Is this a bad installation and is there something wrong with my Samsung heat pump?
I meant to say what was your views on the points I put to you
@david999 I hope your Samsung problems are resolved soon.As to the eye problem; I hope the surgery goes to plan and you get back to good health in your left eye. I am particularly aware of eye problems as have been blind in left since birth and currently have very limited sight in my right eye as I am awaiting hospital treatment for calcium on the cornea. (12 months and waiting as yet) if they can sort that out, I should be able to return to having about my normal 20% vision in the right eye. Tis a bummer indeed but I am glad Specsavers picked up the cancer for you -well done! Best wishes for a speedy resolution to eye and heat pump problems. Toodles.
Toodles, he heats his home with cold draughts and cooks his food with magnets.
@david999 - Firstly, please note that the responses you are getting in this forum topic about your installation can be used as evidence in any dispute.
Secondly, the legal ground which most strongly supports you is the Consumer Rights Act (2015).
This replaced the earlier Sale of Goods Act, in particular by strengthening your rights as regards a 'service' you have paid for, rather than merely the 'goods' you have bought.
Unusually, the route through which the Consumer Rights Act is normally implemented is via Citizens' Advice rather than the Small Claims Division of the High Court.
That allows you access to less combative leverage against a supplier, using Mediation or Arbitration.
That's important because you would encounter legal fees for High Court claims in excess of £5000.
It is commonly the case that a business would prefer to seek remedies under the Consumer Rights Act which can be agreed outside of a court.
That enables them to continue trading without a legal judgement against them which potential customers might find in future.
Nevertheless, there are aspects of your installation which would warrant you involving
- Trading Standards Dept of your (County) Council
- Planning Dept of your Local Planning Authority (LPA) which I would advise you approach through your elected District/Borough Councillors.
It is the LPA who will issue a letter confirming that your installation complies with Part-L of the Building Regulations. They do so following Notification from your installer under the provisions of the Competent Persons Scheme. Councillors are most likely to be on your side once they realise that their Planning Dept is required to issue such letters based solely on self-certification by installers. They receive no income for doing so, and have no funding to pursue Enforcement Action against an installer.
Let's turn to your specific questions:
Posted by: @david999perhaps you can clarify these points.
1. no manifolds fitted just lengths of pipe. Is that correct and how do they work out flow like that because I bet they have no idea of run lengths.
2. Flow is coming through some Trv and some lock shields surely they would have flow all the same and am I correct in that it’s probably crossed over under the house.
3. who do I complain to, samsung?, this company is accredited and can sign off a Samsung 7 year warranty.
4. should I give them a chance to sort it?
5. But I don’t know how bad it is so should I get a Samsung engineer out to survey it.
1: It isn't necessary to feed radiators from a manifold, although installers may choose to do so.
Flow through radiators can be equalised (balanced) using the lockshield valve at the opposite end to a TRV
2: If you're detecting that the Flow to radiators is sometimes arriving at the end with the lockshield valve, then it seems that the installer hasn't paid attention to detail.
However, in practice a heat-pump installation would normally be used with TRVs wide open.
That begs the question of why they were fitted. It suggests that the installer is approaching the work as if the heat-source is a boiler.
3: See comments from @editor about Samsung
4: Citizens Advice will help with this.
In general you should always give a company the opportunity to rectify their mistakes.
Else this would count against you in any future settlement you seek through mediation.
5: I think you do know how 'bad' it is...
... because you're getting lots of technical comments here on the Forum!
You're drawing on extensive experience - far more than most householders with poor installations would receive!
Nothing thus far suggests to me that there is anything wrong with what Samsung has supplied.
Finally, although you are entitled to complain both to Samsung and the MCS, it is usually the case that the extent of their 'sanction' is to strike off the installer.
That doesn't help you to achieve any remedy.
You're likely to achieve a better response by telling the installer about the discussion here on this topic!
We would far rather help an installer to put things right than we would spend time identifying faults.
Here, the installer has access to a vast pool of knowledge and expertise at no cost to themselves.
Better still, their future customers will benefit from correct installations with high efficiency.
That will, in turn, result in further recommendations.
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@transparent I’m old school Mars and always try to resolve matters at source, escalated complaints often results conflict. I’m not certain if all the issues have been identified and two schools of thought. Firstly request a survey by the Samsung agent in my area to highlight the issues then get the installer to repair. Request a visit by the installer to review and perhaps providing an installation drawing and we can discuss. I don’t mind the cost of getting samsung out it’s getting them to come out.
