New legislation called ‘Lot 20’ came into force at the start of 2018 that aims to make domestic heating products more efficient.
What is Lot 20?
- An EU-wide regulation aimed at helping the UK meet its commitment to reducing carbon emissions by 20% by 2020.
- It contains 37 regulations – known as ‘Lots’ – where Lot 20 is concerned with “Local Space Heaters”
- It prescribes new minimum standards for local space heating in terms of energy efficiency
- Products that do not meet these standards will no longer be allowed to be manufactured after 1st January 2018.
What products are affected?
Lot 20 affects:
- Storage heaters
- Portable heaters
- Radiant heaters
- Electric fires
- Infra-red heaters
Lot 20 does not affect:
- Towel rails
- Frost protections heaters
- Local space heaters for outdoor use
What does that mean for installed electric heating?
The large majority of installed electric heaters will no longer be compliant and future products will have to be upgraded to meet the standards set out in Lot 20. The new products, like those sold by 21st Century Heating, will now have the following energy-saving features as standard in order to be compliant:
- Digital controls: Great accuracy to reduce energy consumption
- Programmable temperature controls with 7-day timers: Use only the heat you need exactly when you need it
- Adaptive Start Controls: Predicts and initiates the optimal start-up time of the heater to ensure the room is at the desired temperature at the required time – the minimum amount of energy is used in getting the room up to the desired temperature
- Open window detections: The heater recognises when a window is open and shuts the product down to prevent energy wastage
Do I need to replace all the existing heaters in my house?
You are not required by the new legislation to replace your existing heaters, however, by purchasing new products that are Lot 20-compliant you will improve your property’s energy rating and see significantly reduced running costs for your heating
Why choose 21st Century Heating?
One of the reasons customers choose us is that we have selected Lot 20-compliant installed heating products from leading manufacturers. This means that you can be assured that you are purchasing and using high-quality products that meet all new legislative requirements.