Merchants’ sales of all types of water heaters were flat during the third quarter of 2017. This is an improvement on the previous quarter, and on the first half of the year when sales were down over these periods.

Electric commercial water heating, boiling and chilled water dispensers, and packaged solutions for multi-occupancy domestic dwellings continue stronger than the domestic unvented cylinder sector. Sales of these products to the private new build sector have been affected adversely by an increase in the use of 35kW Combi boilers in larger house types. However, the increase in sales of Combi boilers may be reversed with the onset of winter when ambient water temperatures are much lower than in the summer. This is a more realistic test of a Combi boiler’s suitability, as lower ambient temperatures affects their performance and potentially result in poor flow rates.

Packaged solutions are factory assembled, plumbed and wired, and consist of a selection of products such as an unvented cylinder, mechanical ventilation and recovery unit, controller and a Heating Interface Unit. They are ideal for large volume multi-occupancy dwellings as the design is agreed up front with the contractors and specification engineers, and the packages are factory assembled – so quality and layout is well controlled. Offsite packaged solutions are also particularly beneficial at a time of widespread skills shortages. They help to ease project delays and avoid the potential problems of poor installations.

Looking ahead, we expect the market to stay flat in the fourth quarter of 2017, followed by a small increase as we head into 2018. But with the uncertainty around the Brexit negotiations continuing to affect confidence and the financing of construction projects, next year will be exceptionally challenging, particularly in sectors such as commercial offices construction.