Bitesize Guide – Broken Heating Repair Cap
Written by Julietta Manzaroli
Broken Heating Repair Cap
The repair or replacement of a heating system is not reflected in the Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP) rating improvement and therefore does not have a specific score attached to either.
A fixed value increase is awarded for repair and replacement of heating systems (including boilers and ESH).
It should be noted that renewable heating and DHC repairs are uncapped but can receive the uplift.
All boiler and Energy Storage Heater (ESH) repairs (including oil, LPG, and biofuel boilers) are subject to a cap of 5000 measures per year.
A boiler is classed as broken down if when connected to electric and fuel supplies, it does not respond appropriately to any demand for heat as required by the central heating or domestic hot water system.
An electric storage heater is broken down if when connected to a working electric supply, it does not store heat or does not deliver any heat.
Repair of a broken heating system may only be carried out on efficient heating systems where it is economic to repair. Condensing boilers are considered efficient boilers, while ESH and electric heating systems with a
responsiveness of more than 0.2 when assessed against SAP are considered efficient.
ESH / electric heating systems with a responsiveness rating below 0.2 and non-condensing boilers are considered to be inefficient so could not be repaired.
If a broken efficient heating system can be economically repaired, it should be repaired (subject to the Broken Heating Repair Cap) or may be replaced with a renewable heating system or District Heating Connection (DHC),
following the off-gas heating hierarchy rules in off-gas homes.