Heat pumps are a whole new world of supplying heat to your home so we want to make understanding the process as easy as possible. Below is a list of steps to guide you through what to expect on this journey.
- Initial enquiry
- Proposal package and estimate
- The design phase
- Boiler Upgrade Scheme Application (if eligible)
- Installation
- Commissioning & Handover
- Aftercare
1. The Initial Enquiry
We start our journey together with an initial consultation call to discuss the key points of your project and to gain a good understanding of your needs and requirements. We will ask you some basic questions regarding your property make-up, your current heating system and your heating and hot water requirements to gauge your property’s suitability and to ensure you have a good understanding of a heat pump system, how it works and the benefits.
It is important to understand that we will only ever design and install a heat pump if we are 100% confident it’s right for you and your property.
To assist us in providing you with an initial estimate, we ideally require the following from you:
- Building/Floor plans
- An up-to-date EPC certificate
Building/Floor plans
Floor plans, sections and elevations will provide us with everything we need to accurately size up the heat pumps and provide you with an initial quotation and heat pump and hot water cylinder size estimation.
The Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)
An energy performance certificate (EPC) gives information about a property’s energy use, with recommendations on how to reduce energy demand and save money. It’s required every time you buy, sell or rent a property.
Before Ofgem will approve any BUS grant application, they will check that a property’s EPC:
- was issued within the last 10 years
- has no recommendations for loft or cavity wall insulation
You can find your properties energy certificate here:
https://www.gov.uk/find-energy-certificate
2. Proposal Package & Estimate
Once we have established whether or not your property is suitable for a heat pump we will provide you with a proposal package and price estimation. This estimate is subject to a site survey and a room-by-room heat loss calculation. We will propose what we believe to be the most suitable size of equipment for your property and advise you on which manufacturers we would recommend.
- Proposal Package
- Product Selection Report
- Whole House Report
- Energy Performance Estimation
- Price Estimation
We may carry out an initial site visit at this stage if we are unable to gain a good understanding of the property or if
Did you know?
From 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2027, there is 0% VAT on the installation of energy-saving materials including heat pumps and biomass boilers!
3. The Design Phase
Once you have made the wise decision and chosen Neater Heat to carry out your installation, we then move on to the design phase. It is essential that the project is designed with careful consideration and fully MCS compliant. To do this, every project we do is thoroughly reviewed by a technical surveyor to ensure that all the benefits of heat pumps are realised.
In some instances where builds are still in the planning stages, we can work from building/floor plans. In retro-fit projects we would always prefer to visit your property to carry out a technical survey to carry out the following:
Heat Loss Calculations
It’s crucial that you get the right size pump for your home. To do this, we need to know the rate at which your home loses heat.
The calculation is essentially working out the peak heat lost from your home on the coldest day of the year. To do this, we need to consider the following factors:
- The size of your rooms
- The materials your home is made from – in particular, the U values
- How much insulation do you have
- Size and locations of any heat emitters (radiators, fans, underfloor heating etc.).
- The ventilation rate of your home
- Your geographical location
Installation Design Survey
It’s at this point we will confirm the location and position of your heat pump, hot water cylinder and associated components. We will detail pipe routes, power requirements and heat emitter (radiator/underfloor heating) sizes based on the result of the heat loss calculations.
ASHPs need to be situated carefully to ensure adequate airflow across the unit and to contain any unacceptable sound transmission.
It is essential that the system is designed to ensure that adequate heat is delivered around the building. In particular, it is vital that the heat pump has the correct flow of water. Too little flow may cause heat pump alarms and operation to cease and excessive flow could cause issues with excessive noise, excessive circulation pump energy consumption, and system cleanliness and have an adverse effect on heat pump operation.
Our Prefered Manufacturers
- Mitsubishi
- Vaillant
- Samsung
4. Boiler Upgrade Scheme Application (if eligible)
For a heating system to be eligible under BUS, it has to be installed by an installer certified by the Microgeneration Certification Service (MCS).
The scheme is designed to minimise the amount of work property owners need to do. It is ‘installer-led’, which means that we will:
- make a BUS application on your behalf
- liaise with Ofgem on most matters related to the scheme
- tell Ofgem when they’ve installed your heating system
- claim the money from Ofgem at the end of the project
The grant value will be deducted from your quote upfront and then we are responsible for passing on the discount that the BUS grant provides to you, the property owner.
After you’ve confirmed your consent we then have three months from the moment the application is approved to complete the installation in line with industry standards and scheme requirements (six months for ground source heat pumps).
Depending on your property, you may need to install insulation before the work is completed on your heating system in order to be eligible. If this applies to you, Ofgem will contact both you and us about this.
When the new system has been installed and fully checked, we can then claim the grant amount from Ofgem.
To learn more about the BUS Scheme please click here: https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/environmental-and-social-schemes/boiler-upgrade-scheme-bus/property-owners
5. Product Delivery and Installation
Once the design phase is complete, it is then time for the hard work to begin! Every developer/ client will go about their business in a slightly different way, which is why Neater Heat adopts a flexible approach to deliveries to fit around your build schedule.
