Plumb Center is urging installers to give the Retro Boiler label a chance as some have expressed doubt about its usefulness.
The scheme, launched by the Heating and Hotwater Industry Council (HHIC), encourages gas engineers to issue an energy efficiency label – known as a ‘retro label’ – on all non-condensing boilers with a permanent pilot light when visiting homes to undertake servicing or maintenance work.
Richard Harvey, category director – heating and plumbing at Plumb Center, comments: “I’d encourage installers find out the facts about this scheme for themselves. It’s inevitable there will be sceptics, but it should be remembered this is voluntary, there’s no paperwork involved for those choosing to use it, and there’s no cost either. Plus, contrary to popular perception, the labels do not have to be stuck to the customer’s boiler. So I would urge installers to request a wedge of labels from their preferred manufacturer and see if it can help them explain to a customer why it might be time to replace their aging boiler.”
The initiative aims to increase consumer awareness of boiler efficiency with the hope that this will result in boilers rated ‘E’ or below being replaced with more efficient models. Where a boiler replacement is not possible or practical for the customer, the label can also be used to stimulate a wider conversation around other means of achieving energy efficiency gains, such as controls, pumps, filtration and flushing.
Labels are available free-of-charge to installers via all the major boiler manufacturers.
Richard Harvey continues: “Broadly speaking, we are in favour of any credible initiative that contributes to raising general awareness of the operating cost and environmental burden of old boilers. The HHIC estimates around a third of UK homes – some nine million – rely on an old, inefficient boiler for heat and hot water. We think this number is too big and is something we must work together to address.
“The retro label provides an easy way for installers to start a conversation with a homeowner about his or her aging boiler. Consumers are now quite used to seeing energy labels on the products they buy so this is something they can easily relate to and its message is clear to understand. As a completely voluntary scheme, it’s up to each installer to decide if it’s something they can use, but if it provokes a constructive conversation then I’d argue its use has been a worthwhile exercise.”
