Phil Wardell shares his thoughts on the next steps for the home heating market, and details how it is a growth area for the electrical industry

HOME HEATING — THE CHANGE OF A GENERATION?

Here, Phil Wardell, Product Manager at Rexel UK, shares his thoughts on the next steps for the home heating market, and how it is a growth area for the electrical industry.

The smart revolution continues to be a focus for the electrical industry, and the drive to become more connected in the home impacts more than just the controls being specified and installed.

The home heating sector is changing, and smart technology is a driving force behind what may become the biggest development in how properties are heated in a generation.

With central heating installed in around 93% of homes in the UK, we know the home heating sector is a mature one, with little sign of deviation for many years.

Greener energy sources But smart homes are rapidly changing this static market. Not only are smart controls pushing people to update otherwise unconsidered systems, they are also pushing people towards considering alternative ways to save money and be greener. Ultimately, they are pushing people to consider new energy sources, and electric is fast becoming a viable alternative to the traditional gas fired energy solution.

Research released by AMA Research backs this up, showing that smart controls are on a path of significant growth. A recent report published by the firm estimates that by 2022, it is likely that 45% of heating controls sold by value will be smart – up from around 30% in 2017. This is significant growth in a short time frame.

Furthermore, in the most recent YouGov survey from 2018, research states that 23% of UK homes have at least one smart device, with 11% having a smart speaker, 5% with smart lighting and 3% having smart security.

Some people may ask though, ‘Why does installing smart controls impact the energy consumed within the home?’ It’s true that smart controls are used with gas heated properties all over the country. But there are a few factors that directly impact the electrical industry and offer a great opportunity going forward for electrical heating.

Zoning There is a very practical association between smart controls for heating and electric heating and that is around zoning.

Homeowners can enjoy greater control and accuracy with electric heaters, which can be adjusted to maintain a consistent temperature. This type of system also allows for ‘zone heating’, where only selected living areas within a building have the heating switched on to reduce the overall bill. This will prove even more popular as smart living becomes a key consideration for all new builds and any refurbishment projects.

Sustainability The increase in smart controls also signifies a change in behaviour – not just to become more connected, but to save energy. Sustainability is a focus for everyone in today’s society. It may have seemed a slow process, but significant changes in attitudes in our society have taken place within a short time frame. We now recycle, are less inclined to buy single-use plastic items and we make conscious decisions with our behaviour at home to support a better environment – from using less water in the kettle to running our washing machines on the 30-degree setting.

We are now seeing the beginning of the next change – using smart products to be more sustainable at home when it comes to energy usage.

For house builders and developers, this rise in emphasis on sustainability, by utilising smarter connectivity technology to create greener homes with lower footprints, should not be underestimated. It is likely to be one of the biggest changing factors in how we heat our homes. Government pressures are already on as they seek to phase out the installation of high-carbon fossil fuel heating in new homes by 2025. Because of this, we expect that within the next decade, all new-build properties will be heated by electricity.

As smart living becomes a key consideration for all new builds, smarter heating and cheaper bills will also materialise

SAP changes The latest SAP regulations, published in July 2018 and known as SAP 10, recognise that electric energy will soon have a smaller CO2 footprint than mains gas thanks to continuous improvements through sustainable energy initiatives – making it easier than ever to get new properties specified with all electric heating

Cost Today, electric heating solutions are more able than ever to provide a cost effective, versatile and low maintenance way to heat a property. Over the lifetime of electrical heating units and boilers, homeowners will generally see a lower installed cost compared to more conventional gas systems. This is thanks to quicker and easier installations and no requirement for annual maintenance. Electric heating can be installed as standalone units such as panel heaters, storage heaters, or using an electric boiler in a wet system with traditional radiators.

The opportunity Thanks to the above, there is a great opportunity for the industry, and some of our key suppliers are already making changes to key product lines, making them smarter and ready for the future.

As an industry, we need to raise awareness of the changes to the heating market and the many benefits electric heating provides to those who use it. With a wider range of products available than ever before, it has never been easier to find the perfect solution to personalised heating.

AMA Research indicates that by 2022, it is likely that 45% of heating controls sold by value will be smart