An air source heat pump uses compressor technology to extract energy from the air outside to heat your home and water. It works by moving heat from one place to another, a bit like a fridge in reverse. The heat pump is essentially a ‘box’ that sits outside your home and uses a fan to draw in naturally occurring heat from the air outside. This heat energy is concentrated and upgraded to a higher temperature to heat your home.
There are several factors that can affect this, but it usually takes between 2 and 4 days. For a property built within the last 10-15 years a heat pump can usually be installed within 2 days and for older properties it can take up to 4 days. Disruptions to your water and gas supplies are kept to minimum.
The average lifespan of a well-maintained heat pump is 15-20 years. It is recommended that the heat pump is serviced annually to ensure it is in top working order. An annual service will also ensure that the manufacturer’s warranty remains valid.
Air source heat pump installations are usually considered Permitted Development so you probably will not need planning permission. However, it’s always advisable to check with your local planning if there is any doubt.
Air source heat pumps are suitable for almost all homes in the UK. They are the most common type of domestic heat pump and there are over 150,000 already installed in the UK.
Before deciding if a heat pump is right for you, one thing to consider is whether you have space for one. The heat pump will need a place outside your home where it can be placed on the ground or fitted to a wall. It must have space around it to allow for good air flow.
In addition, if you don’t already have a water tank you will need to have one installed. Unlike a combi-boiler, a heat pump doesn’t provide hot water on demand so you will need a place to store hot water for when you need it. A water cylinder is usually no bigger than a standard fridge freezer and can be fitted anywhere inside your home.
Another consideration is the level of insulation in your property. If it is not adequate what measures can be put in place to reduce heat loss and maximise energy efficiency? Don’t worry if you don’t know the answer, this is something that we can look at during your home survey.
No, you can expect a heat pump to be a similar volume to a fridge. The noise will increase slightly when the heat pump is working extra hard during very cold weather, but it will still be similar in volume to other everyday appliances and boilers.
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme is a government scheme which supports the decarbonisation of heat in homes and non-domestic buildings in England and Wales. Acting on your behalf, we as an accredited installer can apply for £5,000 off the cost and installation of an air source heat pump. With £450 million of grant funding available, the scheme was initially set to run from 2022 to 2025 but this has now been extended until 2028.
This is the impressive bit. Upgrading your heating system to a heat pump is one of the most meaningful and impactive ways you can reduce your carbon footprint. Most greenhouse gas emissions are directly related to energy use, particularly use from fossil fuels. By using a small amount of electricity and with efficiencies of up to 400% heat pumps can provide a cost effective and environmentally beneficial alternative to gas, oil or LPG. Electricity is becoming increasingly low carbon as more renewable sources are connected to the electricity grid. If you’re able to power your heat pump with electricity directly from renewable sources such as solar power, they are completely carbon neutral.
Heat pumps use a small amount of electricity and providing they are installed on a well designed system they won’t be expensive to run. Heat pumps are incredibly energy efficient and can convert 1 kilowatt of electrical energy to 2-4 kilowatts of heat energy.
How much money you will save depends on how you currently heat your home. You can make significant savings by switching from a gas boiler, but your savings will usually be even greater when switching from oil, LPG or direct electric heating. Of course, it is also important to consider the ever-changing cost of electricity.
There are several factors that will affect the cost of installation such as the size and age of your property, level of insulation and thermal efficiency, number of radiators, etc. Depending on the complexity of the system, the price can range from £8500 – £12000. Why not contact us to arrange a home assessment. We will be able to tell you whether your home is suitable for a heat pump, provide an estimate of total costs and confirm your eligibility for a £5,000 government grant towards the cost of installation under the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS).
One of our experienced installers will need to conduct a thorough assessment of your home’s heating and hot water requirements in order to select the correct heat pump and heating system for optimum performance. A heat loss calculation will be completed during your home survey and our installer will be able to advise you on any changes that may be needed to your system such as replacing radiators or adding/replacing a water tank. We will design a system that is able to keep you toasty warm in the middle of winter (known as the peak heating requirement).
Yes, heat can be extracted out of the air even in negative temperatures. In fact, heat pumps can work in temperatures as low as -20C.
Outside air is blown over a network of tubes filled with a refrigerant. This warms up the refrigerant, and it turns from a liquid into a gas.
This gas passes through a compressor, which increases the pressure. Compression also adds more heat – similar to how the air hose warms up when you top up the air pressure in your tyres.
The compressed, hot gases pass into a heat exchanger, surrounded by cool air or water. The refrigerant transfers its heat to this cool air or water, making it warm. And this is circulated around your home to provide heating and hot water. Meanwhile, the refrigerant condenses back into a cool liquid and starts the cycle all over again!
