ASHP service costs
I have just been quoted £245 pa servicing for a new Vaillant 12kw machine, this is certainly more than I expected and more than servicing my oil boiler cost (and that actually involved more than just cleaning leaves out).
What figure are other people paying for servicing and does it pay to shop around (whilst maintaining RHI compliance)?
We're charged £250 per year, but it's one of those things you have to pay for in order for the warranty not be voided. While the servicing is quite straightforward, it's important to get the heat exchanger cleaned if you have any debris or bits in the system which helps with the efficiency and overall performance.
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I have just been quoted £300 to service my heat pump. How much is everyone else paying?
Last year we paid £193+vat to have the ASHP and unvented cylinder serviced. They also inspected every radiator in the house and 3 underfloor heating manifolds.
Mitsubishi Ecodan 14kw ASHP + 500l Cylinder
Our installer quotes £160 for an ASHP service, but I suspect this doesn't include the cylinder. Mitsubishi themselves have a price of £162 on their website for ASHP only, going up to £243 for ASHP + cylinder.
I haven't really shopped around too much yet as our system was only installed a couple of months ago.
Do people generally take out service plans which include an element of emergency cover for their systems? Again Mitsubishi have a price on their website of £36 per month, or £388 one off payment, for their "3 Diamond" cover which includes all parts and labour in the event of a breakdown. Our installer charges £40 per month for the same service.
As a comparison, we used to pay £180 per year for our annual LPG boiler service and breakdown cover.
Global Energy Systems charge £250 – this entails cleaning out the heat exchanger in the heat pump along with a few other small things.
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Listed Grade 2 building with large modern extension.
LG Therma V 16kw ASHP
Underfloor heating + Rads
8kw pv solar
3 x 8.2kw GivEnergy batteries
1 x GivEnergy Gen1 hybrid 5.0kw inverter
Manual changeover EPS
MG4 EV
@tim441 I’m not so sure I would entertain such a contract; it appears to be a general checkover but excludes parts. The cost is just over 50% of my present cost but….. Toodles.
Toodles, he heats his home with cold draughts and cooks his food with magnets.
I'm not sure... afaik most contracts will not include parts?
Perhaps one simple advantage is to tick the box for warranty purposes.
Listed Grade 2 building with large modern extension.
LG Therma V 16kw ASHP
Underfloor heating + Rads
8kw pv solar
3 x 8.2kw GivEnergy batteries
1 x GivEnergy Gen1 hybrid 5.0kw inverter
Manual changeover EPS
MG4 EV
@tim441 Ah yes! I am comparing apples with hefalumps I think! My service contract is for annual service and replacement parts and labour if repairs are required. Sorry to confuse. Toodles.
Toodles, he heats his home with cold draughts and cooks his food with magnets.
It seems that most charge around the £200 inc Vat. We charge £150 + Vat but this would include the cylinder, G3 compliance, controls, set up, electrical connections check (yes we really do take all the covers off) a sneaky look at the monoethylene through a refractor if used, sound, vibration, condensate, filters, strainers, connections, clean and evaporator coil clean amongst other items to check. I am not sure of any manufacturers that would entertain upholding extended parts warranty if a service check was not completed as it is likely if neglected and the evaporator was allowed to block or the system wander into disrepair over a couple of years that damage could be done to the compressor and thats the most expensive component in the system.
After the initial 2 years workmanship warranty a service agreement will also get you in addition to the manufacturers extended parts warranty on to a priority list so you get looked after in years 3-20 ahead of many others in the event of a break down like all good agreements.
At the moment and the whole point of this forum, you will see that there are not many good installers or service companies out there, there is also not that many ASHP systems in a single town / county so imagine an engineer costs £45k + 14% taxes + 10% pension + 25% to cover holiday and a further 25% to cover legal qualifications and certification it can work out very expensive like £500 per day, so 2 services per day at the moment = £250 per service to cover costs.
Labour / OH costs to run an ASHP, heating, AC or engineering company in this country costs a fortune, our insurances alone are very expensive due to the risk in the industry. labour and OH costs are and always will be the most expensive part of any construction industry company as it is one of the most regulated industries in the UK.
However there is no legal requirement for you to have the ASHP serviced and you can always forgo your extended warranty parts from the manufacturer if you pay £180 for 7 years and then you need a compressor you would get all of you money back, question is, what is the chance of the major components failing? probably very low in a correctly installed system. Things will probably change soon anyway as there are now a lot of softwares that can monitor and keep your system working perfectly, and as long as you are happy to clean the evaporator 4 times a year, check the system over yourself and have someone you know come round and check the G3 at mates rates then no service needed.
Disclaimer:- I think under building regulations you must have your cylinder serviced under G3 due to pressure safety but its not an enforced law, its more likely if something went wrong and you could not prove you had it serviced your home insurance may be voided for that element in the event of a claim.
under the G3 regulations of the Building Regulations (Approved Document G), it is a legal requirement that unvented pressurised hot water cylinders are installed and maintained correctly. However, there is no specific legal requirement stating that homeowners must have their hot water cylinders serviced regularly.
I hope this helps a bit 🙂
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