Octopus Partnerships

Magnitio

Interesting news....
https://www.energylivenews.com/2024/06/27/octopus-to-boost-heat-pump-rollout-with-new-installer-scheme/

Netexporter

Good to hear of that development. There was almost zero chance of me being able to get either solar or a heat pump from Octopus, on account of where I live.

wrf12345

Be interesting to see how it works out as heat pump installers often try to ramp up the cost because of the £7500 govn granr (one local one charges £7500 net, ie £15k overall) and part of Octopus's deal is getting close to zero installation cost due to being able to use existing radiators etc.

stripling

Also Octopus take a £500 deposit before the survey but it is refundable afterwards if you decide not to go ahead. Heat Geeks charge £350 for the survey and while it is deducted from the installation cost it is not refundable...

wrf12345

Thanks for the deposit info, puts me right off...

smallblueplanet

wrf12345 said:

Thanks for the deposit info, puts me right off...

It's refundable right up until the very day before install. With their quotes being ultra competitive I assume they can't afford to lose money on 'wasted' surveys (they take at least a couple of hours).

Reed_Richards

wrf12345 said:

Thanks for the deposit info, puts me right off...

The thing is, your installer needs the survey to tell you what size radiators you need in each room, what the total heat loss of your house is estimated to be and so how big a heat pump you need.  The cost of this survey will be incorporated into the total cost of the installation.  You might find an installer who is prepared to do a survey and write-off their wasted time if you decide not to go ahead.  Or you might not.  A full refund really isn't a bad deal. 

FreeBear

Reed_Richards said:

wrf12345 said:

Thanks for the deposit info, puts me right off...

The thing is, your installer needs the survey to tell you what size radiators you need in each room, what the total heat loss of your house is estimated to be and so how big a heat pump you need.  The cost of this survey will be incorporated into the total cost of the installation.  You might find an installer who is prepared to do a survey and write-off their wasted time if you decide not to go ahead.  Or you might not.  A full refund really isn't a bad deal. 

And it is worth pointing out (again) that this is a deposit, and not a non-refundable survey fee. I wouldn't have a problem coughing up a £500 deposit for an installation that is going to cost £X.XXX.

Many companies will ask for a deposit before starting work, any work, in your home.

wrf12345

Did not see it mentioned in their initial info but probably the next step after being in an area where they are installing, which I was not, still a bit odd that they want the money upfront when they are "happy" to give it back to you if you do not go ahead. Never had a safegas engineer demand a deposit before he came to check the house to give a new quote for a boiler, I realise radiators may need to be changed, although their hot running (Cosy) heat pump is supposed to largely avoid this - is it actually available in different sizes or designed to run to suit the size of the house?

Reed_Richards

A quote for a heat pump is more like a quote for a full heating system.  So that's the heat source (gas boiler/ASHP) plus a set of radiators.  Traditionally a heating (Safegas) engineer might make a crude estimate of what radiator sizes are required or simply make them bigger than they think the radiators need to be.  And if the gas boiler has a higher output then you need for heating, that doesn't add much to the cost or it's a combi and needs a high output for the hot water.  You don't give a deposit but you might end up paying more for the components than you needed to.  

ASHP quotes are done much more rigorously with a detailed estimate of the heat loss for every room, what radiators would be required to match that heat loss and what size heat pump is required to match the total heat loss of the house.  This takes time and effort and this is why a deposit is asked for.

    

Magnitio

The survey I had done by Octopus took several hours and they had 4 people attending in three seperate vehicles. One was being trained and another was a senior guy who seemed to have an opinion on everything, so slowed the whole process. After attending, they had to write up their report and provide a quote. Not a cheap exercise.