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Global Energy Systems Thurso ASHP

outlawuk · 2026-01-03T15:00:50Z

According to Global Energy Systems' specifications, at 2C, with flow temperatures of 30/35C, the Thurso heat pump is stated to deliver a heat output of 7.88kW with power consumption of 2.67kW and a COP of 2.95, using refrigerant R410A. So where do I begin to express my frustration with this ineffective system? I hope this review can serve as a cautionary tale to others. As the saying goes: caveat emptor... buyer beware. In our defence, my partner and I inherited this system when we bought the house. However, we have experienced first-hand what is effectively a non-existent service, despite an annual £360 charge from Global Energy Systems, a UK designer and manufacturer of heat pumps based in the North West of England. I can understand why some people might be drawn to a UK-based manufacturer, but in my humble opinion, doing so in this case has proved to be a terrible and expensive mistake. Looking at publicly available Companies House records today, I note that for the financial year ending 30 September 2023, the company reported zero employees. The previous year also showed zero employees, and the year before that (2021) showed two employees. There now appear to be two directors. This raises a question for me as a homeowner: is this a semi-zombie company, surviving from quarter to quarter, potentially reliant on government pro-green incentives alongside the occasional private customer? A “UK designer and manufacturer of heat pumps” certainly sounds appealing and worthy on paper, although I have no direct knowledge of what government incentives or payments may or may not be involved behind the scenes. Onto our issues. We live in a five-bedroom detached house in rural Cumbria, about a mile inland and roughly 200 feet above sea level. We have no access to mains gas (oh, how we wish we did) and the property is supplied via an overhead electricity line. The previous owner used oil central heating. The house has 11 radiators in total. Apart from two bathrooms with towel rails and a kitchen with a newer single-panel tall radiator, all other radiators are dual-panel and typical of a high-temperature oil system. Two rooms, in a sandstone section of the house, have no wall insulation but are double-glazed. The rest of the house has cavity walls. In 2025, we installed 300mm of loft insulation throughout the property. The system is a Global Energy Systems Thurso heat pump, paired with their specified UK-made World Heat CLIMACYLSS dual tank, containing 300 litres of hot water and a 100-litre buffer. A separate pump feeds the radiator circuit via approximately 22mm pipework running the length of the house through the attic, with 15mm drops to the radiators. There is a single heating thermostat in the hall. The previous owner (let’s call him Joe) wanted a heat pump. He knew installation was expensive but believed it would save him money in the long run. We know this because we had many conversations with him before and after buying the house, following his sad and costly divorce which forced the sale. Joe approached Mitsubishi, who told him he would need a proper heat loss survey and that most, if not all, of the radiators would need replacing. “Bugger that,” Joe thought. He knew central heating, and with oil the radiators were always hot. Joe then discovered Global Energy Systems. According to Joe, Global Energy told him there was no problem. No heat survey was required. They referred him to one of their installers, and the Thurso model was recommended. Although the output was significantly lower than Mitsubishi had suggested, Global Energy said the Thurso would be fine. Joe accepted this advice and ordered the system. He lived with it for around three years before selling the house to us. Global Energy charged £360 per year for an annual service and electronic monitoring. The system transmits mobile data back to them, allowing remote monitoring and adjustments. Customers have access to a summary page, but when using external control (a thermostat), you cannot remotely turn anything on or off. Global Energy do not permit customer access to system settings. We are not allowed to adjust flow temperature, enable weather compensation or change any other parameters. All we have is the hall thermostat. It later became apparent that the system is set to a fixed “flow” temperature of 45C, except the system is so badly under-sized that it is incapable of reaching this through the radiators, even on mild days. Most days it cannot even reach 31C. What actually happens is this: every time the thermostat turns off, the system continues running in order to heat the buffer tank up to 45C before going into standby. This cannot be stopped. The radiator pump runs for around five minutes, then stops, after which the heat pump typically runs for another 25-30 minutes heating the buffer tank. Only then does the system shut down. This is where things become absurd. 45C is clearly far too much for this system, particularly in cold or damp wea...

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Air Source Heat Pumps (ASHPs)

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Toodles

(@toodles)

Famed Member Contributor

Joined: 4 years ago

Posts: 2711

18/01/2026 8:11 pm

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

Toodles, heats his home with cold draughts and cooks food with magnets.

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Alexander Matthews

(@Alexander Matthews)

Joined: 3 months ago

Posts: 3

20/01/2026 2:30 pm

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.

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Mars

(@editor)

Illustrious Member Admin

Joined: 5 years ago

Posts: 4519

20/01/2026 2:41 pm

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

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Alexander Matthews

(@Alexander Matthews)

Joined: 3 months ago

Posts: 3

20/01/2026 2:54 pm

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.

This post was modified 3 months ago 3 times by Mars

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Mars

(@editor)

Illustrious Member Admin

Joined: 5 years ago

Posts: 4519

20/01/2026 3:05 pm

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?

This post was modified 3 months ago by Mars

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Judith

(@judith)

Prominent Member Member

Joined: 2 years ago

Posts: 519

21/01/2026 12:33 pm

Posted by: @gingervitis

↑

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

2kW + Growatt & 4kW +Sunnyboy PV on south-facing roof Solar thermal. 9.5kWh Givenergy battery with AC3. MVHR. Vaillant 7kW ASHP (very pleased with SCOP 4.7) open system operating on WC

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gingervitis

(@gingervitis)

New Member Member

Joined: 3 months ago

Posts: 4

25/01/2026 9:51 am

@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.

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Alexander Matthews

(@Alexander Matthews)

Joined: 3 months ago

Posts: 3

10/02/2026 4:08 pm

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.

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Mars

(@editor)

Illustrious Member Admin

Joined: 5 years ago

Posts: 4519

10/02/2026 4:13 pm

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.

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Mark Spencer-Smith

(@Mark Spencer-Smith)

Joined: 4 weeks ago

Posts: 2

31/03/2026 1:20 pm

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.

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Mark Spencer-Smith

(@Mark Spencer-Smith)

Joined: 4 weeks ago

Posts: 2

31/03/2026 1:22 pm

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

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Mars

(@editor)

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Joined: 5 years ago

Posts: 4519

31/03/2026 1:56 pm

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.

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