Comparing Heat Pump Quotes in Scotland: What to Check Before You Choose

If you've had two or three heat pump quotes back and they're thousands of pounds apart, we'd start by checking what each installer has priced for. One might allow for more radiators or a new hot water cylinder. Another might leave the electrical work out. Some prices will be firm; others may change once the detailed design is done.

At Macara Heating, we want you to understand what needs done in your home and what you're paying for before you commit. These are the checks we'd suggest making with any installer, including us. For more on the budget and funding, see our heat pump cost page and Home Energy Scotland grant guide.

Check what each installer plans to fit

Heat pump size and performance estimate

Every MCS installer has to give you a written system performance estimate before you sign. It estimates the system's yearly electricity use as a high and a low figure, using the MCS estimating method. Before comparing those figures, check whether the installers have used the same assumptions about your home and heating.

Check each one for:

• What it's based on. The estimate is often worked out from your EPC rather than a detailed survey. It should say either that the details may change after the heat loss survey and design, or that it's based on a full survey and design.
• The heat pump size. On an estimate that isn't based on a full heat loss calculation, the size in kW is marked as indicative and may change.
• The flow temperature and radiators. If your existing radiators are staying, with none or very few replaced, the MCS method assumes a flow temperature of 60°C unless a room-by-room heat loss calculation supports a lower one. If an installer proposes keeping your radiators at a much lower temperature, ask them to explain the calculation.

Your bills will depend on how you use the heating, the weather and your tariff. We'd be wary of choosing on a running-cost figure alone, especially if it relies on one particular energy price.

Once the detailed design is done, a heat pump designed to provide all of your space heating must be sized to meet at least 100% of the home's calculated heat loss at the design outdoor temperature, without relying on an electric back-up heater. That comes from the MCS heat pump design standard. Hybrid and air-to-air systems follow different rules. So if one quote proposes a noticeably smaller unit, ask whether that figure is provisional, and how it was reached.

Radiators

Heat pumps usually run at lower water temperatures than boilers, so some rooms may need larger radiators to stay warm. Replacing more radiators can account for much of the price gap between quotes. Ask the installer to name the rooms that need them and explain whether they've calculated this or made an allowance for now. Our FAQ on whether you'll need new radiators explains how that's decided.

If a design needs a flow temperature above 55°C, installers should also offer an alternative design at 55°C or below, and explain the difference in efficiency and energy use so you can choose.

Hot water cylinder and controls

A heat pump that provides your hot water normally does so through a storage cylinder. Check whether each quote includes a new cylinder, what size it is and where it will go. If a quote keeps your existing cylinder, ask what checks and upgrades are included.

Ask which controls you'll get and who will show you how to use them at handover, once the system is set up.

Find out what the price includes

Check the installation work as well as the equipment. We'd want the quote to spell out who's doing each part of the job and whether you've anything to arrange yourself:

• Electrical work needed for the heat pump, and who notifies the electricity network operator (the DNO).
• Pipework changes.
• Removing the old system, such as the boiler, tanks or storage heaters, and making good afterwards.
• Where the outdoor unit goes, and who is arranging any permissions. For Edinburgh, see our guide to heat pump planning permission.
• Commissioning and handover.
• Scaffolding, access or other extras, and the rate for unforeseen work.
• Servicing and aftercare, including what costs extra.
• The post-installation EPC. If you're using Home Energy Scotland funding, you need one to claim.

Then compare the total price including VAT and check how long each quote is valid. If a quote shows a price after grant, check what the full price is before funding.

Ask what could change after the survey

The full room-by-room design can come after you sign, as long as it's completed before installation. At the quote stage, ask the installer to explain what they've confirmed and what still needs checked:

• Which figures are provisional? The heat pump size, the number of radiators and the cylinder are the usual ones.
• When will the detailed survey and design happen, and when will you see the results?
• What happens if the design changes the equipment, price, performance estimate or timescale?

Under MCS rules, if the detailed design changes things from what you were given before, the installer must give you a written variation to the contract. If the change is significant, you can choose to carry on or cancel without further cost. Get the installer to confirm in writing how this works and how any deposit would be refunded.

Funding, payment protection and guarantees

Home Energy Scotland funding

If you're planning to use the Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan, check each quote against the scheme's terms and conditions:

• The installer is MCS certified, and the heat pump is an MCS-certified product. You can check installers on the MCS installer search.
• The quote is dated, on headed paper and addressed to you. It shows the installation address and includes a breakdown of the work and costs.
• The system isn't a hybrid (a heat pump working with another heat source such as a boiler) or an air-to-air heat pump. Neither is eligible.
• No work starts before you receive a written funding offer.

Home Energy Scotland recommends getting at least three quotes, although you only send them the one you choose. The funding doesn't cover the cost of an extended warranty, so if one quote includes an extended warranty in its price, that part won't be funded.

For anything specific to your own application, such as the timing of a contract or deposit, ask Home Energy Scotland directly before you commit.

Payments and protection

Ask each installer:

• How much is the deposit, when is it due, and how is it protected?
• What are the payment stages, and what triggers each one?
• How long is the design and workmanship guarantee? What insurance or protection backs it if the installer stops trading?
• What do you need to do to keep the manufacturer's warranty valid, for example servicing?
• How are complaints handled, and what happens if you can't agree?
• Who will do the work? Are any subcontractors involved, and whose MCS certification will the installation be registered under?

Get the cancellation and refund terms in writing before you sign. If you arrange the work at home, by phone or online, you'll usually have a cooling-off period. Citizens Advice Scotland explains how it works, including what happens if work starts early.

Reasons to pause before signing

• Pressure to sign on the day, or a discount that disappears if you don't. MCS installers must not pressure you to sign.
• Being asked to let work start before your written funding offer.
• No written performance estimate by the time you're asked to sign.
• Savings or running costs presented as certain.
• A headline price that leaves out work the survey has already shown is needed.
• No clear answer on who is responsible for the installation, or how your deposit is protected.

Quote comparison checklist

Keep a note of these details for each quote. If something's missing, ask the installer to put it in writing before you decide:

1. Installer. Which company you'd contract with, its MCS certification, and any subcontractors.
2. Quote format. Dated, on headed paper, addressed to you, with the installation address and a cost breakdown.
3. Heat pump. Make, model and size in kW, and whether that size is provisional or from a full heat loss calculation.
4. Performance estimate. High and low yearly electricity use, what it's based on, and the flow temperature it assumes.
5. Radiators. How many are being replaced, and in which rooms.
6. Hot water and controls. Cylinder (new or existing, size, location) and the controls included.
7. Installation work. Electrics and DNO notification, pipework, the outdoor unit position and permissions, removing the old system and making good.
8. Extras and aftercare. Scaffolding or access, commissioning and handover, servicing, and the post-installation EPC.
9. Price. Total including VAT, the price before and after any funding, and how long the quote is valid.
10. What's provisional. When the detailed design will happen, and how changes would be agreed in writing.
11. Payments and guarantees. Deposit and how it's protected, payment stages, the design and workmanship guarantee and what backs it, and manufacturer warranty conditions.
12. Cancellation. Cancellation and refund terms, in writing.

If you'd like to talk through what your home is likely to need, get in touch with us at Macara Heating. We can explain the work involved and what needs checked before you go ahead.