INDEPENDENT HEAT PUMP DESIGN · NO SALES, NO INSTALLATIONS, NO COMMISSIONS
WEST YORKSHIRE · ENGLAND & WALES · HELLO@HEATLOSSHUB.CO.UK
HEAT PUMP INSTALLATION QUOTES
A heat pump shouldn’t be selected from the number of bedrooms, the size of your current boiler or a rough guess at the property.
A meaningful heat pump installation quote starts with understanding the home itself.
Before the right equipment can be selected, somebody needs to consider how much heat the property loses, what each room requires, whether the existing radiators can deliver enough heat at lower flow temperatures, how domestic hot water will be produced, and where the heat pump, cylinder, pipework and electrical supply will go.
That is why Heat Loss Hub starts with the property first.
A boiler replacement can often involve selecting another appliance to serve an existing heating system.
A heat pump is different.
The heat pump is only one part of the finished system. The performance of the installation depends on how the heat source, emitters, pipework, hot water, controls and property all work together.
A proper heat pump installation quote may need to consider:
Two companies can therefore quote very different systems for exactly the same property.
The cheapest quote is not automatically the best one, and the most expensive quote is not automatically the most complete.
The important question is:
What has actually been designed?
One of the easiest ways to end up with confusing heat pump quotes is to allow several companies to make completely different assumptions and then compare only the final price.
One company might calculate a 6 kW heat loss.
Another might calculate 9 kW.
Another might decide the property needs a 12 kW heat pump.
They may also use different heating flow temperatures, change different radiators, specify different cylinders and take completely different approaches to pipework and controls.
At that point, you are not really comparing three prices for the same job.
You are comparing three different heating systems.
A better place to start is by understanding what the property actually needs.
That gives you something meaningful to compare.
You do not need to know what size heat pump you need before contacting Heat Loss Hub.
You also do not need to know your heat loss.
Start with the information you are likely to already know.
We will ask about things such as:
Where suitable property information is already available, we can use it to reduce the amount you need to enter manually.
The aim is not to force you through a long technical questionnaire.
It is to understand enough about the project to decide what should happen next. If you are still at the stage of wondering whether your house is suitable for a heat pump at all, that is a perfectly good place to start from.
Your enquiry is reviewed rather than simply passed straight to a generic sales process.
Start with the information you are likely to already know. You do not need to know what size heat pump you need, and you do not need to know your heat loss.
Reviewed by a designer rather than passed straight into a generic sales process.
Depending on the property and what you are trying to achieve, that may be a request for additional information, an independent heat loss calculation, a full heat pump design, a technical survey, an installation opportunity, a review of existing quotations, or advice that a different route would make more sense.
Some projects can be progressed remotely. Others need a site survey. New-build and renovation projects may need drawings or plans before anything meaningful can be designed.
The important thing is that the next step is based on the project rather than forcing every enquiry through the same process.
A heat pump quote should make it reasonably clear what you are actually buying.
That does not mean every installer will present the information in exactly the same format, but you should be able to understand the main design assumptions and what work is included.
The proposal should identify the actual heat pump being offered.
“8 kW air source heat pump” is not enough information on its own.
Different heat pumps can perform differently at different outdoor temperatures and heating flow temperatures.
The model matters.
The selected heat pump should ultimately relate back to the heating requirement of the property.
A proper design will normally include a whole-house heat loss, supported by room-by-room calculations.
This is important because the heat loss affects:
A heat pump should not simply be selected because the property has three or four bedrooms.
The proposed heating flow temperature is one of the most important numbers in a heat pump design.
It affects:
Two quotations using different design flow temperatures may require very different radiator upgrades.
That does not necessarily make either design wrong, but the difference should be understood.
Not every radiator automatically needs replacing.
Existing emitters should be checked against the heat loss of the room at the proposed heating flow temperature.
Some existing radiators may already be large enough.
Others may need changing.
In some properties, a slightly higher design flow temperature may reduce the amount of unnecessary radiator replacement while still allowing the heat pump to operate efficiently.
The design should explain which emitters need changing and why.
Related guide: Can My Existing Radiators Work With a Heat Pump? →
Most air-to-water heat pump installations will require a suitable hot water cylinder unless the property already has an appropriate one.
