According to current Government information, from April 2005, only boilers that are high-efficiency (HE) will be able to be installed in the majority of situations. This will effectively make the UK the first exclusively high-efficiency market in Europe and should help to make a major dent in the Government's CO₂ reduction targets.

In many ways this strategy shouldn't come as a shock. Over the last ten years there have been numerous warning signs with various initiatives, grants and schemes set up to promote the take up of high-efficiency boilers. In fact, in the social housing market the growth of high-efficiency has been faster than in other sections of the industry and as a result there are many forward thinking Housing Associations who have already made the switch.

For these organisations, the benefits of using high-efficiency are already clear, both for the Housing Association and the tenants themselves. However, in the past few years, the technology within HE boilers has developed significantly and many social housing providers may not realise the range of options that is now available.

At Ideal, we have made a significant investment in ensuring our HE boilers are as small and compact as possible and feedback from social housing providers has reinforced this as a key requirement when specifying a particular high-efficiency boiler. Space is always at a premium in any home and while an efficient boiler is now almost taken for granted, it needs to be as unobtrusive as possible. Combi boilers have gone a long way in helping with this issue and now high-efficiency boilers must include increased technology in the same size box.

When Ealing Council was looking to upgrade the heating systems in its homes a SEDBUK A boiler was a must, but size was another reason why the Ideal icos HE and isar HE combi were both chosen for different homes under the project. "The size of the boiler was an important issue as the majority of the kitchens are quite small," said Mark Krull, director of TLG Services, one of two heating contractors working with Ealing. "Ideal's high-efficiency boilers are some of the smallest on the market and fit easily into the kitchen cupboards."

Sandwell Homes in the West Midlands chose the icos HE and isar HE for much the same reason. Sandwell has around 36,000 properties and needed a boiler that didn't take up too much space. As a result of the organisation's heating upgrades, tenants are very happy - they have an attractive boiler that can be concealed in the kitchen and the monitoring of installations through an affordable warmth index has also demonstrated a significant reduction in fuel bills.

A further key benefit of using Ideal's boilers for both Sandwell Homes and Ealing Council is the range of boilers available to them. The icos heat-only boiler now comes in a choice of four different outputs ranging from 12 to 24kW and the isar combi has three different models with outputs of 24-35kW. This enables the most appropriate model to be chosen for each installation and ensures the boiler is operating as efficiently as possible in each case.

The changes that are happening in April 2005 will undoubtedly have an effect on those providing social housing, particularly those that are currently sticking with standard efficiency boilers. However, it also provides an opportunity for Housing Associations to revisit their heating strategy and look at the products they are specifying. Using a high-efficiency boiler will help to reduce emissions and will also enable the provider to work towards reducing fuel poverty and ensure affordable heating for all. The technology is now available to use small HE boilers that are easy to install - Housing Associations should be looking to take advantage of this before the Government forces the switch.