@editor did you get any takers? I think you probably know most of the reasons and could summarise on behalf of the entire forum back to these people?

I volunteered (I heard about this via another route).  They were initially going to include me but this morning cancelled.  Because I have (more or less) given up on having a heat pump installed, but intend still to install myself, I didn't 'fit' apparently.  I would have thought someone committed to heat pumps who has been put off by the industry (but still intends to battle through albeit on a DiY basis) might have been a useful viewpoint. 

Hopefully @editor (or someone else) is taking part 

Posted by: @jamespa

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I volunteered (I heard about this via another route).  They were initially going to include me but this morning cancelled.  Because I have (more or less) given up on having a heat pump installed, but intend still to install myself, I didn't 'fit' apparently.  I would have thought someone committed to heat pumps who has been put off by the industry (but still intends to battle through albeit on a DiY basis) might have been a useful viewpoint. 

Hopefully @editor (or someone else) is taking part 

Being the old cynic that I am, I suppose who is included or not, will depend upon 'what result this company has been instructed to achieve' from the data being collected. If you collect the correct data, you will achieve the desired outcome. 🙄 

@derek-m I had the same cynical thought.  As it happens my comments would have related to regulation, installation industry and engineering challenges, so they could have picked/chosen which sector to choose/accuse of being the problem.  Im hoping someone from this forum is taking part, if not then it seems an opportunity either lost or from which we have been excluded.

So:

trying to put a "I'm not an  engineer, I didn't install my own HP and I don't spend hours reading about this stuff" hat on, the below would be my worries . i.e. the reasons I'd not recommend a heat pump to my parents, or my neighbours or friends (at least those who are not engineers 😉

1. hard to get quotes (companies don't respond)
2. hard to find a reliable company with a proven track record 
3. hard to use local companies (majority of local Plumbing/Heating Engineers not part of this yet) so forced to look further afield.
4. heat pump costs more to run than gas
5. heat pump costs more to install than gas
6. heat pump may leave you with a cold house
7. heat pump may be noisy (internally and externally)
8. heat pump struggles with an old / draughty "hard to heat" house
9. heat pump requires substantial changes to the inside of the house : new radiators, potentially new pipework, find room for a cylinder if a combi , and/or replace old cylinder.
10.  heat pump requires more technical knowledge by the end-user (or an installer with really good aftercare) to keep an eye on it and make sure it "behaves itself" in the long term. vs a gas install which will "just work".

before anyone says "no we know the solution to point N / point N isn't true"  I know there are , or are potentially  , "no buts" to all of the above and they can pretty much all be negated as issues when the heat pump design/install is done properly by the right people. that's not what I am saying.

I'm trying to put a "mr joe public" hat on in suggesting the above as potential "reasons I might not have done it" if I didn't have the background that I do - so with that hat on, do the above make sense and what would people add?

Opinion:

If I was to be asked help a non-technical friend or relative on this journey, my personal biggest reasons to say "actually, don't bother" would be (2) and (10).  

thoughts?

@editor can I have the survey fee please? 😉

Posted by: @jamespa

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I volunteered (I heard about this via another route).  They were initially going to include me but this morning cancelled.  Because I have (more or less) given up on having a heat pump installed, but intend still to install myself, I didn't 'fit' apparently.  I would have thought someone committed to heat pumps who has been put off by the industry (but still intends to battle through albeit on a DiY basis) might have been a useful viewpoint. 

Hopefully @editor (or someone else) is taking part 

Wow, that's crazy because earlier this week they confirmed you were accepted. I'll send them an email, but there may be an alternate agenda as Derek says. They've refused to tell me who the client is – I assumed it was a manufacturer, but it may be a national installer. 

