@jamespa trustpilot has a reasonable reputation of collecting good and bad reviews on the major installers.

I came here to vote after watching Mars video on YouTube. Apologies if this has already been raised but I find the top category of ‘Flawless’ completely inappropriate. To many people it suggests a result which is effectively unachievable, I can’t think of anything in life that I would describe as flawless. I think something like ‘Excellent, met or exceeded all my expectations’ would be better, to me that’s a very different thing.

Having said that, I’d like to give a big recommendation to Custom Renewables who installed our ASHP system from Heat loss calculations to commissioning and handover. All very smooth and professional, the performance over the two years since installation have exceeded my expectations!

Posted by: @gmuzz

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@jamespa trustpilot has a reasonable reputation of collecting good and bad reviews on the major installers.

Personally I don't trust Trustpilot following an occasion when I relied on it to select a roofer, a mistake that cost me £5000.  For this reason I wouldn't recommend it abut accept that others would.

As it happens I am happy with my own heat pump install, but I benefitted from the information here and a degree in physics, to help filter our the BS merchants (some of which, even following a 3 hr survey, wanted to instal a machine with twice the required capacity).  I must say though that, when I went through the exercise 2-3 years ago, I found at least as m any BS merchants as honest guys.  Hopefully that situation has now changed for the better.

Posted by: @woofers64

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I came here to vote after watching Mars video on YouTube. Apologies if this has already been raised but I find the top category of ‘Flawless’ completely inappropriate. To many people it suggests a result which is effectively unachievable, I can’t think of anything in life that I would describe as flawless. I think something like ‘Excellent, met or exceeded all my expectations’ would be better, to me that’s a very different thing.

In principle I agree, although in practice I know @editor well enough to see that “flawless” was intended to mean “everything went to plan and delivered or exceeded the promise” and the poll was always supposed to be a very rough and ready one; more an excuse for starting a discussion than a statistics-gathering exercise.

Nonetheless, strictly speaking you’re right that “flawless” is an impossible target to meet.

Posted by: @woofers64

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Having said that, I’d like to give a big recommendation to Custom Renewables who installed our ASHP system from Heat loss calculations to commissioning and handover. All very smooth and professional, the performance over the two years since installation have exceeded my expectations!

This is really helpful. We like to publicise good just as much as bad. Have you considered a new thread summarising your install, the key challenges and how your installer particularly impressed? Other members and visitors will no doubt find it useful.

Hi Mars,

We have discussed my Octopus install on YouTube before. If I could, I would give two different ratings.
If I were to rate my experience overall, I would say average, but after rectification from Octopus, I am very pleased.
The actual design of the heat pump system was fine, and the quality of the work was excellent.
The heat pump always kept my house warm.

Where the system was let down was the heat loss calculation and the choice of heat pump.
Their heat loss calculation came in at just under 8kw so they installed a 9kW Daikin to be on the safe side, I guess.

I'm not sure where they made the mistake on the heat loss report, or even if it was their fault or just a flaw in the MCS calcs, but the heat loss for my property is much lower.
It became clear very quickly that the heat pump was oversized and could not modulate low enough, so I ended up with a SCOP of 2.8.
I complained to Octopus, and after much toing and froing, they re-ran the numbers, and the heat loss came back below 7000W. I think it's even lower than that.
They agreed to replace the 9kW with the 8kW model at their expense.

My house is still lovely and warm, but after some tweaking and a firmware upgrade from Daikin, my SCOP is now closer to 4.
With some further tweaking, I think I could get to 4.5.
I have also found, like many others, that Daikin heat pumps just don't like running below a flow temperature of 30 degrees for some reason.

In summary, if that initial heat loss report had come back just a few hundred watts lower, they would have installed the 8kW Daikin, and I would have been very pleased with the whole experience. I would recommend Octopus to others, but if you are looking for the best SCOP you can get, there might be other installers more suited to your requirements.

Posted by: @jamespa

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Posted by: @gmuzz

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@jamespa trustpilot has a reasonable reputation of collecting good and bad reviews on the major installers.

Personally I don't trust Trustpilot following an occasion when I relied on it to select a roofer, a mistake that cost me £5000.  For this reason I wouldn't recommend it abut accept that others would.

When TrustPilot accepted an appeal from a product manufacturer claiming I had not shown proof of purchase (I bought from a retailer), I started having my doubts. It can be another input but I feel the stories we get at RHH equip people to be able to make a decision they are very unlikely to need to make again...

For tradespeople, I tended to find checkatrade good to see the "ceiling" of possible quotes (options for a relaxed "journey" ) and mybuilder as a reasonable filter for cowboys. 

@gmuzz, when someone spends £15,000+ on a heating system that’s supposed to run for 15+ years, “mostly fine” isn’t an acceptable benchmark. “Flawless” from a homeowner’s perspective doesn’t mean zero snags… it means correct design, correct sizing, proper commissioning, great execution and any issues resolved without drama or performance compromise. That shouldn’t be controversial. 

On the “slapped in” comment, I stand by it. I’ve seen too many systems where the heat loss was superficial, emitters weren’t properly assessed, hydraulic layouts were generic, buffer tanks, undersized units and commissioning was rushed. That’s not me chasing engagement. That’s based on repeated case studies, photos, performance data and homeowner reports.

