2018 – The Year of the Electric Radiator 2018 – The Year of the Electric Radiator Well, that’s it. The Christmas decorations are back in the box and it’s time to look ahead to all things new. Whether that’s learning a new language, taking up a hobby or just taking some more time for yourself. But this year, the electric industry is also making some new year's changes, thanks to the introduction of some new EU regulations. These came into play on January 1st and will mark the end of electric products with poor controllability. But what does this mean for you? What Are the New Regulations? The new legislation (catchily named ‘Lot 20) was designed to change the landscape of available products for manufacturers and consumers alike. It’s derived from the Ecodesign Directive, which was designed to create a framework of basic requirements to make them as efficient and environmentally friendly as possible. Lot 20 takes this directive, enhances it and turns it into an official regulation that must be followed. The regulation covers a very large range of products, from something as small as a portable fan heater to something as large as an infrared panel. Its aim is to bridge the huge gap in efficiency between the smaller and larger items and level the playing field of product efficiency. This also means running costs will be reduced and lessens the burden on power stations to meet high demands. But What Does This Mean For Electric Radiators and Heaters? For the heating industry, this change means new design plans, new products and a lot of new buying and installations. All newly manufactured electric heating equipment must now meet a certain set energy efficiency percentage target in order to be sold within the EU. The percentage target will differ for each type of appliance - for example, electric radiators will be required to meet a target of 38%, while portable heaters will only need to hit 36%. But none of those percentages will dip below 30%, allowing all appliances to meet a base level of efficiency. So those low-end radiators with sub-standard controls will be phased out in favour of the new, improved ones. How Will This Affect You? As with most EU regulations, there is a slow burn approach to bringing it in. So while manufacturers needed to comply from the 1st of January, consumers may not see a change for quite a while. In most instances, these electric heaters will be almost identical to their older counterparts but with a just few minor improvements so that they meet their efficiency target. And you don’t need to worry if you bought an electric heating appliance before January 1st - most pew-2018 models are already borderline compliant thanks to their digital thermostats and weekly programmers. Newer models will be brought out, and gradually all older electric radiators will be replaced with newer, more energy-efficient models. At Electric Heating Expert, we are proud suppliers of a wide variety of styles of electric radiator to consumers and businesses. That means that now, we will be including these higher efficiency models in our range, phasing out the older models over time. For more information, just browse our range of electric radiators, or get in touch with us today.
