Big Four make price promise on domestic hydrogen boilers

The boiler industry’s so-called Big Four - Worcester Bosch, Vaillant, Baxi and Ideal - have united in a joint initiative to help consumers reduce carbon emissions from home heating and hot water and assist with delivering net zero commitments.

Modelling has shown that the price-promise could save consumers up to £2.3bn and that Big Four boilers manufactured in the UK will cost no more than a natural gas boiler at current volumes. They add that it will take no longer than an hour to convert hydrogen-ready boilers installed initially to run off natural gas.

Engineering the hydrogen home

“Our own research tells us that consumers want to do their bit to reduce the impact of their homes and help deliver a greener future, but are concerned about the cost of some low carbon technologies,” said Mike Foster, chief executive of Energy and Utilities Alliance (EUA), the boiler industry’s trade association that brokered the deal. This price-promise from the Big Four ensures that consumers will be able to access an affordable low carbon heat and hot water solution.”

The price-promise, delivered in a letter to Kwasi Kwarteng, the secretary of state at the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, will force many industry experts to rethink their models, Foster said in a statement.

“The Committee on Climate Change… assumed that a hydrogen-ready boiler would cost £100 more than a natural gas boiler and that the total cost to consumers of decarbonising their homes would be £2.3bn. The price-promise is a great deal for consumers.”

A EUA report titled Too Close to Home revealed that tackling climate change is regarded as a priority for consumers but the majority are unwilling to pay more than the cost of a new boiler.

“This is another example of British companies leading the way on net zero,” Foster said. “The manufacturers have been very clever in using existing components and technologies to keep the price of hydrogen-ready boilers down. What’s more, hydrogen-ready boilers will work in the same way as natural gas boilers with no changes required to pipework, radiators or the installation of a water tank.

“The boiler manufacturers have developed a boiler that works; they support a 2025 mandatory roll-out of the technology and now they’ve found a way to keep costs down. The Big Four boiler companies compete ferociously against each other, but they have come together for the benefit of UK consumers and the good of the planet.”