Echelon started looking at ways in which the traditional 3-star gas model could be improved following a review by the Association of Gas Safety Managers (AGSM) of the way in which gas boilers were bought, installed and serviced.

Prompted by the report, Echelon used feedback from clients, contractors and manufacturers to explore what improvements could be made to address the AGSM’s concerns and drive improvements and efficiencies for clients.

The Echelon 4-star gas model builds on the 3-star model but with improvements including the inclusion of boiler replacements over the life of the contract with the full involvement of the service provider and profiling risk over the life of the contract reducing breakdown costs. The service provider is responsible for the boiler replacement programme from year two, the commercial model is built around a single annual price per property and costs for additional work are excluded from the annual price per property and agreed separately.

Clients using the 4-star model report a reduction in visits to properties and in calls from residents. Other benefits include budget certainty, with the ability to maximise boiler warranties and reducing the risk element of pricing breakdowns, with the service margin recycled back into the replacement cost.