Notify the Installation of Hot Water Cylinders

Working with hot water cylinders but haven’t yet notified your Local Authority Building Control? You could face an unlimited fine and your customers could be open to fines of up to £5,000. Here we take a look at everything you need to do and who you need to notify when it comes to installing hot water cylinders. Unvented Hot Water Cylinder Course

What You Need to Do

• Under Building Regulations, it is necessary to notify Local Authority Building Control (LABC) of the installation of both unvented and vented hot water cylinders.
• This must either be done following an inspection by the LABC or is the responsibility of an installer registered on an appropriate Competent Persons Scheme (CPS) and therefore eligible to self-certify their work.
• Contact Gas Safe Register to confirm you have a Hot Water qualification. The certification body does not inform GSR for you.

   

Not a Member of a Competent Persons Scheme (CPS)?

If you’re a member of a CPS, such as the Gas Safe Register, HETAS or OFTEC, you can notify the local authority after installation. If you’re not, you need to contact the LABC before and after installation – they may want to visit a site and view how work is being carried out, as well as checking that you’re competent. Notifying via LABC could cost hundreds of pounds per install, so you might as well join a CPS for a year instead.

List of HWS CPS's

• APHC
• Gas Safe Register
• Certsure
• HETAS
• NAPIT
• OFTEC

 

Self-Certification

Using the Gas Safe Register as an example, you can report the installation of hot water cylinders and gas appliances through its online notification system.  

What are the Rules for Notifying the Installation of a HW Cylinder?

We have received lots of questions about clarification on the rules around notifying the installation of a HW cylinder through GSR. We’ve clarified with GSR, and here’s what they’ve said:

• If the installer has fitted a cylinder only in a house to an existing gas heat producing appliance that they did NOT fit, then they can notify the installation of the cylinder via GSR so long as they are registered to do so.
• If the installer has fitted a cylinder only in a house where the heat producing appliance is supplied by a different fuel (electric, oil, biomass etc), then they cannot notify the installation of the cylinder via GSR even if they are registered with GSR. This would need to be notified directly to the LABC or through a different Competent Person Scheme.
• If the installer has fitted a cylinder and a gas heat producing appliance, then they can notify the both the installation of the cylinder and the gas appliance via GSR so long as they are registered to do so.

So in summary, if it is a cylinder fitted to a gas appliance whether you fitted it or not, you can notify it via GSR. If the cylinder is not fitted to a gas appliance you cannot notify it via GSR and you will need to do ot directly with the LABC or another CPS.  

How to Report Gas Work

Gas Safe Registered installers can log-in using their ID and password, visit the ‘Notifications’ area and click on ‘Report Gas Work’. It can be done by phone as well. The cost to make a notification online via the Gas Safe Register is £2.20 + VAT, there is also an option to do this over the phone for £3.50 + VAT (call 0800 408 5577).  

What Next?

Once the work has been reported, the Gas Safe Register will send a Building Regulations compliance certificate to the homeowner (or builder). They will advise the relevant Local Authority Building Control department of the work on your behalf.  

Hot Water Cylinder Training

In order to fit hot water cylinders in the first place, installers must be competent, having completed the appropriate training. We offer Hot Water Systems and Safety (HWSS) training, which covers all of the necessary elements. If you are a member of a CPS, such as the Gas Safe Register, you need to notify them once you have completed training, providing evidence of the certificate as this is not uploaded to GSR automatically.  

Can You Ignore the Notification? 

It is vital that you do not ignore the notification. If hot water cylinder installation is not carried out correctly by a suitably trained installer, who is a member of a CPS, or is not checked by Building Control, your customers could be open to fines of up to £5,000. You could also face an unlimited fine within 2 years of the offence. More importantly, without the appropriate training and/or checks, work may not be safe, potentially causing health problems or worse. Records of notifiable home improvements are also essential for anyone looking to sell their home.  

For more information about our Hot Water Systems and Safety (HWSS) training, click here.