interestingly no really clear winner. I would have thought someone would have picked up 50% of the votes and a the rest divided by the others. So overall all heat pumps are pretty much equally good or bad in the eyes of the general public.

yep the BISRIA report publishes these figures 2 x per year.

@grahamh I completely understand your expectation of a wider spread in the results – I had a similar thought going into this. What the numbers reveal is actually quite telling. They highlight a core group of 10–12 brands that stand out as the “top” choices among homeowners (and installers). These brands have clearly established themselves as leaders in terms of performance, reliability and customer satisfaction.

At the same time, the results also showcase the diversity in the market, with numerous other brands actively competing and working to "catch up". This spread reflects a highly dynamic and competitive landscape, which is ultimately a win for consumers, as it drives innovation and pushes brands to improve their offerings.

It’s fascinating to see both the established favourites and the emerging players carving out their space, and I think this diversity will only grow as the renewable heating market continues to expand.

As you rightly mentioned it is likely much larger amount of Mitsi heat pumps have been installed than say Baxi.

Perhaps a further useful metric is to see how many off each heat pump were installed.

Posted by: @grahamh

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interestingly no really clear winner. I would have thought someone would have picked up 50% of the votes and a the rest divided by the others.

I think that's a bit of a stretch to be frank.

Given most homeowners will only have experience of one brand I can't see how it would be possible for one manufacturer to pick up 50% of the votes in this poll unless all other brands were so bad that voters were bad-mouthing them left, right and centre. Since heat pumps are still governed by the Sale of Goods Act, I'd expect that scenario to be unlikely and so that relatively modest differences in scores would be quite telling.

Posted by: @grahamh

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So overall all heat pumps are pretty much equally good or bad in the eyes of the general public.

Of course, what @cathoderay said about the importance of clarity in the methodology still holds true and could easily have an impact on the validity of the results, and at the same time we have far better evidence than this poll that quality of design and installation is way more important than the brand of heat pump actually used. As a result, the statement above may well be true but I doubt it would be safe to suggest it as a conclusion drawn from this poll.

I'm sorry, but I have to reiterate you cannot draw any conclusions about overall satisfaction from these results. If I were to put on my academic hat, I should probably say you can't draw any conclusions at all. The main (but not only) problem is you don't know the denominator.

Consider this. Let us say that there are 1000 Ecodans installed for every 100 Baxis. Let us further say that in the real world, only 10% of Ecodan owners are satisfied with their Ecodan, while a whopping 50% of Baxi owners are satisfied. Clearly the Baxi has won in the real world, but what will the poll tell us?

To keep things simple, let us assume 10% of satisfied owners across each brand chose to vote. There are 100 satisfied Ecodan owners, and 10% vote = 10 votes. For the Baxis, there are 50 satisfied owners, and 10% vote = 5 votes. Ecodans are the clear winner! 

A complete reversal of what is happening in the real world!

@cathoderay I think everyone is overthinking this. This is not an academic poll or a study designed to gauge market share or statistical representation. It’s a straightforward, homeowner-driven survey aimed at capturing real-world sentiment about heat pump brands.

People are unlikely to vote for their system if it underperforms, is unreliable or provides poor customer support. The very act of voting reflects a level of satisfaction significant enough to prompt someone to endorse their heat pump. So, while the results are not weighted by installation numbers, they do provide meaningful insights into which brands are resonating most with homeowners.

You make a valid point about denominator effects – larger brands with more installations naturally have more potential voters. However, this doesn’t diminish the results. If a brand like Mitsubishi Electric has a larger installed base and still garners strong support, that speaks volumes about the consistency of homeowner satisfaction across such a wide audience.

These awards were intentionally designed to be simple and transparent to get as many votes from homeowners as possible. Their purpose is to celebrate the brands that homeowners trust and recommend – not to dissect market dynamics in academic detail. For our first year, keeping the methodology straightforward felt like the right choice, and the feedback we’ve received from participants reflects that.

I stand by the results as a meaningful snapshot of homeowner preferences and satisfaction.

