Domestic and commercial heating is vital to maintaining your comfort inside any property, especially in the UK, due to the cold weather that often comes with living here. Gas boilers have reliably served us well for years and are incredibly popular, but due to the effects of climate change, they need to be removed to reduce our pollution rates. The International Energy Agency (IEA) has recently suggested that no new fossil fuel boilers should be sold from 2025 to achieve net-zero emissions – but what replacements are there?
Accurate Mechanical Services (AMS) are experts in boiler maintenance and repair, and our team have used their years of experience and expertise to create a guide to the possible replacements for gas boilers. We’ve also covered how these changes will affect most of us who still use gas boilers to heat our homes and businesses.
What are Heat Pumps?
Largely unknown to the British public, experts currently believe that heat pumps are the most likely replacement for gas boilers. They’re a more sustainable way of heating our homes and businesses and work by extracting warmth from the air, the ground, or water.
Heat pumps are currently only used in around 1% of UK homes, but they are much more prevalent across Europe, the USA and Canada. Evidence suggests that they could work for most buildings in the UK too – so why don’t we already use heat pumps in the UK?
- High upfront costs – One of the main reasons many property owners haven’t heard of heat pumps before is their price, which can be anything between £6,000 and £18,000.
- Installation and UK houses – Installation can be complex due to some buildings requiring larger radiators, thicker insulation, and it sometimes being necessary to dig into floors to ensure that the heat pumps work correctly.
The Alternative of Hydrogen Boilers
Another suggested replacement for gas boilers are hydrogen boilers, which at a glance seems like the perfect solution. They only cost £100 more than a standard gas boiler on average, making them a lot cheaper than heat pumps. Hydrogen boilers work by extracting hydrogen from water using wind power, which means they can heat buildings without producing any carbon emissions.
Unfortunately, climate and energy experts don’t think that the widespread usage of hydrogen boilers across the UK is realistic. The country’s systems could only heat 11% of current UK homes, mainly in Scotland near wind turbine hubs, meaning they wouldn’t work for the entire country.
Combining Heat Pumps and Hydrogen Boilers
A likely scenario in which most of the UK can use sustainable energy is to combine the various options available, using both heat pumps and hydrogen boilers. Fitting a low-powered heat pump alongside a hydrogen boiler would be especially useful during cold winters due to the power and reliability that combination would provide, offering a more sustainable form of commercial heating.
Existing Gas Boiler Repair and Cover
No matter how reliable they are and how uncertain the future alternatives are, it’s inescapable that all gas boilers will eventually need to be replaced to help the fight against climate change. Gas heating is a significant source of carbon emissions, responsible for around 16% of CO2 pollution in the UK. To combat this problem, there’s a very likely three-step process that everyone in the UK will have to follow:
- Within the next few years, boilers will be created with systems included to help them switch to hydrogen, easing the process of switching from the old gas systems.
- In the 2030s, a complete ban on the sale of gas-only boilers would likely come into effect, meaning that anyone who requires a replacement boiler from this point would need to buy the sustainable replacement.
- The final step is the eventual ban of any gas-only boiler, which would happen by the late 2040s. At this point, any property still using a natural gas boiler would need to have a sustainable replacement installed to stay within the law.
If you’re buying a boiler now, there’s no need to panic. There will probably be at least 20 years until your gas boiler will need to be removed, meaning that they’re still a good investment for your domestic or commercial heating needs. You can help minimise your emissions by asking for regular boiler maintenance, which is vital to keeping energy and costs down, along with hiring companies like AMS to complete boiler repairs whenever necessary.
Local Boiler Maintenance and Repair
Accurate Mechanical Services offer commercial and domestic heating services and also specialise in Mechanical Contracting. Our experts have years of experience in boiler maintenance, installation and repair, and they can help you make the most of your gas boiler until you decide to install a more sustainable replacement.
Get in touch with a member of our team today for more information.