Baxi To The Future

Over the last 50 years, boiler technology has moved on considerably. Efficiency, reliability and size have been key areas of focus, with consumer demand and changes in legislation driving innovation.

Paul Clancy, MD at Baxi Potterton Myson, considers how product development has changed, and what’s next for the sector.Less than a hundred years ago,the hearth was the heart of the home. A coal fire was the norm,and had to be stoked day and night to keep the home warm. Just over 50 years ago, the population could still only dream of a constant source of heat to keep their homes warm and cosy.With Baxi Potterton Myson’s launch of the back boiler in 1966 came a big bang for the heating industry –sparking years of innovation and ingenuity as engineers attempted to make these revolutionary appliances more compact, reliable and efficient.

Boilers have come a long way since then, with recent big advancements fuelled by changes in legislation. Over the last 10 years we have seen the introduction of SEDBUK, SAP,PCDB and now ERP*, all aiming to reduce the energy used to heat our homes.In the last five years, the process of designing and developing a boiler has also completely transformed.Baxi Potterton Myson recognised that the industry’s standard annual failure rates of 10-15 per cent would be unacceptable in any other sector. We therefore set about revolutionising the way we design our boilers.

First, we overhauled our design process and refurbished our laboratory, spending hundreds of thousands of pounds on new equipment and testing facilities to give our teams the tools they need to rigorously test our products.
The new facilities include a wind room,which we use to make sure our gas flames are stable even in 80mph winds; a system room that shows us how a boiler will perform in a ‘real’home; and advanced boiler testing(pictured), which collects performance data on boilers every millisecond.

We also invested in a new computer aided design (CAD)system and a suite of rapid prototyping equipment. Together,these have allowed us to revolutionise the development process. If we have an idea in the morning, it can be designed in the afternoon, built overnight and tested the next day, saving time and money and delivering a better product.Outside of the lab, we’ve upped the ante on our field testing, with 550 boilers in real homes around the country and a forensic analysis team mobilised to investigate any issues on site.

I’m proud to say that our boilers are some of the most – if not the most– reliable on the market. As long as they are serviced annually, the chances of them failing is exceedingly low, resulting in higher
satisfaction and trust in our products.With a very strong core product range, our design team has shifted its focus to improving the world around the boiler. And with the laws of physics making further
gains in the efficiency of a condensing boiler very difficult, we have also turned our attention to how people use their boilers and, by extension, making sure it is as efficient as possible, with the boiler
providing heat only when it is required. For example, weather compensation controls have become fairly standard across the industry. We already work with Nest to provide training on its Nest Learning Thermostat™, and are developing our own smart controls to allow the consumer full flexibility in the way they use their heating,maximising comfort and minimising the energy used.

While manufacturers like Baxi Potterton Myson will continue to innovate, universities will also be a leading light in challenging the
status quo and, through a multitude of ideas and experiments, will hopefully discover how we can guarantee a source of heating for homes well into the next century and beyond.
For more information on Baxi Potterton Myson please visit
www.baxipottertonmyson.ie