Thank you for your request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. I can confirm that Essex County Fire & Rescue Service does hold this information.
Please see below the answer to your request.
Initial Request:
I am contacting you from Environmental Resources Management (ERM). We are currently working on a project funded by the UK Government, Hy4Heat, looking at the potential transition to hydrogen in the gas distribution network as an alternative to natural gas.
The project has been split into several work packages, with our work being carried out on Work Package 5 (WP5). WP5 is set to determine the viability of 100% hydrogen being fed as a fuel gas to gas appliances in the commercial sector (dominated by heating and catering appliances).
To establish the scope of the task at hand, we are in the process of characterising the current market – including making an estimate of the installed base of commercial gas appliances in the UK. As means of assisting in this stage of the project, we are looking to gather data from UK Fire & Rescue Services on the gas appliances installed across their facilities.
Below is detailed the information we are requesting – while it may not be available in such depth, any data that can be provided will be of great assistance.
We are seeking a list or database of installed gas appliances, categorised into groups such as:
Heating
• Boilers - condensing/non-condensing, wet central heating systems
• Water Heaters - instantaneous, continuous, storage water heaters
• Dry (Warm Air) Convection Systems – direct/indirect air heaters
• Radiant Heaters – luminous (plaque) and non-luminous (tube)
Catering
• Ovens – deck ovens, pizza ovens, rack ovens
• Steamers & Combi Ovens – combi-steam ovens, atmospheric steamers
• Hobs & Grills – hobs, grills, griddles, barbecues, salamander grills, rotisserie grills
• Water & Oil Heaters – fryers, pasta/noodle boilers, bratt pans
For each appliance, it would be useful to know the output rating, in either kW or BTU/hr, and the installed date.
We are also looking to know the facility/facility type in which each appliance is found – if possible, the specific facility name and/or address.
We wish to obtain as recent data as is possible – ideally from 2018 or 2019. However, any data from proceeding years which could present market trends would also be favourable.
Final Response:
Please find attached in an excel document the information you have requested.
Thank you for your interest in Essex County Fire & Rescue Service.