Big four make hydrogen boiler price promise

A hydrogen-ready boiler will cost no more than its natural gas equivalent thanks to a new price-promise made by boiler manufacturers, Worcester Bosch, Vaillant, Baxi and Ideal.

The boiler industry’s ‘Big Four’ have come together for the first time in a joint initiative which means that, at current volume levels, boilers manufactured in the UK by Worcester Bosch, Vaillant, Baxi and Ideal will cost no more than a natural gas boiler.

Mike Foster, Chief Executive of the boiler industry’s trade association, the Energy and Utilities Alliance (EUA) who brokered the deal, says the price-promise is a major boost to consumers and the fight against climate change.

“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. 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 was delivered in a letter to Kwasi Kwarteng, the Secretary of State at the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. “The Committee on Climate Change, which advises the government, 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 £2.3 billion. The price-promise is a great deal for consumers,” Foster says.

Hydrogen-ready boilers, that can be installed to run on natural gas but easily switched to hydrogen, and have been successfully tested by the Health and Safety Executive, which published their findings earlier this month.

“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.”