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Business Home Business High Efficiency Boilers to Reduce CO2 Emissions Thanks to Part L
Business Home Business High Efficiency Boilers to Reduce CO2 Emissions Thanks to Part L
| High Efficiency Boilers to Reduce CO2 Emissions Thanks to Part L |
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| Written by Tal Potishman |
| Monday, 17 November 2008 10:36 |
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Introduced in 2005 the new Building Regulations Part L has changed the scene as far as boilers are concerned. According to the new requirement, all boilers replaced or installed must be of high efficiency rating. This includes condensing and combination boilers which utilize a larger heat exchanger (or a secondary heat exchanger) to recoup some of the heat that would normally be released into the atmosphere with the exhaust gases. Since some of the energy can be reused, the boiler can generate the same amount of heat with less fuel. This new requirement raised the bar not only in terms of energy efficiency but also in terms of the quality of the service and installation. Since the systems are more integrated and work off each component more closely, it requires the system installer to have deep understanding of the power demand, both input and output of each component (such as the boiler, the heating controls, the radiators and the hot water cylinder). Since Part L of the building regulation was introduced, domestic heating in the UK has seen a remarkable drop in the volume of carbon emissions that is generated annually. According to analysis conducted by the heating industry, a reduction of around 2.4 million tonnes of carbon was made since the new regulations were introduced. As a reference point, the analysis shows that if the industry did not adopt Part L and kept on relying on SEDBUK D rated boilers, the carbon emissions level would have increased by over one million tonnes since 2005. At present there is still plenty of room for improvement in terms of the amount of carbon generated and emitted by domestic heating in the UK. There are around four million old boilers still installed around the country which have significantly lower efficiency compared to modern A rated boilers. Installing a modern A rated boiler as a replacement, would reduce their respective carbon emissions by around 30%. A typical home in the UK generates around 5 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions every year. Overall carbon emitted from domestic heating sources is responsible for around 16% of the total UK national CO2 emissions. The UK government is actively trying to encourage carbon reducing behaviour through legislation. The government introduced measures such as zero stamp duty on carbon neutral homes and instructed all home sellers to produce energy performance certificates as part of their home information pack. It is, nevertheless, important to put it in perspective, as there are very few carbon neutral homes in the country and the savings should be focused on the highly inefficient homes. There is additional criticism that home information packs only apply when homes are sold and make no carbon reduction related impact at other times. There are several alternatives to adopt that can further reduce the carbon emission resulting from domestic heating within the UK. The most effective among them is the application of renewable energy technologies, such as solar water heating. If just 10% of the new homes that the government plans to build between now and 2020 adopt such technologies, it is estimated that around 150,000 tonnes of carbon emissions would be cut on an annual basis. A combination of legislation and education can help the government achieve stretching targets of reducing the nation's carbon emissions. By following training professional development guidelines, the UK plumbing and heating industry is widely ready for the market to steady and move towards more energy efficient systems and renewable energy technologies. About the Author: Tal Potishman, editor of Heating Central, writes articles about plumbers, home heating, Chiswick boiler, heat pumps and solar thermal. He specializes in helping save money by advising on efficient heating. Kindly provided by MoneyHunter.org You are welcome to use this article on your own website, if you include the link just before this text. |
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