Andrea Carmeli, Managing Director at Alpha, considers how a growing range of low carbon products lets installers move beyond like-for-like boiler swaps, one practical step at a time, and why the latest changes to government funding make now the moment to start.
For most domestic heating engineers, the job may not have changed hugely over the last decade. In most cases, a boiler fails and a homeowner calls looking for the quickest way to get everything running again. The most familiar and immediate solution is a replacement gas boiler. And with around 1.5 million boilers installed each year compared to just 100,000 heat pumps, that is very understandable.
However, by choosing not to work with new technologies, installers could be missing out on projects where there is less competition (and potentially therefore higher margins) right now. Just as importantly, with new funding mechanisms coming on stream all the time and homeowners reporting strong interest in renewable technologies, a future-proof business is one that embraces new product options.
Reassuringly for everyone, the move from a gas boiler to a fully electric home does not have to be made in one leap. There are a number of new technologies coming onto the market that support a pragmatic, step-by-step transition. Such an approach also recognises that not all homes are immediately suitable for full heat-pump solutions. Giving installers other practical options to help customers on the pathway to decarbonisation is therefore a good option to have.
This is the logic behind the introduction of a group of new products from Alpha that support its boiler and heat pump ranges. The strategy is to have a range that allows installers to climb towards electrification one step at a time, supported by the training and technical support that is a hallmark of the Alpha brand.
Hybrids: an excellent first step
A hybrid system pairs an air source heat pump with a gas boiler, using smart controls to switch between the technologies, choosing whichever fuel is most cost effective at a given moment.
The installation builds on skills that every gas installer already has, rather than starting from scratch and for the homeowner too, the experience feels familiar.
Hybrids will cut carbon emissions immediately and there should be a reduction in energy costs against a gas boiler. It’s a comfortable introduction for a household before they commit fully to heat pump technology.
Mystifyingly, hybrids are not currently eligible for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme. The industry is lobbying hard to change this and the energy and carbon savings are, of course, available from day one.
Separating water from heating
Another way of introducing the heat pump concept gradually is to look at technologies that focus specifically on hot water, leaving the central heating system to run on gas.
This solution – which Alpha is providing under the name Rapax – is essentially a small heat pump mounted directly onto a hot water cylinder and producing fully renewable hot water on its own.
Installation is straightforward as this solution separates hot water from space heating. Rather than running a heat pump into a manifold and dividing pipework between heating and hot water, there is a simple connection to hot and cold feeds. The system sits where the original hot water cylinder was located and it’s simply a case of connecting up the power and it’s good to go.
Such a system can be timed to recover overnight on cheaper electricity or can be linked up to a solar panel. It’s a low-cost way to deliver low carbon hot water straight away.
Funded Cooling?
As we head into summer, any spikes in temperature are going to increase demand for cooling in homes. And as summers get progressively hotter, this is likely to be a consistent opportunity for installers.
Even better it is backed by government funding. Alpha’s Magis M range of heat pumps offer both heating and cooling for year-round comfort. The ability of heat pumps to give cooling is not widely understood and could be a very attractive benefit for homeowners.
Alternatively, for homes not ready for a full heat pump solution there are alternatives. Following the revisions to the Boiler Upgrade Scheme in April this year, air-to-air heat pumps can attract a £2,500 grant.
An air-to-air heat pump is essentially an air conditioning system that also provides heating. It can attract the funding if it is used in an all-electric home, so it can’t be used together with a gas or oil-fired heating system.
Installing cooling will be new territory for most heating engineers, but it’s potentially a huge opportunity, providing year-round comfort in increasingly unpredictable weather patterns.
The range that Alpha has available includes wall mounted, floor standing and ceiling cassette units – sufficient choice to find the right solution for virtually any room.
Transforming a business, gradually
None of this asks installers to abandon skills built up over years; the range allows a business to be transformed by the gradual adoption of new solutions. Hybrids build on a knowledge of gas boilers, Rapax adds a simple renewable hot water option and cooling offers a funded growth market.
With the backing of parent company Immergas, Alpha is able to make these new options available to UK installers immediately. The transition to fully electric homes is coming: the wise installers will be the ones who get on board early and beat the competition.