@iancalderbank I think you have pretty much nailed it.  As you say many of these either are not true or don't need to be true, but I think the public perception is pretty much what you state.  Id probably go for 2, 3 and 10 as the main reasons if I were trying to suggest to a non-technical friend that they should delay (but id offer to help with 10).  Incidentally it could be argued that #10 is at least in part because current users (by and large the 'green' community)  are trying to optimise things and get the last 10% out of the pump.  Nobody bothered doing this with a gas boiler, at least not until recently, so is a heat pump really different in this respect?  if WC is set up and the radiators balanced, just leave it on!

From the tone of the communication I had with the MR company, the likely output would be some sort of marketing/information campaign.  Personally I think that's potentially counterproductive until the things in your list which are true but don't need to be true are fixed. 

@editor they refused to tell me too (I told them that I would only contribute if it was someone promoting heat pumps not someone trying to promote magic alternative technology.  They did confirm that it was someone promoting heat pumps, it felt like an octopus or British gas type operation from the tone of the response, but thats pure supposition.

@jamespa, I suspected it might be British Gas when we were first contacted. Interesting.

@iancalderbank @editor It would be interesting to take @iancalderbanks list and use it to devise a considered answer to the question If you were 'in charge' what would you change (answers to be within the bounds of sensible political reality, the laws of thermodynamics, and where its an engineering solution preferably based on existing technology).  If we could reach a collective conclusion it might be useful in interactions, such as they are, with those who can change things.

What do you think, and if you do think its a good idea does it merit a new topic, with the 'list' somehow curated?  I would be happy to do a 'starter for 10'.

@iancalderbank Re: the list: A few comments based on my experience in researching the subject and then finding an installer.

1. hard to get quotes (companies don't respond) Indeed, getting responses was long winded and tedious, I know I specified that they must have MCS registration at the very least but out of 30 companies I contacted, only 7 returned my email with any response at all. Of those, 2 told me I was outside their area, one gave me a quote based on my measurements but without visiting at all - then withdrew saying they didn’t cover my area after all. One surveyed but declared they could not carry out a mutually satisfactory install for me. Of the other 3, one could not install the setup I required and the other 2 quoted after surveying the property.
2. hard to find a reliable company with a proven track record  Yeap Russian Roulette!
3. hard to use local companies (majority of local Plumbing/Heating Engineers not part of this yet) so forced to look further afield. Absolutely, and I am in Berkshire!
4. heat pump costs more to run than gas This of course is tariff and policy related; I think I will be paying less because the gas boiler was very oversized and never set to correct rating for the property (British Gas)
5. heat pump costs more to install than gas Even with the ‘BUS’ I still paid far more than for just a new gas boiler - but comparing apples with elephants is not that easy!
6. heat pump may leave you with a cold house There is that fear with some people, (house owners and installers alike!)
7. heat pump may be noisy (internally and externally) Again, a fear that is difficult to disprove on a ‘one-off’ basis to a prospective unless they visit a similar installation to the proposed one. Even then, the installation could make a big difference if not carried out well.
8. heat pump struggles with an old / draughty "hard to heat" house A fear but surely irrational!
9. heat pump requires substantial changes to the inside of the house : new radiators, potentially new pipework, find room for a cylinder if a combi , and/or replace old cylinder. Yes, this fear may be well founded for some, I chose to have a Sunamp Thermino for DHW as we just do not have space anywhere for a 210 litre tank!
10.  heat pump requires more technical knowledge by the end-user (or an installer with really good aftercare) to keep an eye on it and make sure it "behaves itself" in the long term. vs a gas install which will "just work". This fear may have good grounding, the system may well work but, how efficiently might depend on the installer and the interest / keeness / ability of the user to optimise the system and use it sensibly. Regards, Toodles.

@editor is it s survey intended to, ultimately, improve the take up of ASHP and renewable heating? Or a survey by an organisation with a vested interest in trying to scupper and demonize renewable heating at every opportunity. For the latter, you need look no further than the EUA https://www.eua.org.uk/ and the blogs of their CEO Mike Foster. To say he 'has it in for ASHP' is something of an understatement.