We regularly hear from homeowners who are researching installers, technologies or support networks before committing to a heat pump. One of the names that comes up frequently is Heat Geek. Many homeowners are impressed by the branding, technical knowledge and emphasis on higher standards of heat pump installations. But equally, we’ve had enquiries from homeowners who want clarity: what protection do I actually get if I hire a Heat Geek installer?
It’s a good question, because there’s often a blurred line between Heat Geek the training provider, Heat Geek the brand, Heat Geek the installer directory and Heat Geek heat pump installation service. To make it clearer for homeowners, we’ve broken down what protections do (and don’t) exist when you hire a Heat Geek installer.
Heat Geek started life as a platform to raise the bar in heating system design and installation. They provide training courses, build technical content and market themselves as a network of higher-skilled heating engineers.
They now also offer guaranteed installations, going further than most. Heat Geek guarantees both the installation and the efficiency.
- Installation guarantee: If something happens to your installer so they cannot proceed with the job, or communication breaks down, Heat Geek will appoint another Heat Geek-trained and verified installer to complete the work.
- Efficiency guarantee: Unlike other companies that project a SCOP (which only covers heating and often excludes hot water), Heat Geek provides an overall efficiency guarantee. If the efficiency falls short, they will pay for the rectification work to ensure the system meets the promised standard, including hot water.
- A dedicated UK based account manager will oversee the project and provide additional support if required.
However, you cannot access this guarantee if you hire the installer directly. This is where the confusion often arises.
Many installers who have completed Heat Geek training display the Heat Geek logo on their websites, vans, T-shirts and paperwork. This gives them credibility and, in the eyes of many homeowners, positions them as part of a trusted, quality-assured network.
But just because an installer displays the Heat Geek logo doesn’t mean you automatically get protection from Heat Geek as an organisation. If you want the protection of Heat Geek’s installation and efficiency guarantee, you must hire your installer through the Heat Geek website.
Here’s how it works: you enter your postcode on their site, receive an instant heat loss calculation and installation estimate, and if you’re happy you can purchase a design consultation. At this stage, Heat Geek assigns you a verified installer – this will not be an installer of your own choice, but if you have a specific installer in mind you can ask them for their Heat Geek upgrades link and that will automatically assign them to you. After the consultation, you’ll receive a fully guaranteed contract directly with Heat Geek for the installation. To validate the guarantee, they will also need digital access to monitor your system after the installation. Once signed, you’re covered.
What’s worth pointing out is that in order for an installer to be able to work under Heat Geek’s guarantee, they must go through rigorous training, a business audit, telephone assessments and on-site practical tests. If they pass, they become Verified. After this, Heat Geek digitally monitors their installations to ensure standards are maintained.
Heat Geek also makes this installer directory available for free on their website. But here’s the catch: if you use these details to contact and hire the installer directly, you have no contract with Heat Geek, and no guarantee from them.
If you do receive a poor installation from a Heat Geek-trained installer without their guarantee, the only recourse Heat Geek offers is removing that installer from their directory, provided they failed to meet the “best practice” standards outlined in Heat Geek’s Code of Conduct. They may also be retrained. Any installer removed from the platform is required to stop using Heat Geek branding immediately.
So, if you see the Heat Geek logo on an installer’s webpage, don’t assume that Heat Geek are backing the job. Unless you’ve gone through the official Heat Geek portal, you won’t have the safety net of their guarantee.
Heat Geek has told us that out of hundreds of installers, they have only had to remove three so far due to “changes within the installer’s company after verifying that led to a drop in standards.”
If you hire directly, your only safeguards are the installer’s own contractual guarantees, your statutory protections under the Consumer Rights Act or potentially Section 75 protection if you pay by credit card. You may also have recourse through schemes like MCS or RECC if the installer is registered with them directly. What you won’t have is the additional safety net of Heat Geek’s organisational backing.
The renewable heating industry is still in its infancy compared to traditional gas and oil. Homeowners are investing significant sums (often £10,000 to £25,000+) into heat pumps, whole-home upgrades and renewable systems. When things go wrong, as our forums regularly show, the consequences can be devastating.
That’s why clarity matters. If branding and marketing suggest that Heat Geek means quality and protection, homeowners need to know the limits of that promise. For some, the Heat Geek guarantee might be worth any small extra cost of going through the portal. For others, it’s a risk they may not even realise they’re taking.
Adam Chapman, founder of Heat Geek, also told us that installations via the Heat Geek portal, “due to economies of scale installation costs should be similar through Heat Geek to going direct.”
Heat Geek has become one of the most recognised names in the heat pump space, and rightly so. They are setting higher expectations for design and installation standards. But with that visibility comes responsibility.
For homeowners, the takeaway is simple: don’t assume. Ask questions, verify the route you’re hiring through and make sure you know exactly what protections apply before you sign a contract.
As ever, at Renewable Heating Hub we’ll continue to highlight these issues, not to criticise, but to ensure that homeowners can make informed, confident decisions in a market that is still finding its feet.
This is a very valuable post which I wish had existed before we ordered our ashp. We found our installer via the Heatgeek web site, as the nearest Elite. He did a brilliant job but it wasn’t via Heatgeek contractually.
i had done buckets or personal research on the technical side, heat loss of house, system design etc and as a consequence knew exactly what we wanted. But it never occurred to me to do the same degree of due-diligence on the contract side and look at the HG small print. Only after our order was placed did I read a whinge fest on Facebook from a customer who had a poor installation did I then realise that there’s no HG warranty when using their site to find a supplier. From LinkedIn I realise that Adam feels that pointing out this ambiguity is a criticism but several customers have come unstuck now. I fully support Heatgeek I’ve learnt loads from their posts and videos but if they were crystal clear there would be less misunderstandings.
@Judith, I’m with you on Heat Geek, but there really does seem to be a lack of transparency. I’ve had several long email and DM exchanges with Adam on this, and I’ve pointed out that nowhere on the Heat Geek landing page does it say you must book through their portal to get the guarantee. These details are buried in details after a couple of clicks at the point of booking a consultation.
Heat Geek have done a brilliant job of building a recognisable brand through their training, and most homeowners would be forgiven for thinking that hiring a Heat Geek or even a Heat Geek Elite installer automatically comes with those protections. That’s exactly why I wrote this piece because we need clarity.
Since publishing it, I’ve had multiple emails from homeowners who say they’ve had the same experience: they booked directly with Heat Geek or Heat Geek Elite installers and later discovered they had no guarantee.
What I don’t understand is why Heat Geek wouldn’t want to make this crystal clear. It would save them a lot of unnecessary headaches down the line.