Pipe Center has announced plans to become a major player in the combined heat and power (CHP) sector.

Andy McEwan, Pipe Center and Climate Center’s commercial director, said: “We believe that CHP offers huge opportunities. It can help the UK meet both its carbon reduction targets and contribute towards the generating capacity shortfall, as a result of older stations being taken offline.”

He added: “Until recently, CHP was seen as an expensive technology, but as a result of rising energy costs and carbon reduction programmes it is becoming more mainstream, with financial benefits based on life-cycle costs making CHP a more attractive proposition. We are working closely with a number of the leading manufacturers to develop and meet the market need for high efficiency CHP plant in a range of applications.”

The company has already delivered a number of CHP projects across the UK, with a combined value in excess of £2m, and is now collaborating on even larger schemes scheduled for installation.

Availability is a key issue in the market, as CHP systems normally have to be ordered with factory production lead times. Pipe Center stocks Baxi’s Dachs range for immediate availability and is now planning to extend this by stocking Bosch 20kW CHP units.

“By stocking the most popular sizes, we can offer customers immediate availability for CHP units, enabling them to source and install systems and complete fast track projects anywhere in the country,” explained Mr McEwan.