Living the Good Life - mortgage free and living in line with our values

greenbee

Now you're making me feel guilty about the fact that I've been ignoring work all morning (I've dealt with one thing, as it was easy, and am ignoring the stuff that requires brain power). 

themadvix

greenbee said:

Now you're making me feel guilty about the fact that I've been ignoring work all morning (I've dealt with one thing, as it was easy, and am ignoring the stuff that requires brain power). 

🤣 Sorry! In fairness, anything that requires brainpower has been ignored by me all week, so it’s about time I actually did some work!

ladybird1106

My biggest concern was how loud their heat pumps might be, as it would be on the front of our house under our bedroom window . Good to know your finding it quiet.
love 🐞

themadvix

ladybird1106 said:

My biggest concern was how loud their heat pumps might be, as it would be on the front of our house under our bedroom window . Good to know your finding it quiet.
love 🐞

Apparently the Cosy is the loudest, which is impressive as it’s much quieter than I expected - a gentle fan, rather than a hum. Ours is under our bedroom window and you can’t hear it at all with the window shut (and it’s old double glazing - needs replacing). And in the summer we’ll switch to have the water heating cycle at midday so that we use the solar, so it won’t bother us at night then (and I’m not sure it would - it’s quieter than the old central heating system which would groan quite a bit as it came to life - right next to our bedroom.

themadvix

Morning all,

So now the dust has settled and we're warm again, we are beginning to be a bit cross about various aspects of the installation, including the mess it has made of the front of the house. To be clear, we are very happy with the heat pump itself - it is working well, the house is lovely and warm and the pump (and whole system) is very quiet. And the guys who did the installation were neat within the parameters they'd been set. But we feel that there wasn't a clear plan beforehand which both meant we didn't know what to expect (in terms of how it looks) and the guys were making it up as they went along, based on what we'd told them had been previously discussed at the pre-installation visit (seemingly - I'm not sure if they had any plans - it didn't seem that way and we certainly didn't see any). The guy who came to do the pre-installation visit didn't mention at all what the trunking/pipework would look like and was exceptionally vague about where they would put it - he was really only interested in checking the water pressure and having a look around (he was, by far the worst of the 🐙 people we've dealt with - completely uninterested in us as customers). And he wasn't part of the team that installed it (who were all mid-twenties and not homeowners and therefore really should have had more guidance on what they were doing). As a result, we have huge black trunking that goes wonkily (as in there are corners in it) up the front of our property, terminating directly over the front door - and when I say huge, the trunking is 6" wide (and black - who has a black house?! Same applies to the cabling - which is also illogically positioned but that is something we can and will do something about). An alternative would have been to go to the side of the house and up there, but this was only mentioned in passing by the pre-installation guy. If we'd known what the pipework/trunking would look like, we'd have demanded that it did this. And the pipework also runs through Mr MV's built-in wardrobe in parallel pipes horizontally (IYSWIM - not one above the other up against the wall, but next to each other, taking up more space) - again a design flaw. This now means he can't fit in the shelf unit that he uses to store his clothes on.

We are not happy with how it looks, but also we're concerned that a) it could put potential buyers off in the future if we did decide to move (not on the cards, but who knows what the future might bring) and b) it's not going to persuade any of our friends or people walking past that they'd want a heat pump. Which is really disappointing.

So a detailed email with photos will be being sent and follow-up expected. In an ideal world they'd come and re-run the pipework through the loft and down the side of the house (it's a terrace, so I mean front edge really), although I suspect we won't be that lucky as that would be a lot of work. There are mitigations we can take to hide the trunking somewhat, and we'll do that if 🐙 aren't forthcoming. But none of them will really improve the look.

Sorry, that's a bit of a rant, but I think it's been helpful to write it down so that I can get it out and work out what and how we need to word our complaint. 

Greying_Pilgrim

I think your observational note is totally valid - it is your house, and your money invested after all.  And your bit about the "surveyor" being uninvolved in the installation process/work rings true for alot of the trades - BUT you're right in that this is "new-ish" technology, which is supposed to work in a variety of abodes, and the stuff that you've described does have implications - not just aesthetically - for the homeowner, and future owners, but for the promotion of the technology to others, considering the uptake of it.  

I hope 🐙listen to you and do do something to rectify the situation.  Even if you weren't a 'poster address' for the promotion of heat pump installation in your town/county/area, folks have eyes, they can see - they can put two and two together and may perhaps come to the conclusion that HP installation isn't for them because of how the services are connected to the house.  🐙could potentially shoot themselves in the foot/feet, so ought to listen to you.  And yes, with hindsight you could say that you should have been more insistent pipes/ducting etc was put here, not there - but how are you supposed to know all this?  Customers shouldn't have to leave it to installers who have nothing to lose, and no skin in the game, to not put things where it's quick/easy to install, rather than where is least obvious/out of sight lines, perhaps a bit more time-consuming to fit, or 3 more inches of ducting would be used......

You're one of a handful of 'early' adopters tmv - your feedback should be given great weight and consideration. If the technology has moved so that the heat pump itself is quiet (I though the first versions were noisy?), then it's time that the companies/government look at the whole installation process to make it attractive.  These things can be done - I saw the first solar panels (around here) the other week, that had been 'inset' into a roof - rather than set on top of the tiles.  I've never seen that before, but it looked far more attractive, and presumably had no impact on the energy generation status of the panels.  

Greying X

rtandon27

Oh wow Vix - I hear your frustration and rightly so!

Am I correct in understanding that the suveyors/installers did not provide you with a set of drawings prior to installation. Indignant of your behalf that this was not the case!

greenbee

That's really annoying TMV. I've been through several electricians and plumbers on the basis that they don't think... and don't think to ASK. One of my neighbours had a good installer but said they weren't great at the design, and my electrician works with someone who is good at design, so I may well start talking to them both in the New Year. In the meantime, I'm just oversizing all the radiators and replacing what pipework I can as I do the minor renovations. I think I have to accept that there will be longer 15mm runs than ideal upstairs (at least for another 10 years which is when I'm next likely to agree to take floors up), and that downstairs there will potentially be issues with the pipework that's buried in the floors. And I have no clue how to heat the kitchen when I get to that - the ideal would be to add it to the UFH either side of it and turn them into a single zone, but that means channelling into the concrete slab, or possibly even digging it out, insulating, and pouring new concrete...

@Greying_Pilgrim - in-roof solar panel systems are slightly less efficient than on-roof, but not significantly. They're also more expensive (you need the in-roof kit and additional installation). However, if you need a new roof then they're a really good option. There are also new options that can be installed instead of tiles. My house has ugly concrete tiles on the roof (neighbours have nice clay tiles!) so the panels are a huge improvement!

beanielou

How disappointing. 

Cheery_Daff

Oh that's such a shame TMV after all the upheaval! I hope you get some decent response to your complaints xx