A Half-Century of UK Heating: Reflections from the Frontline
As the 50th anniversary of Riello as an entity in the UK arrives at a defining moment for the wider industry, Graham Barker, Residential Key Accounts & C&I Service Director at Riello, reflects – alongside the voices of longstanding colleagues – on the decades that came before and what comes next.
The spring of 1976 was a very different era for the UK heating sector. System design was largely mechanical, efficiency was a secondary consideration to raw output, and standalone products dominated plant rooms across the country. As the commercial landscape navigates the transition to lower-carbon technologies, the milestone offers a chance to reflect on how far the sector has progressed and where it is heading next.
From Artisan Roots to UK Foundations
The Riello story began long before its UK arrival. The company has over 100 years of experience in the combustion sector since it was founded by Pilade Riello in Legnago, Italy, in 1922, where his artisan workshop produced oil burners for bread-baking ovens. He would go on to be considered one of Italy’s great entrepreneurs, with innovations that fundamentally changed how industries produce heat and hot water globally.
The company’s UK footprint began exactly 50 years ago. Riello burners were first sold into the British market in the spring of 1976 via a distributor agency based in Birmingham, initially operating as Biltonquest Limited before becoming Hydraquest (Oil and Gas Burners) Limited. In 1992, the company became an official Riello subsidiary, Riello Limited, and relocated its operations to Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire. This coincided with the first waves of regulatory change in 1992, which would later reshape the commercial heating market.
This modernisation extended beyond the products themselves to the very way the business operated. Reflecting on her time with Riello, Su Pearce, our Regional Sales Manager (South), notes a significant shift in administrative processes and customer interactions:
“Unlike the 1990s, when a customer could verbally request an order, all processes now require formal documentation. Today, all quotations need to be submitted in writing to enable them to be cross-referenced against a received purchase order, ensuring the corresponding invoice agrees with both.”
The Race to Reduce Emissions
The sheer scale of technological change is also something frequently discussed within the business.
“Having started at Riello Ltd in 1994, I have witnessed significant transformation across the industry. Looking even further back to the burners of the late 1970s compared to today, the leap in technology is staggering.
Back then, engineering was purely mechanical. Today, the focus is on digital controls, micro-tolerances and emissions reductions that would have been unthinkable fifty years ago. In the early days, regulations such as the Building Regulations 1965 (updated in 1984) and the Clean Air Act 1956 were in force, neither of which placed great emphasis on the products of combustion. With the introduction of European regulations in the late 1990’s, more stringent maximum levels were imposed to better control and limit harmful emissions released into the atmosphere, with a main focus being Nitric Oxide (NOx) emissions. During this period, conventional burners were known as ‘yellow flame’ burners. These conformed to entry-level NOx emissions according to the relevant European Normatives, which meant limits of ≤170mg/kWh for gas burners (EN676) and ≤250mg/kWh for oil burners (EN267). These types of burners were regarded as very reliable and robust thanks to their combustion head design, which was seen as very forgiving and easy to set. Riello prides itself on providing engineer-friendly burners, and it was these types of products that helped build the large market share the company continues to experience today”.
However, the sector now faces challenging regulations, and the ongoing drive to reduce NOx has been a major catalyst for new burner technology. Nathan Chance, our National Commercial & Industrial Technical and Sales Manager, highlights how this shift has redefined the sector:
“Typically, burners were built around reliability using conventional fossil fuels with limited environmental constraints. We now live in a world where those environmental constraints are the absolute focal point for commercial and industrial heating systems.”
The Energy Related Product (ErP) regulations introduced in 2018 brought far more stringent requirements (though specific limits and compliance requirements can vary depending on product type, capacity and installation context). For example, with oil burners, all new products below 400kW must now hit ≤120mg/kWh, representing an emissions reduction of over 50% compared to previous ‘yellow flame’ models. Likewise, under the same ErP, all new gas burners for boilers under 400kW must achieve ≤56mg/kWh, again halving NOx output. There are also varying requirements for larger burners, with the Medium Combustion Plant Directive (MCPD) stating that new equipment between 1MW and 50MW must limit NOx emissions to approximately 100mg/Nm3.
