Five ways to boost your customers’ heating efficiency

By installing Vaillant products, you can set up heating systems so they work more efficiently, use less energy and potentially save your customers money. Check out these energy-saving tips

As the nights draw in, homeowners around the country will soon be firing up their heating for the first time since the spring.

However, they may be doing so hesitantly. According to the Office for National Statistics, the rising cost of living means that 44% of adults in Great Britain are using less energy at home.

But by installing a full Vaillant heating system and setting it up correctly, installers can ensure that homeowners’ heating systems run more efficiently and therefore use less energy.

So, here are five useful energy-saving tips that will help you maximise the efficiency of your customers’ heating systems.

1. Lower the flow temperature

Setting a heating system to run at a lower flow temperature can improve its overall efficiency.

Recent changes to Part L of the Building Regulations mean domestic systems in new builds or existing properties undergoing extensive refurbishment now need to be designed to run at a maximum flow temperature of 55°C.

At this flow temperature, the boiler will always run in condensing mode, making it much more efficient.

2. Remember that only a Vaillant control can speak Vaillant

Using a Vaillant control can improve the overall efficiency of a Vaillant boiler or heat pump. Thanks to the precise engineering of our eBUS software, Vaillant controls speak a dedicated language – one that lets them do more than just turn a boiler on or off.

With eBUS, Vaillant products can make decisions based on what your customer’s heating system requires. When used with a Vaillant boiler, eBUS allows our controls to run the boiler at 10% of it’s maximum output when only a slight increase in room temperature is needed.

This modulation is known as enhanced load compensation and ensures the boiler always runs at its most efficient output. It means your customer can get precise flow temperatures from their boiler or heat pump, dependant on real-time conditions, using only the energy required.

Plus, under the Boiler Plus regulations, it’s now mandatory to install a modulating control or room thermostat with your customer’s heating system. So consider Vaillant’s new sensoROOM (VRT 51f): it’s the simplest room stat imaginable, but with enhanced load compensation, it can dramatically improve boiler efficiency.

3. Pair a boiler with weather compensation

High flow temperatures are only really required under extremely cold conditions, and the average UK winter temperatures are well above freezing.

With outdoor weather compensation, Vaillant’s smart controls use local weather data to understand the outside temperature, adjusting the heat going to the radiators or underfloor heating system for optimum efficiency.

Using weather compensation makes sure that the boiler isn’t overworked when it isn’t needed, so will avoid using unnecessary energy.

"Vaillant’s new sensoROOM is the simplest room thermostat imaginable – but with enhanced load compensation, it can dramatically improve boiler efficiency"

4. Add a high recovery cylinder

Installing a high recovery Vaillant cylinderas part of the heating system can significantly improve the efficiency of a Vaillant boiler or heat pump.

Marketed by many manufacturers as ‘heat pump cylinders’, they feature a larger coil for better heat transfer. But this improved performance is seen in boilers as well as in heat pumps, so the extra initial outlay for the cylinder is minimal overall.

So it’s a no-brainer to fit a high recovery cylinder to get super-fast reheat times and future-proof the home in case a heat pump is fitted at a later date.

5. Consider a hybrid system

If your customer wants to upgrade to a heat pump but hasn’t got the space for a cylinder, a hybrid system could be the answer. This means you can retain their combination boiler for hot water and heat in the very depths of winter, but the heat pump will pick up most of the space heating over the course of the year.

The control will take into account your customer’s gas and electricity tariff and determine whether the boiler or the heat pump is the most cost-efficient way to heat their home.