regulations, I think any manufacturer would find it impossible in a court of law to show that doing it with a sensor has caused any warranty issues, or made the cylinder unsafe.

Another one that bugs me, although I am not sure it is a regulation, more something I was trained never to do and most installers have the same belief, is, not putting an isolation valve on an expansion vessel, of course you should, of the whole heating system, the expansion vessel is the biggest cause of breakdowns, the reason we are told is a safety issue, if the valve is closed then expansion cannot take place, well fit a bloody lock-shield type for goodness sake, or as I and other installers do, fit a full bore lever valve and remove the handle, you also need to fit a drain valve between the valve and expansion vessel, we could reduce heating system failures by a large proportion IF on service the vessel can be isolated drained and the pre-charge pressure checked and adjusted if required, installers don't check this on service as it would usually mean draining the entire system to do so, an expansion vessel WILL need it pre-charge adjusting during its life and it is quite likely the vessel will fail in the systems lifetime  we also need to educate installers to ALWAYS check the pre-charge pressure on annual service, this alone would reduce the amount of boiler breakdowns massively. As usual though we have to look to Europe who already have this covered, I found a fantastic product made by Reflex, who manufacture expansion vessels (German) and distributed in the UK by Altecnic it is a combined lock-shield isolation valve with built in drain valve which has the connection to screw directly to the expansion vessel, in my opinion this item should be sold with ALL expansion vessels, as not providing isolation for service is very bad practice in my opinion, I will now fit this valve from Altecnic to all my expansion vessels, here is a link to the product REFLEX / ALTECNIC Expansion vessel valve contact Altecnic for price and availability http://www.altecnic.co.uk/

Another point I think needs addressing is system boiler expansion vessels, now this is more an installer problem, most are under the impression they just fit the boiler and connect it to whatever they want and the internal vessel will take care of it, on the majority of my jobs I install an additional vessel, as I feel the 10-12L that are provided by the system boiler vessel is insufficient for some of the larger systems I install, installers, we need to be more aware of the expansion volume of our systems, as again if the vessel is undersized, it causes vessel failure.

As an industry we need to stand together more, we are the ones who know what is best for the heating system, not some pen pusher in an office, or not some dinosaur who was a tradesman 30 years ago and does not move with the times, I believe it is long over due that we as installers get our opinion heard and acted on rather than ignored, the industry would be a much better place if the real experts were listened too.