Air source heat pump

Random34

Hi, I'm looking to convert my current oil powered heating and hot water to air source and wondered if anyone had had experience with Cinergi Ltd based in Southampton. Their quote is competitive and I have been reassured by their responses to questions, but I can't seem to find any reviews online for their performance with ADHP's.
Any information would be greatly appreciated. 

Reed_Richards

I have no direct experience of Cinergi but here are some points to watch out for:

• Cinergi appear to be MCS accredited for ASHPs, which is necessary if you want to claim RHI (and you do!).
• They should have warned you that you will need to replace most or all of your radiators.
• Also you will almost certainly need a new hot water cylinder.
• And they should have told you that your running costs will be broadly similar to oil.

  

shinytop

I would ask:

• what brand of ASHP they will be using and why. 
• what support arrangements will be in place
• do they provide an insurance backed guarantee

Their Facebook page and website look OK and they are advertising for staff.  Companies house reveals they are a new (2020) company with a single director, born in 1991, with a correspondence address a nice house on a nice estate. Nothing bad but not much track record either. 

If you don't mind saying, what is the quote and what is it for?

rp1974

Just curious what's wrong with your oil heating that it requires replacement?.
As above,given the upheaval involved and if the running cost will be broadly similar what's the point?,excluding green purposes.

Random34

Reed_Richards said:

I have no direct experience of Cinergi but here are some points to watch out for:

• Cinergi appear to be MCS accredited for ASHPs, which is necessary if you want to claim RHI (and you do!).
• They should have warned you that you will need to replace most or all of your radiators.
• Also you will almost certainly need a new hot water cylinder.
• And they should have told you that your running costs will be broadly similar to oil.

  

Thanks Reed.
They've done a full assessment and included for replacing most of the rads and cylinder. They've stated running costs should be less than oil, but this is in line with other guidance I've seen. 

Random34

shinytop said:

I would ask:

• what brand of ASHP they will be using and why. 
• what support arrangements will be in place
• do they provide an insurance backed guarantee

Their Facebook page and website look OK and they are advertising for staff.  Companies house reveals they are a new (2020) company with a single director, born in 1991, with a correspondence address a nice house on a nice estate. Nothing bad but not much track record either. 

If you don't mind saying, what is the quote and what is it for?

Thanks shinytop
They've quoted for a vaillant  arotherm plus 10kw heat pump with unistor cylinder with 7 year manufacturer and 2 year installation guarantee.
I did the check on company's house and noted that they only registered last year, but according to their site they've apparently been around for 40+ years. I've spoken with the current owner who tells me that his father stated the business.
The total quote is for £14k for the heat pump, tank, 5 new radiators as well as removal of existing oil boiler and tank.
I've had quotes ranging from £14 to £20k, and they are compatible with igloo's price

Random34

rp1974 said:

Just curious what's wrong with your oil heating that it requires replacement?.
As above,given the upheaval involved and if the running cost will be broadly similar what's the point?,excluding green purposes.

Hi rp1974
I've just moved into the house and the boiler and tank are around 15 years old and need replacing. One had quotes of around £6k to replace, so looking at greener alternatives. The RHI payments come to about £12k over the 7 years, so overall the cost of the system is only around £2k.

rp1974

That does make sense then,if the Oil system was relatively recent and worthwhile keeping it maybe wouldn't be quite as clear cut though,but it sounds as if the heat pumps the best option overall for you.
Thought it worth asking as some people make peculiar choices in the belief that whatever the latest,highest technology,most expensive alternative to what they already have must be best.

Reed_Richards

Random34 said:
Thanks Reed.

They've done a full assessment and included for replacing most of the rads and cylinder. They've stated running costs should be less than oil, but this is in line with other guidance I've seen. 

In broad terms your heat pump will most likely have a SCoP of about 3, meaning 3 kW of heat per kW of electricity (on a seasonal average) and oil, per kWh, is about a third of the price of electricity.

I have had a heat pump for almost 6 months and it has cost me £654 in electricity.  For the two previous years my average cost of oil had been £920 per year.  We have the summer ahead of us, with very little heat requirement, so I am hopeful that for the year (to 12th December) I'll beat my "target" figure of £920.  But I don't have a lot of headroom.     

shinytop

Random34 said:

shinytop said:

I would ask:

• what brand of ASHP they will be using and why. 
• what support arrangements will be in place
• do they provide an insurance backed guarantee

Their Facebook page and website look OK and they are advertising for staff.  Companies house reveals they are a new (2020) company with a single director, born in 1991, with a correspondence address a nice house on a nice estate. Nothing bad but not much track record either. 

If you don't mind saying, what is the quote and what is it for?

Thanks shinytop
They've quoted for a vaillant  arotherm plus 10kw heat pump with unistor cylinder with 7 year manufacturer and 2 year installation guarantee.
I did the check on company's house and noted that they only registered last year, but according to their site they've apparently been around for 40+ years. I've spoken with the current owner who tells me that his father stated the business.
The total quote is for £14k for the heat pump, tank, 5 new radiators as well as removal of existing oil boiler and tank.
I've had quotes ranging from £14 to £20k, and they are compatible with igloo's price

That quote is compatable to the one we went with and the others we had.