The Future of Home Heating: Our Take on Hydrogen

As a company, we are strongly backing hydrogen to play a big role in the future of home heating.

Alongside renewable heating systems, which will also have their part to play, hydrogen offers a practical route to lowering the carbon emissions from home heating.

We’re committed to heating engineers

Our network of Gas Safe registered engineers is over 3,000 strong and we’re committed to continuing to provide them with work. We rebranded to Boiler Guide from Holmes Media in 2020 for that very reason.

This commitment to gas boilers saw 2020 go down as a record breaking year as new gas boiler enquiries rose by 43%.

Why hydrogen?

Around 80% of UK homes rely on a gas boiler for heating and hot water. So tearing them all out for alternative low-carbon heating systems would be costly and impractical in some cases.

So, rather than ripping out all of these gas boilers, we believe it would make sense to change the fuel. After all, they’re effective heating systems that, importantly, are familiar amongst homeowners.

Unlike natural gas, which releases carbon into the atmosphere when burned, hydrogen only produces water and vapour. This means that switching the gas network to hydrogen (or even a hydrogen blend) would help to significantly reduce carbon emissions from home heating.

Many boiler manufacturers are putting their faith in hydrogen too. Brands such as Baxi and Worcester Bosch have already developed hydrogen-ready boiler prototypes. They’re also pushing for all gas boilers installed from 2025 to be hydrogen-ready.

In addition to manufacturers, the Heating and Hotwater Industry Council (HHIC) will support any Government legislation which states that new boiler installations must be hydrogen-ready from 2025.

What about renewables?

While we would support switching the gas network to hydrogen, renewables have a significant role to play in reducing carbon emissions. Particularly when it comes to new build homes.

Heat pumps are at their most efficient when installed into well insulated properties. Seeing as new builds have to meet higher energy standards, they’re ideal for these low-carbon heating systems. However, this doesn’t mean that older properties should rule out a renewable heating system.

Replacing a gas boiler with a renewable heating system would lower carbon emissions and heating bills. Major benefits to the homeowner and environment alike.

One thing that could get in the way of installing a renewable heating system into older properties is, generally speaking, their lack of insulation. Millions of homes would potentially need increased levels of insulation before a heat pump should be considered. In these cases, a boiler or hybrid heating system could be the better option.

Having said this, a good level of insulation should be a priority for any property – no matter the heating system. This in itself would help to lower carbon emissions from home heating.

Are you a renewable heating installer? Then there’s never been a better time to buy our qualified air source heat pump, ground source heat pump and solar thermal leads as we’ve lowered the price of our renewable heating leads!

We’re allowing homeowners to make informed decisions

The gas boiler has been getting a lot of bad press recently. And this confusion has been making its way into the thinking of homeowners when it comes to replacing their heating system.

We want homeowners to receive balanced information rather than misleading media headlines. This way, they can make an informed decision when it comes to home heating.

Each year, over 4 million homeowners turn to us for heating advice. Our growing influence and the information we give to homeowners plays an important part in their decision-making.

In an article on our homeowner-facing site, we addressed the gas boiler ‘ban’. We felt this was necessary as we’d noticed some confusion as to whether homeowners can still replace their old gas boiler. In the article, we state: “There is no need for existing homes with gas boilers to get rid of them, and when your existing gas boiler needs replacing, you can replace it with a new gas boiler.”

Alongside this article, we have a wealth of information around the future of home heating. These include the advantages and challenges of heating with hydrogen and renewables. This way, each individual can make an informed decision as to whether they want a new boiler, renewable heating system or hybrid heating system.

All of these articles allow homeowners to make informed decisions when it comes to replacing their heating system.

See qualified heating leads in your area

Are you looking for more work? Then we have qualified heating leads available right across the UK – and you can take a look at the leads in your area today.

It’s completely free to sign up and you’ll find no hidden fees along the way. Simply pay for the jobs you want as and when you want them. The perfect way to keep your diary full.