I saw your comment on the TRV and I agree that the heating engineer is approaching this as a conventional boiler. But Mars how do you control individual room temperatures without TRV and I’m confused regarding the room stat because it’s clearly cycling the heat pump, or at least shutting it down for long periods whilst house up to temp.
Posted by: @david999I saw your comment on the TRV and I agree that the heating engineer is approaching this as a conventional boiler. But Mars how do you control individual room temperatures without TRV and I’m confused regarding the room stat because it’s clearly cycling the heat pump, or at least shutting it down for long periods whilst house up to temp.
Like you we were confused for years because our install was subpar. When an open loop, bufferless system is correctly designed, the water running through the pipework to balanced rads and/or UFH brings rooms across the property to the design temperature, 21C in most cases. Installers like @heacol, for example, will only 'allow' for TRVs in bedrooms where people prefer to sleep at temperatures less than 21C (19C for example).
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@david999 Assuming you don’t wish to vary the day to day temperature of any given room relative to that of any other, it is normally the job of the lockshield valve. With the TRV fully open, you spend some hours / days gradually adjusting the lockshield valve (from fully open at the start to nearly closed probably, as often the control is in the last half turn before fully shut) until your room reaches a comfortable temperature. If you should happen to make vast changes to the flow temperature then this will in turn require further adjustment of the valve. However, don’t despair, if you have weather compensation on the pump set as you require it and you control the leaving water temperature sensibly (Start at 35- 40 degrees C. And adjust down if too warm in the house, the lower the LWT, the more efficient the pump will be) you will find that you can go round all the lockshield valves in turn tweaking them to your satisfaction As to the TRV’s, regard these as a limiter to prevent overheating only; set them perhaps a degree or two above the maximum temperature you require in the room. The idea of using the lockshield to do the controlling is that it presents a constant resistance to the pump enabling the system to function with far less variable factors being thrown at the heat pump when it is doing its’ best to provide you with a constant heat source that responds to the foibles of the British Climate!😉 Regards, Toodles.
Toodles, he heats his home with cold draughts and cooks his food with magnets.
@david999 Yup! Since retiring, I have had far more calls on the NHS than I did all my working life! Hernia (plus removal of tangled appendix whilst they were ‘in there’) cancer of the prostate, *bladder probs after radiotherapy but manageable) [Feel like a ‘proper Charlie’ now of course]. Type 2 diabetes, [diet controlled] a long running mystery heart problem (going for another CT Scan in a month or two…… Keep Smiling!😊 Toodles.
Toodles, he heats his home with cold draughts and cooks his food with magnets.
Mars, do you think it might be a good idea to have a Forum Subject just on the setting of Lock Shield valves? I’m happy to contribute but am no expert or a plumber or an installer…Regards, Toodles.
Toodles, he heats his home with cold draughts and cooks his food with magnets.
@toodles due a inguinal hernia operation shortly, had one side done and tried to avoid the other but met the consultant who I tried to talk out of it telling me your getting it in 4-8 weeks geez that’s me out the game for a few weeks. But I may be fit to play about with my valves to kill the boredom. Got a wee flutter going on with my ticker but fit and had that new heart scan program they are doing and valves arteries etc are ok but to be honest I expected an issue. Had my prostrate checked a few times and it’s fine so far.
@david999 Looking on the bright side, as you say, you may be able to while away some hours tweaking the lock shield valves (the spill chicken doesn’t seem to like ‘lockshield’ for some reason!) I hope the NHS will triumph for you and that you have a speedy recovery. Us ‘wrinklies’ owe it to the world to optimise our heating systems to cut our own costs and help to improve the environment! Regards, Toodles.
Toodles, he heats his home with cold draughts and cooks his food with magnets.
Posted by: @david999I saw your comment on the TRV and I agree that the heating engineer is approaching this as a conventional boiler. But Mars how do you control individual room temperatures without TRV and I’m confused regarding the room stat because it’s clearly cycling the heat pump, or at least shutting it down for long periods whilst house up to temp.
I'd like to add to what @editor has already replied to this.
You need to avoid the heat-pump cycling on/off.
Using the compressor to bring the transfer fluid up to pressure again really chews through the electricity.
So you leave the rad-valves open (no active TRVs), and instead you control the Leaving Water Temperature (LWT) and flow from the Heat Pump itself.
The idea is to keep the heat-pump operating such it doesn't quite succeed in attaining the temperature setting on the room-stat.
Take a few moments to think this through.
It's a very different strategy to how we operate a boiler.
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