News

Hydrogen blending pilot ends in success

HMRC Self Assessment reminders

A ground-breaking green energy project that could pave the way for Britain to dramatically cut its carbon emissions and help tackle climate change has been completed successfully.

The HyDeploy project at Winlaton, Gateshead, has ended its pilot after 11 months. The trial saw up to 20 per cent hydrogen blended with natural gas on the public gas network for the first time, supplying a primary school, church and 668 homes.

Customers continued to use their gas supply and appliances as usual, without having to make any adjustments to their gas appliances or pipework as current gas appliances are designed to operate with a blend of up to 23 per cent hydrogen.

Winlaton resident Biba Thompson said: “There was no difference to using our gas when it contained the hydrogen. I am the sheltered scheme officer for some housing in the pilot area and everyone here was enthusiastic about doing their bit to reverse the effects of climate change and agreed that it was great that our small village in the North-east was chosen for such a ground-breaking pilot.”

Fergal O’Donovan, NGN’s hydrogen programme manager, added: “We’re delighted to have successfully completed blending hydrogen into the gas supply at Winlaton. The unprecedented hot weather [this summer] has brought the need to tackle climate change to the forefront of people’s mind and this project has demonstrated that hydrogen blending can play a role in decarbonising heat with no disruption. We’d like to thank the residents of Winlaton for their participation and support in this vital demonstration.”

The report of findings from the Winlaton project will be submitted to the government later this year, ahead of a decision around the wider blending of hydrogen in the UK gas network, which is due to be taken in 2023.

HyDeploy is continuing to test the safe use of blended hydrogen for domestic and commercial use. There are also ongoing projects testing the use of hydrogen for heat, including the Hydrogen Homes at Low Thornley near Gateshead, where 100 per cent hydrogen can be seen in use in a show home with boiler, cooker, hob, fire and even a barbecue.

Blending facilities at Low Thornley, where the hydrogen was added to the gas network

Heating engineer develops and scales app

Surefire is an all-in-one management system for plumbing and heating businesses developed by heating specialist Billy Wilgar.

The system was originally designed and developed to streamline the day-to-day operational needs of his own business, London and Kentbased plumbing and heating firm AC Wilgar. But Billy soon realised that he had created a tool that he says can benefit similar businesses nationwide, especially for thousands of sole traders and small to medium operations with up to 20 staff.

Surefire features include diary management, accounts integration (with Sage, Xero and QuickBooks), Parts Arena/ plumbing merchant integration and certificate production.

Route optimisation reconfigures daily journeys into the most efficient routes and the intuitive Quote Wizard creates bespoke customer quotes in seconds, with all parts and job timings factored in.

Billy says: “We have built the system to take into consideration the needs of everyone using it. In simple terms, we have listened to the needs of our users and developed an app that is straightforward to use, therefore making their life a lot easier.”

www.surefiresoftware.co.uk

Competition winner

The winner of our August competition was Gary Barnes from Worcester. Gary receives a bundle of products worth more than £500 from our friends at Gas Safety Shop. Congratulations!

Gas Safety Week paused following the death of Queen Elizabeth II

A statement from the Gas Safety Week team

Gas Safe Register’s Gas Safety Week activity last month was unable to go ahead due to the passing of Her Majesty The Queen and the official mourning period.

This meant that we could not undertake our planned media push, and we suspended our plans for digital and social media activity for the campaign this year.

We would like to thank everyone for their support for the week. If you’re not already registered with HMRC for Self Assessment but should be, you need to do this as soon as possible. You need to register no later than 5 October after the end of the tax year for which you need to file a tax return.

For example, if you need to file a tax return for the 2021-2022 tax year, you’ll need to register for Self Assessment no later than 5 October 2022.

HMRC wants to help you get your tax right. You are responsible for telling HMRC about your income using Self Assessment if you’re: • Self-employed as a sole trader earning more than £1,000 • A partner in a business partnership • A director of a limited company.

If you’re sending HMRC a paper tax return for the 2021-2022 tax year, the deadline is getting close. You only have until midnight on 31 October to do this. If you’re submitting your tax return online, you have a later deadline of 31 January 2023.

For more information about Self Assessment and registering, go to GOV.UK and search ‘Register for Self Assessment’.

For information about completing and submitting tax returns, go to GOV.UK and search for ‘Self Assessment tax return forms’.

Not telling HMRC about your income using Self Assessment, or submitting your tax return late, could mean that HMRC charges you penalties and interest.

