The heat is on

Matt Parton, Product Development Manager at ESP, gives some insight into the current market for residential heating.

ESP made the decision earlier this year to invest in the development of its Sangamo range The 15th edition of the ‘Residential Central Heating Market Report UK 2021-2025 Analysis’ has recently been published by AMA Research. The report represents an informed and up-to-date review of the residential central heating market and now includes heat pumps. It cites the UK residential central market as substantial, with an estimated value of around £1.2bn at manufacturers’ prices in 2020.

In June 2019, the UK became the first major economy to pass laws to end its contribution to global warming. The target will require the UK to bring all greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050. As a result, it is likely that the type of products used to centrally heat UK residential homes will change considerably in the near future. For example, the government Future Homes Standard, to be introduced by 2025, will require all newbuild homes to be future-proofed with low carbon heating and world leading levels of energy efficiency. This will include the use of renewable heating technologies such as heat pumps as an alternative to boilers, and as such these have now been included in the market calculations.

Central heating is installed in around 92% of UK residential homes, with market penetration remaining at a similar level over the last five years. Gas-fired systems currently account for the majority of installations.

Smart heating controls

Over recent years this market has benefited from more stringent energy efficiency legislation and the introduction of new technologies, such as smart heating controls. According to further research – the ‘Domestic Central Heating market report (2018-2022)’ – also from AMA Research, smart heating controls are likely to take market share from conventional heating controls in the longer term.

In 2017, it was estimated that around 30% of heating controls sold by value were smart heating controls. This figure is likely to increase to over 45% of heating controls sold by value by 2022. There is a growing awareness of the benefits of smart heating controls. UK householders are becoming much more environmentally aware and are using smart heating solutions in order to minimise energy usage and to save money. It is estimated that around 5% of UK homes now have smart heating controls installed.

The heating market is mature, with central heating installed in around 92% of UK homes. However, growth potential still exists, through product innovation designed to improve thermal performance, energy efficiency and control.

The shift to smart heating controls is likely to be gradual and a large number of homeowners are expected to continue with conventional solutions. The primary focus of many suppliers will be key benefits such as ease of use and convenience for customers.

Smart thermostat and energy efficient heating

A smart thermostat is something that installers can easily add to their customers’ home heating, allowing householders to control and monitor the room temperature and thermostat activity from anywhere in the world, via an app on a smart phone or tablet.

The Sangamo Wi-Fi Thermostat launched last year offers energy efficient programming and remote access via the Sangamo Choice app. It has been designed to be straightforward to install and operate and is suitable for electric, gas or oil systems.

With energy efficiency top of the agenda for the economy, businesses and householders, ESP made the decision earlier this year to invest in the development of its Sangamo range of timers and heating controls. A key aim of the revamp was to introduce features that will assist with efficiency and performance and that will ultimately drive down energy usage and costs.

Energy efficient heating

The new-look Sangamo offer can be broken down into four main product categories – Timer Controls, Thermostats, Programmable Thermostats and Programmers – with a total of 15 products making up the comprehensive range.

The Timer Control collection of products is designed for simplistic ON/OFF manual or scheduled control for heating and lighting applications. The range has been expanded with a total of three new products, each one introducing the addition of a fused spur switch for additional protection for high loads.

The Thermostat range of products – designed for controlling heating systems via an electronic sensor – now totals five products.

The Programmable Thermostat products are designed for controlling heating applications via an electronic sensor or programmed schedule, and ESP has added one new product to this range. All thermostat products have been upgraded and now offer TPI (Time Proportional and Integral) control for heating efficiency. In addition, the programable thermostats include an optimisation feature; Optimum Start/Delay Start and Optimum Stop, for extra efficiency.

The Programmers are designed for heating and hot water controlled independently across separate channels via a programmed schedule. A total of three products make up this range varying from 1-3 channel options and including an optional service interval function to assist with Gas Safety Regulation compliance.

ESP believes this new comprehensive offer will make it easier for contractors to select the right solutions for the project in hand and will provide wholesalers with a greater choice of products that will encourage upselling.

The range has been expanded with a total of three new products

The type of products used to centrally heat UK residential homes will change considerably in the near future