“Without investment in housing infrastructure we’re looking at the same flat market for the next two years. Opportunities for growth are increasingly limited and installers are struggling to drive additional sales and increase their revenue streams.

“The ECO remains one of the last avenues for heating engineers as its focus is on improving the insulation and heating systems of those households classed as being in vulnerable homes, such as those who are categorised as being in fuel poverty. The latest statistics on this show that there are 1.6 million children living in households that cannot afford effective heating therefore it’s a key area for the Government to make real change.

“Many installers have who have undergone training have done so in the anticipation that ECO will be able to deliver what other measures have failed to – increased boiler sales. The fact that it’s so widely available is key to its potential, whilst there’s still substantial confusion over the Green Deal, the ECO element is the one generating all the interest.”