Nathan notes the operational impact of this legislation:
“Regulations such as ErP and MCPD place strict limits on NOx emissions, requiring us to adopt improved burner technology. The challenge is improving efficiency and reducing operating costs while still maintaining that core burner reliability.”
This regulatory shift required a massive acceleration in research and development and resulted in a much more complex combustion head design that incorporates internal flame recirculation and exceptionally tight tolerances. To meet the rising global demand for complex engineering solutions, the Riello Combustion Research Centre in Angiari, Italy, tripled in capacity in 2001. The company continues to utilise these world-renowned facilities to provide market-leading products with the lowest emissions available.
As the burner range has increased in complexity over the years, Su highlights that:
“Technical knowledge of the products is most definitely an advantage and actively assists with sales offerings. I know that seems obvious now, but it’s easy to take for granted the sheer technical revolution that’s occurred in the last half-decade. Detailed technical information – and ready expertise of our sales teams – must be available to support quotes and on-the-spot enquiries.”
The Integrated Plant Room Ecosystem Era
Alongside this technical evolution, Su has observed:
“There’s also an increased expectation for responsiveness around day-to-day enquiries, burner matching advice and spare parts. You really need to provide answers immediately or within the same day for these requests, while endeavouring to turn around even the most complex enquiries as quickly as possible.”
This agility is crucial as the industry shifts away from isolated equipment towards integrated energy ecosystems. High-efficiency burners are no longer standalone workhorses; they must operate alongside advanced controls, variable fuel sources and building management systems. Installers and specifiers are increasingly working within systems that require compatibility between diverse technologies rather than reliance on a single solution.
The Hybrid Future and Alternative Fuels
This brings the industry into the future. Rather than signalling the end of combustion technology, the current push towards net zero is redefining its role within a broader, more integrated energy system.
Nathan explains the operational advantages of this transition:
“The adoption of alternative fuels is a challenging aspect for burner technology and combustion systems. HVO is widely considered a low-carbon replacement for diesel, and while it is frequently discussed for residential use, it is equally important for commercial and industrial projects. HVO is a major step forward for the industry, offering potential carbon savings of up to approximately 88%, based on published UK government data comparing HVO with conventional fossil fuel oils such as kerosene. Crucially, it can often be introduced into existing systems with limited modifications, allowing the end user to switch fuels without significant maintenance or appliance downtime.”
Furthermore, manufacturers like Riello are not just reacting to change but actively testing the infrastructure of tomorrow. This is evidenced by the development and supply of 100% hydrogen-ready systems designed to support UK government research programmes, such as the Hy4Heat trials.
“Hydrogen presents even greater challenges due to its high flame speed and wider flammability range,” says Nathan. “While research and development pose a challenge, Riello is at the forefront with specific burner ranges ready for a 20% hydrogen blend. Although we have had great success in tests firing 100% under controlled conditions on hydrogen on multiple burner ranges, including the UK Hy4Heat projects, it’s all subject to the development of a formal regulatory framework before any commercial deployment into the global market.”
The Next 50 Years
The UK market operating today is vastly different to the one Riello entered in 1976. While the need for reliable, efficient and well-supported heating solutions hasn’t changed, how those solutions interact with wider system technologies and future energy demands certainly has.
The UK heating sector will continue to diversify rather than converge on a single solution. Electrification will grow, but so too will the need to optimise existing infrastructure and integrate multiple technologies in a coherent, efficient way.
Everything else may have changed, but Riello’s quality and leading technology never will. 50 years of history in the UK market has provided a robust foundation of experience. In an industry defined by transition, it is the pairing of that heritage with constant innovation that will prove to be the defining factor in what comes next.
