According to the Energy Savings Trust, a new A rated gas condensing boiler saves households around £320 a year on their heating bill (for a typical semi-detached home) or just over five thousand kWh of gas. 

Since 2005, over 25 million condensing boilers have been sold, replacing nearly all the UK’s stock of inefficient appliances.  The annual savings to UK households is £8 billion a year (25 million multiplied by £320) and the amount of gas saved is a staggering 127 TWh (25million multiplied by 5087 kWh).  That’s roughly the total amount of gas the UK imported from the USA in 2024, making the mandating policy one of the most effective energy security measures, on top of reducing bills and cutting carbon emissions by 23 million tonnes a year. 

Speaking ahead of the anniversary, the CEO of the trade association Energy and Utilities Alliance (EUA), Mike Foster said: 

“The impact of such a small legislative change by the previous Labour government has been immense.  They were at the forefront of balancing the competing demands, now identified as the energy trilemma.  Reducing costs to consumers, reducing our carbon emissions and enhancing our energy security, all with one simple measure.  It’s a huge lesson in how public policy should deliver; it is the way to do it. 

“Behind the legislative change was the innovation of British industry, developing condensing boilers without increasing the costs to the consumer.  No need to refurbish the property, no need to pay a massive sum upfront and no need for the huge government subsidies either.  It is a model of what could be done today too. 

“Without doubt, in 2005 we lived in less turbulent times.  So, today’s policies, if properly designed, could have even greater benefits for consumers, the climate and the UK’s energy security.  That must be our collective prize. 

“British heating appliance manufacturers have shown the way before and they have shown what can be done working with the consumer, not against them.  We have a world-leading gas infrastructure in place, capable of supplying energy underground to homes and businesses right across the UK.  Harnessing this, not disposing of it, is the best way of capturing the spirit of the 2005 legislation and with it a future of affordable low carbon heating that is energy secure.  Let’s grab the opportunity.”