Arranging Delivery
Deliveries will be arranged through a local supplier at a time and date convenient for you. We will always arrange deliveries for as close to the installation date as possible or even for the day of installation if the storage of the equipment is a problem.
If you have chosen the Mitsubishi Ecodan air source heat pump project with us, then we order this direct to the site from Mitsubishi’s UK stock holding. Our strong relationship with Mitsubishi as a Business Solutions Provider means that we are in constant dialogue with the delivery teams at Mitsubishi, and can coordinate your delivery when you need it.
6. Commissioning
Every single heat pump designed and supplied by Neater Heat Ltd is commissioned by one of our own employed heat pump engineers. We believe we employ the most skilled and experienced heat pump engineers in the country. And the reason we ensure that every single heat pump is physically inspected and commissioned by our engineers is that once we sign it off, we then take responsibility for that heat pump system and provide comprehensive warranties and aftercare to the homeowner.
Heat Pump Setup
Once we’ve completed a physical inspection of your installation our engineer will then commission the heat pump and get it up and running. The engineer will configure all the settings according to our design parameters and manufacturer’s instructions to ensure your new heat pump is running as efficiently as possible.
Final Sign-Off For Warranty
Once the heat pump is fully commissioned, our engineer completes a final sign off to commence the warranty on the heat pump. Warranties on heat pump products are comprehensive with a minimum of 5 years on all heat pump products that we supply – and this is to provide the end user (and the developer!) with confidence in the products, and that they will perform as intended.
We believe that our commitment to quality control and commissioning is mutually beneficial to us, to the developer and most importantly, to the new homeowner.
MCS Certification and BUS Application Confirmation
As an MCS-certified company, we will notify MCS and generate a certificate for your renewable installation. We will also finalise your BUS application.
Handover Pack
On final completion, we will provide you with a handover pack containing all the documents relating to your heat pump installation. This pack will include:
- Manufacturers installation and operating manuals for all major items of the plant including heat pump, central heating controls and hot water cylinder (calorifier) including all commissioning control values
- Details of maintenance requirements
- Heat Loss and system design calculations for each heated room, internal and external design temperature(s) and the duty of the heat emitters at design conditions in each heated room (whether existing or installed under your contract)
- Warranty Information
- Schematic Diagram(s)
- Heat Emitter Guide
- Copies of any building control notifications
- Heat Pump Commissioning Checklist
- Heat Pumps Compliance Certificate
- MCS Certificate
7. Aftercare and Ongoing Support
We want to make sure your heat pump performs year in, and year out. In order to achieve this your heat pump will need to be serviced annually and maintained. We will discuss our service and maintenance options with you at the initial enquiry phase so you have a clear understanding of how your products can stand the best chance of living as long and as healthy as possible.
The importance of regular service and maintenance
It’s our aim to deliver an end-to-end service to help you extend the life of your new installation, enabling you to:
- Optimise efficiency
- Reduce running costs
- Minimise the risk of downtime and maximise uptime
- Avoid wasteful energy consumption
- Address your carbon footprint
An annual service is important for the continued efficient operation of the heat pump and is also a requirement for the validity of the manufacturers’ warranties.
For homeowners, it can be a good source of peace of mind knowing that the heat pump continues to be serviced by the same people who originally designed and installed it.
We offer a service plan package for all of our new heat pump installations.
To find out more about our service plans you can visit our dedicated webpage here.
Consumer Protection
The protection offered by HIES, which includes comprehensive insurance-backed guarantees and first-class mediation services, ensures our consumers are protected before, during and after their installation.
This level of protection helps protect consumers by providing you with the trust, confidence and peace of mind that your installation will be fit for purpose and carried out professionally; and you can be safe in the knowledge that should you encounter any problems, HIES’ expert mediation team will be on hand to resolve any disputes.
What’s included in this;
- Deposit and stage payment protection
- Insurance-backed guarantees (IBGs)
- Alternative dispute resolution (ADR)
- Access to an independent ombudsman
Find out more here:
Warranty and Breakdowns
Neater Heat Ltd can offer a minimum of a 5-year warranty on all air source and ground source heat pumps we supply.
As a Business Solutions Partner with Mitsubishi means we can offer a 5-year warranty as standard, which is up to three years more than the typical Mitsubishi warranty from other suppliers!
In the rare event that something does go wrong (and things do go wrong from time to time, as with any piece of mechanical equipment), our expert team of engineers are on hand for call-outs and repairs. To remove the stress of a sudden breakdown, we handle all warranty administration ourselves and liaise with the manufacturers to arrange for warranty parts to be replaced.
This is where we like to consider ourselves different from other companies. The installation of the heat pump is just the first chapter of our continued relationship with our customers or clients. Once we’ve put our name to a heat pump by commissioning it, we want to build on our relationship with you so you have someone to call if you have any questions, or when things do go wrong.
We’re passionate about customer service and we want to make sure that our customers are happy with their heat pumps, and that they’ve got someone they can rely upon for service and repair.