@editor - I may have hinted at what my academic response might have been, but I am not getting bogged down in dissecting market dynamics in academic detail! My main point is a lay one, you cannot come to any conclusions about actual satisfaction in the real world, as my hypothetical Ecodan vs Baxi example above shows. In that example, the poll results are not only wrong, they are downright misleading.

The problem is you only have the counts, the numerator, a number which could be influenced by any number of different factors. Without some sort of denominator, all you have is a number, which is impossible to interpret. To get to a point where you can "celebrate the brands that homeowners trust and recommend" simply isn't possible.

@cathoderay, I strongly disagree with the assertion that these results are “misleading.” In fact, I think your critique overlooks the fundamental point of what this poll represents.

Yes, Mitsubishi Electric likely has a larger installed base – but dismissing their win because of that is to ignore the sheer scale of their achievement. A bigger denominator doesn’t guarantee success; in fact, it increases the risk of dissatisfied customers. If their systems weren’t delivering on performance, reliability, customer support or other factors, those homeowners wouldn’t have voted for them. You can’t force satisfaction or loyalty, no matter how large your market share.

The idea that the results are “just numbers” without meaning is also flawed. These aren’t random numbers. They weren't plucked from the sky. They’re votes from actual homeowners endorsing brands they trust and recommend. That trust, earned in real-world conditions, is exactly what the award celebrates. If a brand like Mitsubishi Electric can scale to such a large audience while maintaining enough goodwill to secure the top spot, that speaks volumes about their consistency and the value they deliver to their customers.

Your hypothetical example of Ecodan vs. Baxi might work on paper, but it doesn’t reflect reality. It assumes a uniform voting rate and satisfaction level across all brands, which is simply not how consumer behaviour works. Dissatisfied customers are far less likely to participate in a poll like this, while satisfied ones are motivated to share their positive experiences. The votes themselves are a meaningful indicator of trust, not a random fluke skewed by installation numbers.

Finally, let’s not confuse simplicity with a lack of validity. The purpose of this award was to give homeowners a voice, not to create an academic-level analysis of market dynamics. Transparency about the methodology and scope has now been provided, and we’ve never claimed this to be anything more than what it is: a straightforward celebration of the brands homeowners believe in.

You’re welcome to critique the methodology, but it doesn’t negate the value of these results. Over 5,700 votes were cast and that carries weight. This is about amplifying real-world experiences, not about ticking every academic, statistical box. 

@editor I feel that though the ‘answers’ you received are true reflections of the voter’s opinions, there should be more to it than that. Unless you happen to be a Graham Hendra, you are very unlikely to have a very broad experience of more than one (or at most two!) different heat pump installations in any one home. I doubt that many of the voters (including myself) really have much experience of a meaningful range of units to be able to truthfully compare and contrast them. We have a Daikin EDLA 08 8 kW ASHP and we are very pleased with the service it has provided over 22 months or so - but that is the only unit we know at all well as it is the only experience we have. I couldn’t put my vote down as Nibe or Vaillant or ….. well anything else really!
It is often said that brickbats are more likely to be thrown than bouquets presented, we lead busy lives and when we pay for a service, expect to receive it in full! (Mind you, if I receive exemplary service, I do like to say so!).
Possibly a vote on some service or goods that we have had on numerous occasions would be valid as we have a comparison - but without such a yardstick, validity is suspect in my opinion. (OK, I get down from my soapbox now.😉)   
Regards, Toodles.

Posted by: @toodles

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We have a Daikin EDLA 08 8 kW ASHP and we are very pleased with the service it has provided over 22 months or so - but that is the only unit we know at all well as it is the only experience we have. I couldn’t put my vote down as Nibe or Vaillant or ….. well anything else really!

Would you have voted if you were dissatisfied with your Daikin?

@editor Well, if I remember correctly the question required me in my own opinion, to vote for the best heat pump. Were I dissatisfied with the performance of the system, I would not have been able to vote for any make or model! At the same time, had I been dissatisfied, I would have been in contact with my installers and or Daikin in an endeavour to obtain satisfaction! I don’t do sit back and just grumble! Does that answer your question Mars?😉 Regards, Toodles.