I'm not sure... afaik most contracts will not include parts?

Perhaps one simple advantage is to tick the box for warranty purposes.

@tim441 Ah yes! I am comparing apples with hefalumps I think! My service contract is for annual service and replacement parts and labour if repairs are required. Sorry to confuse. Toodles.

It seems that most charge around the £200 inc Vat. We charge £150 + Vat but this would include the cylinder, G3 compliance, controls, set up, electrical connections check (yes we really do take all the covers off) a sneaky look at the monoethylene through a refractor if used, sound, vibration, condensate, filters, strainers, connections, clean and evaporator coil clean amongst other items to check. I am not sure of any manufacturers that would entertain upholding extended parts warranty if a service check was not completed as it is likely if neglected and the evaporator was allowed to block or the system wander into disrepair over a couple of years that damage could be done to the compressor and thats the most expensive component in the system.

After the initial 2 years workmanship warranty a service agreement will also get you in addition to the manufacturers extended parts warranty on to a priority list so you get looked after in years 3-20 ahead of many others in the event of a break down like all good agreements. 

At the moment and the whole point of this forum, you will see that there are not many good installers or service companies out there, there is also not that many ASHP systems in a single town / county so imagine an engineer costs £45k + 14% taxes + 10% pension + 25% to cover holiday and a further 25% to cover legal qualifications and certification it can work out very expensive like £500 per day, so 2 services per day at the moment = £250 per service to cover costs.

Labour / OH costs to run an ASHP, heating, AC or engineering company in this country costs a fortune, our insurances alone are very expensive due to the risk in the industry. labour and OH costs are and always will be the most expensive part of any construction industry company as it is one of the most regulated industries in the UK.

However there is no legal requirement for you to have the ASHP serviced and you can always forgo your extended warranty parts from the manufacturer if you pay £180 for 7 years and then you need a compressor you would get all of you money back, question is, what is the chance of the major components failing? probably very low in a correctly installed system. Things will probably change soon anyway as there are now a lot of softwares that can monitor and keep your system working perfectly, and as long as you are happy to clean the evaporator 4 times a year, check the system over yourself and have someone you know come round and check the G3 at mates rates then no service needed. 

Disclaimer:- I think under building regulations you must have your cylinder serviced under G3 due to pressure safety but its not an enforced law, its more likely if something went wrong and you could not prove you had it serviced your home insurance may be voided for that element in the event of a claim.

under the G3 regulations of the Building Regulations (Approved Document G), it is a legal requirement that unvented pressurised hot water cylinders are installed and maintained correctly. However, there is no specific legal requirement stating that homeowners must have their hot water cylinders serviced regularly. 

I hope this helps a bit 🙂

@ashp-bobba what area do you cover?

@tim441 Hi Tim, we are in Kent and mostly covering the south east part of Kent only at the moment, so Maidstone, Folkestone, Canterbury and so on.

@editor I had my second ‘Annual Service’ carried out by Daikin yesterday, time taken by the engineer was a little under an hour and most of that time was with his head in the airing cupboard or on his mobile phone. The monobloc unit outside had the Y strainer removed, shaken declared clean and re-fitted. No covers were removed, nothing else was done at all to the external equipment.

Time in the airing cupboard must be being spent on the ‘gubbins’ not contained within the exterrnal monobloc casing. I was informed the magnetic filter was only lightly soiled. I had asked the service engineer to check the inhibitor strength as the system had (unbeknownst to me) drained down in early April in the early hours (following a warm day) when the OAT dropped to 4 degrees as confirmed when I consulted my Homely Dashboard data. (This I topped up the following evening when I found the system refused to start up after a warm day had cooled off.) He checked settings but told me he is unable to test inhibitor level nor did he have any way to top it up.

I’ll just add that the first annual service was a similar experience with regard to time taken and apparatus checked and not a casing screw of the monobloc was disturbed then either.

If any RHH readers have any service engineer friends willing to comment on this matter, I would be pleased to hear what they have to say please.

Regards, Toodles.

@toodles that’s really disappointing to hear. Does the contract or any official documentation specify what a Daikin service should include?

@editor Unfortunately not☹️.

@toodles was it actually Daikin and not a Daikin agent badged as Daikin?

@ashp-bobba The service contract is with Daikin Service Dept., Midlands and Western Region and I communicate via a ‘bristolservice@daikin.co.uk email address. I have no way of knowing whether it is a subcontractor, though there is no trade name on the van… Regards, Toodles.

@toodles I will definitely look into this one, because something doesn't add up. 

Posted by: @editor

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@toodles I will definitely look into this one, because something doesn't add up. 

Maybe you could do a video on it please? Ask all the main manufacturers - Daikin, Vailent, Mitsi, etc., to comment? That would be so helpful.