Similarity to mains gas is LPG’s key benefit says Calor

With around 1.7 million UK homes being situated in non-mains-gas areas, the LPG market is worth serious consideration. According to leading LPG supplier Calor, heating and plumbing installers should take time to learn more about the fuel, especially if they're based near rural areas. Rachel Hodge, marketing manager at Calor, thinks installers might be surprised to find out just how similar LPG and mains gas are.

Though in recent years oil has been regarded as the main fuel source in non-mains-gas areas, the benefits of LPG - and its similarity to mains gas - are becoming more widely understood, and so the market is gathering pace.

LPG is as versatile as mains gas, as it can be used for space heating, hot water and cooking. We find the majority of our customers appreciate LPG's similarity to natural gas, especially if they have moved from a town to the country. The State of the Countryside Report 2006, from The Countryside Agency (rural England ), suggests that 105,000 people moved from towns and cities to the English countryside in 2005, and though these new rural homeowners will naturally be expecting a lifestyle change, it's unlikely they'll want a complete overhaul. They will still expect and desire certain things they had in their urban home, like gas central heating, controllable hob cookers and real flame effect fires.

At Calor we have worked hard to ensure our customers see very little difference between LPG and mains gas, in which our intelligent tank contents gauge, The Think Tank ® , has played a pivotal role. Over the past three years in excess of 20,000 customers have taken advantage of The Think Tank ® , which uses telemetry to improve our delivery schedules*. By constantly monitoring tank levels, customers can be automatically topped up with Calor LPG when required, without any action on their part - so they should never run out of gas.

The technology behind The Think Tank ® is both simple and reliable. A contents gauge, fitted to the tank, regularly checks the customer's gas level, which, by communicating with Calor's central computer, keeps us informed. When a top up is required the local Calor depot is alerted and a tanker will deliver a supply of LPG in good time.

Initially The Think Tank ® used a wireless transmitter to send a signal to a dialler unit, which, being connected to the customer's phone and landline, dialled up Calor's central computer - completely free of charge. This year we're rolling out GSM/GPRS enabled telemetry technology, which will ensure The Think Tank ® is available for a wider range of properties. Being GPRS enabled, this new version of The Think Tank ® doesn't rely on the customer's own phone line, and communication with Calor's main computer remains free of charge.

With The Think Tank ® installed there really is no difference between Calor LPG and mains gas. Even the sight of the storage tank can be eliminated by opting for an unobtrusive underground tank. All that is visible with this type of installation is a compact round green cover, which gives access to the valve assembly.

Installers will find LPG products are very similar to their natural gas counterparts too, as are their installation and legislative requirements. Many boiler manufacturers offer dedicated LPG models, and the majority supply LPG conversion kits for their natural gas products. Converting a natural gas boiler to a LPG one is a simple exercise, in most cases requiring just a gas injector change. There's a wide selection of LPG cookers and fires on the market too.

Taking the lead from the natural gas boiler market, the LPG sector has also been quick to get involved with new, green technologies. A number of leading heating manufacturers have developed LPG compatible solar thermal hot water cylinders, which convert solar energy directly into heat through the use of a solar panel or evacuated tubes. LPG is used for any supplementary heating required.

All of this is good news because there's lots of potential in the LPG market. Though the non-mains-gas sector is regarded as niche, many areas of the UK do not have a mains gas supply, with around 1.7 million homes relying on LPG, oil, electricity or solid fuel for heating and cooking. Even installers who are based in large towns or cities might be surprised to find off-mains-gas homes just a few miles away in surrounding villages and semi-rural conurbations.

Obtaining the relevant qualifications isn't a time-consuming or complex process either; for the natural gas installer already holding a Domestic Core Natural Gas Safety certificate, obtaining the additional CONGLP1 - LPG qualification is relatively simple. It takes just one day to train and one day for assessment, and the qualification remains valid for five years.

By taking this route, natural gas installers with appliance qualifications, for example, boilers, water heaters, cookers and fires, will automatically become qualified to install equivalent LPG appliances - widening their opportunities even further.

LPG courses are widely available throughout the UK, at training centres and through SGAS (Specialist Gas Assessment Services), which was set up as a gas safety and training and assessment company in 1996 to meet the training requirements set out by CORGI and the HSE**.

As part of our ongoing commitment to installers, Calor has recently opened a training centre in Stoney Stanton, Leicestershire***. Regarded as the largest and most advanced LPG training facility in the UK , the centre includes a fully equipped technical training room, five indoor training bays, an outdoor gas emergency training facility and a tank farm with 15 Calor LPG storage tanks.

Offering a real and controllable flame for cookers and fires , underground storage, automatic fuel top-ups, convenience and hassle free tank maintenance, Calor LPG is becoming the ideal choice for many people living in non-mains-gas areas. For further information telephone Calor on 0800 121 4461 quoting 'install' or visit www.calor.co.uk .

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* Installation of The Think Tank ® is subject to a site survey.

** SGAS can be contacted on 01253 697078. Specific LPG central heating courses and ACS programmes can also be found by contacting Energy & Utility Skills on 0845 077 9922 or www.euskills.co.uk .

*** For further information on Calor's LPG training courses please call Phil Alexander on 01926 318760.

Issued on behalf of Calor by Bright, 10 St Catherine’s Court, Herbert Road, Solihull, West Midlands, B91 3QE For further information please contact Victoria Crowe or Michelle Simpson at Bright on Tel: +44 (0) 121 711 5000 Fax: +44 (0) 121 711 5001 or Email: victoria@bright-consultancy.co.uk.

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