@l8again 😱 Fortunately, the readership of this forum are Nause and Savvy rich and care about consumption!😉 Toodles.

Having read your story about your Global Energy heat pump, it almost exactly mirrors the problems we’ve been dealing with since moving into our property in January 2025. We have rooms that simply won’t get warm and often end up relying on electric oil-filled heaters. The system also shuts down randomly in cold or damp weather — which, being in rural Cumbria, happens a lot.

We eventually brought in an expert to assess the installation, and the list of issues was shocking. None of the pipework had been lagged, and the system’s pressure gauge had been fitted outside the unit, giving completely inaccurate readings. And that’s just the start. We’ve spent thousands fixing mistakes made by the developer.

At this point, we’re seriously considering ripping the whole system out and replacing it with an oil-fired boiler.

Sorry to hear that Alexander. Was the system also installed by Global Energy Systems?

It was indeed - Although not by us. But the developer who renovated the property before we bought it. I believe the system is a 18kw Winchester unit.

It's remarkable how many of these systems from Global Energy Systems are beginning to pop up. Can you please email me more photos as well as the commissioning report?

Posted by: @gingervitis

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I will get heat loss dine & already have a installer lined up

they have recommeded vallant and Samsung

I’d choose Vaillant of the two too. We heard too many sorry tales locally from people who couldn’t control their Samsung well. You’ll find them on here too.

But Vaillant controls are excellent even if you need a bit of time to get used to them, the app has made it much easier too

@judith thank you . 

i will get quotes in Feb. I found installer that does vallant and one that likes mitsu. Just want to get this rubbish heat pump removed. 

Following contact with Global Energy Systems they sent out one of their engineers to meet our expert to discuss our system. Multiple defects were found with the installation and engineering solutions were agreed between our expert and GES including a settings change that stopped the error alarms immediately. To clarify the installation was carried out by the original developer of our house along with their plumber, GES didn't carry out design install or commissioning of this install they supplied the unit only direct to the developer. GES have supported us and our expert over the last couple of weeks and we feel much better equipped to improve our system going forward.

Thanks for the update Alexander, and I'm glad that you're getting things sorted out. Hopefully your system will soon be performing the way it should. Keep tabs on it just make sure things are working and that you're happy with the performance. Keep us updated.

It was reading about Mars' woes with his Caenarfon pump that put me off ASHPs when I refurbed my bungalow. Between that and the, I think 2012?, report on ASHP real installation efficacy that has fuelled a lot of heatpumpaphobia. I think much of the current distrust stems from these older reports.
And probably rightly so. The industry as a whole was woefully inadequate but is improving.
I've recently re-evaluated what's on offer and clearly the current generation are significantly better, especially with retrofits. Skills seem to be improving as the old 80c-26kw-and-done gang retire.

Just remember not to travel on the other omnibus. Google that 🙂

Mark, I can see why our saga would have put you off.

That said, with the benefit of hindsight, our system really wasn’t a fair reflection of what a heat pump can do. It was a textbook example of a boiler-style install with a heat pump bolted on top. That’s essentially what a lot of those earlier reports captured as well... systems designed and installed at a time when the industry simply wasn’t ready.

Things are better now. Not perfect, but better. The good installers are designing properly (accurate heat loss, correct pipe sizing, proper hydraulics, weather comp as standard) and when you get those fundamentals right, the systems perform very differently.

The problem is that the technology still gets judged by the worst installs, and there are unfortunately still enough of those around to keep the scepticism alive. I would argue the numbers of poor installs continue to increase.

So I’d agree with you on the direction of travel (it is improving) but I’d also say the risk hasn’t disappeared. It’s just shifted. It’s definitely less about "do heat pumps work?" and more about “have you got the right people designing and installing it?”

On the omnibus comment (for anyone scratching their head and not wanting to google it) it’s just an old expression meaning don’t jump from one extreme to the other. In this case, don’t go from "heat pumps are the answer to everything" to "they’re all useless", or the other way round. The truth sits somewhere in the middle.