The cylinder size should reflect the household’s hot water requirements.
The cylinder heat exchanger also needs to be suitable for heat pump operation.
A conventional boiler cylinder is not automatically suitable simply because it already exists.
Depending on the design, the installation may include components such as:
These should be used because the hydraulic design requires them, not simply because they are routinely fitted to every heat pump.
A heat pump installation may require:
Electrical work can be a meaningful part of the installation cost, particularly if the heat pump is some distance from the electrical supply.
Check what physical work is included.
This may include:
A low headline price can become less attractive if important work is excluded.
Eligible heat pump installations in England and Wales can currently receive support through the Boiler Upgrade Scheme.
The installer normally applies for the grant on behalf of the property owner, and the grant should be reflected in the price the customer pays.
The grant reduces the cost of an eligible installation.
It does not determine what the installation should cost in the first place.
That still depends on the property, equipment and work required.
Grant values and eligibility rules can change, so always check the latest position before making a final decision.
Related guide: Boiler Upgrade Scheme Rises to £9,000 for Oil & LPG Homes →
Heat pump quotations can differ significantly without either company necessarily being dishonest.
The difference may be caused by:
That is why comparing only the total figure can be misleading.
A £2,000 saving is not necessarily a saving if one quote has left out work the property genuinely needs.
Equally, a more expensive quote is not automatically better if it includes unnecessary equipment or an oversized heat pump.
Compare the design as well as the price.
No.
This is one of the most common misconceptions around heat pumps.
The output of a radiator depends on:
A radiator that is too small at a low flow temperature may need upgrading.
A large existing radiator may already be perfectly adequate.
The correct approach is to compare each emitter against the heat loss of the room it serves.
Blanket statements such as “every radiator needs replacing” are no more useful than assuming none of them do.
Not accurately.
Floor area, bedrooms and property type are useful for early qualification, but they are not enough for final heat pump selection.
Two houses with the same floor area can have very different heat losses because of:
The final heat pump selection should be based on a proper heat loss calculation and the operating conditions the system is being designed around.
Yes.
Comparing more than one quotation can be sensible.
But try to establish whether the companies are actually proposing comparable systems.
Look beyond the total price and compare:
If two quotations are based on completely different design assumptions, the price difference may tell you very little.
ALREADY HAVE QUOTES?
You do not have to start again.
If you already have one or more quotations and are struggling to understand why they differ, Heat Loss Hub can help review the proposals independently.
This can be particularly useful if:
It is not unusual for the same property to receive several very different heat pump proposals.
For example, one homeowner may be told they need a 6 kW heat pump by one company, 9 kW by another and 12 kW by a third.
That does not automatically mean one company is right and the others are wrong.
The underlying assumptions may be different.
A room-by-room heat loss calculation can establish the actual design requirement and provide a common starting point.
Once the design is understood, it becomes much easier to judge the equipment and installation being offered.
Start by providing accurate information about the property and existing heating system. A final design should normally be supported by a proper heat loss assessment, emitter checks and consideration of the hot water, pipework, electrical supply and installation layout.
There is no single meaningful installation price that applies to every property.
The heat pump itself is only part of the cost.
Radiator changes, hot water cylinder, pipework, electrical work, controls and installation complexity can all significantly affect the final figure.
Many installers provide an initial quotation without charge, but the amount of technical design work carried out before producing that quote varies considerably.
It is worth asking what measurements and calculations the proposal is actually based on.
You can receive an initial estimate without one, but final heat pump selection and emitter design should be based on a proper heat loss assessment.
An accurate heat loss gives the designer a much better foundation for selecting the heat pump and designing the rest of the system.
Many eligible properties in England and Wales can receive support through the Boiler Upgrade Scheme.
Eligibility depends on the property and the proposed installation.
The installer normally applies for the grant on the customer’s behalf.
Not automatically.
First check whether the quotations are based on comparable designs and include comparable work.
A cheaper proposal may genuinely offer better value, but it may also exclude work that another installer has included.
The underlying design matters just as much as the headline price.
START YOUR HEAT PUMP PROJECT
You do not need to know which heat pump to buy.
You do not need to know your heat loss.
And you do not need to have already spoken to an installer.
Start by telling us about your property and what you are planning.
We will review the information and work out the most appropriate next step.
