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Future Proofing Lpg Water Heating

Martyn Bridges, director of marketing and technical support at Worcester Bosch Group, explains how a renewable heating solution can be the perfect partner for an lp gas boiler.

As developments within the renewables industry gather pace, an increasing number of homeowners are looking to take advantage of the opportunities on offer. The Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) Premium Payment has been widely publicised as the vehicle for kick starting take up of renewable methods of generating heat and hot water.

Homeowners are being encouraged to look at renewable technologies with a view to improving the heating within their home and making savings both in terms of cost and emissions. Those who are off mains gas and therefore reliant upon lpg gas boilers to provide heating would be well-advised to partner their boiler with a renewable heating system to not only reduce fuel bills, but also to lessen the demand the boiler is placed under.

Many of the lpg boilers available on today’s market are fully compatible with solar thermal technology. Solar is certainly not the only renewable technology on the market, however, solar thermal is arguably the most versatile and can have a significant impact on energy usage and value for money.

In simple terms, solar thermal technology converts the sun’s energy into useable heat for the home, which can then be used to provide hot water. Typically, a well-sized, two-panel system can, on average, provide up to 60 per cent of a home’s hot water requirements over a 12-month period.

This is hot water the boiler has not been required to provide, which has a subsequent impact on the demand for lp gas. The point here is not necessarily that a renewables revolution is set to cast aside a need for the traditional boiler, but that a measured approach to the incorporation of ‘green’ technologies is the best way forward.

As with any heating system, combining suitable controls is the key to ensuring the home’s heating system operates efficiently and this is no more appropriate than for a system that combines an lpg boiler and solar thermal panels. The controller used with a solar system and compatible boiler works alongside the hot water cylinder to decide when hot water from the panels needs to be pumped into the cylinder.

Further to this, the range of intelligent control systems now available means that homeowners can make sure their lpg gas boiler is only called upon when required to ‘top up’ the hot water supply provided by the solar thermal system.

In order to install a solar thermal system alongside an existing lpg boiler, a twin coil cylinder, which can be installed at the point of fitting the panels or, in some cases, ahead of the installation taking place, should be used. For instance, when carrying out lp gas boiler installations, heating engineers can always advise their customers on why it can pay to become ‘solar ready’ by fitting a twin coil cylinder at the point of updating their central heating system.

A new twin coil cylinder improves efficiency by offering significantly better insulation levels than the older cylinder it’s replacing. With fuel prices remaining high, a modern twin coil cylinder represents a worthwhile investment for the homeowner, as it not only improves energy efficiency in the short-term, but also future proofs the property for the possible addition of further technologies.

Fitting twin coil cylinders mean installers can always revisit customers at a later date if they are not quite ready to take the plunge but think they might like to have the benefit of solar thermal panels for hot water provision in years to come. The halfway house strategy is beginning to give heating manufacturers, installers and consumers a glimpse into the future of heating efficiency, which enables each link of the supply chain to prepare itself, with relevant training in particular, for each stage.

In a similar way to the surge we have seen in mains gas users reviewing their boilers and switching to high efficiency products, off-grid homeowners also appear to be considering their heating options. This gives the heating industry as a whole an opportunity to become more integrated, as lpg qualified installers look to build their knowledge around renewable technologies for the benefit of the eco-conscious homeowner.

Contact Worcester Bosch on 08448 923000 www.worcester-bosch.co.uk

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