QUALITATIVE CONSUMER INSIGHT ON THE TOPIC OF BOILERS AND HEATING CONTROLS

BEIS is exploring ways of reducing emissions from domestic gas central heating systems. As part of their Boiler Policy project, BEIS is proposing options to update minimum standards on the energy efficiency of boilers and heating controls. Given the wide ranging technologies available, and the differing circumstances of consumers, one policy option is to require households to choose from a list of heating technologies - including: Passive Flue Gas Heat Recovery (FGHR); zonal control; Time Proportional Integral (TPI) control; Automated Optimisation.

The success of the policy will depend on buy-in from consumers, the media and at a political level. This buy-in is, to a large extent, dependent on putting consumers at the heart of policy design. BEIS is therefore looking to commission qualitative research to better understand what choices regarding heating technologies consumers would like to make (or leave to the installer's recommendation), to what extent they are capable of making these decisions, and what types of information and advice would be useful.

The research will build on previous panel survey findings about consumers' preferences and willingness to pay for certain technologies or energy saving advice.

The specific aims of the project are to provide insight of the following: • Consumer acceptability of policy options, e.g. o How do people feel about paying an extra £80 for a device if they will make the money back over time? o How do people feel about the proposed requirement to choose from a list of additional technologies? • What choices are consumers most likely to make, including: o What type of controls should be installed as part of the minimum requirement: standard or advanced? o Which of the 4 additional technologies are most appealing for most consumers? • Do consumers want to rely on their installer, their own research or something else to make a decision? o How does this compare with their current behaviour when replacing a boiler? • What information and/or advice do they need, and how should it be provided? From whom? • Technology specific issues, e.g. how would people feel about being asked to change the location of their boiler to accommodate a FGHRS device? • How might consumers adjust their behaviour, e.g. positive changes such as greater use of heating controls, or negative changes such as using a rogue installer to circumvent requirements?

BEIS have proposed that an online qualitative forum is used to deliver this research, with sample recruited from the consumer panel. Our suggested approach is outlined below.