FAQs

The funding for Connected for Warmth comes from the Warm Homes Fund – a £160 million fund established by National Grid and administered by Affordable Warmth Solutions.

Here's a step-by-step guide:

1. The air source heat pump uses a small amount of electricity to take heat from the air.

2. This heat is transferred to the water in your home.

3. Stored hot water can be used for showers, bath, and taps.

4. It will also be sent around to warm your radiators.

A standard heat pump doesn’t provide hot water on demand like a combi boiler, so you will need a way of storing hot water for when you need it.

This is stored in a water cylinder and you will need an area inside the property for this.

The cylinder may be vertical or horizontal , and the size of hot water cylinder required will depend on the amount of hot water that your household typically uses, but the cylinder can usually be fitted inside a cupboard, or in a loft space.

Your installer will be able to advise how large the area will need to be.

The new hot water cylinder will deliver pressurised hot water to your taps. The temperature on your hot water cylinder will be set to approximately 50°C to ensure system efficiencies are maintained.

Yes, installing a heat pump can help reduce your heating bills.

While the system uses electricity to run, it’s highly efficient. For every 1 kilowatt (kW) of electricity a heat pump uses, it can deliver 3 to 4 kW of heat, meaning less energy is needed to maintain a comfortable temperature in your home.

However, the actual savings depend on several factors, such as:

• What fuel you're replacing & how much it costs

• Your electricity tariff

• The efficiency of the heat pump

• Your heating system's design

• Your location's climate.

It's also generally more cost-effective to use a single meter for your electricity tariff, so you may want to discuss this with your energy provider.

This can vary depending on the nature and age of the property and how well the property is insulated.

There a number of stages which include:

1. An on-site assessment of your property, to establish if a heat pump is technically feasible and will be able to provide efficient heat and whether any insulation measures are required at the property.

2. This will then go through to a technical team to design the heating system for your property.

3. The installer will need to have an on-site visit to fully explain the proposal to you, as a ‘Walk Through’ of what would take place in the property.

4. If you would like to progress, they will need you to sign to accept the proposed works. The installer will agree installation dates with you.

5. There are likely to be a couple of teams involved on-site. Once the installation has taken place a heat pump engineer will review the work to sign off the official paperwork.

Some things to note include:

• Pipework will be laid to create minimum disruption; however, this will not generally be encased. You can ask your installer separately about options for this; however ,this is not included as part of the schemes.

• Radiators may need to be larger than existing radiator systems.

• Installers will not be responsible for removing any carpets or floor coverings if required, and whilst they will ensure minor cosmetic work is completed on walls, for example filling in holes where old radiators were held on walls, they will not be responsible for decorating areas where radiators have been removed.This will all be made clear to you by the installer.

All mechanical equipment carries a risk of breakdown, so your heat pumps should have a regular annual service to keep them operating safely and effectively, just like any other heating system.

The good news is that a properly installed heat pump is inherently reliable and should give you many years of low cost, low maintenance heating. You will be provided with warranty documentation after the completion of works, and the installer can also provide guidance about servicing the system.

Heat pumps should have a regular annual service to keep them operating safely and effectively, just like any other heating system. The good news is that a properly installed heat pump is inherently reliable and should give you many years of low cost, low maintenance heating.

If you are eligible and have a heat pump installed, in the unlikely event that your heat pump has a problem in the first 12 months after its installation, our dedicated support team will be on hand to offer advice and arrange a callout as appropriate.

In order to ensure the best experience, the Connected for Warmth programme will provide the first annual service free of charge. All you will need to do is contact our service provider on the freephone number or website details on your heat pump, and they will arrange for an engineer to visit.

After this, as long as you continue to arrange and pay for an annual service your heat pump and central heating system will have a 7 year guarantee. We can offer a competitive servicing package – please see www.altoenergy.co.uk for details.

Heat pumps will always save significant amounts of carbon dioxide emissions.

With an ever-increasing amount of electricity coming from renewable sources like wind and solar power, heat pumps are an increasingly clean form of heating.

Heat pumps will typically save over 50-70% on carbon dioxide emissions compared to electric heating, and around 80% compared to gas and oil heating.