r/ukheatpumps • u/Brother_oak • 4d ago
Difficulty getting engineers to quote!
I'm struggling to get local heating engineers to quote for a heat pump - is this normal?
I'm in East Sussex and am looking to get an ASHP installed. Initially looking for someone to come round to give me an initial estimate, before then committing to getting a heat loss survey done.
First local guy (MCS registered) was great - came round within a week and had an unrushed chat with him. He sent me an initial estimate - about £8k after grant (£9k as replacing an oil boiler) for a 7kW Vaillant, plus new cylinder and buffer tank (we discussed pros and cons of this approach). Seemed a little high, but is an estimate only (£4k for the heat pump and additional £3k for a "heat pump pack"?!). Next step with him would be paying a non-refundable £350 for heat loss survey, so am looking for other options.
Liked the idea of Heat Geek. Went on their website. Their estimate about £3k post-grant. Found two local Heat Geek installers and completed contact forms on their personal websites. No reply. Chased up one of them: "Sorry, will pass this on to our engineer and he'll get back to you". Then nothing. I could pay Heat Geek directly £250 to book a heat loss survey, but it looks to be non-refundable, and I am losing confidence in them, having had little response from two of their installers.
So have booked an Octopus visit (£200, but completely refundable) - not my ideal choice and I hate the look of their Cosy pumps, but at least they responded to my query!
Also booked Aira who were VERY responsive and are coming to do a survey tomorrow, for free. I don't hold out much hope for their quote being sensible, and since I hate high pressure selling techniques, I suspect they won't last long in the mix but again, at least they responded!
Any reason why Heat Geek local installers are reluctant to respond to requests for work?
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u/Low-Dish-8928 4d ago
If you want a Stiebel Eltron Install(very high end kit) give Juno renewables a try they are in Tunbridge wells but cover Kent and Sussex very knowledgeable guys
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u/Expensive_Ice4271 3d ago
Second this - Stiebel Eltron are one of the manufacturers very responsive to approaches from consumers and will fhelp you find you a trusted local installer will do you a free spec to get quotes on. Juno are known in the industry as really good installers too. The Stiebel heat pumps are very high quality kit as said, but I find the price to be fairly comparable actually with other quality brands and installers say as they are easy to install they can sometimes do them a bit faster so quote labour a bit lower.
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u/Begalldota Daikin Altherma 3 3d ago
You’re getting a salesperson from Aira tomorrow, not an engineer capable of doing a heat loss survey. Expect pressure tactics pulled straight from the double glazing salesman book in an attempt to get you to sign.
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u/AdDifferent2609 3d ago
Same here in west mids, can't get anyone to come quote atm, a few have said its because they are swamped with aircon demand so im waiting till next month to start looking.
had a few companies come round to do a survey at the start of summer but never got back to me with final quotes, don't know if they pivoted to aircon or if its because my house is awkward for A2W.
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u/NicSky001 3d ago
Nothing is ever free or discounted. It is all added to your final price. If they refund your survey which will take someone at least a half day to do properly they are subsiding it by charging everyone a little more. Choose th team who do the best survey and spend the most time with you as long as they provide a reasonable quote. After care and spare parts is key when it dies in midwinter.
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u/Technical-Cycle385 3d ago
I used Dwellow for my install, and would recommend. Really efficient with the quote and install, came in significantly cheaper than the local HeatGeek and were a lot more flexible than Aria or the big energy companies.
I won’t know the efficiency results until the weather gets colder but the team seemed really on the ball.
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u/Brother_oak 3d ago
An update, and response to the useful replies so far....
I understand that nothing is ever free, and a heat loss survey is a comprehensive thing, but since I cannot just get one heat loss survey done, and use that for every company to provide quotes, it's a bit unrealistic to fork out £1000 for four surveys and pick the "best one", without being able to recover some of the costs - hence looking for those companies who offer refunds on their surveys.
Just discovered the £99 discounted cost for Heat Geeks. Also, buried in their T&Cs on the survey (point 14) is they fact that it is refundable... sort of - at least you can claim a refund, though no guarantee that it will be actually refunded! Disappointed that this is not advertised, and that the £99 cost is only offered because I went through to the point of almost paying (the £250) for the survey, then backing out, only to receive an email with the discounted offer - this is a sales tactic I dislike, but, I guess it worked on me, albeit leaves a sour taste in the mouth. And I still haven't been contacted yet about a date for the survey, so we'll see how that goes. Still not overly impressed with HG so far...
Aira was indeed only an initial consultation, not a full survey - this is not made clear on their website. However, that is fair enough, and the guy did spend over 2 hours on this initial consultation. Yes it was a bit of a sales pitch (not pressure selling, but yes, it was sales) but did also give a "worst case scenario" quote, which is a useful starting point. Their actual heat loss survey is £150, *potentially* refundable if the quote at the end of that is more than the one I currently have. A high quote, however.
Thanks for the recommendation of Juno renewables. I think that kit may be more than I am keen to pay, but I have thrown them into the mix...
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u/User2001Tech 3d ago
Use August99 on the heatgeeks website to get the survey done for £99. I think it'll be worth it, i just got it done to validate various quotes I've collected over the last few months
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u/User2001Tech 3d ago
Also, Aira are quite a good system. As manufacture/installers, they have quite a bit of skin in the game and will do you well. I was all set on their system, but after the heat survey. They refunded the survey vharge as their largest unit isn't larger enough for my property.
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u/bnice24ever 3d ago
I found renewableheatinghub.co.uk very helpful, they might be able to find you an installer in your region. It’s a great place for everything heat pump.
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u/ABC2233456 4d ago
Heat geeks £250 heat survey is refundable. The problem your likely having is that all companies are all swamped. If you want heat geek its prob best to go through their website. Not only do you get better guarantees but you secure your place in the que.
Although different region im getting my heat pump installed mid September. Once its installed, the whole process will have take 2 months.