I selected an MCS registered installer.

As you say Mars, the key reason is to receive the RHI grant.  But it is not the only one.  Others included:

- Level of professionalism and ongoing commitment.  It takes some effort and reviews to be MCS registered.  So I think this shows your commitment to your industry.

- I have experience of MCS from my 9 year old solar PV.  And whilst they were fitted by cowboys (big hats, horses, the works), it brings a level of comfort to the paperwork and processes they employed.  And an independent insurance if everything goes wrong.

- Finally, the installer I picked was also a trainer of other installers.  He provided MCS support to smaller companies that couldn't deal with all the MCS paperwork.  I took this as a VERY positive message

MCS accredited.  Mainly for RHI but also because they have to do all the assessments and heat loss calcs the MCS way.

Am curious.

The RHI is finishing next year for new applications, to be replaced by a single upfront amount of up to £4000.

Would those who have installed ashp under the RHI scheme still have done it if the RHI had never been available? 

Without RHI and with no other financial help, no. With £4k? Don't know but possibly not.  RHI gives you about 60% of the cost of a complete ASHP system. £4k is about 25%.  OTOH, if you have an oil system and you need a new boiler anyway, £4k will go a fair way to covering the difference between that replacement and an ASHP.   

We are only considering MCS accredited installers - largely for the RHI but also because we hope/trust that they have the competence to do the installation correctly. We have 6 estimates so far and they are all MCS accredited installers. 

Posted by: @jeff

Am curious.

The RHI is finishing next year for new applications, to be replaced by a single upfront amount of up to £4000.

Would those who have installed ashp under the RHI scheme still have done it if the RHI had never been available? 

Probably not. But the industry’s argument is that prices were overinflated because of RHI. They reckon prices will drop in relation to decreases in funding. Will be interesting to see if that actually happens or if installers will continue to cash in.

Ours is MCS, because of the RHI component. 100% of the cost of installing we'll get back. I imagine it'll be like solar. Prices have fallen quite a bit since the subsidies ended. An ASHP is basically and AC unit. Our installer is taking 2 days to install, I think he said the hardware is 60% of the cost as the GHG caps the labour cost at no more than 40% of the total cost, so I cant really see how 2 days work is £4k - as its £10k all in. The guy is paying himself £2k a day, lets say 2 of them, that's around £120/hr each, for an 8hr day.

Posted by: @batalto

Ours is MCS, because of the RHI component. 100% of the cost of installing we'll get back. I imagine it'll be like solar. Prices have fallen quite a bit since the subsidies ended. An ASHP is basically and AC unit. Our installer is taking 2 days to install, I think he said the hardware is 60% of the cost as the GHG caps the labour cost at no more than 40% of the total cost, so I cant really see how 2 days work is £4k - as its £10k all in. The guy is paying himself £2k a day, lets say 2 of them, that's around £120/hr each, for an 8hr day.

Without sounding cynical (and maybe I'm being a bit under), but this is why installers are always fully booked, because they just need to do one installation a week (2-3 days) to make ends meet.

https://renewableheatinghub.co.uk/does-mcs-accreditation-guarantee-competent-heat-pump-installations

Thoughts and feedback welcome.

@batalto goodness - your installation costs seem really low compared with ours which range from £17k to 22k 😯

@jennyross it's a 12kw midea unit and tank. The extra work is really minimal. It's going outside the current boiler room and tapping into all the existing pipework. Likewise there is already a tank which is being swapped. All the pipework will be reused. The installer said it's super easy for him - the biggest job is swapping the tanks and drilling through the outside wall into our current boiler room.