UK flooded with dodgy boiler upgrade pumps that rack up energy bills

Hundreds of thousands of homes in the UK have been fitted with boiler ‘upgrades’ which, instead of saving money as promised, have increased energy bills by hundreds of pounds.

This is Money has learned that non-compliant parts that violate energy efficiency regulations are being shipped from China and sold to plumbers for use in people’s homes. What’s more, many are equipped with taxpayer money.

The problem surrounds water circulation pumps that, when properly designed, improve how gas boilers and heat pumps move water around a home. About 1 million are fitted in UK households each year.

The big advantage of these pumps is that they pump hot water to taps and showers on demand, meaning you don’t have to wait for the water to heat up.

But another big selling point is that they cut household water bills by a meter as less cold water flows down the drain.

But about 10 per cent of circulators – 100,000 a year – do not comply with UK regulations, according to industry experts.

This is a problem for homeowners because non-compliant pumps run non-stop and consume enormous amounts of energy.

One of these pumps uses about the same energy as a refrigerator, which equates to an energy bill of £129 per year, per pump, compared to pumps that comply with European energy efficiency regulations.

These questionable pumps are sold under 20 brand names and are all made in the same three or four factories in China, according to the world’s largest pump manufacturer, Grundfos, which is now speaking out about the practice.

From there, these pumps are shipped to the UK where they are distributed via wholesalers to plumbers who then install them in UK homes.

However, plumbers and wholesalers are not at fault, said Chris Skeen, Grundfos product management director. Instead, the pump manufacturer called on the government to do better research and stop the unreliable pumps at the border before they hit store shelves.

Some non-compliant pumps even have false ‘CE’ markings to mislead consumers.

‘CE’ stands for ‘Conformité Européene’ and is intended as a quality mark that demonstrates that a product complies with European health, safety and environmental regulations.

However, according to the British Pump Manufacturers Association trade body, some manufacturers have stamped ‘CE’ on non-compliant pumps, using a similar font, but which actually stands for ‘China Export’.

Wayne Rose, chief executive of the BPMA, said: ‘We estimate that around 10 per cent of the one million central heating pumps brought into the UK are non-compliant.

‘Once fitted, they cost consumers hundreds of pounds each year on their heating bills, and it has a serious impact on the UK’s ability to meet its net zero obligations.

“This has been a problem for several years, but the situation has worsened since early 2022, when the global microchip supply crisis was at its peak. delivery of legal products.

“For several years now, in support of its members, the BPMA has been calling on market surveillance authorities to take action and we continue to work with the relevant government authorities to ensure that non-compliant products are removed from the market as quickly as possible. they have been identified.’

Skeen said, “It’s becoming even more common – we’re seeing more and more of it. The BPMA agrees with our sentiment of about 10 percent of the market [being non-compliant].’

‘I think the most important thing for me is to clearly communicate the magnitude of it – 99.5 per cent of homes in the UK have some sort of pump, because you need to move water through your heating system. It’s not obvious, because it might be hidden in a boiler, or in a cupboard or a cellar, but the scale is quite large and it has an impact on everyone.’

Heat pump pressure exacerbates the problem

The problem of energy-hungry circulators is exacerbated by the introduction of heat pumps in the UK.

That’s because a gas boiler requires one circulation pump, but a heat pump system needs four or five, which can dramatically increase energy bills if one is not compliant.

Some non-compliant circulators are even installed with taxpayer money.

That’s because the Department for Business and Trade offers discounted heat pump installations through its Boiler Upgrade Scheme.

The same department contains the government agency responsible for checking that circulators sold in the UK comply with regulations – the Office for Product Safety and Standards.

That means that the Department for Business and Trade is not only not stopping the flow of non-compliant pumps, but is also using government money to start fitting them.

A spokesperson for the Department for Business and Trade said: ‘Our job is to make sure people are protected from unsafe products. Goods sold in the UK must comply with some of the strictest safety laws in the world, and the OPSS regularly takes action to ensure that unsafe products are kept off UK shelves.

“It is the responsibility of manufacturers and distributors of circulators to ensure that only safe and efficient products are sold on the market and that they comply with strict regulations. Sellers of non-compliant pumps will be contacted.”

Why do some circulation pumps break the rules?

Energy consumption is the difference between a legit pump and one that breaks the rules.

Since January 2013, the European Union’s ‘ecodesign’ rules state that this type of circulator must not consume more than a certain amount of energy.

These rules were tightened on August 1, 2015 and again on January 1, 2022.

They now say that new pumps sold cannot score higher than 0.23 on the complicated energy efficiency index that manufacturers use to calculate power consumption.

In practice, this means that pumps of the old type that run constantly can no longer be sold because they consume too much energy.

Instead, more expensive modern pumps have microchips in which their speed can vary depending on the household’s water needs.

Because these newer pumps do not run constantly, they comply with ecodesign regulations as they use approximately five times less energy than the older pumps.

The problem is that despite these rules, many non-compliant pumps of the older design are still for sale.

The price of these non-compliant pumps undercuts modern, smarter pumps.

Skeen said, ‘They’re cheaper to produce. You don’t need to have any electronics in them, they just spin and spin so they can make them for less. They have nothing clever in them.

‘Grundfos and the big pump manufacturers make products that are legal, but the selling price is higher.’