BSRIA (Building Services Research and Information Association) recently presented a review of UK’s boiler market. After years of growth, sales of domestic boilers in the UK dropped by more than five percent after new regulations came into force. Andrea Kafer investigated whether this is the trend for the future, or whether boiler sales will recover, reveals the organization’s press release.

Part L of the Building Regulations includes an amendment dealing with boiler efficiency. In 2005, the minimum SEDBUK efficiency (Seasonal Efficiency of Domestic Boilers in the UK) in gross calorific value was raised to 86 percent for gas-fired boilers and 85 percent for oil-fired boilers. These tougher requirements require most new and replacement domestic boilers to be of a condensing type. After years of growth, sales of domestic boilers in the UK dropped by more than five percent. Besides a negative growth in the residential renovation sector in 2005 (over 75 percent of domestic boilers are sold into this segment), it is believed that some end-users possibly hesitated over whether to buy the more expensive condensing boilers, preferring instead to defer replacement. However, 2006 sales figures show that changes in the Building Regulations did not lead to a continuing downward trend. 2005 was just a transition year, and end-users did not switch to alternative technologies like heat pumps. Comparing 2004 with 2006 figures, the sales volume for non-condensing boilers dropped by around 74 percent. By contrast, figures for condensing boilers rocketed, growing by more than 300 percent over the same period.

Sales of non-condensing domestic boilers will shrink further over the next couple of years to the extent that the non-condensing boiler is likely to become a niche product. Many designers will choose boilers with an efficiency higher than the statutory minimum, which means that condensing boilers may be the preferred option even where the Building Regulations do not demand them.