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It's your Oil Heating Industry. Don't let the EU destroy it.
6th March 2010
There are possibly less than two months to save the UK's oil heating industry, ahead of proposed regulatory changes that have the potential to decimate the industry throughout the British Isles.
Like many new British laws, the new Regulations have their origins not in Westminster, but in Brussels. They form a part of the European Commission's Eco-Design of Energy Using Products Directive.
The Directive seeks to place an unworkable cap on NOx emissions from central heating boilers, reducing maximum permissible emissions of as low as 35mg/kWh. Placed in context, this amounts to a reduction of up to 86% upon the current limit of 250mg/kWh.
Last year, Harlequin Oil Tanks' Marketing Manager and former OilFiredUp.com Webmaster John Switzer, added a petition to the Prime Minister's Official Website. The petition requested that the Government rejects European proposals, which could essentially signal the end for the British Oil Heating Industry.
Speaking to OilFiredUp.com, John said, "To achieve the proposed reduction, British consumers will be required to fit larger burner units, of a type prevalent in mainland Europe but unusual in the UK. Many mainland European installations are either outside or in cellars, whereas many UK boilers are situated in confined spaces e.g. kitchens or cupboards.
"Whilst the EU proposals suit the French and the Germans, they discriminate against 1.5 million British consumers, many of whom simply will not have the space to install a larger burner unit. If the EU proposals are enacted unchanged, British householders with oil heating systems could be forced to switch to more expensive and less efficient fuels, with a resultant increase in fuel poverty.
"The EU proposals also threaten up to 20,000 British jobs - many in high added value, manufacturing industries. This petition urges Her Majesty's Government to reject these ill-considered proposals as being unworkable. It instead urges Government to work with the oil heating industry, to devise a realistic, common sense and considered response to the challenges raised in the EUPD Directive."
The deadline to sign John's petition expires on 8 May 2010 and already more than 200 people have signed up. But as an industry we need more. So if you care about the British oil heating industry and if you haven't added your signature yet, just click http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/oilboilers/
