Joining the Renewable Heating Hub forums is completely free and only takes a minute. By registering you’ll be able to ask questions, join discussions, follow topics you’re interested in, bookmark useful threads and receive notifications when someone replies. Non-registered members also do not have access to our AI features. When choosing your username, please note that it cannot be changed later, so we recommend avoiding brand or product names. Before registering, please take a moment to read the Forum Rules & Terms of Use so we can keep the community helpful, respectful and informative for everyone. Thanks for joining!
Choosing between two quotes for ASHP, Solar and EV
Afternoon folks, finally at the point where we have two quotes for ASHP and solar with ev so need to decide which to go for. We're going through the Home Energy Scotland grants and loans process so need to decide at this point as the application needs the quote.
First company is https://www.cnerenewables.co.uk/ and the second is https://www.optimumheatingandrenewables.co.uk.
Both get decent reviews, although this is obviously based more on their conduct etc than the nature of the install. The first company is about an hour away and is a larger concern whereas the second is very local and is a single team. Both are 'mastertech' fitters for Vaillant and both have quoted for a 5kwh Vaillent arotherm plus. Whilst neither is a heat geek or the like they do look to be my best options locally, and we've been dragging through this process of trying to get the funding and system fitted for months now so my options are limited. I've done a lot of my own research through this site and feel confident that the system will be competently fitted. Rads are well sized, the house will be a single zone, the system will run from the main controller and not room stats, and whilst both quotes call for a buffer I'm pushing for valves on either side to balance.
The first company can fit the whole lot together, and are slightly cheaper than the second which fits only ashps, and another local guy would fit the solar and battery. Whilst the guy at the first company has perhaps been more helpful, and has definitely got the quote to us a lot more quickly, there is something about using a company which is 10 minutes away which is attractive. And the fact he fits only air source heat pumps and has a good reputation is appealing. The slight concern when it comes to his quote is that he specifies less rads and won't give me sizes until I sign the contract which seems weird however his heat loss calcs are exactly the same as the other company and I suspect he is just designing for fewer larger rads.
I've included all the quotes etc I've had from both companies as well as the extra quote for solar and battery from the other local company. This, incidently, quotes for more panels and a bigger battery which is attractive. Slightly uncomfortable putting quotes up online for too long so I'll probably take these down after a week or so.
An incidental question for other Vaillant users is whether we should pay the extra for the My Vaillant app. I'm inclined not to bother as I'd rather run everything from the controller and am concerned about needing to pay subscriptions etc. Has anyone found it particularly useful?
Any comments on anything which would help me make this choice would be much appreciated.
ALL DETAILS OF FILES ARE IN FILE NAME
Just an observation one quote is for a 250L HW tank the other is for a Sunamp 210 unit, which are expensive, I would get that requoted with a 250L HW cylinder it will then be £1000 cheaper than the other quote.
I forgot to add that the quote for the sunamp was also offered with a cylinder for 1350 less, which is what we would do if we went for that quote. I suspect we would also go for a 200 lt on both instead of the 250. The second quote (optimum) is about £1000 more in terms of plumbing and electrical materials. Its hard to tell if this is because he is being more realistic, or will do a better job, or for some other reason. Whatever it is its quite a substantial difference.
- 26 Forums
- 2,618 Topics
- 61.1 K Posts
- 862 Online
- 6,994 Members
Join Us!
Worth Watching
Latest Posts
-
RE: Renewables & Heat Pumps in the News
Really interesting piece on external insulation, and ec...
By Mars , 4 minutes ago
-
RE: Indevolt Batteries UK Support & Info Thread
Thanks @editor , @indevolt-uk Subject to any comments ...
By JamesPa , 8 hours ago
-
RE: Share Your Experiences with Heat Pump Manufacturer Support
@seoras Sorry to hear that. I found Vaillant very help...
By JamesPa , 8 hours ago
-
The Watchdog That Watched and Waited
On 9 January 2026, Consumer Energy Solutions collapsed ...
By Mars , 12 hours ago
-
RE: GSHP Kaput After 16 Years: New Compressor or Switch to ASHP? Advice Welcome
Cool Energy in Grimsby sell ground source heat pumps an...
By DerekDeLeon , 12 hours ago
-
RE: Valliant Heat Pump Settings
Thats arguably a sign of a good installer - they unders...
By JamesPa , 13 hours ago
-
RE: Electricity price predictions
Well, we have so many cases where rain water mixes with...
By Batpred , 14 hours ago
-
RE: Two heating zones to one zone
@profzarkov They arent obviously wrong, but the only...
By JamesPa , 16 hours ago
-
RE: Towns water feed to air source heat pump system
The DHW circuit cant be separated (well it could, you c...
By JamesPa , 16 hours ago
-
Solis AC-coupled 3kW storage inverter
Solis AC-coupled 3kW storage inverterPylontech batterie...
By MartinRobinson , 22 hours ago
-
RE: My NIBE ASHP Nightmare: No Commissioning, High Bills and a Hostile Installer
As @transparent has observed above, this is not bad, an...
By cathodeRay , 24 hours ago
-
RE: The Grid Says Yes.. Until It Doesn’t: Why Britain's Net Zero Push is Stalling at the Plug Socket
As I was reading this article Mars, I was thinking that...
By Toodles , 2 days ago
-
RE: Tell us about your Solar (PV) setup
Installed in May 2011: 16*Sharp 245 W monocrystalline p...
By txmartyn , 2 days ago
-
-
RE: Say hello and introduce yourself
That doesn't sound 'right' to me. The national Smart ...
By Transparent , 3 days ago
-
RE: Growatt battery disconnected
I doubt this will happen, but I will try and suggest it...
By Eliuccio , 3 days ago
-
Understood. That's why I decided from the outset on a ...
By JamesPa , 3 days ago
-
RE: My experience with 3 heat pump surveys: Heat Geek, British Gas & Octopus
On the litigation, I would not go there and definitely ...
By Batpred , 3 days ago
-
RE: Recommended home battery inverters + regulatory matters - help requested
I suppose if your pv inverter packs up, you have a plan...
By Batpred , 4 days ago
-
RE: New Vaillant aroTherm Plus in black - When will it come to the UK?
Firstly check you are using sound power not sound press...
By JamesPa , 4 days ago
-
That’s the solar up and running, I don’t think it’s the...
By David999 , 4 days ago
-
RE: Seeking ideas / information / commiseration - Pure Drive
I agree with @colinc that you can reuse some of it. A s...
By Batpred , 4 days ago
-
RE: Solar Power Output – Let’s Compare Generation Figures
@toodles Im trying me best to ignore orangeman, I figur...
By Papahuhu , 5 days ago









