Potentially misleading boiler marketing over the use of hydrogen removed after Sky News investigation
A Sky News investigation into potentially misleading and confusing boiler marketing involving the use of hydrogen in home heating has prompted several companies to remove statements about the gas from their websites.
It comes as the chief executive of the UK’s independent climate change committee told Sky News that “no one should be installing a gas boiler thinking that hydrogen is a sure thing” or a way of futureproofing their home.
Hydrogen, which burns without emitting carbon dioxide, is likely to play a significant role in decarbonising heavy industry and hitting net zero targets, but the government has said its potential use in residential properties won’t be decided until 2026.
Despite this uncertainty, Sky News has found several companies making confusing and potentially misleading claims about hydrogen as part of the sales process for standard gas boilers.
The website for online retailer Boiler Central contained a video in which an adviser says: “With the push towards a greener future, most new boilers are now having the hydrogen ready compatibility built into them, helping not only future-proof your investment of a new boiler, but ensuring your energy bills and carbon footprint remain as low as possible.”
But boilers that could in theory accept a blend of up to 23% hydrogen are not new, in fact this capability has been required by law since 1996.
Conversely, boilers that are ready to burn 100% hydrogen aren’t available to buy yet.
In addition, hydrogen can also be more expensive than gas, with a recent assessment by energy analysts Cornwall Insight suggesting it could be up to 70% more expensive to run a home on 100% hydrogen fuel.
And although hydrogen burns cleanly, it can be carbon intensive to make, depending on the production technique.
A recent report by the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee said that although there are plans in place to expand clean or “green” hydrogen production it noted that “currently in the UK, hydrogen is overwhelmingly produced from fossil-fuel intensive processes – so called ‘grey hydrogen'”.
Boiler Central’s director James Elston denied misleading customers but accepted the company’s content could have been clearer.
In an interview he told Sky News that Boiler Central had made changes to its website.
He said: “What we’ve looked at is just tidying up some of the generalisations.
“We’re saying a new boiler is more efficient than an old, it can save you money and it can save you on your carbon footprint.
“Those are all true, true statements.
“Linking it directly to hydrogen is where we’ve separated… where we’ve changed the content.
Boiler Central is not alone.
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Manufacturer Worcester Bosch’s website claimed that hydrogen “is what the government will be introducing into the UK gas grid” and “the UK will, eventually, switch from natural gas to 100% hydrogen”.
In response to questions from Sky News the company removed the statements from the website and said in a written response: “Ensuring our customers have all the information they need to make home heating related purchase decisions with confidence is paramount.
“Worcester Bosch continues to review and adapt product related communications to reflect industry updates on an ongoing basis.
“We are looking to change the wording on this particular web page to reflect your observations.”
Separately, an investigation by media platform openDemocracy and shared exclusively with Sky News recorded British Gas boiler sales advisers making potentially misleading and confusing claims.
One said: “We do sell gas boilers that are hydrogen ready, so when we do make the switch to hydrogen… you will not have to purchase a new boiler, so you have your future covered there.”
Another said that a hydrogen ready boiler would be cheaper to run “because the cost of hydrogen itself is deemed to be a lot cheaper compared to natural gas”.
They added “all the country will be hydrogen eventually”.
British gas owner Centrica told Sky News: “The journey to net zero is complex and accurate information is really important to us.
“Our training and support is designed to ensure consistency and accuracy across our advisors.
“This is a fast-moving subject and our teams do a great job – we’ve listened to the couple of calls in which our advisers were asked very specific and detailed questions about hydrogen, and some elements of the conversation went beyond the training.
“This is isolated and we will give these guys some more support on the role hydrogen will play in net zero – which will be needed to help the UK hit emission targets.”
Chief executive of the UK’s independent climate change committee Chris Stark told Sky News: “The… big question is whether you start to use [hydrogen], particularly in homes, and we just don’t have the evidence to support that yet.
“No one should be installing a gas boiler now thinking that hydrogen is a sure thing and that this is a way of future proofing.”
Consumer affairs publication Which? recently published this advice: “The viability of hydrogen for home heating hasn’t yet been proven. Trials have been proposed by government and gas companies to see if it works at a community level, but it’s been difficult to get local consent for live experiments in real communities.
“Consumers are yet to find out what hydrogen fuel would cost and what sort of infrastructural changes would be needed to pipe it into people’s homes.
“Because of uncertainty around the role of hydrogen for heating, it’s not recommendable to buy a gas boiler on the rationale that it will ‘become’ a hydrogen boiler, or to forego other low-carbon heating technologies solely on the basis that hydrogen is around the corner.”
Sky News shared the material described in this article with the Competition and Markets Authority.
The watchdog’s director of consumer protection Sabrina Basran highlighted the organisation’s recent report describing its “concerns that people could be duped into handing over their hard-earned money when businesses market boilers as being able to use hydrogen”.
