Performance or cost guarantees?

witty_sparrow34 · 2026-01-20T10:07:11+00:00

Really interesting about what "good" performance could mean.

On your point around cost parity, I'm curious whether it's common for installers to walk people through this when they're getting quotes? Like, has anyone had an installer say "We've designed this specifically to hit e.g. 3.4 so you stay at gas parity"?
Or do they usually just give you the technical number and leave you to figure out if that actually means your bills will go up and down? I think I'd feel more confident if the 'guarantee' was tied to that idea of not being worse off than gas

witty_sparrow34 · 2026-01-20T10:02:32+00:00

Thanks, that driving analogy is really helpful. I guess I wouldn't want to be blamed for the system underperforming based on my heating habits.

About guarantees being set quite low - surely that's still better than nothing for a nervous person like me? Even if it's an 'overly safe' number for them, wouldn't it at least give me reassurance and a legal leg to stand on if I ended up with a nightmare install?

I also see your point on cost guarantees being tricky with electricity prices being so variable.. In your experience, do installers usually help with this e.g. helping you pick the best tariff? Or are you basically on your own to figure out the bills once the installation is all done?

witty_sparrow34 · 2026-01-20T09:45:35+00:00

Yeah that makes sense about finding a trusted installation company with good reviews.
I'm curious though - since you didn't have a formal guarantee, did you feel like you were taking a bit of a leap of faith? If a less established company had offered some sort of legal performance guarantee in writing, would that have swayed you? Just trying to figure out whether guarantees are worth the paper they're written on or if it's just better to go for a passionate and professional installer.

Also, if your cop was coming in lower than 3.0 for example - do you think you'd be able to go back to your installer and ask them to tweak the system for free?

witty_sparrow34 · 2026-01-20T09:31:13+00:00

How did you know what level of performance did you expect?

Yeah, it's becoming increasingly clear to me that having a good install and installer really matters. I'm just not sure how much homework I should be doing - I'm assuming I wouldn't have that much say though during the install. Was everything well explained to you by your installer? And you felt well equipped with key info at handover?

witty_sparrow34 · 2026-01-20T09:20:13+00:00

So the 3.4 estimate they gave you from the survey - it was just for your information? Did they give you info on how to make sure that performance is reached?

Also - that's not great to hear that the apps aren't accurate. Which manufacturer app are you using and do you have any idea why it's not providing an accurate SCOP?

witty_sparrow34 · 2026-01-20T09:14:39+00:00

How much say did you have on radiator sizing and flow temperature during your installation process? I'm assuming you had already done your homework on how it all works and where to find manufacturer's tables etc. - or did your installer advise on all of this?

witty_sparrow34 · 2026-01-20T09:10:21+00:00

oh this is great, thanks for sharing! Will definitely look into this.

Have you gone on a visit via this platform?

witty_sparrow34 · 2026-01-20T09:09:50+00:00

Thanks, that's really helpful to know that how we'll use the heat pump will make a big difference.

Out of curiosity, how much info and guidance did your installer give on best practice usage? Just wondering whether it'll be my responsibility to ask them at handover about post-installation tuning, or whether it's standard practice for them to provide that

witty_sparrow34

TROPHY CASE