Gas Safe news

FROM THE EDITOR

Comment

2022 is set to be the year of the heat pump. Or is it? There’s still a lot of confusion: will they or won’t they cost more than boilers? The government hopes that higher demand will bring down prices, and that’s entirely possible when it comes to the cost of the appliance itself. But it doesn’t take account of the additional factors when fitting them in the UK’s homes, including suitability, insulation, pipework and location.

And it’s not certain that consumers will buy into them in any case: a recent survey found that more than half of people will not apply for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, a government grant of £5,000 towards the installation of a heat pump that’s due to launch this spring – and most say that cost is the main reason for their reluctance.

More importantly, will gas engineers buy into them? They’re the people that the public trust when it comes to keeping their homes warm – and safe. Communication and training will be crucial in 2022, and the good news is that we know many training centres are already very busy with gas engineers keen to add to their skills.

But Parliament’s own Committee of Public Accounts has been scathing of the government’s handling of the Green Homes Grant in 2021, adding it needs to regain the trust of both consumers and the industry if it’s to avoid repeating those mistakes.

Hold on to your hats, it looks as though 2022 is set to be another rollercoaster of a year. Happy New Year, everyone!

Nicki Shearer, editor

Gas Safe Register, PO Box 6804, Basingstoke, RG24 4NB.

Email: enquiries@gassaferegister.co.uk, register@gassaferegister.co.uk or technical@gassaferegister.co.uk Managing editor: Scott Darroch scott.darroch@gassaferegister.co.uk Editor: Nicki Shearer editorial@registeredgasengineer.co.uk News: Jennie Ward news@registeredgasengineer.co.uk Publisher: Peter McCreary publisher@registeredgasengineer.co.uk Technical consultants: Gary Aymes, Carl Banister, Jonathan Palmer, Jonathan Stirling Production: Mark Turpin Advertising enquiries only: Ian Carter ian@rgemagazine.co.uk

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Registered Gas Engineer is written, designed and published by The Team on behalf of Gas Safe Register. 30 Park Street, London, SE1 9EQ

CIRCULATION: Jan-Dec 2020 77,332

Coming up in 2022

Alot happened in 2021, from the newest developments in hydrogen – including the opening of the first ‘hydrogen house’ in Gateshead – to the eventual publication of a raft of reports and strategies that will shape how heat and hot water are delivered in our homes in the future.

And 2022 is shaping up to continue in the same vein. An update to the Building Regulations will take effect in June 2022, tackling the issue of oversized heating appliances, limit the maximum flow temperature in new installations to 55°C where possible, and make changes to the requirements when fitting heating controls and zoning.

Rules will also be brought in mandating the fitting of a carbon monoxide alarm whenever a new gas boiler or gas fire is fitted.

And perhaps one of the biggest tests of the real appetite for low-carbon heating is also due in the spring, with the launch of the government’s Boiler Upgrade Scheme, through which people can claim £5,000 towards the cost of replacing their gas boiler with a heat pump.

Throughout 2022, we’ll continue to keep you up to date with what you need know to work safely and professionally, and that includes information about energy efficiency and low-carbon heating.

There’s no getting away from the fact that the way we heat our homes is going to change in the future, starting with moves to ban gas boilers from being installed in new-build properties with effect from 2025. Registered Gas Engineer will continue to make sure that you have all the facts so that you can make your own decisions on how you will work as the low-carbon landscape evolves.

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What do you think of your magazine?

Once again, we will be running a reader survey throughout this month, and we’d be very grateful if you could spare just a few minutes to let us know what you think of Registered Gas Engineer magazine. As Gas Safe’s official registration magazine, we aim to bring you all the latest information from the Register – whether it’s about changes that affect you and your registration, the latest marketing and advertising initiatives, or important changes to technical documents, including Safety Alerts, Technical Bulletins and Industry Standard Updates.

We also keep you up to date with the in-depth technical articles, news, initiatives and products from around the industry and developments on the road to zero carbon.

Tell us what’s changed

We want to make sure that the magazine continues to be informative, relevant and valuable to you. Our reader survey will ask you what you think about the content of this magazine, as well as finding out more about you and your work, to help make sure that we provide you with the information your business needs.

You might recognise that some of the questions are the same as those we asked last year – as well as some new ones; it’s important that we understand if and how things are changing with your work and your approach to work. Asking the same questions gives us a benchmark to measure whether things have been different for you in 2021 compared with 2020.

The survey takes just a few minutes to complete, and you can give your feedback anonymously if you prefer to do so. The survey will run until the end of January 2022 and we will share its findings with you in the spring.

You can take part at:

www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/

RGE2022 or use your mobile phone to scan the QR code above, which which open a link directly to the survey.

Thank you for taking part and for helping us to make this magazine the best that we can for you.

Government to mandate fitting CO alarms

Fitting carbon monoxide alarms is to become mandatory in social and private rented properties that use gas boilers or fires.

Forthcoming regulation changes will also require CO alarms to be fitted when new appliances such as gas boilers or fires are installed in any home.

Landlords and housing providers in social and private rented sectors will need to repair or replace smoke and CO alarms once they are told they are faulty, and smoke alarms must be fitted in all rented accommodation.

The reforms follow a commitment in the Social Housing White Paper, published last year. The White Paper set out proposals for wide-ranging reforms of the social housing sector which will drive up standards, including giving tenants a clear way to raise concerns and providing the regulator with stronger powers to take enforcement action.

The cost of the new requirements to install and maintain alarms will fall to property owners.

Housing minister Eddie Hughes MP said: “I’m proud that the new rules being proposed will ensure even more homes are fitted with life-saving alarms. Whether you own your home, are privately renting or in social housing – everyone deserves to feel safe and this is an incredibly important step in protecting those at risk.”

Guidance relating to where alarms are fitted and to ensure alarms meet relevant standards will also be updated.

The reforms follow a twomonth consultation and changes will be brought forward through the Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015 and Approved Document J, supporting Part J of the Building Regulations.

Approved Documents updated

As we went to press with this issue, the government published new Approved Documents, providing guidance on the Building Regulations in England.

For gas engineers, the new Approved Documents supporting the Building Regulations 2010 are: • Part F – Ventilation • Part L – Conservation of

Fuel and Power.

They will take effect on 15 June 2022 in England. They do not apply to work subject to a building notice, full plans application or initial notice submitted before that date, provided that the work is started on site before 15 June 2023.

We’ll bring you more detail in future editions of Registered Gas Engineer.