Co-called ‘hydrogen-ready’ boilers are technically identical to standard boilers and are likely to run mainly on methane for most or all their lifetimes, says the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). The competition watchdog has raised concerns over misleading messaging about hydrogen-capable boilers and consumer ‘greenwashing’.
Following a call for information on consumer protection in the green heating and insulation sector the CMA said in a report that it was concerned about messaging used by “several large businesses” regarding boilers that can run on hydrogen blended with natural gas. It said, “We consider that these claims could constitute greenwashing by deceptively, or inaccurately, purporting the environmental credentials of these products which may influence a consumer’s decision-making”.
The CMA says hydrogen has the potential to be a more environmentally friendly option than natural gas and several parliamentary inquiries have raised questions about the viability of using hydrogen for heating at scale.
But it says that “Since the early 1990s all gas boilers have been tested with 23% hydrogen before being sold in the UK and recent trials have concluded that existing boilers operate safely with a 20% hydrogen blend without modification,” so a standard gas boiler and a boiler marketed as hydrogen-capable are technically identical.
It raised four concerns over businesses marketing boilers as ‘hydrogen-blend’ or ‘hydrogen-ready’ constituting greenwashing:
• Use of labels and messaging which could mislead consumers.
• Providing inaccurate or incomplete information about hydrogen rollout.
• Inconsistent, incorrect descriptions of boilers’ ability to use hydrogen.
• Unclear benefits of voluntary certification.
It cited evidence that some businesses are marketing their boilers’ ability to function with hydrogen and said, “We are concerned that this could give the impression that these products will run on a hydrogen blend immediately or in the near future, and that they have a specific environmental benefit compared to a standard gas boiler”, whereas in fact, “Given the uncertainty about hydrogen use at scale for home heating, as set out above, it is likely that a boiler bought today or in the near future will run predominantly or entirely on natural gas for at least a significant proportion, if not all, of its lifetime, and continue to contribute to carbon emissions.”
That could therefore amount to greenwashing and mislead consumers who believe these boilers have a special feature which enable them to run with hydrogen.
The CMA also said the overall carbon impact of hydrogen depends on whether it is produced using fossil fuels and it had concerns over incomplete or inaccurate information about hydrogen use, such as:
• Not being clear or upfront about the uncertainty of hydrogen deployment.
• Inaccurately describing hydrogen rollout in definitive terms, ie that it will be introduced and later expanded from 20% to 100%.
• Not displaying important information about hydrogen rollout in sufficient proximity to product marketing.
• Erroneously stating that water is the only by-product of hydrogen production and/or describing hydrogen as a zero carbon fuel source.
It welcomed recent proposals from UK government for a standardised definition of a ‘hydrogen-ready’ boiler, to be used across the sector from 2026 and said it would carry out further work focusing on misleading claims in this sector – considering both product benefit claims and greenwashing claims relating to ‘hydrogen-blend’ or ‘hydrogen-ready’ boilers. As well as developing new guidance CMA said it “will also consider whether further action, such as enforcement, is necessary”.