Octopus - pipe route over flat roofs

koru

I thought it might save others delays and effort if I share that Octopus say they do not carry out any installation that requires piping to be routed over flat (or sloping) roofs. So, this is another way in which they are cherry-picking the easiest installs.

I just had Octopus visit to do a resurvey, as their original proposed route for the pipes to my upstairs airing cupboard incorrectly assumed they could access it from our attic. In fact, there's flat roof above the airing cupboard, so the attic won't work. There's an alternative route that other installers are happy with, running the pipes up to our flat garage roof and in through the wall above it. But the Octopus surveyor took one look and said they won't do any work that involves installers being on any form of roof. This means there is no feasible piping route with Octopus, so he did not bother to continue the survey. Thus, 8 months after I accepted their quote, they are not an option for me. 

So, they are apparently happy to work on scaffolding, if this is needed to run a pipe up a wall and into an attic, but not to work on any sort of roof. It is hard to see how a flat roof 3 metres up is worse than scaffolding at 6 metres, but I have no energy for further discussion with Octopus. I still wish them well, as they are making heat pumps financially viable for the mass market, as long as you fit their criteria.

In a way I'm quite pleased they have ruled themselves out, because I think I'll get a better installation with Heat Geek. Octopus were £6k cheaper than any other quote, which was hard to turn down, but now the price differential to go with Heat Geek is potentially low enough that I can go with them. 

FreeBear

When I looked at the specs for a heat pump (Daikin), the pipe run to a water tank is limited to 10m - Other manufacturers may allow for longer runs. The preferred location for the cylinder was in an upstairs bedroom, so I would have been right on the 10m limit.

If you can relocate the cylinder to a more favourable position that would avoid the need to run pipes over a flat roof, I would encourage you to do so.

koru

FreeBear said:

If you can relocate the cylinder to a more favourable position that would avoid the need to run pipes over a flat roof, I would encourage you to do so.

There is no feasible alternative location. The pipe run over the flat roof would be 8-9m, total. (Way shorter than they were planning through the attic.)

FreeBear

Two problems with long runs of pipes, particularly outside - They need to be fixed at regular intervals. On a flat roof, this would mean puncturing the felt and there would be a risk of leaks. The pipes would also cause issues when the roof covering needs to be replaced.

The pipes need insulating - long runs means bigger heat losses, and there is a limit as to how much insulation can be wrapped around pipes.

matt_drummer

I think the OP is assuming that they won't install because they don't want to work at height.

This is not the reason in my experience.

The reason they won't go on the roof is because of the risk of damage to the roof and complications arising from that damage either during or after the installation.

They want to do cheap basic installs with minimal risk of complications.

koru

matt_drummer said:

The reason they won't go on the roof is because of the risk of damage to the roof and complications arising from that damage either during or after the installation.

Regardless of the reason, anyone hoping to benefit from Octopus's cheap prices should bear in mind that they will only do an install if there's a viable pipe route that does not cross a flat roof.

koru

FreeBear said:

On a flat roof, this would mean puncturing the felt and there would be a risk of leaks.  The pipes would also cause issues when the roof covering needs to be replaced.

The pipes need insulating - long runs means bigger heat losses, and there is a limit as to how much insulation can be wrapped around pipes.

In this case, there would be less than 3 metres crossing the roof and less piping outdoors than under the original route Octopus planned.

You raise a good point about renewing the roof covering, however. I'll discuss this with the other installers, who have no problem with a flat roof.

matt_drummer

koru said:

matt_drummer said:

The reason they won't go on the roof is because of the risk of damage to the roof and complications arising from that damage either during or after the installation.

Regardless of the reason, anyone hoping to benefit from Octopus's cheap prices should bear in mind that they will only do an install if there's a viable pipe route that does not cross a flat roof.

Their prices are cheap because they only do easy installations with minimal risk of complications.

If they undertook more complex and risky installations they would be more expensive.

There are plenty of other installers to choose from with the benefit of not being restricted to one brand of heat pump.

Reed_Richards

koru said:

.... I think I'll get a better installation with Heat Geek.... 

I get nervous when people refer to Heat Geek as if it was a single entity, as opposed to "an open community of heating engineers" which is how they describe themselves.  Have a look at the section of this website for a better understanding of Heat Geek installers: https://www.heatgeek.com/installers/ .   AFAIK different Heat Geek installers could offer you different quotes.

koru

It is just shorter than referring to "my local Heat Geek affiliate".

Reed_Richards

Yes, I just wanted to be sure that you knew that you might have more than one "local Heat Geek affiliate".