With figures from a recent Go Compare consumer survey suggesting that around a quarter of home owners are worried their boiler could break down this winter, industry figures are calling on heating and plumbing engineers to make the most of the cold weather when speaking to customers.

 

Stephen Knight, commercial director for Navitron believes that October and November are the best months to install new heating systems including renewables.

 

Stephen said: "Winter is just around the corner and with it comes the likelihood of blustering weather for several months. Not only are many fixed-rate tariffs set to expire this year, but gas and electric prices are steadily on the rise, making it the ideal time for homeowners to make the switch to renewable technology to heat their home.


"We had a fairly mild winter last year, with a mean temperatures 1.5ºC above the country’s average – but there’s no guarantee we’ll be that lucky again this year. As we all know, weather is incredibly difficult to predict, so it’s always best to be prepared for the worst – and in the UK’s case, that means homeowners planning ahead so that their wallets don’t take a hit when colder weather arrives.


"One of the best ways of preparing against the tremendous utility bills that electric and gas heating are sure to bring this winter is for homeowners to consider a switch to renewable technologies as their home’s primary way of keeping warm – and ASHPs are the perfect option.


"Not only can they substantially cut heating bills during winter, but heat pumps also work on the coldest of days. This means there isn’t a wintertime situation where a properly designed and specified system can’t heat a home as it should – unless temperatures drop to below -20ºC.


"Heat pumps are even more desirable than years past now, too, because homeowners can also earn money from the domestic Renewable Heat Incentive (d-RHI)."


Many homeowners aren't yet ready for the renewable technology however many of them could benefit from the installation of other heating technologies, including a good old fashioned wood burning stove, which has been fitted with an ecofan (most of which run off heat) to circulate the heat effectively.


Crucially at this stage of the year, fear can be legitimately used to nudge customers away from their conventional system to more energy efficient green technologies by demonstrating clear long term savings.


It’s also worth reviewing recent results from a GoCompare.com survey which showed that homeowners said they would be prepared to spend around £300 for a repair bill if they had problems with their boiler but only 27% said they had money set aside whilst only 23% said they had boiler cover. All of which suggests now is the time to be talking to customers about servicing boilers before things go wrong in the cold whilst with the right finance packages, it might be possible to get more people to transition between technologies.