The Heating & Hotwater Industry Council (HHIC) has said any proposals introduced following the 'Future of Heat in Domestic Buildings' consultation must be "simple and easy to implement".

Responding to the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) consultation, which closed on 27 January, HHIC director Stewart Clements said: "Mandating controls is a simple, yet effective step and will, at little additional cost to consumers and government, make a valuable contribution towards achieving the ambitious targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and reduce energy consumption which will reduce household energy bills."

As part of the consultation, BEIS is proposing that the minimum requirements that currently apply to new boiler installations are applied to replacement installations as well.

This means all retrofit boilers would have a space heating efficiency of no less than 92%, with a thermostat, timer and weather compensation controls also being fitted in all domestic situations.

Mr Clements continued: "It will enable the heating control market to develop, which will provide greater choice for consumers. HHIC worked tirelessly to help bring the consultation to fruition following our paper 'Boiler Plus - The next step in heating regulation', which proposed mandating of the installation of time and temperature controls with new boiler installations.

"HHIC knows that the success of a policy like this depends on the support it receives from the heating installer, and so we were delighted by the excellent level of response to the consultation from the industry. We will, of course, be working with BEIS via our Domestic Heat Strategy Group to look at the results of the consultation and translate the findings into workable policy."