2025: A New Chapter for Building Controls

A package of announcements by the newly elected Labour Government has provided more details on the Warm Homes Plan[1]. The plan aims to upgrade the energy efficiency of 300,000 homes across the next financial year. 

Earlier this year, the Government announced plans to build 1.5 million new homes over the next Parliament. Heating controls will be a key part of making sure these homes of the future are built to high energy-efficiency standards, ensuring residents can live in comfortable, but sustainable living spaces. However, a large part of the UK’s pathway to Net Zero is upgrading our existing buildings to deliver efficiency savings.

Upgrading your customers’ heating systems

It is estimated that 10 million new boilers will be fitted across the UK before 2035[2]. The Government has also set a target to install 600,000 heat pumps per year by 2028. Raising in-home energy performance is needed across the spectrum to reduce carbon emissions from the domestic built environment.

As part of the Warm Homes Plan announcements in November, we’re glad to hear confirmation of plans to:

• Increase allocated support for the Great British Insulation Scheme (GBIS) and the ECO4 scheme. This will require energy suppliers to install measures that will deliver annual bill savings for households, tackling fuel poverty while reducing carbon emissions. 
• Increase funding for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS), which provides grants for the installation of air and ground source heat pumps, and biomass boilers in some instances. 
• Increase performance and minimum efficiency requirements for both gas and oil boilers, and heat pumps operating at different temperatures. 

Since the ECO4 scheme was launched in 2022, over 300,000 heating controls have been installed, 49% of all measures installed under the scheme[3]. These have all helped contribute to lower energy bills and increased energy efficiency for households, while reducing carbon emissions from existing heating systems. Smart thermostats alone account for 21% of total measures installed through ECO4, showing their popularity and recognised benefits[4]. Smart heating controls are a relatively inexpensive upgrade, and it is great that the technology will continue to play a part in providing more sustainable and energy efficient homes.

A renewed drive to get more heat pumps installed in homes will also be crucial to help reach the UK’s installation targets and reduce building emissions. Drayton stands ready to provide high-quality, intuitive control systems that will ensure newly installed heat pumps can reach their energy saving potential. 

Improving the efficiency of fossil fuel boilers

Drayton has also been calling on the Government to recognise the role that heating controls have in reducing emissions from fossil fuel boiler systems for those who aren’t quite ready to make the switch to heat pumps. As part of this the detail provided under the Warm Homes Plan, it was great to see policymakers taking building controls more seriously by:

• Changing legislation so temperature control Classes I-III will no longer be sufficient by mid-2026.
• Introducing temperature control Classes I-VIII definitions into regulations. 
• Requiring all temperature controls, system and regular boilers to use open protocols by mid-2026. 

Updating temperature control requirements for heating systems will ensure that residents are able to get the highest possible energy savings from their central heating, no matter what type of system they use. Open protocols in heating systems as the standard option will provide improved consumer choice, optimise system operation, and help residents to increase the performance of their own heating systems. 

Drayton’s heating controls

Drayton’s smart control systems already operate alongside many existing boiler and heat pump brands. However, some manufacturers are keen to protect their market position, selling their own heating system controls. This can limit functionality, reduce energy saving potential, and ultimately limit choice for their consumers. A test by Schneider Electric found that open protocols can reduce fuel consumption on average by almost 12%[5], and installers should be able to recommend the best controls for the job. 

Increased standards for heating systems, and more funding to accelerate the deployment of more energy efficient, climate friendly heating systems is welcome. We hope that these regulations will increase awareness for the potential benefits that can be achieved by having responsive, intuitive and adaptable smart heating controls paired with boilers and heat pumps. 

We are now calling on the Government to take the same approach to mandating open protocols with new heat pump systems. With more support being provided under the BUS, and greater requirements for energy suppliers to reduce carbon emissions under GBIS and ECO4, consumers must see the benefits of energy-efficient heat pumps. 

If you would like to recommend heating controls that can save your consumers up to 30% a year on their energy bills, visit the Wiser website to find out more. 

[1] Help to save households money and deliver cleaner heat to homes - GOV.UK

[2] Raising product standards for space heating: policy proposals - GOV.UK

[3] Energy Company Obligation public reports and data | Ofgem

[4] Household Energy Efficiency Statistics, headline release October 2024 - GOV.UK

[5] Open protocols: The UK's pathway to Net Zero | Drayton Controls