Information Is Power: Heat Pump Checklists
Maintenance and Operation Checklists For Heat Pumps
The Heat Pump Association 'knows their pumps'.
The clue is in their title. They also know what people are worried about. A massive obstacle for the effective deployment and use of Heat Pumps in the United Kingdom is the poor coordination between manufacturers, and their customers.
And when I say coordination I mean, simple to understand communication materials that clearly state service checks, timelines and maintenance procedures that ensure heat pumps operate at the optimum efficiency for the setting they have been installed in.
It's not ideal that this has to happen.
🥶 Customer Care Void
It's actually a bit weird really. In a market like the UK which is receiving considerable government assistance and scrutiny that we don't have active participation in this area of heat pump communication.
A key part of the last part of the sales service is the most missed opportunity for product manufacturers.
Once a customer has bought your product you have an opportunity to cross sell, re sell or upsell. This mantra is trotted out ad infinitum in marketing blogs.
Amanda Jesnoewski
It's also a brand winner. If you make a product easy to operate and easy to run, you promote brand loyalty.
So really, it's beyond bizarre that the Heat Pump Association have had to tether a group of very busy professionals together to organise a working group. The premise of the group, who's resources they seek to become;
"A useful reference point for reviewing the effective operation and longevity of air to water, ground and water source heat pumps. By outlining fundamental service practices, these aim to enhance consistency and reliability across the sector."
Heat Pump Installers
Unfortunately it shouldn't have to be the case, but heat pump installers are really the front line in the battle to electrify our heat needs and deliver clean heat.
It does feel that the omission of this information is yet another stumbling block in the ecodesign regulations that need to be reviewed and changed for heat pumps.
We spoke to Damon Blakemore one of the countries top installers in late December 2024 and he said that;
"I'm noticing a real change in the way I'm welcomed into homes. People really want to know all about their pumps and they seem genuinely interested in getting the best performance they can. It feels like I'm not just fitting a pump, I'm helping make their whole lives better."
This sort of response if indicative of the absolute drive in demand that Damon and other heat pump installers are operating with. But it is remiss of the industry, not to have customers able to run their own pumps well with an information void.
Heat pump installers already have too much to do.
And it's especially hard to justify this lack of communication (from product manufacturers) in the face of the explosion in demand for heat pumps in the last year.
How The Heat Pump Association IS Helping
Commenting on the release of the guides, Tony Lathey, Chair of the HPA Technical Working Group said:
"The Heat Pump Association is committed to improving standards and providing clear, practical guidance to the sector. These annual service checklists are the result of collaborative efforts from leading industry experts. They set a baseline for best practices, supporting installers in servicing and maintaining hydronic heat pumps effectively, in the absence of manufacturer-specific guidance."
But you kind feel that maybe, just maybe, Tony and his fantastic team should not have to be doing this work.
It's great news these guides are available and they will help people get to grips with the baseline in what is needed to keep heat pumps running but the truth is there is a huge wealth of demand for this information which is being unfulfilled.
The Heat Pump manufacturers should be doing better and they probably know it, so why aren't they?
Download the resources from the HPA here:
If you need more bespoke advice on your heat pump you should listen to our podcast with the great Mars Mlodinski who runs the Renewable Heating Hub a phenomenal resource of heat pump solutions for every home owner who is serious about clean heat.
PostScript:
After publishing this article we were contacted by the HPA and asked to remove all references to their organisation and logo. Their reasoning was that;
"We represent around 85% of the manufacturers that supply to the UK market as a body – the documents were created by the Technical Working group and many of them are manufacturers."
We have reprinted their request to acknowledge receipt. However. It is in the public interest to have examined the question why manufacturers do not directly issue baseline maintenance information with products.
As an independent publication that researches stories and uses industry issued press releases, we take pride on not simply reprinting the releases in entirety.
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