Air source heat pump at a customer visit

Heating system & radiator work

A heat pump is only as good as the system it's feeding.

Most of a heat pump's efficiency comes from the heating system being sized correctly. We do room-by-room heat loss surveys, radiator and pipework upgrades, and we simplify systems that were built with more zoning than a heat pump wants — so the heat gets where it's needed, and the system costs what it should to run.

Why it matters

The heat pump can be right and the system still wrong.

A heat pump gets sized for the house. The radiators and the pipework have to be sized for the heat each individual room needs — and that's where a lot of systems fall down. Plenty of homes we go to had the heat pump and cylinder fitted properly, and the radiators left exactly as the old boiler had them. Sometimes nobody raised it. Sometimes it got dropped to keep the price down.

Most of a heat pump's efficiency comes from the heating system being sized correctly. If the radiators and pipework can't deliver the heat output a room needs, the system runs poorly, never quite feels right, and costs more to run than it should. A room-by-room heat loss survey is what tells you which rooms are short, and by how much.

What we do

Three ways we put that right.

Room-by-room heat loss

The measurement everything else follows from — how much heat each room actually needs, so radiators and pipework are sized against real numbers instead of guesswork. Charged on the published rate card like any other time on site.

Radiator & pipework upgrades

A radiator sized for a hot boiler system gives out less heat at heat pump temperatures. The ones that fall short get upgraded, the rest stay as they are — and the same goes for pipework that can't carry the flow a room needs.

Simplifying the system

Zone valves, actuators and extra pumps come from the boiler era, when a system had to hold a high flow temperature. A heat pump wants the opposite. Where it's worth doing, we take that complication back out — see underfloor heating for how that works in practice.

Real jobs

From recent visits.

Heating system controls checked during a system visit
Heating system pipework and circulation altered to suit a heat pump

Related

Alongside everything else we look after.

We keep the heat pump itself right with annual servicing, look after the unvented cylinder and underfloor heating, and handle repairs when something’s actually faulty. This is the work that goes alongside all of it — making sure the system the heat pump is feeding is the right size for the house. Members on a Plus or Premier care plan get their labour and parts discount on it.

Care plans

The discounts apply to this work too.

Three plans, and all of them include the annual service. On Plus and Premier, the labour and parts discounts apply to radiator and pipework work like this — not just to repairs.

Essential

£18/month

The annual service, paid monthly — and cheaper than booking it one-off.

  • Annual service: heat pump and hot water cylinder together
  • Expansion vessel, pressure relief and safety valve checks
  • Full written photo report
  • Standard booking
  • Join any time of year
Compare the plans

Plus

£24/month

Everything in Essential, and…

  • Priority 2 booking, subject to availability
  • 10% off your callout charge
  • 10% off labour — including radiator and pipework work
  • 10% off parts — including the radiators themselves
  • December cover — priority breakdown response, no seasonal uplift
Compare the plans

Premier

£29/month

Everything in Plus, and…

  • Priority 1 booking — same or next day, subject to availability
  • 25% off your callout charge
  • 15% off labour
  • 20% off parts
  • December cover — priority breakdown response, no seasonal uplift
Compare the plans

Rather not commit? A one-off annual service is £228 inc. VAT (£190 +VAT), cylinder included — book one here.

Plans are discounts on work, not free work. Priority booking is subject to availability.

Reviews

This is exactly the work David booked us for.

“Barrie did a great job replacing my ancient leaking radiator system with a new reliable one that more efficiently distributes the heat from my air source heat pump around my quirky 1740s house. The work was clean, tidy and the old radiators taken away.”
David · Mitcheldean · radiator system replacement
“Our system is not a simple installation… separate heating circuits for the main house and annex, underfloor heating, domestic hot water cylinders, pumps, controls and pressure-related issues that have needed proper understanding rather than guesswork.”
William · Usk

FAQs

Radiators and sizing, answered.

Why are some of my radiators cold with a heat pump? +
A heat pump runs at a lower, steadier flow temperature than a boiler, so a system that just about coped before can start showing up rooms that never get warm. Trapped air is worth ruling out first. After that, the usual answer is that the radiator is simply too small for the heat that room needs at heat pump temperatures.
Do I need bigger radiators for a heat pump? +
Some rooms usually do, and plenty don't. Radiators sized for a hot boiler system give out less heat at heat pump temperatures, so the ones that fall short get upgraded and the rest stay exactly as they are. A room-by-room heat loss survey is what tells us which is which — rather than replacing everything and hoping.
My heat pump was installed years ago and nobody mentioned the radiators. Is that a problem? +
It's common, and it's worth looking at. A lot of homes had the heat pump and cylinder fitted properly with the radiators left exactly as the old boiler had them — either because it was never raised, or because it got dropped to keep the installation price down. Most of a heat pump's efficiency comes from the heating system being sized correctly, so a system that runs poorly or costs more than you expected is often a sizing problem rather than a fault with the heat pump.
What does this work cost? +
It's charged on the published rate card — the heat loss survey included — the same as any other time on site: £150 inc. VAT (£125 +VAT) for the callout and the first hour, then £51 inc. VAT (£42.50 +VAT) per half hour. You'll never pay more than £360 inc. VAT (£300 +VAT) for a half day or £660 inc. VAT (£550 +VAT) for a full day, and radiators, valves and pipework are charged as materials on top. In December the callout is £198 inc. VAT (£165 +VAT) and blocks run at time-and-a-quarter, unless you're on a Plus or Premier care plan.

Areas covered

Across Gloucestershire, Herefordshire & Monmouthshire.

Gloucester Cheltenham Stroud Forest of Dean Tewkesbury Cirencester & Cotswolds Hereford Ross-on-Wye Monmouth & Chepstow North Bristol

Don't see your area? Get in touch — it's worth asking.

Rooms that never get warm?

Get in touch for a proper look at the whole system — published rates, hard caps.

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