Thinking about getting a heat pump. We’ve just conducted this review of the manufacturers.
Please do add any suggestions or experiences you have, to improve this article. Click on the reply button below.
Thanks!
I’ve just had a Grant, which has an A+++ rating. They’re a British company and offer 4 different models - I don’t have access to the price range. The guarantee is only 7 years. If I’d seen your review first, I might have gone with a different option, but I could only get 2 installers to quote and they were much of a muchness. So far, it’s all been satisfactory, with plenty of heat and hot water, but too early to tell yet about the running costs.
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This blog gives Grant a good review and says they’re comparatively priced;
‘For over 40 years Grant specialised in oil fired boilers for off-grid homes, but today the company is leading the charge in the pursuit of renewable heating alternatives. Included in the range is the Aerona³, a highly efficient MCS approved air to water heat pump which delivers exceptional performance, reliability and value.’
Other reviews don’t mention Grant, which is why it’s not on the list. Do continue to let us know how you get along with them.
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Worth mentioning on the article is that the Ecodan specifically, is “ultra quiet”. This allows for it to be placed less than 1m from a neighbouring property, without contravening planning regulations. For my own installation, this was critical! I don’t know about the noise output levels of the others.
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Very important consideration, we’ll definitely include it in a revised version.
Thanks 
Great article! This could be very useful for our household. But are the costs relating to each model/brand inclusive of labour/installation costs? If not, what should we expect for the costs of installation being carried out at our property?
Hi Stuart, Great question! Prices for installation vary upon complexity - location of thermal store and how much pipe work is required. Also - additional insulation may be needed in the house as well to support the ASHP.
A basic install should be £3,000 - £4,000 so that needs to be added on top of prices.
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Thanks Tom. I take it that the £3-4K is not including changing radiators? Can you or others tell me what kind of price this will cost per rad - radiator cost and its installing?
I am interested in the Ecodan - but I think this one will require new rads?
Hi Stuart,
The article has listed purchase price of the equipment, not installation which will at least double the price. Strangely installation costs of ASHPs have risen in the last few years from £8,500 to £10,500 - see MCS report - Renewing Britain. It appears installers have hiked costs in response to demand, so selecting the right installer is important.
The RHI scheme will last until next March, so best to get in before then. From that point, the government looks to provide a fixed grant of £4,000 for an installation, and recons the cost of installing a heat pump should fall to £5,500 - see Sun article.
On the radiators - you need radiators with a good surface area. Traditional rads don’t quite cut it, but if you have modern ones they may well be fine to support. New rads cost from around £185 to buy - check out range here - depending on how many you need to install they should cost around £150 for installation.
Hope that helps 
Tom
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Thanks Tom, much appreciated! 
I’ve been hoping to mission to get the funds together for an ASHP by end-of-year. For me as things stand, this extra £9K+ is a big ask, but I’m optimistic.
Now that I see a grant seems likely available from March 22, this is good news for us. The outlay could just be about £5K.
However, we looked into the government’s Green Homes Grant early this year and found the government failed to deliver. The installers (who on I.W. are limited and not with great reputation) - they claimed the scheme was run incredibly badly, with grants not being agreed/paid and outsourcing the help to the US.
I fear that next March those wanting to make use of renewable heating and gov grants will be let down again.
And of course, this means postponing installation and the saving of GHGs!
Is there more certainty about the new government plans? 
Hi Stuart,
By all accounts the RHI payment will exceed any future grant system in terms of financial benefit, and will close next March, so I’d recommend getting in on that before it closes. You should be able to get an ASHP installed for an average house for £8k- you need to get a few quotes to show how serious you are about getting a good price, and negotiate. If you do that you should be able to get it paid off in the 7 years of RHI payments and energy cost savings…
Thanks Tom - this is definitely being noted by us!