The term CoP (Coefficient of Performance) refers to the energy efficiency of your heat pump. The CoP tells you how much heat will be produced from each unit of electricity. For example, if your heat pump has a CoP of 3.0, it will produce three units of heat for every unit of electricity consumed. CoP is measured at a single point in time under specific conditions. This basic measurement of efficiency can give you a rough idea of your heat pump’s performance, but you will get a much more reliable indication of efficiency by using SCoP (Seasonal Coefficient of Performance).
SCoP measures the true energy consumption over an entire year. It takes into account the changing temperatures over the seasons and the individual design of your whole heating system. SCoP provides a realistic indication of your heat pump’s energy efficiency and its environmental impact.
In most circumstances we will install your EV charge point directly from your main electrical supply. This saves us working in your house on your consumer unit and is less disruptive for you whilst we’re on site. In addition, very few consumer units are actually capable of having an extra circuit for the EV charge point added.
We will feed the cable to your EV charge point from an isolator – which is essentially a switch that is located in your meter cupboard that allows us to turn off your power so we can safely complete the work. If we identify during the survey that you do not have an isolator, you will need to arrange for one to be installed before we can schedule your appointment.
Unfortunately EV installers and electricians are not permitted to install this switch as the work involves cutting the security seal and removing the main fuse to your property. You will need to contact your energy provider to request that this switch is installed. Depending on your energy supplier, the time to book an appointment and the potential costs that they charge for this work varies. Our experience from speaking to customers is that this cost is typically around £150.
Further information on the Energy Saving Trust can be found here.
Due to the time required onsite (typically 30-60 mins) plus processing your application afterwards, we need to charge a small fee for the completion of your pre-installation survey.
If you would like a standalone survey then this is currently £50 (inc VAT) and will be taken at the point your appointment is booked. If you wish to continue with Plug Me In for your charge point installation, this will be deducted from our standard installation price.
Having a site survey completed by one of our operatives is the fastest way for getting your chargepoint installed as they know exactly what information is required and where to look for it. Plus it saves you time crawling under your stairs/kitchen sink!
Our standard installation package covers the majority of homes and includes the following:
If you aren’t sure whether you come under our standard installation terms simply get in touch and we’ll be happy to advise the best solution for you.
Once we have confirmed your installation appointment we will email you with a secure link for you to make payment. This can be made by debit/credit card.
Unfortunately, we don’t accept cheques or cash and our installers are not authorised to accept cash on behalf of the company.
We ask for payment in advance of your installation going ahead as we have to purchase your charger, cable and other items in advance. If you wish to make payment on the day then just let us know.
A standard installation usually takes around 3 hours and in some cases your power may be turned off whilst we finalise the connection (please make sure you’ve got your alarm codes handy just in case!).
A number of properties have a “looped supply” with their neighbouring properties. Due to the additional demand that your EV charger needs on your electricity supply, it is likely that your supply will need to be “un-looped” before your installation can go ahead.
One of the first things we do once you submit an application with Plug Me In is contact your Distribution Network Operator (DNO) on your behalf. This is the party that is responsible for the high voltage electrical supply running around your area and up to the point it enters your property. They will confirm whether you have a looped supply or not.
If you do have a looped supply they will advise you on the work required prior to any EV charger installation going ahead. We are happy to support you through this process and can explain what it means based on your particular circumstances.
We are a national installer covering the whole of Great Britain . If you are based in a remote area or live on an island, then your installation journey may take longer but we can advise you on this once you get in touch depending on how close our nearest installer is to you. There may also be a small surcharge for any additional travel requirements. Find out where we already have dedicated installers here.
If we have quoted for “Power balancing” or a CT Clamp on your quote – this is due to a number of reasons for your particular circumstances. These clamps are used for two reasons:
The clamp will monitor the total load (amps) going throughout your home. If the clamp detects that the load is close to exceeding the maximum demand of the household, then the charge rate on your charger will be reduced automatically. This prevents your main fuse from blowing up (which we hope you’ll agree is a good thing!)
The CT clamp is able to detect how much energy you’re exporting back to the grid from your solar panels. Instead of exporting this energy back to the grid, you’re then able to use this excess solar energy to charge your car for free! (We hope you agree this is a good thing too!)
If you need a CT Clamp because of the above reasons then there will be an additional charge on your quote/invoice. This is for the cost of purchasing the clamp along with the extra time on site to install.
Depending on your individual circumstances and if you have all your information to hand, then completion of the form usually takes between 30-60 mins. It’s worthwhile having the following photographs and information to hand before you start:
If you would like a representative from Plug Me In to complete all the above on your behalf, please click here for more information.
We’re real people who crave real conversations with customers just like you. Therefore the best way for us to help and advise you and answer any questions is for you to call or email us. Whilst it can seem quite scary with all the options out there, we can advise what would work best for you and your lifestyle.
Like most things in life, the short answer is “it depends!” We want to be completely transparent with our pricing and will never hit you with “hidden extras” on the day.
If any additional work is required to your home infrastructure then we will provide you with a quote for you to consider before going ahead.
