Vokèra is delighted to announce the opening of its new training centre and College Partnership with JTL in Birmingham.
JTL, a charity which was set up in 1990 by the Electrical Contractors Association and the Union Unite, offers a vast variety of learning resources for young people including Advanced Apprenticeships, Training Courses and NVQ Assessments.
JTL will be the seventh satellite training centre where Vokèra training courses are held, offering Gas Safe registered engineers the opportunity to learn more about the Vokèra product range to ensure the service they provide to homeowners is efficient.
Alongside a new training facility, Vokèra will be supporting JTL as part of their College Partnership Programme. As a College Partner, JTL will receive marketing and educational support from Vokèra including educational material, signage and training days for students and lecturers. Vokèra will also provide access to discounted boilers and sponsorship for student awards throughout the year.
Vokèra set up the College Partnership Programme in 2013 and, to date, are working with eleven colleges throughout the country to give their students the confidence they need to work in the industry.
Vokèra currently offers three training courses; High Efficiency, Fault Finding and Controls. To enquire further, or for more information, please click here or call our Technical Training Department on 0844 391 0999 option 5.
Following extensive consultation with the market, Vokèra is proud to announce that the relaunch of its popular loyalty scheme, Vokèra Affinity, to now live and ready to support, inspire and motivate the modern, digitally-driven installer.
The new Vokèra Affinity scheme offers installers unparalleled support and convenience by allowing them to register their customers’ extended product warranty, receive free Gas Safe notification and claim their Affinity points in one easy online form. Additionally, the new scheme provides installers with personalised rewards, Marketing Support, product information, spare parts, stockists, literature and Technical Support all in one place. For more information, please click here.
The scheme is the result of extensive research conducted by Vokèra with existing Affinity members and non-members to ensure the scheme was designed around them fulfilling their needs as modern, professional installers. As a result, Vokèra has ensured Affinity will help installers and make their working lives easier by reducing paperwork allowing them more time to get on with the job
and enjoy their free time.
Following the relaunch of Vokèra Affinity, Vokèra is also launching the Vokèra App. The Vokèra App, which will be available on iOS and Android devices in the next few weeks, will be able to do everything the website can do on the move, wherever you are! You will be able to register installations, log on to your Affinity account and access a whole host of support material on an engaging portable interface.
Vokèra Affinity is now live, and ready. To register please click here and view this Registration and Claim Guide for more information.
If you have any further questions, please contact the Affinity Support Team on 01727 744044 or email [email protected].
Neil Mattock, Marketing Director at Vokèra, looks at the key issues that will affect the boiler industry during 2015.
One of the biggest changes expected this year is the introduction of the ErP (Energy-related Products) Directive. Coming into force in September, the ErP is a mandatory piece of EU legislation which will create minimum efficiency standards for heating and hot water systems, by ensuring that manufacturers meet energy labelling and eco-design requirements. It is designed to help achieve a targeted EU reduction in greenhouse as emissions of 34% by 2020 and 80% by 2050.
In essence, the ErP will ensure that specific design requirements are met and that products are labelled with their energy efficiency ratings, named the Labelling Directive. The energy performance labels are rated from G to A+++, in a similar way to the ratings already found on domestic white goods.
Overall, the aim is to drive change and encourage the uptake of more energy efficient boilers, allowing installers and consumers to compare the respective performances of different products in a clearly labelled, easily recognisable way. After the introduction of ErP, manufacturers will not be able to produce boilers below a particular efficiency.
Of course, improving efficiency continues to be a very important goal for manufacturers, ahead of the ErP introduction, and there is much that has been done to help installers reduce fuel bills and carbon emissions for their customers.
Boiler modulation will continue to be a significant area of innovation. In simple terms, this is the boiler’s ability to reduce its maximum output to its minimum output. A wide modulation range will provide a good output ratio, whereas a narrow modulation will give a poor ratio. For example, if a boiler has a maximum output of 30kW and a minimum output of 7.7kW its modulation ratio is less than 4:1. Meanwhile, an appliance with a maximum output of 30kW and a minimum output of 3kW has a wider modulation ratio of 10:1. This will both improve comfort levels and significantly reduce the wear and tear of the boiler itself, consequently improving the overall efficiency of the boiler.
Interactive controls will also play their part in making boilers as efficient as possible. Linking the boiler to an intelligent thermostat control can contribute to efficiency improvements. For example, Vokèra has recently introduced its OpenTherm protocol RF programmable room thermostat to improve boiler operating efficiency still further. Simple to install, this product modulates the boiler’s outlet flow-temperature in line with the internal temperature to substantially reduce a home’s energy consumption by as much as 10%.
Weather compensation controls regulate the output of the boiler in line with the outside temperature, and will lead to further savings of 3% under SAP, which allows the space heating efficiency to also rise by 3%. Our research shows that having no temperature control or no boiler ‘interlock’ will impair efficiency by as much as 5%.
