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Is This Initial Free Quote From Octopus Trusted Partner Reasonable?

Air-to-Air Heat Pumps & Air Conditioning

Last Post by Mars 2 minutes ago

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ltron2

(@ltron2)

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Joined: 6 hours ago

Posts: 1

Topic starter 27/09/2026 3:30 pm [#3176]

I'm just wondering if this sounds ridiculously oversized for an air-to-air heatpump to replace a gas boiler in a first floor maisonette flat in the UK; this was a free initial quote from an Octopus trusted partner fairly near my local area and was based on pictures I sent them of my first floor maisonette and all the rooms in it (they haven't come to do a proper survey yet).

For a 61m² first floor maisonette they quoted me £7400 not including the £2500 government grant to replace a gas boiler (which they confirmed should come online relatively soon) with a 10KW external unit and 4 2.5KW internal units (Hitachi of some type, they didn't specify the model) air-to-air heatpump.

Now I don't know much about heatpumps but doesn't this sound ridiculously oversized for a first floor maisonette with a bedroom, office, living room, kitchen, bathroom and landing with a total floor area of 61m²; triple glazing on all the windows at the back, double glazing at the front and good loft insulation with an EPC rating of C and 76 (before the triple glazing was installed)? Is this common practice to send a vague and generic free quote as a first step? Is this reasonable? I'm just trying to work out whether this is decent value or not and appropriate.

I have asked them to consider a cheaper brand like Midea and do I really need 4 units and such a big external unit given only two main rooms which will be prioritised for hearing and cooling (living room and bedroom) need to be 19C or above, the rest can be at 18C (I have clarified this in the followup email)? No reply yet but I only just emailed on Friday.

A hot water solution was not included, but they said they'd provide me with options later. My hot water usage is very low and this is a single person household.

To give you an idea of the heating and hot water demand to keep the flat at 18-19C I am currently estimated to be using only around 3700KWh of gas per year. I think the most I ever used before the new triple glazed windows at the back was around 6500KWh at most.

The government estimates misled me, according to them the cost should be £4000-5000 to replace the gas boiler not including hot water and given the above I thought I might be on the lower end of that. Add in the £2500 government grant when that comes online and I'd be £1500-2500 out of pocket not including hot water and fees to get freeholder permission (the property is leasehold).

https://www.heat-pump-check.service.gov.uk/Results?

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air-to-air heat pump quote

Mars

(@editor)

Illustrious Member Admin

Joined: 6 years ago

Posts: 4876

27/09/2026 9:30 pm

@ltron2, welcome to the forums.

A2A isn’t an area I know a huge amount about, and I’m hoping to record a podcast episode with @ashp-bobba this week to address some of the shortcomings in my own knowledge, and probably that of many consumers in the UK. That said, I’ve had a look at this and there are a couple of things I’d want explained before going any further if I were you.

The first is the sizing. I wouldn’t simply add four 2.5kW indoor units together and conclude that you’ve been given a 10kW heating requirement, because multi-split A2A systems don’t work quite that neatly as far as I know. But a 10kW outdoor unit for a 61m2 maisonette, combined with your relatively low annual gas consumption, certainly looks large enough to make me ask some questions.

I’d want the proper survey to establish what the flat actually loses on a cold day, and then ask them to explain why this particular outdoor unit and four indoor units have been chosen.

The price also feels fairly punchy to me. £7,400 isn’t so far outside current multi-split pricing that I’d call it outrageous, but for a small 61m2 property, with no apparent ductwork, one outdoor unit and four conventional indoor units, I certainly wouldn’t assume it represents good value without getting a couple of competing quotes.

Please keep this thread updated when they come back to you, because A2A is becoming increasingly interesting for UK homes and it would be useful to see how one of these Octopus Trusted Partner proposals develops from an initial estimate into an actual design.

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