Hi @parmstar Have you any final % payment agreed upon receipt of installation documentation? What has the installer said regarding timely supply of MCS certification? It can take a week or so to receive the paperwork.

Unfortunately the responsibility to comply with ASHP permitted development planning conditions and, were relevant, listed building consent or conservation area restrictions rests with the homeowner not the installer. That said, a responsible installer would caution against a proposed ASHP unit size and/or installation location that would not comply with the requirements. They would know about such things as the proximity to property boundaries.

https://www.planningportal.co.uk/permission/common-projects/heat-pumps/planning-permission-air-source-heat-pump

Has the installation been done under any grant scheme such as BUS?

@parmstar, the first thing I’d suggest is that you call the MCS. Their call centre for such matters is quite good I’ve heard. At least they’ll be able to verify the installer’s status. There’s a chance your installation might have been under an umbrella scheme. A phone call should resolve this.

Once you know where you stand and whether the installer is still trading will allow you to look into how you can go about fixing and addressing your issues.

I’m having a similar problem where my installer has gone awol without issuing the certificate, which also means I can’t register the warranty. Pretty sure he’s gone bust now too. I called mcs and the woman was very helpful, checked the certificate hadn’t been registered (it hadn’t) and tried to ring him for me. Ultimately if still no luck you have to go to their consumer code (eg mine is HIES) for contractual issues and technical code for technical issues, but if they’ve disappeared don’t know how helpful that will be! 

So aside from the PD issue (easily resolved with a retrospective planning application), what's the issue here? Given that RHI has stopped, I can't see why you'd need to bother with an MCS certficate?

@hughf hello again 🙂

few things - drain pipe hasn’t been connected properly so there is ice build up all around the pump base. No energy consumption meter has been fitted. Finally it’s not getting to temp agreed - seems as though the ASHP is struggling to get to temp even though it’s going like the clappers! 

re retrospective planning - what happens if they reject it. I really don’t have anywhere else to locate the ASHP- bit of a risk if I do it or don’t do it!

The shouldn't reject it on planning, the noise thing is an issue for environmental health, not planning. Planning won't listen to your whining neighbours, that's not how the planning process works.

As for the temperature issue, you say it's not getting to the temperature agreed, I assume you mean the house isn't, rather than the flow temperature.

@parmstar I also have a lot of ice around the base…I didn’t think it was a big deal but maybe I’m wrong 🙃

@hotheat slip hazard for the kiddos - otherwise not overly concerned although there is drain pipe connected which is supposed to take away the water to the down pipe

Posted by: @hotheat

↑

I’m having a similar problem where my installer has gone awol without issuing the certificate, which also means I can’t register the warranty. Pretty sure he’s gone bust now too. I called mcs and the woman was very helpful, checked the certificate hadn’t been registered (it hadn’t) and tried to ring him for me. Ultimately if still no luck you have to go to their consumer code (eg mine is HIES) for contractual issues and technical code for technical issues, but if they’ve disappeared don’t know how helpful that will be! 

It may be useful to actually name the people rather than the company if possible, since they may just set up business again under a different company name.

@allyfish hi , the ASHP we have had installed is not getting up to the temp we asked for - with our old gas boiler we had it set at a constant 21 degrees as I live with my elderly parents, young kids and my disabled sister. Since getting the ASHP 3 weeks ago this cold spell has been dreadful the last 2 weeks alone has cost us over 750£ in electricity. It’s not

sustainable at all. We asked for all rooms to be 21 degrees and bathrooms warmer but the bedrooms are struggling to get to 20 and hallway won’t reach 21 where the thermostat is located. I have sent a complaint letter to the installer and have tried to exercise my consumer right to a refund as it is within 30 days of install - I am not sure if this is going to be possible. The installer is mcs certified but the design documents were not sent beforehand - unfortunately it was a verbal agreement with a simple design document stating flow temp and estimated annual usage was provided. Family are all fed up as we have had to run supplementary heating despite paying £10k for a new system and upgrading radiators.

@parmstar I'm sorry to hear you are having these problems. They will be familiar to many of us on the forums.

My personal view is that the MCS registration for installers is not worth the paper it is written on. It provides little or no assurance that the installer has the requisite level of knowledge and experience to properly install these systems.

Mike