Installing a combi boiler with a high maximum output and a wide modulation ratio will deliver optimal efficiency and comfort. Vokèra has made a significant investment in the development of boilers with excellent modulation ratios. For example, our latest Unica i28, Unica i32 and Unica i36 boilers all feature a class-leading modulation ratio of 10:1. This range also incorporates weather compensation and OpenTherm technology to further enhance fuel efficiency and comfort still further.
2015 is going to be an exciting year for the boiler industry and here at Vokèra we are looking forward to the challenges ahead. We have all the tools and information installers need to understand the changes and make the most of the upcoming opportunities.
Riello Group, the parent company of Vokèra, will be present at the world’s leading trade fair, ISH 2015.
Riello Group, with its brands Riello and Beretta, will be in attendance at ISH, the world’s biggest annual trade fair from the 10th to 14th May 2015 in Frankfurt. Riello Group will be found in Hall 8, Stand F93.
ISH brings together over 2,400 exhibitors from across the globe in order to showcase innovative bathroom design, energy efficient heating and air-conditioning technology and renewable energies.
For more information on ISH 2015 please click here.
Vokèra, a leading heating manufacturer, has been highly commended by Domestic and General (D&G) customers for the second year running. D&G, the UK’s leading warranty specialist, generates a quarterly report based on a survey questionnaire sent to its customers following each callout regarding customer service and satisfaction. For the fifth quarter running Vokèra has received outstanding results. The latest report has put Vokèra in second place in comparison not only with rival boiler brands but crucially leading white goods manufacturers, with an overall satisfaction rating of 97.4%.
In 2014 as part of its on-going commitment to customers, Vokèra changed its customer care service to be open seven days a week. The centre based at the Bradford office is now open Monday through to Sunday, providing an ‘everyday’ service, with a dedicated team available to answer post-sales enquiries. This commitment to customer service is reflected in the survey results as ease of contacting Vokèra’s customer care team has risen by 4.5%, from 96.2% to 98.1% over the last year.
Another area Vokèra scored highly was for the time it took the engineer to arrive, whether they arrived on time and if not, whether they contacted the homeowner to say they were running late. Vokèra has consecutively scored highly and ended the year with a figure of 98.3%.
As well as its service, Vokèra’s engineers have also scored highly with 100% of customers satisfied with their appearance, 91.2% were delighted with their politeness, 100% were satisfied with the efficiency and overall 99.7% were satisfied with the Vokèra engineer.
The work completed by the Vokèra engineer was also commended, with only 1.9% of respondents saying that the boiler had further problems after being repaired. This reflects not only on the quality of Vokèra’s installers but also the quality of its products.
Vokèra is one of the leading UK boiler brands, renowned for its comprehensive range of energy efficient appliances, including the Unica i, Vision and Mynute i, supported by a reputation for excellence in customer service, support and training. The company’s product portfolio also includes a full range of ancillaries and control devices to optimise ease of installation and efficiency still further. Vokèra also supplies the market with a commercial boiler range, unvented cylinders, gas fired water heaters, solar thermal collectors and air source heat pumps. Established over 30 years ago, Vokèra has bases across the UK and Ireland to support each installation and every installer.
Vokèra is delighted to announce that it is a finalist in the ‘Collaboration of the Year’ category at the H&V News Awards, in conjunction with Glasgow Kelvin College.
Dedicated to the education of the gas engineers of the future, Vokèra set up the College Partnership Programme in 2013 and, to date, are working with eleven colleges throughout the country to give their students the confidence they need to work in the industry.
As part of the College Partnership Programme, Glasgow Kelvin College receives marketing and educational support from Vokèra including educational material, signage and training days for students and lecturers. Vokèra also provides the college’s access to discounted boilers and sponsorship for student awards throughout the year.
The H&V Awards will be held on Thursday 16th April at Grosvenor House Hotel, Park Lane.The prestigious awards, which have been running for twenty-one years, aim to reward services within the building industry for their hard work and contribution to innovation.
Further updates on our progress within the competition will be posted to our website, and on our social media accounts, regularly. For more information on the H&V awards, visit there website here.
If your boiler requires a repair, we offer a fixed price repair which includes call out and labour plus parts (Terms and Conditions apply).
Annual Services
An experienced and professionally qualified engineer will service your boiler in accordance with the following schedule:
Check boiler performance, flue and ventilation
Visually check all components for water leaks
Full inspection for damaged or worn components
Visually inspect burner and heat exchanger for deposits, clean accordingly
Visually check for satisfactory ignition, flame picture and stability
Check flame failure device, check and adjust burner pressure
Fully check operation of boiler and controls
Check expansion vessel and reset pressure accordingly
Carry out a flue gas combustion analysis
Repair & Care Maintenance Plan
Repair & care is a maintenance & support plan for your broken-down boiler, providing a one-off repair (where repairable) and then ongoing maintenance and support for your boiler.
Vokèra is delighted to announce the opening of its new training centre and College Partnership with JTL in Birmingham.