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She said: “While we can’t comment on individual firms, these claims may be misleading and risk greenwashing consumers into thinking these products are more environmentally friendly than they are. Any business marketing or selling boilers as ‘hydrogen-blend’ or ‘hydrogen-ready’ should ensure they are treating shoppers fairly and complying with consumer protection law.
“This includes not giving a deceptive impression of the environmental benefits of their products, using accurate descriptions to be clear that boilers cannot run on hydrogen now, and ensuring they provide the information needed to make informed decisions.
“We’ll be publishing new guidance to help businesses meet their legal obligations when marketing products in the green heating and insulation sector, as well as considering whether further action, such as enforcement, is necessary.”
Donald Trump has threatened to impose a 50% tariff on the EU, starting from next month, after saying that trade talks with Brussels were “going nowhere”.
Mr Trump made the comments on his Truth Social platform.
It marks a fresh escalation in his trade row with the European Union, which he has previously accused of being created to rip off the US.
While the US has done deals with the UK and China to reduce their peak exposure to his trade war, the president’s EU threat, which would cover all EU imports to the US, would risk retaliatory measures from Brussels if carried through.
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Mr Trump said of talks between his administration and the EU: “Our discussions with them are going nowhere! “Therefore, I am recommending a straight 50% tariff on the European Union, starting on June 1, 2025. There is no tariff if the product is built or manufactured in the United States.”
The European Commission was yet to respond to the remarks. Officials signalled there would be no comment until after a call between top US-EU trade figures due later on Friday.
Financial markets, however, were quick to take a view. European stock markets were sharply down across the board.
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The FTSE 100 in London was more than 1.2% lower shortly after the Truth Social post appeared, while Germany’s DAX and the French CAC 40 were in the red to the tune of more than 2%.
US stock markets fell at the open on Wall Street. The tech-focused Nasdaq was down more than 1%.
The potential for damage to the global economy saw Brent crude oil sink by more than 1% to $63 a barrel.
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‘US is losing’ trade war
The dollar took a hit too, as the news only intensified existing market worries this week about the sustainability of US government debt levels.
The pound was trading at levels last seen in February 2022.
Mr Trump said earlier that Apple will be forced to pay 25% tariffs on its iPhones unless it moves all its manufacturing to the US.
Apple shares dropped more than 2% in premarket trading after the warning, also posted on Truth Social.
“I have long ago informed Tim Cook of Apple that I expect their iPhones that will be sold in the United States of America will be manufactured and built in the United States, not India, or any place else,” wrote the president.
“If that is not the case, a tariff of at least 25% must be paid by Apple to the US.”
Production of Apple’s flagship phone happens primarily in China and India, which has been an issue brought up repeatedly by Mr Trump.
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On Thursday, the Financial Times reported Apple was planning to expand its India supply chain through a key contractor.
Taiwanese company Foxconn is planning to build a new factory in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, according to the paper, to help supply Apple.
Sky News has contacted Apple for comment.
Business
Trump’s latest phone negotiation tactic on tariffs likely to heighten EU retaliation threat
President Trump’s Friday flurry of pronouncements marks the return of negotiation by smartphone and may trigger another period of profound uncertainty for international trade and financial markets.
The threat of 50% tariffs against the European Union, issued hours before his trade representative met their European counterparts, is a show of presidential muscle surely designed to strongarm those on the other side of the table.
It is an escalation likely to heighten the threat of retaliation from Europe, and with a few keystrokes ends the brief period of calm that had returned to global trade and markets in recent days.
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A red hat in Washington DC to support President Trump. Pic: AP
Talks in Switzerland between US and Chinese delegations a fortnight ago took the sting out of Sino-American hostility, negotiating three-figure tariffs that amounted to a mutual trade embargo down to manageable levels.
Financial markets had regained most of the losses sparked on ‘Liberation Day’ in April, when Donald Trump declared total trade war, and there was optimism that for all his bluster, there might be meaningful room for constructive compromise.
The UK even secured a deal of sorts, securing a reduction in auto tariffs in exchange for a reciprocal opening of agricultural markets.
There will be no such deal for the EU in a hurry. A 50% tariff on all exports to the US is not only higher than the original threatened blanket tariff of 20% and double Mr Trump’s proposed 25% on European cars, it’s higher even than China.
European stocks predictably ended the week in decline, with car manufacturers including BMW, Volkswagen and Stellantis all down.
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12 May: US and China reach agreement on tariffs
It remains to be seen whether this threat will stick.
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Mr Trump has repeatedly blinked first in the trade war he started, backing down on global reciprocal tariffs when bond markets rebelled before caving in Geneva to reach an accommodation with China.
His grievances with Europe appear to have an extra edge however, and the consequences of the uncertainty he’s sparked will be far-reaching.
If this was the only thing he had announced on ‘Liberation Day’ it would still have been huge.
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