Glow-worm controls and Boiler Plus: which current control does what

What does Boiler Plus actually require?

A minimum efficiency, working controls, and one extra measure on a combi. Glow-worm's own wording is that since 6 April 2018 all new boiler installations require a minimum ErP efficiency of 92 percent and have time and temperature controls fitted. Combis then need one of four additional requirements: load compensation, weather compensation, a smart control providing automated heating, hot water and optimised boiler efficiency, or flue gas heat recovery. None of it is retrospective. Glow-worm states the changes apply only to installations of new boilers.

Why does the compliance page name controls you cannot buy?

Because it has not kept pace with the range. The how to comply pages, on both the trade and homeowner sides, are built around the MiGo personal heating assistant, the Climapro2 RF, the Climapro1, the Climastat, the Universal Analog Timer and the Smart Wiring Centre2. The homeowner controls listing now marks MiGo, Climapro2 RF and Climapro1 as discontinued, the Boiler Plus page prints Discontinued beside Climapro2 RF while still offering it as a solution, the Climastat appears as the Climastat Select, and the wiring centre is the Smart Wiring Centre3. Treat those pages as guidance on the measures, not a buying list.

Which current Glow-worm control delivers which measure?

Four controls are on the current listing, and they split along the compensation line. The MiSet is the load compensation answer: its specification table is headed load compensating controls, it is listed at ErP class 5 with a 3 percent contribution, it comes wired on eBUS or as MiSet RF on batteries, it carries a time programming assistant, and its product page tells you to pair it with a Glow-worm boiler to meet Boiler Plus. Glow-worm's Wales guidance calls it the MiSET load compensated control. The Climastat Select, also sold as the SRT 50/2, is a wired eBUS room thermostat that Glow-worm says takes full advantage of enhanced load compensation, with load compensation and a 3 percent ErP uplift both ticked on its specification table. The MiGo Select is a wireless battery thermostat for single zone systems, and Glow-worm says weather compensated operation is possible when it is installed with the MiGo Link gateway. The MiPro Sense is the newest, sold as a weather compensated system control with the outdoor sensor in the box.

Does the Climastat Select comply on its own?

Not on the time side, and this is the pairing that catches people out. Its specification table ticks room thermostat, load compensation and the 3 percent ErP uplift, and leaves programmable room thermostat, wireless controls and weather compensation blank. It sets temperature, it does not set time, and Boiler Plus asks for time and temperature controls before you reach the fourth measure. Glow-worm makes the pairing explicit for the older Climastat: the Universal Analog Timer comes factory fitted on the Essential, Easicom3 and Betacom, and paired with the Climastat it meets the regulations, with the same timer available as an added extra on the Ultimate and Energy. Quote the pair, or quote a control that does both.

Where does the MiPro Sense sit against Boiler Plus?

Its product page describes weather compensation plainly, and the Boiler Plus page has not caught up with it. Glow-worm sells the MiPro Sense as a weather compensated system control that uses the included outdoor sensor to read external thermal behaviour and adjust flow temperatures, handling up to three heating zones, though two and three circuits need the RED-5 wiring centre. What it does not carry is a Boiler Plus claim: unlike the MiSet its page has no Boiler Plus tile, and it is absent from the how to comply list. The claim is Glow-worm's to make, so confirm it before you write it on a quote.

What does the MiGo Link gateway actually do?

It is the internet gateway that unlocks the app, and it is not a control in its own right. Glow-worm lists it as compatible with all Glow-worm eBUS boilers from 2006 onwards and the GeniaAir heat pump, working in conjunction with the MiSet, MiPro Sense, MiGo Select and Climastat Select. With the MiGo Select it doubles as the receiver, so that thermostat needs it rather than benefits from it. On installation you either locate an external power source or use the SRA 42 adapter, which takes power and eBUS straight off the boiler PCB depending on the boiler.

Is Boiler Plus the same in Scotland and Wales?

No, and the difference changes what you can quote. Glow-worm records that as of late 2022 Boiler Plus standards were introduced in Scotland and Wales with slight differences to those set in England. Scotland expanded the policy to all gas boiler replacements, so system and open vent boilers are caught alongside combis, while the controls requirements stay as in England. Wales added a requirement for the smart thermostat to also feature remote access, and Glow-worm's recommendation there is the MiGo weather compensated smart control or the MiSet load compensated control. The MiGo half of that points at a discontinued product, which is the dating problem again.

What to check before you quote the control

• Whether the appliance is a combi: the fourth measure is a combi requirement in England and Wales, while Scotland applies it to system and open vent replacements too.
• Whether a timer is in the quote: the Climastat Select sets temperature only, so the time control has to come from somewhere else.
• Whether the control is still current: MiGo, Climapro2 RF and Climapro1 all sit on the compliance pages and are marked discontinued on the homeowner listing.
• Whether the gateway is essential or optional: the MiGo Select needs the MiGo Link as its receiver, while the other three work without it.
• Whether an outdoor sensor is needed: the MiPro Sense includes one, and the wireless outdoor sensor enables weather compensation on the Climapro2 RF or the MiSet.

Whichever control goes on the wall, the record afterwards is the same job every time. Manifold builds the CP12 and the service record from the check on your phone, reads the make, model and GC number off the data plate with PlateScan, and keeps the appliance and control history against the property so the next visit starts with what is actually fitted.