Friday 20 November 2020

The Heating and Hotwater Industry Council establishes definition for Hydrogen-Ready boilers

The Heating and Hotwater Industry Council (HHIC) has established a definition for Hydrogen-Ready boilers, a move it suggests brings domestic decarbonisation one step closer to reality.

The trade body says setting a solid definition of what a Hydrogen-Ready boiler entails is a vital step ahead of a potential roll-out of hydrogen for heating households across the country.

The technical definition aims to help ensure safe products are made ready for the switch from natural gas to hydrogen and the HHIC hopes it can easily adopted into official legislation in the future.

HHIC Director, Stewart Clements, said: “A gas appliance that ‘out of the box’ is designed and approved to be installed for use on natural gas and following a conversion and re-commissioning process in the home, will then operate safely and efficiently using a hydrogen supply is essential to deliver a Net Zero heating solution for the vast majority of homes in the UK. Currently, 85% of homes rely on natural gas boilers to keep warm and produce hot water. Converting the gas grid to hydrogen requires a boiler than can be converted. Industry has agreed how this should be done, to minimise the cost and impact.”

“Converting a boiler in under an hour is less time than it currently takes to service a boiler. This is a huge step forward to help the UK decarbonise, while giving the consumer all the benefits they get at the moment from their heating system.”

“These technical developments are an essential ingredient in building the platform to enable a safe and cost-effective switch to a Net Zero future. Our members have agreed this technical specification and have shared it with BEIS for them to factor it into future energy policy announcements.”