NEW HEATING SYSTEM BECOMES PRIORITY FOR HOME OWNERS CHOOSING TO IMPROVE – NOT MOVE
Information about new boilers and advice about new heating systems were among the most popular calls to the national Heating Helpline during 2012, suggesting that for the increasing numbers of households choosing to ‘stay put’ and undertake home improvements rather than moving home this has become a priority on the list of preferred projects.
25 January 2013 – Britain’s housing market has all but ground to a halt – even home owners that might want to move are stuck where they are faced with a paucity of affordable mortgages and the huge deposits demanded by lenders. So it’s hardly surprising that increasing numbers of home owners are choosing to ‘stay put’ and undertake home improvements rather than moving home. In these tough economic times people are choosing to increase the value of their home without the risk, stress and substantial expense of moving.
The plethora of home design and home improvement programmes on television in recent years has also meant that home owners are better informed and looking beyond surface decoration to more ambitious home improvements like loft conversions and more energy efficient heating systems including renewable technologies. Enquiries to the national Heating Helpline over the past 12 months support this trend with the top 5 questions asked during 2012 by callers being:
- How to locate a reputable, reliable heating engineer
- Information about installing a new boiler
- What energy grants are available
- Energy saving advice
- Advice on the most appropriate heating system to install
Blane Judd, chief executive of B&ES (the Building & Engineering Services Association) who operate the Heating Helpline, comments, “With home owners choosing to ‘improve not move’, coupled with average annual dual-fuel energy bills at a now record £1300, it’s not surprising that over the past 12 months so many calls to the Heating Helpline were specifically about information on new boilers and upgrading the household heating system.
“The current generation of ultra efficient condensing boilers do convert over 90% of the fuel they use and are up to 40% more fuel efficient than the older boilers they replace and that can represent big savings on gas bills.”
The free Heating Helpline can be contacted on 0800 810 8303 or visit their website at: http://www.heatinghelpline.org.uk.
Ends
Issued on behalf of the Building & Engineering Services Association (B&ES) by Next Step Marketing Ltd
Media enquiries to: Heather Lambert. Tel: 44(0)1256 472020;
Fax: 44(0)1256 471010; E-mail: heather@nextstepmarketing.co.uk
Notes to editors
Since its formation in 1904, B&ES, the Building & Engineering Services Association (formerly the HVCA) has represented the interests of companies engaged in a wide range of building and engineering services including domestic heating and renewable technologies.
B&ES members are subject to regular, third-party inspection and assessment of their technical competence and commercial capability, carried out by an independent certification body at least every three years.
B&ES members who undertake gas installations are registered with Gas Safe – the gas safety watchdog body – and are also members of TrustMark, the Government-endorsed scheme designed to direct customers towards reliable tradespeople.
B&ES operates the Heating Helpline (http://www.heatinghelpline.org.uk) to provide consumers with free, impartial advice on every aspect of home heating.
Caption for picture at http://www.nextstepmarketing.co.uk/press:
“For the hundreds of thousands of home owners now choosing to improve not move, upgrades to the household heating systems have become high on the list of home improvement projects.”
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