What to Expect from your Heatpump Installer
What to Expect from Your Heatpump Installer
Making the decision to install an Air Source Heat Pump is one of the most import investments you will ever make in your house, get it right and it will serve you well for the duration of the time you own your property, get it wrong and it could turn into an absolute nightmare.
Energie Solutions see far too many examples of when it goes wrong as part of their servicing and maintenance arm of the business.
Below are some top practical tips of what you should expect from your installer and some practical advice of the steps homeowners.
First things first … keep it local as possible. Energie Solutions have seen far too many examples of where the installation company is based hundreds of miles away or (for our Essex and Suffolk based customers) based the other side of the bridge. This is great for the installation as this can be programmed and schedule into the installation companies work load. But this is only half the story, think about when youv’e to a small leak on the cylinder pipework and the company is a 5 hour round trip away.
Be wary of cold calling company’s – These are often national sales generation companies farming the installation out to poorly paid sub-contractors. This is not a quick decision, you should be afforded the time to carefully consider which company you want to “invest” with. Not be pressured into making a decision whilst the salesman is sat drinking your tea and making the odd phonecall to “his boss” to see how much more money can be knocked off the install cost.
Look at the company and what they say they do on their website. The installation aspect is only the start of the journey, the unit will need servicing to maintain the manufacturers warranty, and unfortunately 1 day it might go wrong and need repairing. In a recent survey carried out by Energie Solutions, only 20% responded that they only carry out servicing work on their own installations and less than 2% said they would service a unit irrespective of who installed the system.
Verify this against their Social Media platforms to see the type of work they are carrying out. Check the company out on Companies House to see when they were incorporated. This will give a more transparent indication of the company. Always view the website reviews with a healthy dose of scepticism – these aren’t independently verified.
There are so many practical steps the homeowner can do when choosing their installation company of choice. Listed below are just a handful……
Start by doing your own research, there are a number of free advice resources available on the internet from Government departs:-
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/find-a-heat-pump-installer
https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/environmental-and-social-schemes/boiler-upgrade-scheme-bus/property-owners
Independent information available on the web:-
https://www.renewableenergyhub.co.uk
When you talk to a company representative ask lots of different questions, make sure they answer them. As a responsible ethical company we positively promote customers to ask as many questions as they want and assure them no question is a silly question. Only by going through this can you build trust in your chosen installation company and be certain that you are making a decision based on your needs and requirements of your property not a generic 1 size fits all solution.
Another important aspect of the decision you make is – which of the many manufacturer’s to go for. In essence they are all pretty much the same, they all have a metal box, fan, fan motor, compressor and refrigerant. What makes the big difference is how all of this is put together by the manufacturer and how its controlled. What is the design philosophy of the manufacturer.
Discuss with your potential installation company which manufacturer they use and why. Ascertain what the product warranty is, how and who registers this warranty. Ask how the manufacturer supports the installation company with pre sales assistance, dedicated training , ongoing technical support etc. Ascertain whether or not the manufacturer has a presence in the UK or how they (the manufacturer) supports the homeowner in tandem with the installer.
Here at Energie Solutions our preferred manufacturer is Mitsubishi Electric. The reason for this is simple:-
– They have a dedicated stand alone heat pump office and team based in the UK
– As a trained installation company they deal with us directly rather than hide behind national re-seller merchants.
– The product is good, simple to install and user friendly
– They support us throughout the customer journey from pre-sales (for the complicated multi-unit solutions), installation (for the large scale installs) and post sales through their dedicated technical support team and Wifi enabled MelCloud product.
– They have a dedicated homeowner support team
We hope the above is helpful and will help home owners choose the right installation company which will benefit everyone. If anyone wants to comment please contact us admin@energiesolutions.co.uk