It has been mandatory to fit a condensing gas boiler for all new domestic installations since 2005 - a fact that has led to the condensing boiler market in this sector experiencing a dramatic expansion - with sales more than double those of previous years. The market is projected to show further growth predicted to be 7.9 million condensing heating systems in the UK alone by 2010.

Buildings are responsible for more than 40% of the UK's carbon emissions and ineffective or poorly controlled heating systems represent a significant factor in this, and therefore a significant opportunity.

In Australia, New Zealand, Japan and, to a slightly lesser extent, the USA and Canada, along with almost every other technologically savvy country other than the UK, the practice of installing gas boilers and water heaters inside a building is considered rather unwise and certainly uneconomical.

For a whole range of reasons, sustainability has become very high profile and is beginning to influence decision-making at all levels, from corporate policy at board level right down to the heating plant equipment selected for a new build or refurbishment project.

The last few years have been a really challenging time for everyone involved in the heating industry. Along with the ever increasing array of products in the marketplace, financial pressures are forcing end-user customers to consider a number of factors when looking to replace older heating equipment. This is leading many to repair their existing appliance rather than replace it with a more energy efficient system.

Regular maintenance of the boiler house is vital for ensuring a modern steam system is running smoothly. Rick Plummer, UK Engineering Manager of Spirax Sarco offers tips on how best to maintain the boiler house to ensure it is running to its full capability.

Andrews Water Heaters pioneered the break with traditional systems when it entered the market with direct gas-fired water heaters 30 years ago. Gavin Watson, Business Development Manager, explains the benefits this brought to system designers and building operators alike. He also examines the continuing development of modern water heating technology and discusses the large variety of options now available to meet today’s commercial building requirements.

The word prefabrication often conjures up images of the kind of modular housing built in London, Birmingham and Bristol after World War II, but off-site production is a concept now being embraced within modern construction too. As a means of improving the efficiency of a building project and reducing costs, the scope for prefabrication is expanding all the time. Here, Ken Percival, Managing Director for Potterton Commercial explains why prefabricated heating solutions are increasingly popular in the commercial arena.

Nick Stevenson of Keston Boilers explains why custom-made, prefabricated multiple-boiler rigs are the latest must-haves in commercial heating refurbishments.

There have been energy efficiency initiatives since the industrial revolution, and certainly since Oliver Lyle wrote his book ‘Efficient Use of Fuel’ in 1944. There have also been initiatives from the previous Department of Energy going back to the 1970’s with the Boiler efficiency grant scheme and the Energy Survey grant scheme. An analysis of the latter scheme indicated that there was very little take up of the conclusions and recommendation of the Survey Reports to realise the savings predicted.