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Name and shame heat pump installers that have done shoddy work

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Saz
 Saz
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@witchcraft Won't they accept the complaint by email or phone?


   
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Mars
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@witchcraft, team Mac here too and I often run into issues submitting forms using Safari so I also have Chrome installed which works much better. If that fails, let me know, and I’ll happily send an email to Ian at MCS to let him know the forms aren’t working.

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(@witchcraft)
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@saz Nope, finally got the form in though by downloading Google Chrome onto my MacBook seems they haven't done user testing (hint it doesn't work) on Apple's Safari browser, one of the more common browsers out there.


   
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Saz
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@witchcraft That's pretty 'exclusive' of MCS to be honest. Disappointing.


   
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Mars
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@witchcraft, from my limited knowledge, Safari's privacy and security backend is very secure and forms are notoriously insecure from a web perspective and most developers ignore Safari because it's a hassle for them to code specifically for it, so they just use "out of the box" form plugins that work seamlessly with Chrome, Opera and IE, but they don't like and are incompatible with Safari. 

Buy Bodge Buster – Homeowner Air Source Heat Pump Installation Guide: https://amzn.to/3NVndlU

Follow our sustainability journey at My Home Farm: https://myhomefarm.co.uk


   
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(@witchcraft)
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@editor MCS have now passed my complain to RECC lets see what happens...


   
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cathodeRay
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I have just posted a comment on my previous thread, to the effect that my heating system is not fit for purpose. But I don't blame my installer, who acted in good faith, I blame Freedom Heat Pumps, who in effect designed the system using incorrect data, because their heat pump spreadsheet tool was used to design the system. In effect, Freedom fed incorrect data into the design, and the result was an inadequate system. I suggest that, although Freedom are not installers themselves, they do need to be mentioned here, to warn people that Midea systems based on their calculator are at risk of being inadequate.   

Midea 14kW (for now...) ASHP heating both building and DHW


   
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Saz
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@cathoderay Are you able to elaborate regarding the way in which the heat loss tool is defective? I gather many installers use it (I know it was used for my installation). Is it that the set values are incorrect? My heat loss calc is a bit of a joke tbh...


   
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cathodeRay
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@saz - the Heat Loss Calculator worksheet isn't to bad, but it is complex, with a lot of detail needing to be entered, and it only needs one small typo to make a big difference, eg entering 2 rather than 12 as a room length of outside wall (a real life example, it happened). It needs to be checked and double checked, and a sanity check done on the total heat loss. The main problem is the hidden data on the Your System worksheet, in the case of Midea heat pumps this isn't accurate. Credit where credit is due, it was a noble attempt to make a useful tool, but the problem is it isn't ready for prime time, and as a result real systems end up wrongly designed. The other MAJOR problem is that many of the columns are hidden, so the average user has no idea what data is being used, because they can't see it. A couple of minor gribbles are the rad sizing is surface area based (a 500 x 1000 rad's output is not the same as a 1000 x 500 rad), rather than the rads actual output, and it doesn't allow selection of K3 rads, which many retrofit ASHP installation need to be able to get adequate heat emitters.

The reason I made the above comment was because I am reasonably sure a lot of installers use Freedom's Heat Pumps Tool, and it is as well that people are aware its use can lead to incorrect design decisions. I think I am right in saying Freedom are in effect Midea UK, so any Midea system is likely to come from them, and the spreadsheet will very likely be used to do the design.

 

Midea 14kW (for now...) ASHP heating both building and DHW


   
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Mars
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I received a private message from a homeowner (Trevor from Paignton) that asked me to post this on their behalf. It's taken them 10 months (six of those complaining) to get their NICEIC solar certificate from a failed company that was MCS certified for their solar PV installation. The company didn't renew, shut shop, registered a new company and are trading under a new name. 

The old company was EMS Engineering. Company registration 11281534 (now with a changed address to an insolvency firm) PV Supermarket: pvsupermarket.co.uk Perpetual Energy: perpetual-energy.co.uk EV Supermarket: evsupermarket.co.uk Power EV: Power-ev.co.uk

Linked sites and businesses that are supposedly taking over Sequential Dynamics: sequentialdynamics.co.uk and Dynamic Motion: dynamic-motion.co.uk

Trevor hopes that this helps inform people of the issues he's had with the firm that was supposedly a reputable organisation, with recognised certification.

Buy Bodge Buster – Homeowner Air Source Heat Pump Installation Guide: https://amzn.to/3NVndlU

Follow our sustainability journey at My Home Farm: https://myhomefarm.co.uk


   
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(@witchcraft)
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Just chased RECC (cc'ing MCS) as I have not heard anything from them after MCS referred my case to them over a week ago.

I do wonder if these bodies are rather toothless tigers.

In other news the installer has offered to pay for the correction to the bodge on the electrical cabinet on the back of my heat pump only and has refused to pay for the non-operational MMSP install so the case will go next to Small Claims Remediation...

This post was modified 2 years ago by witchcraft

   
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Mars
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@witchcraft, thanks for the updates.

I agree with you in thinking that a lot of these organisations are toothless. They, to my understanding, have an obligation to protect customers, but are very poor and ineffective at doing this. Please keep us updated and please keep a timeline going because I think this will make for an interesting article. I will then send it to the head of the MCS and RECC for comment.

On a related note, I've been engaged in an email conversation with HIES about the same subject and how to deal with bodged/poor installations so that they can be rectified. There's been a lot of bluster and chest beating about how effective they are and how they help hundreds of homeowners each year. So I asked them to come on Renewing the Conversation and be interviewed so that we can guide homeowners through the process and so that they can spell out "how easy and effective" (their words) the process is. They've not committed which is never a good sign. 

Buy Bodge Buster – Homeowner Air Source Heat Pump Installation Guide: https://amzn.to/3NVndlU

Follow our sustainability journey at My Home Farm: https://myhomefarm.co.uk


   
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