Martyn Bridges, Director of Governmental and External Affairs at Worcester Bosch, gives his view on the UK’s light commercial state of play.
An efficient heating system isn’t just about keeping premises warm. For businesses, it’s about driving energy efficiencies, reducing operational cost and supporting your commercial objectives.
Light commercial is the unsung hero of heating when it comes to small-to-medium business operations. With kilowatts as low as 50, light commercial boilers provide a simple and cost-effective heating option.
Yet, much like the domestic sector, we are seeing the light commercial sector also change direction towards lower carbon heating systems – but not without challenges.
Financial assistance
At Worcester Bosch, we have been involved in several projects where two or three 25-kilowatt heat pumps have been installed in tandem.
One example saw the installation of heat pumps with heat interface units to provide heating and hot water for sheltered housing. The system was previously all electric with storage heaters, so the move to heat pumps made it considerably more efficient.
However, one of the challenges facing the installation of light commercial solutions for energy and heating is that there’s not always financial assistance available for heat pumps of this size – despite the availability of funds for domestic systems.
The very generous Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) provides a grant of £7,500 to homeowners looking to upgrade their existing system to a heat pump.
So, if the sheltered housing hadn’t been considered a commercial building – rather, residential properties – then the installation of heat pumps would have been eligible for the grant funding.
Hot water storage
Despite the government’s efforts to encourage heat pump installations across the UK, we are still seeing a vast majority of light commercial situations opt for gas-fired boilers.
It’s particularly an issue with hotels, for example, where thousands of litres of hot water are required at peak times of the day.
A heat pump system operating such an arrangement would require an immense amount of hot water storage cylinders. Plus, the slower heat up times from heat pumps make the hot water side of the installation more difficult to address.
These specific uses make the case for gas-based light commercials in order to maintain services and customer expectations.
In terms of heating, however, more sustainable light commercial options are perfectly well suited – arguably even more so, because quite often the heating system is running continuously.
Yet, we’ve also seen domestic boilers – some of the larger domestic boilers, such as the 50 kilowatt output area and combi-boilers in particular – being used in light commercial applications in some instances. For example, where there might just be one or two toilets in a facility that only require central heating and minimum amounts of hot water to operate.
Training programmes
As the light commercials pipeline remains steady, we’re seeing a reasonably healthy uptake of domestic installers moving into light commercial work – adding to their current qualifications to install boilers over and above 70 kilowatts in output.
Hands-on experience is vital for all heating systems, let alone commercial offerings. So, training programmes that offer qualifications and certifications are a necessary part of any upskilling into light commercial installation.
At Worcester Bosch, we have a Training Academy at our headquarters where we prioritise giving professionals first-hand experience with the latest technologies and solutions for commercial and domestic uses.
Training on commercial operations means installers can familiarise themselves with system cascades and floor-standing boilers, as well as light commercial options, that they wouldn’t otherwise encounter.
Image: Worcester Bosch
