ASHP is my quote reasonable?

Jamesb94

I’ve been looking into getting a ASHP as my boiler needs replacing anyway.

I like a few things about the ASHP the hot water tank being in my old boiler cupboard and the unit outside is ideal - I don’t have room to have a boiler and a tank indoors as all space is taken. 

I want a tank due to constant change in water pressure when having showers etc with dishwasher, washing machine etc on constantly. 

I’ve had someone out to quote and the price was 15000... which seems very steep to me since I can buy the unit for 4000 tops 

when googling around I see old posts mentioning the price range being anywhere from 5000  to 9000. 

Are these companies simply hiking their prices due to RHI?

I have a 4 bed semi fully insulated and double glazed. 

Any input would be great thanks 

tberry6686

"since I can buy the unit for 4000 tops"

Unless you are certified to deal with the gas (or can provide evidence that the installer is) then you cannot legally buy the unit at all.

There are very few HVAC installers who will work on domestic installs at present pushing prices up.  I've been trying to get a quote for a while now and cannot even get that.

Jamesb94

I ask as there was even fewer installers several years ago and I see posts mentioning prices of 5000-9000 so why the sudden increase?

10,000 pounds for labor to install a unit seems crazy to me but if that’s the going rate then that’s fine. I’m just checking if anyone else has had a quote lately 

Mintyrbc

£15,000 is a lot. It does depend on what the quote is for though. Your house sounds like it could be fairly big and you use a lot of water so I imagine they will be quoting for a medium to large heat pump so something above 10kw and a large cylinder, hopefully with a buffer. The brand of heat pump and cylinder will dictate some of the cost, there are budget, medium and high end products.
One thing to note, if they are altering any pluming (pipe size/runs) or heating emitters in the house (rads or UFH) to retro fit the system that will be extra.
Are you able to give more details of the quote? Brand/size of ASHP, distance of the cylinder from the pump and the work that would be done to link them. Are they replacing any pipe work or rads/UFH in the house. Does the quote include house side  heating controls, if so what are you asking them to supply and fit.
I own a heat pump and am training to instal them so have a fair idea of what things are worth and whether a quote trying it on.
You can buy all the kit yourself but you will not benefit from any RHI payments as the system will not have been designed by a certified person. These are good ASHP's:
https://viessmanndirect.co.uk/Catalogue/Vitocal-Heat-Pumps/Vitocal-100-A
You may pay £5k for the heat pump but you still need a cylinder which can be an additional £1500 for something of a decent size. You then need to buy all the pipe and fitting which if you are separating the cylinder and pump by a distance can cost a bit as you need to insulate everything really well, perhaps at points even using pre insulated pipe which costs a fortune. Then you need to factor in the instal. As already pointed out you need to be gas safe to decommission your boiler. Then it can take up to 4 days for a heating engineer to instal the ASHP if its a tricky instal. then you need a sparks to connect it all up. it will be extra to run cable from your consumer to the pump, you may need armoured cable which is more expensive or you may need to rip up floors to run cable.
Point being there are so many variables.
Mine was a shade over £10k for supply and fitting the ASHP and cylinder. 
 

shinytop

I've been quoted just over £16k for a 14kWh Mitsubishi heat pump, cylinder, all controls, pipework, 12 radiators and all installation and RHI paperwork.  The rads consisted of nearly £4k of that.    

matelodave

As always, the advice is to get several quotes, at least three so you can compare what is being offered as well as the prices.- make sure they are specifying exactly what you'll be getting for your money rather than just a lumped in price. There's a lot more cost in a properly configured and installed system than just the price of the heatpump unit.

Dont be tempted or persuaded just to hang the heatpump onto your existing heating system - get it fully evaluated otherwise you'll end with an underpowered system that costs you a lot of money to run. Generally you'll need to increase the size of all your rads by at least 50%, ideally double them so you can run it at optimum temperatures. 

A decent MCS installer should do it properly. You wont get the RHI or grant unless you use one.

[Deleted User]

600,000 heat pump installations a year by 2028: what could possibly go wrong with this plan?

matelodave

Dolor said:

600,000 heat pump installations a year by 2028: what could possibly go wrong with this plan?

A nice earner for some - just like the heydays of Solar when the cowboys took over

Jamesb94

They have not given me make and model. I’ve been told I have to commit to 150 quid full survey first before they give me the details but said 15000 includes radiators for every room but I don’t want rads as I’m doing this myself as I’m renovating my entire house currently.

With plinth heaters and underfloor heating in the rooms. 

however he said if I don’t take the rads it’s only 500 quid off... 

They have said they need the make and model of all the plinth heaters im using so they spec the right unit and ensure they put out enough heat but other than that the quote stays the same. 

Like others have said it’s hard to get a quote so far I’ve been unable to get a quote of any other company 

I think this works out even after RHI payment I have to top up the RHI by 100 quid a month for 7 years and then pay 180 quid a month for a further 3 years after RHI stops 

Martyfuel

I think is of paramount importance that you check with MCS first before you commit to an installation of an air source pump if intending on claiming the RHI. It is also worth checking with Gas safe and the electrical bodies such as NICEIC, Nappit etc. 
As with our family members installation, when it went wrong and the installer never returned calls she turned to MCS and the consumer bodies the company showed membership of, only to find that the company were not MCS accredited as claimed and therefore they had no authority to intervene. But on top of this we could not claim the £7k or so of RHI as it had to be commissioned by a MCS installer. 

HIES said the unit would be insured but to claim the installing company had to have gone out of business, as the company is still showing as live on companies house that too was a wash out. 

I tried to trace the company to one of the many addresses it shows online and no one had heard of them but when I pressed the secretary at one shared office facility she wrote down their number, a number not listed on their websites. I finally spoke with the office manager Amy via her mobile and was told that they were indeed MCS registered but claimed that MCS had spelt their name as Hi Star Energy Ltd rather than High Star. Of course MCS say otherwise and confirm neither company is currently listed as an active member either way. 

We have since paid £740 for a full inspection and expert witness service which has condemned the installation as ‘exceedingly dangerous’ and ‘not fit for purpose’. 

Personally as an ex pipe fitter I’m flabbergasted that presumably sales companies with little or no experience can get any trade body at all to accept their standard of work which was shocking to say the least. 

I think the other tell tale signs of cowboys to be cautious of are when both decision makers are told they need to be at the ‘survey’, that the homeowner can decide what rads need changing and what do not, and to suspicious of ‘discount’ given in house for urgent sign up, then take a flurry of calls from the company if the deal doesn’t get done on the day. They all seem to show the same signs when I have posted our problems on other forums. 

It’s a travesty that these cowboy firms can operate in todays market place. To have a gas boiler ripped out by someone not qualified to do so, then to pay £19.5k for a small heat pump that doesn’t run due to gas loss and under sizing and for the company to walk off into the sunset still managing to be a member of a consumer group but not technical body that can do nothing until the company officially folds (when you know they are still going about their business) needs to be brought to peoples attention. 

Verdigris

I'd say there is zero chance of getting RHI, if contracts haven't been signed yet, unless the high-looking price is to jump the queue. Assuming no RHI then you can knock off 5 grand for the new voucher scheme.