Depending on the size of the project, the cost can be between £8,000 and £15,000

In Scotland, there is the Home Energy Scotland 0% loan that can be claimed. This is up to the value of £10,000 for heat pumps and £5,000 for Solar PV. There are certain insulation criteria to be hit, in order to qualify.

Also, there is the Renewable Heat Incentive, which is ending in March 2022. This allows you to claim back for the usage of the heat pump, for 7 years, and for Air Source can be up to around £1500 per annum. Hestia Energy can provide a detailed breakdown of the RHI on request.

This depends on your underlying floor, but there are solutions for in-between joists, and “overlay” system on top of the chipboard flooring. The between-joists solution will be cheaper on the heating side, but involves a good deal of joinery work and insulation, so the upheaval factor is one to consider. The overlay system is more expensive, and you lose roughly 30mm of head height, but is often the preferred option due to lack of upheaval. Our dedicated underfloor heating team will be able to advise on suitability at a site visit.

It is unlikely that the existing radiator circuit will be suitable. As the heat pump is designed to run at 45 or 50 degree flow temperature, the heat emitters need to be larger than standard. The radiator circuit that is suitable for an ASHP system tends to be 30%-50% bigger in size than what is utilised for traditional heating.

If they are 22mm or 28mm pipes, there is a good chance they may be suitable to retrofit new radiators onto. However, this will be ascertained at a technical site visit from one of our engineers. If the current pipework is microbore then a standard Air Source installation will not work, and we would need to fully re-pipe the property.

The internal kit is pretty small in size and can be fitted into a standard cylinder cupboard at a push. However, wherever possible, we would try to fit the cylinder as close to the heat pump as we can, which is often in a utility space.

Depending on the model, the heat pumps are roughly 1.02m x 1.05m x 0.48m. They need to be positioned 300mm away from the wall, and roughly 1m of space is needed in front of the fan to allow for proper air circulation.

In general terms, the unit makes as much noise as a fridge freezer. In an external environment, this is almost negligible. The only time the heat pump makes any sort of noticeable noise is when it is running through its legionella cycle, as it whirs a little for about an hour while it flushes the system through.

All MCS accredited companies have a strict design process that has to be adhered to. We must ensure that each room is heated to the appropriate temperatures, and the calculations are based on assumed building fabric, area of each room, external walls, window areas and door areas. This will be ascertained at the first site visit from our sales and design team, and a comprehensive set of calculations are provided free of charge.

Yes, we are fully MCS accredited and, as such, can provide access to the zero interest loan from Home Energy Scotland, and allow clients to claim the Renewable Heat Incentive

The running costs, similar to traditional heating, will depend on a number of factors. If the property is well insulated, and the heat pump is designed correctly, then the running costs will be much less than an oil/LPG system. In general terms, it can be said to be comparable with the cost of mains gas, however it does depend on the electricity rates and external temperatures.

COP is coefficient of performance, and this is the indication of how many units of energy output you will get for every unit of electricity input, i.e. the COP is likely to be around 2.5 to 3.5 in standard Air Source Heat Pump systems. The better the COP, the more efficient the system will be, but this value is under standard test conditions. The SCOP takes into account a Seasonal Performance Factor which will give a more accurate representation of a 12 month seasonal cycle. These values are industry standard and every manufacturer will have them readily available.

Our main offering for Air Source is the Mitsubishi Ecodan. They are widely considered to be the market leader in the UK, and are assembled locally. However, we do offer alternatives to the market whenever necessary, depending on availability and suitability.

There are usually two or three separate electrical supplies required to be ran from the heat pump position to the cylinder position. On a new build basis, this is done by the on-site electrician as standard. On a retrofit basis, you can either hire your own electrician to provide this portion of the work, or Hestia can provide one to you. The further away the cylinder position is from the heat pump position, the more labour required to facilitate the electrical side of the installation, and we handle each case on its own merit.

The heat pump system has weather compensation integrated into the controls, which means that it will regulate the internal temperature by ramping the output up and down depending on the external conditions. Essentially this means that the outdoor unit is only doing the bare minimum required at any given point to maintain the temperature set on the thermostat. This is the most efficient way of managing the system, as it is a constant stream of heat rather than an on/off scenario that many gas an oil boilers employ.

Mitsubishi have a Coastal unit in their range, and this variant of the heat pump range will have a layer of acrylic resin applied to the external unit and as such will be protected from salt spray.

Yes, additional heat sources can be utilised in the property, however the heat pump must be designed to meet 100% of the heat loss within the building. Hestia Energy will be able to provide details of the required distribution system (radiator circuit or underfloor heating circuit), and this must be adhered to prior to installing any additional sources. For example, in bathrooms, the heat pump must provide all of the heat requirement through UFH, radiators or towel rails, and this means that any electric mats or towel rails will be additional and surplus to the requirement of the room. Hestia can work with you to provide an adequate solution that meets all of the criteria.

350mm from the fan is stated on the datasheet, but 500mm is the desired minimum. 200mm from the back wall, and 150mm from walls at either side.

The government have imposed certain laws and calculations that are required to comply with reduced VAT rates. However, where possible on a retrofit basis, the renewable element of the system will be subject to 5% VAT and the traditional element

We are a dedicated team of time served heating engineers, and have experience across multiple sectors. As such, we can offer alternative renewable energy solutions such as Ground Source Heat Pumps, Solar PV, Battery Storage and EV charging, but can also provide more traditional heating solutions such as electric or gas. Call us today to find out what the best solution is for you.