What are people’s opinions on paying for a heat loss surveys for an air source heat pump? We are thinking of replacing the old gas back boiler in the house we have just moved to with an ashp. We’ve been in contact with a couple of firms. One just gave us a quote after a couple of questions and looking at our EPC. The other sent a guy round to talk it through and then is asking for £350 for a heat loss survey before getting a quote. The guy just said somewhere between £9k and 14k (excluding any gov incentives).
I don’t really know what these surveys are? I get there needs to be a proper survey but 350 seems steep.
If we pay that can we use the same survey with other companies or they going to ask for a survey fee as well?
Having just attended CCs Airsource Heat Pumps webinars on here in September, my main takeaway learning was that heat pump design is individual to each property and its important to get it right. Additionally, the fabric of a house should be considered too… I don’t know about your home, but mine is draughty and uninsulated, so I know I’d be losing heat and wouldn’t need a heat loss survey to tell me that. I’d fix the obvious heat loss issues, before I invested in a heat pump.
I do think surveys can offer a wealth of information and insight into your home - but it’s important to check out the credentials of the surveyor and know how the survey will guide you. If you haven’t already , maybe have Home Energy Planner Survey first - as that would give you direction about the whole house , the fabric, insulation and best approaches for the most gains.
As per the next reply it could well be worth paying for a whole house survey by an Retrofit advisor eg from Eco-furb https://ecofurb.com/process If not in London Retrofit works has similar orgs in other parts. Presumably you know all about the Green Homes Grant? If you put in an ASHP you will get 2/3 paid for (to be deducted from RHI income, but at least you don’t have to lay it out) and then you are entitled to all sorts of other measures grants
Thanks for the replys. I agree a retrofit survey is a good idea and was considering the carbon coop home energy planner.
The thing I don’t really get is that this company are saying that they have to do the survey to give a quote that’s more accurate than a 5k range. I don’t really understand how this relates to a retrofit survey as you have suggesting. Would that give a full enough spec for a heat pump for them to give a quote or do we still end up in the same position? I wondered what experiences people who had fit an ashp had?
I got mine done by my chosen supplier which gives me some comfort that I have comeback if I need it.
If you want to DIY, for example to check what the supplier is saying, I see that there are a lot of calculators online, notably on radiator suppliers websites.
In terms of cost, I reckon it would take 1/2 a day so 350 is not exorbitant if you include overheads.
If I did it again I would definitely want the installer to be accountable.
Ive had 3 “quotes” now for an ASHP install. Technically it is a little difficult to tell them apart and in many ways I think all 3 of them leave far too many questions unanswered for the price they are asking for. The most recent company I have contacted have asked for a £250 survey fee upfront to be deducted from the cost of the install if I proceed with their quote. This is fair enough in a way and it is a company I have already dealt with and am reasonably happy with.
However, it does seem that some sort of Carbon Coop specification service might reduce some of the problems in getting quotes and trying to compare like with like.
I’m not an expert by any means here, just a homeowner asking similar questions. Although what I do know is that heat loss will have an impact on the performance output of a ASHP.
Ideally if you’re in a position to sort out any obvious heat loss issues first (which a home energy planner survey would advise upon), as I understand from the heat pumps webinars - homes should ideally have heat loss issues and insulation installed before a heat pump to determine the type and output of the pump you will need as well as feeling the benefits.
This said you might be trying to benefit from the Green Grant, which I believe has been extended - handy for us trying to understand the order of retrofit, the most effective means of doing things and procuring heat pumps with some confidence.
I just read this topic summary on the Carbon Coops Webpage. It gives really great insightful advice to the very questions we are asking. Here’s the link to what I was just reading. It talks about ASHP and airtightness.