For queries about Self Assessment, go to GOV.UK or call HMRC’s Self Assessment Helpline.

First figures released for Boiler Upgrade Scheme

More than 4,000 applications were made to the government’s Boiler Upgrade Scheme in its first two months. The scheme, which opened on 23 May 2020, saw the majority of applications made for air source heat pumps (4,186). By contrast, 99 applications were made for ground source heat pumps and 48 for biomass boilers.

BEIS published its first set of figures for the scheme’s launch up to the end of July. In that time, 1,208 redemption applications were received for ASHP installations, of which 912 had been approved and paid.

The South-west and Southeast of England saw the highest number of applications and redemptions (854 and 826 voucher applications, respectively, and 171 redemptions paid in both regions). These two regions collectively account for around 40 per cent of applications and redemptions.

Gas was the most common fuel type that BUS installations replaced, accounting for 53 per cent of redemptions, and nearly all were for domestic properties: just 4 per cent of ASHP installations were non-domestic.

The figures show that the average (mean) cost of installation in England and Wales was £12,938 for an ASHP, £28,293 for GSHP and £14,725 for biomass.

The scheme launched in England and Wales on 1 April 2022, with £450 million in funding until 2025, and is being administered by Ofgem. It’s intended to support the continued deployment of low-carbon heating systems in homes, and some small non-domestic buildings.

The scheme is installer-led, with the installer of the lowcarbon heating technology submitting a voucher application for the grant on behalf of the property owner. The voucher is redeemed when the installer completes the installation and submits a voucher redemption application, which is subsequently approved by Ofgem. If approved, the grant is then paid directly to the installer.

ASHP and biomass boiler vouchers are valid for three months while GSHP vouchers are valid for six months.

Website revamp for Navien

Navien has redesigned its website, showcasing the company’s range of high-efficiency heating and hot water products. There are dedicated areas for heating professionals and users, as well as essential product literature, news, downloads and technical support.

The professional section includes downloadable technical literature, brochures and installation guides for all Navien gas and oil boilers, water heaters and smart controls, as well as the latest case studies showcasing products in action. You can find details and locations of the latest oil and gas training courses, as well as booking them, join the latest online training programmes and register for the Navien Choice loyalty scheme.

The homeowner area includes a ‘find a boiler’ feature, so that consumers can see the most suitable product using filters including property type, number of bathrooms, bedrooms and hot water requirements. There’s also a dedicated support area containing product manuals and FAQs, and which helps them find their nearest Navien installer and book a boiler service.

National business manager Jason Davies says: “Having established ourselves as a leading heating and hot water brand around the world, it was only right that we updated our UK website to reflect this.

“Now, following many months of hard work, we’re incredibly excited to reveal the new site, which encompasses a wealth of design features, usability improvements and upgrades that will benefit installers and homeowners alike.”

Find out more at:

www.navien.co.uk

Gas Safe at PHEX

If you’re attending PHEX in London next month, you’ll be able to visit Gas Safe Register. The Register will be exhibiting and will be welcoming gas engineers and able to answer any questions you may have.

The PHEX plumbing and heating exhibition takes place on 16-17 November at Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge Stadium. Tickets are free and you can book at:

www.phexshow.co.uk

Get MCS accredited for less with Viessmann

Viessmann’s new MCS umbrella scheme helps heating engineers reduce the time, cost and effort involved in becoming MCS registered. The Viessmann Access scheme is open to all Viessmann-trained installers wishing to fit air source heat pumps (ASHPs).

“This scheme is a real game changer for our installers,” says Emma-Louise Bennett, customer relationship co-ordinator. “MCS accreditation involves in-depth assessment; installers are required to have certain procedures in place, evidence their credit history and pay to renew their membership every year. Most micro-businesses are not equipped to do this: it takes up time and resources that many simply do not have.

“Viessmann Access will support those new to heat pumps to gain experience and operate under our guidance until they are ready to become certified.

“Viessmann commissions the installer to install the heat pump system and signs it off via a service engineer commissioning check, with Viessmann taking full ownership of the installation and only charging if the quotation is won. The total charge is around £1,300 per install, which includes design, certification and commissioning fees.”

A typical product package would feature the air source heat pump together with a twin-coil cylinder, or a heat pump with an integrated cylinder such as the Vitocal 151-A air source storage heat pump, as well as a sevenyear warranty.

Marketing director Darren McMahon says: “The time to expand into non-fossil technologies is now, but it can be complicated. We want to support our partners, who are essential to the success of the UK’s energy transition, so they avoid the headache.”