Future energy needs shaping domestic heating projects
25 April 2022
Manufacturers are changing their products to adapt to the challenges of natural gas being phased out by 2025, so this means they need new plastic injected moulded boiler housing designs.
UK action plan to reach carbon net zero by 2050
The government has announced that by 2025, all new homes will be banned from installing gas and oil boilers and will instead be heated by low-carbon alternatives. What's more, households will no longer be able to buy gas boilers from 2035. The ban is part of a UK action plan to reach carbon net zero by 2050. This means gas boilers will be replaced by renewable heating systems in all new-build homes.
Manufacturers need to develop new technology
The challenge is what can replace gas as a heat source? There are many options for renewable energy heat sources, with unlimited supply, unlike fossil fuels. However, there are also lots of considerations. The main one being of all the green energy sources, which one should boiler manufacturers develop for? Tex Plastics design team is working closely with a key manufacturer to help them redevelop their product range housing. The most likely renewable energy source is hydrogen. This is because hydrogen is a gaseous fuel. It could potentially use the same pipelines, fittings and boilers as natural gas. This would make a switch to hydrogen a practical and lower-cost solution to lowering carbon emissions.
Tex Plastics manufacture large plastic boiler housings
Tex Plastic manufacture the cosmetic housing for boilers, and plastic injection moulded boiler housings have a number of core requirements. They need to have good aesthetic qualities, as they are inside the home. They are typically white, which limits the use of recycled (or reprocessed) raw materials - as the colour consistency is dependent upon the supply - which on lighter colours is difficult to maintain. The end product needs to be flame retardant, cost competitive, and house the cylinders efficiently. With deadlines looming, our ‘Design For Manufacture’ team are working closely with the manufacturer to help solve these problems.