November Refurb and Retrofit Magazine

R&R Magazine examines how wireless connection, built into the PCB of Intergas Heating’s new boiler offering
can significantly increase their value to landlords.
Saving’s in the air for social housing
While the revolutionary design of Intergas
Heating’s two-in-one heat exchanger has made it
ultra-reliable, as well as offering 100 per cent
efficiency in both heating and hot water modes,
the manufacturer continues to strive for
improvements, manifested most recently when
it launched the ECO RF range to offer customers
the advantage of wireless connectivity.
This significant advancement enables up to 240
properties to be linked together into a local
network – or ‘cloud’ - perhaps across an estate
or a sheltered housing scheme, communicating
via a single Internet connection. This
functionality is facilitated through the
incorporation of an RF module into the boiler
management system, using software that is being
incorporated into every printed circuit board
(PCB).
The move adds another level of reassurance for
RSLs who are already benefitting from the range’s
build quality and innovative engineering, while
residents are set to gain in terms of their
landlord’s improved ability to target maintenance
calls.
TOTAL RELIABILITY
Furthermore there are less moving parts to wear
out or malfunction as there is no diverter valve,
valve motor, DHW plate heat exchanger, air vent
or air pressure switch. Significantly Intergas
Heating can now demonstrate 18 years of service
without a single failure of the heat exchanger.
Now local authorities and housing associations in
the UK who have specified Intergas are issued
with a simple “First Aid Kit”. This kit contains
components common to the entire range and
enables the service engineers to complete a
repair on a first visit.
Crucially, though, service contractors or direct
labour organisations (DLOs) can prioritise their
engineers’ time even more effectively by making
use of the new wireless interconnectivity. Issues
of gaining entry to homes for mandatory safety
checks can be addressed more effectively, hoax
calls eliminated without a visit and the wellbeing
of vulnerable residents safeguarded.
Another benefit of the remote monitoring
facility is that should a boiler require a repair the
problem will be identified, prior to a visit, and
the contractor/DLO alerted by email, allowing
the repair to be fixed first time. This minimises
maintenance costs and the time spent on a
particular job.
All ECO RFs are fully 2015 compliant ready for
the implementation of new legislation under the
Ecodesign Directive, due next September. They
are fitted with the latest A-rated energy efficient
pumps to ensure fuel consumption is minimised
along with carbon dioxide generation. In
addition, with all Intergas ECO RF boilers
installations in social housing properties, there is
now an option to have a 15 year warranty, with
five years on parts and labour plus a further ten
on parts.
Referring to the new warranty, Stephen Zouch,
the Managing Director for Intergas Heating,
explained: “We haven’t taken this decision lightly,
and it is one founded on absolute confidence in
our precision engineering, quality of materials
used, the durability of the boiler – in particular
the heat exchanger – and the effectiveness of
our remote monitoring system. These energy
and labour-saving benefits are already helping
local authorities and housing associations in the