Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS)
I've come to the conclusion that the MCS scheme sets a fairly low minimum standard for installers.
What is clear from other comments here is that the experience of every heat pump installation is different. Far more so than with a traditional gas or oil fired heating system.
During our building works I got the impression that the installer was finding his way throgh the installation manual very carefully. In fact they confirmed that although MCS certified they did very few such installations. There have been a number of false dawns in government policy. Installers who got all primed (at some cost) to do more of this work then found it was not forthcoming. They were not building experince on top of the training.
When the MCS inspector visited to sign off the installation he decided that the heat pump we had was too large for the property. It was a 16KW one instead of a 9kW one (physically twice the size). This was duly swapped out (at no cost to us) but how did they get that wrong?
Grant Aerona HPID10 10kWh ASHP
I've been in touch with scores of installers and heat engineers over the past 12 months discussing a lot of renewable heating things, and one of the biggest industry problems is that companies and installers oversize heat pumps for properties because they don't fully understand how they work or they can't be bothered to do accurate heat loss calculations. An oversized heat pump, from what I understand, would be a complete waste of energy and electricity (as well as money).
I'm glad you got downsized at no additional cost for the work (and hopefully you were charged less for the smaller pump). What heat pump do you have?
The general consensus amongst heat engineers is the same as your summation, in that MCS are not hugely beneficial to ensuring that heat pumps are installed correctly.
Buy Bodge Buster – Homeowner Air Source Heat Pump Installation Guide: https://amzn.to/3NVndlU
From Zero to Heat Pump Hero: https://amzn.to/4bWkPFb
Subscribe and follow our Homeowners’ Q&A heat pump podcast
Mine's the Grant Aerona 9.1kW. COP of 2.66 with air at 7 deg and water at 55deg.
During the period between initial commissioning and the MCS inspection (about 3 months and while other building work was being completed) our first electricty bill was £1k. So I was glad the too big pump was swapped out.
Grant Aerona HPID10 10kWh ASHP
@mike-patrick, that's a hefty electricity bill. Yikes! What's it dropped to now? Have you considered dropping your hot water into the 40s?
Buy Bodge Buster – Homeowner Air Source Heat Pump Installation Guide: https://amzn.to/3NVndlU
From Zero to Heat Pump Hero: https://amzn.to/4bWkPFb
Subscribe and follow our Homeowners’ Q&A heat pump podcast
@editor Electricty uage settled down to a sensible level. But I have a whole post to do on electricity consumption, mostly arising out of my winter of 2021 experience.
Grant Aerona HPID10 10kWh ASHP
@mike-patrick, I look forward to the post on your winter consumption - ours was insanely heavy.
As an aside, would you consider wiring a review of your 9kW Aerona to appear in the reviews section of the site:
Buy Bodge Buster – Homeowner Air Source Heat Pump Installation Guide: https://amzn.to/3NVndlU
From Zero to Heat Pump Hero: https://amzn.to/4bWkPFb
Subscribe and follow our Homeowners’ Q&A heat pump podcast
- 26 Forums
- 2,114 Topics
- 46.4 K Posts
- 64 Online
- 3,410 Members
Latest Posts
-
Delighted to hear this went well. It looks very neat ...
By JamesPa , 3 hours ago
-
RE: No-code, plug-and-play monitoring for your heat pump
The issue with the Grant is that you have to wire direc...
By Grantmethestrength , 7 hours ago
-
RE: Is this just haze or something more?
I am not a scientist nor a meteorologist and I know the...
By Toodles , 7 hours ago
-
RE: Benefits of an extra horizontal loop for GSHP
It will improve performance, but by how much depends on...
By Brendon Uys , 12 hours ago
-
RE: The good, the bad and the not that great – my heat pump installation
Said I would pop back with a update. Only Mr Jesus h...
By Burtis , 1 day ago
-
RE: Buffers, hot water and cooling
Thats presumably heat pump DT, what about radiator DT a...
By JamesPa , 1 day ago
-
RE: Who's your electricity provider and what's your tariff?
@chandykris Exactly the same here. We now have 13.5kWh ...
By Old_Scientist , 2 days ago
-
Compressor and Evaporator Stratification
I have had a few issues with my Hitachi spilt heatpump ...
By trebor12345 , 2 days ago
-
RE: Wood burner with ASHP - direct air?
This depends on the size of your wood burner and size/t...
By Lucia , 2 days ago
-
RE: Difficult positioning of air source heat pump
@rikiarn It's a not a buffer it's a volumiser which is ...
By Lucia , 2 days ago
-
RE: Is your heat pump insured?
To make things clear, lots of insurance companies cover...
By Lucia , 2 days ago
-
RE: Boxt Heat Pump Installation Experience
@adrian any updates since installation? How is it perfo...
By Ashfp , 2 days ago
-
RE: Say hello and introduce yourself
Hi @seatonian - Yes, I know Seaton, and I have the Nat...
By Transparent , 4 days ago
-
@seatonian got your email. Will connect you with a reco...
By Mars , 4 days ago
-
@downfield and @toddles, this isn’t in the settings cur...
By Mars , 6 days ago
-
RE: Homely launched for Grant Aerona ASHP control
I haven't bought the Aerona Smart Controller (£700!) bu...
By Prunus , 6 days ago
-
RE: Antifreeze top up for my heat pump - is this a rip off?
For the record, Grant supply ethylene glycol for their ...
By Prunus , 6 days ago
-
RE: Compressor attempts start but fails - Nibe Fighter 2005 8kW
@skyefarmer amazing. Well done!
By Mars , 7 days ago
-
RE: Air source heat pump roll call – what heat pump brand and model do you have?
Ebac 5kw - Monobloc R32. Developed and made in UK - Mit...
By marcinwloch69@gmail.com , 1 week ago
-
RE: Is a Valliant Inline 6kW heater a BUS buster?
Just another thought - it might be worth thinking about...
By JamesPa , 1 week ago