@rusty agreed.

I hate to say it, but the onus is increasingly on the homeowner to educate themselves as much as possible before a heat pump install, because too many installers simply can’t be trusted to get it right. You have to be vigilant and confident enough to question decisions, otherwise you’re leaving yourself exposed to a sub-par system that you’ll be living with for years.

Posted by: @editor

↑

@rusty agreed.

I hate to say it, but the onus is increasingly on the homeowner to educate themselves as much as possible before a heat pump install, because too many installers simply can’t be trusted to get it right. You have to be vigilant and confident enough to question decisions, otherwise you’re leaving yourself exposed to a sub-par system that you’ll be living with for years.

For me this sums up what I have learned in my 3 year journey so far.  Of course 'caveat emptor' is universally true - if there is an opportunity to scam another human being then some lowlife will find and exploit it.  It has always been that way and in my, now slightly resigned, opinion it always will be that way, because its just a symptom of the human condition. 

Caveat Emptor now applies just as much, possibly more, in information space; whereas we used to have a small number of largely reputable sources of information, we now have a diverse range of often disreputable sources competing for our attention, the principal purpose of which is either to land us as advertising catch or deliberately to deceive us in order to further their own ends, which generally include dismembering or completely eradicating the few reliable sources of information that have survived.  

I cant currently see a way out of this mire born of human greed, which is depressing.  Religion once offered some sort of fairly universal moral baseline, albeit that some of its hierarchy used their position in ways that was less than admirable.  That baseline is effectively gone, certainly in the UK.   We now rely, it seems, on well intentioned (or reasonably well intentioned) people to be successful in getting into positions of power, yet the odds are stacked against them because their opponents don't respect any moral rules.

The only hope I can see is education (which of course some of the bad actors seek to undermine).  In the limited sphere of heat pumps educating consumers and potential consumers might help them to avoid the cowboys and get the rewarding experience that is possible and which they deserve.  

All a bit depressing for a Monday morning!

@jamespa, I agree with you entirely.

Greed, money and power are corrosive forces, and this isn’t a uniquely UK problem at all. I’ve lived abroad, and we still have family living in several other countries... the same behaviours exist everywhere. Different schemes, different acronyms, same human instincts.

I think the frustration here is that we expect better from the UK. Britain has spent decades branding itself as fair, regulated, consumer-focused and trustworthy. When you then see vulnerable homeowners left to fend for themselves, poor work waved through and bad actors protected by layers of “process”, it feels like a deeper betrayal of that image.

You’re also absolutely right about the information space too. The sheer volume of noise, marketing dressed up as expertise and outright misinformation makes it harder than ever for homeowners to know who to trust. Education becomes the only real defence, which is exhausting, because it shouldn’t have to be this way. That's why forums like these are important IMO.

In the narrow world of heat pumps, all we can realistically do is exactly what you’ve said: help people understand enough to spot the red flags, ask better questions and avoid the worst of the cowboys. It won’t fix the system, but it might stop a few people being chewed up by it.

Depressing, yes, but I’d still rather shine a light on it than pretend it isn’t happening, helping people avoid unnecessary stress in the process through the info we share here.

Great article and so true from our perspective. We’re in a third winter with a substandard installation, fitting with the warranty company who covered ‘workmanship’ whilst they try everything in the book not to pay out. 

Our system tends to fail in the cold weather but miraculously it only failed once in the past week which I was able to reset. That being said, in the very cold weather we couldn’t get many rooms about 16/17 and our electricity is over £500 as the pump works overtime to get the house to this low temp!

I also installed the heat pump to help the environment with the added bonus that our bills would be cheaper. So far that hasn’t panned out.

It is soul destroying not knowing how we will ever get the house warm in winter. We also use a log burner to keep warm which seems ironic. 

Hi @fiona - you have described out exact situation! Over £500 a month and a wood burner to keep warm. I've just been out chopping wood as we are nearly running out! We keep the living quarters warm with the wood burner. I echo the soul destroying bit. Keep on keeping on! x