ASHP Potential Remediation Advice

ashpquestioner

Hi all,

I was wondering if anyone might be able to share their expertise or experience with ASHPs and their installation.

I've recently moved into a house with an ASHP and just got round to having it serviced. I didn't have it serviced by the original installer as they didn't reply to me, so instead had it serviced by someone recommended to me.

After the service, the engineer recommended the following work be carried out:

Recommended work to improve performance:
Replace external insulation to ensure sealed and no Heat loss.
Check valve removing and piping correctly so the expansion
vessel can be recharged.
Raise HP on to adjustable feet and waste taken to the drain -
currently drips onto path.
Resight pumps in the loft (currently vertical) - will result in
cavitation and eventually fail.

These seemed like fairly minor things to my inexperienced self, so I was surprised to receive quite an expensive quote for the work.

So my questions are:

How important is this work?

As the system is only 2 years old and the issues would be from installation, do I have any recourse with the original installer?

Many thanks for any help!

nxdmsandkaskdjaqd

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6684096/ashp-potential-remediation-advice

Do you have an MCS certificate for the installation? This should provide you with some guarantee on the quality of the install. Is this a new build that is now 2 years old?

The work is fairly minor but why should you pay for poor quality installation!

NedS

What was the workmanship guarantee provided by the original installer. Did the guarantee pass to you when you purchased the property (was it transferable?). Is it still under guarantee?

Pursuing under MCS is generally considered to be a waste of time. Hopefully your conveyancing solicitor obtained details of any guarantees that were transferable, and you can pursue the original installation company.

@ashpquestioner wrote:

Recommended work to improve performance:
Replace external insulation to ensure sealed and no Heat loss.
Check valve removing and piping correctly so the expansion
vessel can be recharged.
Raise HP on to adjustable feet and waste taken to the drain -
currently drips onto path.
Resight pumps in the loft (currently vertical) - will result in
cavitation and eventually fail.

Poor quality external insulation is very common. If water (rain) can get to the pipes because the insulation is poorly fitted and/or not properly sealed in such a way as to be watertight, that water will leach heat away from the pipes. Less heat means les efficient and higher running costs. A small section of uninsulated pipework in itself is not the end of the world as the heat loss to surrounding air is far less damaging than to water (rain) which is a far better conductor of heat. If replacing, consider using a high quality product such as Primary Pro and Primary Pro sealant. It's not cheap, but is a high quality product and is relatively easy to work with and achieve good results. This is maybe something a competent DIYer could tackle.

I guess they are saying that the expansion vessel has been plumbed in such a way that it cannot be recharged with compressed air when empty. It will probably need addressing at some point, either now or when the vessel fails or needs recharging.

ASHPs generate a lot of condensation which flows out of the bottom of the heat pump. This should either drain away if installed over a gravel soak-away or must be piped to a suitable drain. Allowing it to freely drain over a path will create a slip hazard, especially in cold weather.

Some types of pumps should be mounted horizontally to prevent trapped air causing cavitation. Not ideal, but I probably wouldn't bother fixing that unless it's a really easy job to reconfigure the pipework. Maybe consider it if and when the pumps fail.

ashpquestioner

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82145138#Comment_82145138

We do have an MCS certificate, but it seems like it was insurance-backed for two years, which just ran out a few months ago.

No, not a new build.

I thought it'd be fairly minor too, hence my surprise at a £1600+ bill.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82145364#Comment_82145364

Doesn't appear that I have any workmanship guarantee other than the MCS certificate.

Thanks for explaining what some of that work means. Is it your opinion that it's probably better to deal with these when they actually become issues?

Or is it worth trying to pursue MCS now that I'm aware of them?

Cheers all!

NedS

The insurance backing is so that you are still covered should the provider of the guarantee (the installer) go out of business.

It sounds as if you are now outside the 2 year period of your guarantee, and thus it would be difficult to now initiate a claim against the original installer (or the insurance should they have gone out of business). Others more knowledgeable may be able to advise further on this as I'm not an expert in consumer rights.