Air Source Heat Pumps

An air source heat pump heats the house from the outside air, and it heats a cylinder of hot water. It is not a gas boiler, and it is not the right answer for every house in Carshalton or Sutton. MTEX Services is qualified to install air source heat pumps. MTEX is not MCS-certified. An MCS umbrella scheme handles the MCS certification and the Boiler Upgrade Scheme paperwork, so a suitable installation can be certified and the grant can be applied for.

The Boiler Upgrade Scheme can contribute £7,500 towards an air source heat pump in England. It does not pay for a new gas boiler, and it does not pay for a hybrid that keeps the gas boiler alongside the heat pump. Whether a particular house qualifies is set out on our Boiler Upgrade Scheme page, which is the place to read the rules. This page is about the installation, not a repeat of that guide.

Space is the first test. The outdoor unit needs a sensible place, with room around it and somewhere the noise will not be a problem for you or the house next door. The hot water needs a cylinder. A mid-terrace in Carshalton or Wallington, with nowhere for a cylinder and nowhere reasonable outside, is often a poor candidate. A larger semi in Sutton, Cheam or Woodcote, with a cupboard or an airing cupboard that can take a cylinder, is more realistic. We will say if it is the wrong job. There is no point designing a system the house cannot hold.

A heat pump runs at a lower temperature than a gas boiler. Radiators that were sized for a very hot boiler may not heat the rooms on a cold day unless they are larger, or unless the house holds heat well. We look at the radiators, the pipe sizes and how the house is built before recommending one. Victorian and Edwardian terraces and 1930s semis in this borough vary a lot. An extension with a lot of glass behaves differently from the original rooms. None of that is a promise that bills will fall. Running cost depends on how the system is designed, the electricity tariff, and how the house is used. The Boiler Upgrade Scheme page has an illustrative comparison, clearly marked as not a quote.

Hard water still matters for the cylinder and the taps, but it is not a reason by itself to avoid a heat pump. Scale is something we take into account, in the same way we do on a boiler. The outdoor unit also needs a clear path for condensate, which freezes if it is left as an afterthought. That is part of the design, not a footnote.

The grant paperwork is not something you send off yourself. It goes through the MCS certification of the installation. Because MTEX is not MCS-certified, the umbrella scheme is the route for that certification and for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme application. We install the heat pump. They handle the certification and the paperwork. If you would rather keep a gas boiler, that is a boiler installation, with no grant attached.

There is no price on this page. A heat pump quote follows a visit, because the cylinder, the radiators and the electrical supply all change the job. Booked surveys and installation are Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm, and Saturday, 9am to 1pm. Call 020 3411 0240 or email info@mtexservices.co.uk. We cover Carshalton, Sutton, Wallington and the other places on areas we cover.