OFTEC officially joins the world of heat pump training: https://www.oftec.org/discounted-heat-pump-training-available-for-installers-in-england

Looks like the training is MCS based.

I’ve seen a couple of less than positive comments about Heat Geek’s heat pump training in recent weeks. I’ve always been under the impression they’re solid. Some suggestions they still recommend on/off thermostats. 

What’s the consensus on Heat Geek trained heat pump installers?

We interviewed Malcolm Farrow from OFTEC to find out more about OFTEC's heat pump design and installation training, and we also got an update on the HVO trial which is now in its third year:

@heacol I hope you do! After my nightmare 8 months of my Eco4 HP installation mine is currently turned off (thank goodness for Youtube!) and waiting for Daikin to come back out to fix it as the initial installation was so bad they have been out to snag the installation but that work still wasn't done properly so they have had to come back spending 3 days last week replacing under sized pipes fitting things not fitted or in the right place and correcting wiring and still can't find the answer to one wiring issue, but even so I am not convinced I will be able to afford to even run it as I'm not convinced even when the Daikin guy arrives from head office that he will grasp that it really can be a question of eat or heat for some of us. Been scouring the internet to try and educate myself but information is as is often the case contradictory and confusing for those of us who don't have the technical knowledge. I might be old but I want to know what it does/can do and also have some control but like so many it seems I was left with just use thermostat and told I won't need to touch the controls. Apart from the fact it has not run properly for 8 months that was and is not good enough for me and set out to try and find out more, so stunned when I discovered just how much control there actually is if you know what to do. Problem is now I don't have enough knowledge to know how one change can affect what and whether it will be better or worse. I am shocked at the lack of installer knowledge and more importantly care for us end users. It's hardly surprising now that HP's are getting a bit of a bad reputation. I also have nowhere else to go with it, my cries will be unheard and no one will know what hell the last 8 months have been and still are frankly. I really hope there is some change coming and hope your endeavours work out for everyone's sake.

Posted by: @benguela

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Here's a genuine question for people on this forum. Do you think we should aim for:

Future A in which owners understand their heating systems and take responsibility for how they use their heat pumps

or

Future B in which the installer and manufacturer take all the responsibility off the owner. The owner just says 'too hot/too cold' or 'too expensive' and the installer and manufacturer tries to get the heat pump to perform a certain way. 

The pros and cons of Future A is that, at the end of the day, people can really control their heat pumps for themselves and the installers and manufacturers don't have to baby them. But then you need education for heat pump owners.

The pros and cons of Future B is that you don't have stupid heat pump owners messing things up because the professionals take everything out of their hands. But, on the other hand, the service isn't personalised very much. And you just end up with lots of grumpy customers who never quite get what they want, and constantly ring the installer on a Friday night saying 'come out to look at my heat pump right now, I set the thermostat at 21, but it's actually 20.'

My two penn’orth, I’d like to see user training that targets both types A and B, possibly going for a modular approach to cater for starter, intermediary and advanced.

I’d also like to see it developed from scratch for users rather than adapted from installer training, i.e. the start point is the user and what they need to see and know.

From own experience, this would include things like the difference between a gas boiler and a heat pump and how this means they have to be used differently, the different types of pump available, as well as myth busting to help users understand where the negative publicity comes from - and also defend against BS from some installers.

Some examples that past installers have tried on us...

- Electric houses are not as efficient as people claim and are way more expensive than gas heated houses (vs electric houses are v efficient but can be more expensive than gas because of the tariff  differentials).

- Heat pumps don’t work in cold weather without supplementary support.

- Heat pumps can take all day to reach desired room temperature and sometimes not reach it all, and that’s normal.

- The heat emitters (i.e. rads to us) never get warm (i.e. it’s normal for them to stay stone cold).

- The system has to run continuously at the same room temperature even if it means having to open a window at night so you can sleep.

- Hot water has to be heated in at least 2 x 2 hour bursts per day to get one shower.

Then there’s critical stuff like the importance of a heat loss survey (and what that actually is) and how a heat pump with an output that can’t cover this isn’t going to work properly.

And also some stuff on the various regulators and how 'helpful' they are. 

I could go on… but the question is who pays for it all? 

@sentinam I don’t need to write much here as I agree with all the above from Sentinam; it is a matter of education and offering the user the choice (or even a combination of owner control with the availability of ‘back up support’ from the installers if things don’t go as hoped). Expecting every ‘user’ to know how to operate a heating system efficiently is a forlorn hope but this should not preclude the likes of the readers on this forum from running their systems to the best of their ability and knowledge. I don’t drive but, years ago, many vehicle owners would carry out their own routine maintenance and adjustments and as long as this didn’t jeopardise safety, this was probably a good thing (and of course, was /is a hobby for some owners). Maybe the same sort of day to day running of a heating system is no bad thing. I have a maintenance contract on our system and expect the first annual service at the beginning of February; I will express an interest in what work is carried out but don’t wish to stand by the shoulder of the service agent if this makes them uncomfortable! So Summary - Education - Education - Education! 

Posted by: @toodles

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So Summary - Education - Education - Education! 

Agree with this, but Gov just throws £7,500 at people without any effective education on any of it and also doesn't provide an effective safety net (i.e. regulators) when things go horribly wrong.