Government grant heat pump

Sonny1985

Hi
I just need some advice, my Mum received a government grant to install an air source heat pump which was done through Warma homes. She is a couple of days shy of a year since install. She has gone to turn the heating on yesterday and it came up with an error code. She called Warma who told her to call the pump manufacturer and they should sort it out. She did this and they told her the error code is not a manufacturing issue it is a flow issue and she needed to go back to Warma. Basically Warma have said the warranty through them only covers the pipes, and that she should pay for a service and that in turn should rectify her issue. A service is upwards of £200 and every company she has called have told her she needs to get it repaired before they service it. Surely she should be covered for a repair after only just having it a year?

Reed_Richards

What sort of government grant was it?  If it was Eco4 or similar then the installers may not care much about any issues of reputation and want to wash their hands of it as soon as they have pocketed the money.  It's the downside of some of these grant schemes.  If the heat pump has been in a year then it's probably due for a service anyway.  Maybe you can find somebody reputable to do that and fix the flow rate issue?    

Netexporter

I'm pretty sure that ECO4 heat pump and solar installations are done under MCS terms, so it may be worth contacting them to find where responsibility lies.

wrf12345

Why not search the system name and error code to find out what the actual problem is?

NedS

Sounds like it's a low flow rate error - heat pumps require a minimum flow rate to operate, and if the flow rate falls below this level, they will spit out an error code and stop working to protect themselves. As suggested, you can check the error code in the manual but the installer seems to have already confirmed this.

A couple of common things you (or anyone reasonably competent) can easily check. The system should have a Y strainer fitted - isolate and clean it out. Likewise if there is a magnetic filter, this can be isolated and cleaned. Often debris will collect in any filters which can reduce the flow rate and these should be cleaned shortly after installing a new system. Give them a clean and the flow rates should hopefully return to normal.

Fredw56

Just an observation. Why does it cost £200 to service an ASHP system when it is less than £100 to service an oil boiler system? The oil boiler has filters, soot to be cleaned out, fan to be cleaned, new nozzle, magnetic filter, exhaust gas to analyse and iterative adjustments. Some fitters replace the flexi pipe too. How much is there to do to an ASHP? Or is it just exploitation?

Reed_Richards

I think you'll find that some (most?) heat pumps cost less than £200 to service and some oil boiler service costs are more than £100.  If there is any exploitation it is probably down to the local supply of service engineers being limited.  In my area, getting an oil boiler serviced is very difficult.

Fredw56

Reed_Richards said:

I think you'll find that some (most?) heat pumps cost less than £200 to service and some oil boiler service costs are more than £100.  If there is any exploitation it is probably down to the local supply of service engineers being limited.  In my area, getting an oil boiler serviced is very difficult.

There is no gas in many villages round here so there and many OFTEC engineers. Not all do service but the one we use is just fine. We don’t like towns so have lived in many places off the gas grid. Consequently have decades of experience of oil. 

There perhaps is a shortage of ASHP people here though. The estimates I got recently for swapping to ASHP were absurd. It’s a two bed bungalow with 6 rads on a 22/15mm two pipe system but estimates of £13,500 and £18,500 (the latter is heatgeek) is so high it must include engineers flying up from Holland Park in their private helicopters. 

Adrian_Dorr

If it’s a flow rate make sure all the radiators are turned to maximum?

wrf12345

I am sure there are lots of YouTube videos on DIY heat pump servicing... but it is supply and demand, expect we will have 10,000 Filipino air-conditioner engineers flown in whilst our young people get degrees in maximising their welfare take.