Worcester Ignites the LPG Market

With over 40 years experience within the heating and hot water industry, Worcester Bosch Group, is dedicated to developing high performance SEDBUK ‘A’ rated boilers that can help home owners in all parts of the UK become more energy efficient, whilst reducing CO2 emissions at the same time.

In this issue of Well Connected, Martyn Bridges, Director of Marketing and Technical Support for Worcester Bosch Group, explains how the market leader has recently strengthened its portfolio of domestic boilers with the introduction of a new range of Greenstar LPG appliances, which require no conversion to help ease the installation process.

“Many domestic properties in the UK are without a mains gas supply and according to a recent Countryside Agency report, approximately 73,000 people think about moving from our cities to the country and rural dwellings each year. With figures like these, it’s easy to see that the market for LPG is a growing one.

Combined with renewed media interest in climate change and the effect of CO2 emissions upon the atmosphere, LPG is also becoming an increasingly popular choice with those concerned with reducing their impact upon the environment.

At Worcester, we have always offered an LPG option for customers who are not connected to a mains gas supply. Until recently, we supplied full conversion kits with each of our Greenstar gas condensing boilers to enable installers to carry out the necessary work to adapt our appliances to work effectively with LPG fuel.

However, having listened to feedback from installers, we understood that converting a gas boiler to operate using LPG can take valuable time to carry out. We therefore reviewed our entire range and introduced Worcester’s first collection of LPG ready Greenstar boilers in quarter 2 of 2006.

The response to date has been an entirely positive one, as a key advantage of purchasing a Worcester Greenstar LPG boiler is that installation time is now greatly reduced. When using a conversion kit the commissioning engineer would ordinarily need to check that the CO:CO2 ratio is correct using a combustion analyser. However, with a purpose-built LPG Greenstar, additional checks are no longer necessary. Every boiler is supplied ready to fit, with a factory default setting in place to ensure the correct ratio is achieved.

In brief, the condensing LPG range includes models ranging from the Greenstar 24i Junior – designed to cater for the needs of a small flat or apartment – to a Greenstar 40CDi boiler, which is more suitable for a larger family home. Appliances in the Greenstar LPG series offer simple and quiet operations as well as ease of installation and servicing.

As the ultimate seal of approval, our entire range of Greenstar LPG boilers carries the Energy Saving Trust’s (EST) ‘Energy Saving Recommended’ logo. The EST only recommends SEDBUK ‘A’ rated boilers for domestic installations, as this means they are capable of converting over 90% of the gas consumed into heat for maximum efficiency. Band ‘A’ boilers therefore offer home owners the best return on their investment in terms of cost savings and reduced CO2 emissions.

In addition to being particularly efficient, all of the regular and system Greenstar models are compatible with the Worcester Greenskies Solar water heating package launched last autumn. In tandem with an LPG boiler, solar is another particularly suitable option for non-mains gas properties for the production of plentiful hot water at low running costs.

A well sized solar system can provide around up to 50-70% of a typical household’s hot water supplies over the course of a year – approximately 80-90% in the summer, 40-50% during the spring and autumn and roughly 20-30% during winter. This has to be good news for the environment and the pocket too.”

For more information about Worcester’s Greenstar LPG boilers and other products available, plus details of training courses and wider services, call 08705 266241 or visit www.worcester-bosch.co.uk