The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has closed its consultation on updating standards for local space heating products. The consultation ran from 3pm on 25 March 2026 to 11:59pm on 20 May 2026, and the department states on the consultation page that it is analysing the feedback1.
The proposals cover updates to the ecodesign regulations for local space heating products in Great Britain. The stated aim is to replace the current regulations (2015/1188) with new standards aligned with European Union Regulation (EU) 2024/11031. The department lists three objectives for the change: to improve product efficiency, to reduce energy demand and cut bills, and to support a circular economy1.
"The aim is to replace the current regulations (2015/1188) with new standards aligned with the European Union (EU) Regulation (EU) 2024/1103"
Three documents were published alongside the consultation: a 66 page consultation document, a 42 page options assessment on updating the minimum energy performance standard for local space heaters, and a 47 page draft statutory instrument titled The Ecodesign for Energy-Related Products (Local Space Heaters and Separate Related Controls) Regulations 20261. Accessible webpage versions of the consultation document and the options assessment were also published, and the department offers an accessible format of the draft instrument on request by email1.
The consultation page does not set out the specific efficiency thresholds, product categories or compliance dates proposed in the draft regulations, and no outcome document has been published yet1. The scope of "local space heating products" as defined for this exercise is not summarised on the consultation page; readers would need the published documents for that detail1.
Why it matters for households
Local space heaters are the appliances used to heat a single room rather than a whole home, and the standards that apply to them sit within the wider framework of heating appliance standards, marking and certification that determines what can legally be sold in Great Britain and what performance information must be shown at the point of sale. For a household, ecodesign rules set the floor on efficiency and on the information supplied with a product, so a change to those rules affects what is available on the market and how easy it is to compare one appliance with another.
The stated objectives connect the rules directly to running costs and to energy demand, which is the practical link between product standards and a home's energy independence: a more efficient appliance does the same job with less energy bought in. The consultation also covers separate related controls, which are the thermostats and similar devices used with these heaters1. Aligning with the EU regulation would mean the two markets share a common baseline, which matters for product availability across the two.
The draft instrument is dated 2026 and named for local space heaters and separate related controls, but the consultation page does not state when any new rules would take effect1. The regulation and policy section of this site covers how consultations of this kind move from proposal to law, and the boilers and heating section covers the appliance categories affected.
What happens next
The department says it is analysing the feedback and directs readers to return to the consultation page to download the outcome of the public feedback1. No date has been given for publication of that outcome, and no date has been reported for the regulations coming into force1.