As for the industry improving significantly over the past couple of years, I’m not convinced. Awareness has improved. The language has improved. The marketing has improved. But consistency of execution at scale? I’m not seeing strong evidence of that yet.

If anything, we’re still in a phase where quality is highly variable (from genuinely excellent to genuinely poor) and that variability is exactly the problem.

This isn’t about attacking installers. It’s about protecting homeowners and protecting the technology. Because when systems underperform, the public doesn’t blame commissioning methodology… they blame heat pumps.

If the data proves standards are consistently high, I’ll happily say so. But until we have transparent, structured feedback at scale, I won’t pretend the problem is solved.

@jamespa, you’re right on a few key points.

First, the information gap is real. We do not have robust, transparent, independently verifiable performance and satisfaction data at scale. That vacuum creates two things: defensiveness from parts of the industry and frustration from homeowners who feel unheard.

On the MCS survey point, I’ve already addressed this before. Asking a homeowner if they’re satisfied with their install based on this questionnaire a couple of days after an install is ridiculous.

Where I diverge slightly is on the idea that polarisation is simply the result of tone.

Polarisation exists because homeowner outcomes are inconsistent. Until execution is consistently excellent (not occasionally excellent) the tension will remain. If people repeatedly encounter poorly designed systems, rushed commissioning and opaque remediation pathways, they won’t respond calmly to industry messaging.

And you’re absolutely right about media dynamics. Certain outlets amplify failure narratives because it suits broader editorial agendas. But that cuts both ways. Overly optimistic industry messaging without transparent data also kills trust.

For me, a “considered discussion” doesn’t mean softening scrutiny. It means grounding it in structured evidence, which is precisely why I’m pushing so hard for transparent homeowner feedback.

If the data shows strong, consistent performance, I’ll champion it.

If it shows variability and systemic weaknesses, I’ll confront it.

The fastest way to reduce polarisation isn’t better PR. It’s better, more consistent execution.

@woofers64, welcome and thanks for coming over from YouTube to vote. Much appreciated.

I take your point on the wording. “Flawless” is deliberately a high bar, but in practical terms I see it as shorthand for exactly what you’ve described… a system that was well designed, professionally installed, properly commissioned and has performed without material issues. That’s the standard we should be aiming for.

Great to hear about your experience with Custom Renewables… I know the guys (Mark and Liam) quite well. Strong design from heat loss through to commissioning, followed by two years of performance exceeding expectations… that’s exactly the kind of outcome that deserves praise.

I went through heat geeks 

I chose Liam and Ben from the Widnes Liverpool area…

I'm very pleased with my choice of installation specialists, Liam and his team fitted our heatpump with a professional attitude and the calculations done beforehand, combinated in the system doing a great job of keeping our home toasty during the very harsh months of the winter.
Plus an efficiency that we're very pleased with, giving us savings that wouldn't be possible without a total upgrade of our pipework, radiators, and professionally installed heatpump.

@editor my issue is that your poll doesn't say :

"Flawless” from a homeowner’s perspective doesn’t mean zero snags… it means correct design, correct sizing, proper commissioning, great execution and any issues resolved without drama or performance compromise.""

It says perfect.

What you are saying above is more aligned with your description of "very pleased" with one or two visits required to resolve any issues. Which is what most reasonable people would expect from a well designed and installed system. Based on that means about a 1/3 of respondents meet your flawless threshold.

I'm not belittling the issues people have and the shoddy workmanship they experience. I'm also not having a go at what you are trying to achieve, but your poll muddies the water. 

It would be good if we can differentiate between recent experiences and older ones like your own. I'm hopeful it would show things are improving but I fully accept there is still a long way to go.

I'm with @editor on this one. Flawless as the top category is fine. It does not mean perfect, it means flaw-less, no flaws. A flaw is a fault of a defect that compromises something. It might be anything from a fatal flaw to something more minor, but it is still a fault or defect. The bar then is there should be no faults or defects. That is a perfectly understandable and just as importantly achievable concept, and in an ideal world it would be every installers aim to achieve flawless installations. Mangy semantics excuses about flawless being a ridiculously high bar for anyone to meet is close to saying flawed installations are OK. But on this we can agree, flawless can include snags (which haven't reached the defect/fault threshold, hiccups if you like), and a large part of how an installation remains flawless is how any snags/hiccups get dealt with.

I also agree there is such a thing as a slapped in installation. There are many accounts of such installations on this forum, and sadly many of them are ECO4 installations. Indeed, the downside to grants in general (which I think are essential for their positive effects) is that they encourage slap in behaviour, firstly because the owner/occupant is literally less invested in the installation, and secondly grants are cowboy magnets.

Hand-wringing about too much polarisation isn't going to get us far either. There is nothing unreasonable about an owner/occupier being very angry about a botched installation, and I would bet my last dollar on the fact that in nine times out of ten it is the installer who botched things. Add in comedy regulators like MCS and the other goon clubs that are supposed to sort things out but don't, and of course things are going to get polarised. The answer, figuratively speaking, is to hire a sheriff to go and shoot a few of the cowboys, pour encourager les autres.