Boiler replacements have almost ground to a halt in Czechia, with more than 100,000 banned boilers still in operation

Boiler replacements have practically ground to a halt ahead of this year's heating season. Compared with last year, demand for replacements has fallen by as much as 50 percent. People are mainly replacing boilers that have reached the end of their technical life. More than 100.000 boilers that no longer meet the new emissions standards therefore remain in operation in households. Zdeněk Lyčka, president of the Association of Heating Technology Companies, told the Czech News Agency (ČTK) today. According to him, interest in boiler inspections was in line with previous years, with an estimated one in five boilers inspected and adjusted.

"People are mainly replacing boilers that have reached the end of their service life and could not be kept running for another heating season," Lyčka said.

According to the association's statistics, gas boilers are the most popular choice when buying a new boiler. There are around two million small gas boilers in operation in the country, and tens of thousands reach the end of their service life each year. However, the association says demand for pellet boilers is gradually increasing, while sales of wood-burning boilers and heat pumps are currently minimal. Lyčka said that interest in these appliances was nevertheless evident at trade fairs, for example, but people are apparently often leaving replacements until the last minute.

A ban on operating solid-fuel boilers in the first and second emissions classes has been in force in Czechia since last September. Nevertheless, more than 100.000 of these appliances remain in households, according to the association. "These are older boilers, however, and their service life is expected to come to an end within the next few years," Lyčka noted.

Experts also recommend having boilers in operation inspected before the start of the heating season. According to the association, interest in inspections was comparable to previous years. "We estimate that roughly one in five heating sources has been inspected and adjusted. There is greater interest in inspections of gas boilers, because a significant proportion of them are installed directly in living spaces, so operators pay more attention to their servicing for safety reasons," Lyčka added.

District heating plants in Czechia began the heating season in the second half of September this year. The season therefore started almost two weeks later than last year, and several days later than the long-term average.