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oldtechie
Rank 1
October 6, 2023
Solved

I seen a press release about "Heat Pump offer" for lower tariff for heat pumps?

  • October 6, 2023
  • 41 replies
  • 1883 views

But I cannot find it in the listings for tarifs anywhere…

 

Can anyone point me at it? 

I must be missing something.

 

Also - anyoen know if it counts for existing HP owners, or only if we buy a new one?

 

TIA

old_techie

    Best answer by Jeffus

    Updated on 16/02/26 by Abby_OVO

     

    As of 1 February 2026 Heat Pump Plus is no longer available. We’ve contacted all customers who have been impacted by this change.

    Hi @dr_dongle 

    I don't work for ovo, i am just a customer.

    Welcome to the forum.

    This is primarily a forum where customers help each other out. The are a few ovo moderators who read all the posts and respond to some but not all threads.

    Great to hear about another heat pump installation.

    There is a thread here with a bit more info on the offer

    And other threads if you search for heat pump on the forum.

    It is what it is right now.

    If you are after a non standard tariff for a heat pump installed via anyone but the heat geek offer then you will have to shop around.

    I suspect one of the Octopus tariff are worth a look depending on your setup. Although I hear of some people struggling with their Cosy heat pump tariff. Your installer may be able to help with recommendations for a tariff. Having home batteries or an EV can open up possibilities for example.

    Octopus have a table with suggested tariff which is probably a good place to start. You may already have seen it

    Your low carbon tech Your best tariff
    Heat pump Cosy Octopus
    Electric car (EV) Intelligent Octopus Go
    Solar panels Outgoing Fixed
    Solar, battery storage Octopus Flux
    Battery storage Agile + Outgoing Octopus
    EV, solar Intelligent Octopus Go
    EV, heat pump Intelligent Octopus Go
    EV, solar, heat pump Intelligent Octopus Go
    Heat pump and solar Cosy Octopus + Outgoing Fixed
    Nothing yet Agile Octopus or Octopus Tracker

    If you want information on the ovo Heat Geek offer you can find it here.

    https://upgrades.heatgeek.com/homeowner/homeowner-agreement/

    There is an email address in the terms for queries, so you could always ask them directly about the points you have raised. I suspect that is better than asking via OVO.

    upgrades@heatgeek.com

    And a phone number in the terms and on the Heat Geek website 0808 168 9403

    There are lots of Heat pump owners on the forum if you have any questions before and after your new heat pump. Is there anything you would like to ask?

    Do you mind sharing some information on what your setup will be? For example have you included batteries, does your design easily integrate with Octopus Agile, has your designer recommended any tariff based on their experience and the design they are recommending for your home?

    Be great if you could post your experience to share with others, including any other tariff you are considering. Have you found any tariff you like at the moment?

    Good luck!

     

     

    41 replies

    Show previous replies
    juliamc
    Rank 20
    juliamc
    Rank 20
    January 24, 2024

    Rereading the OVO-HeatGeek link that jeffus has posted above: it does say that HeatGeek will apply for the BUS scheme for you.. this means the installer would have to have MCS accreditation, so there wouldn’t be a situation where the customer finds that the application is rejected.

    There have been many examples of poor workmanship from installers who are just MCS accredited. That’s not enough on its own to guarantee a decent standard of service.

    P
    Newcomer
    PaulWa
    Newcomer
    January 25, 2024

    Hi,

     

    The scheme is up and running!

    I filled out the form and received a link to engage with Heat Geek.

    So far I’ve paid to get the survey done and have been contacted by the installer and agreed the date for the survey :)

    Heat Geek are sub-contracting the install to the Heat Geek network of engineers.

    There seems to be a network of Heat Geek affiliated companies that hold the necessary certifications to meet the boiler upgrade scheme requirements.

    Here are the details of  Heat Pump Plus add-on Terms and Conditions | OVO Energy

    It looks like it is similar to the EV charging add, it that it’s driven by the energy usage from the heat pump.

     

     

     

      Jeffus
      Rank 20
      Jeffus
      Rank 20
      January 25, 2024

      Hi,

       

      The scheme is up and running!

      I filled out the form and received a link to engage with Heat Geek.

      So far I’ve paid to get the survey done and have been contacted by the installer and agreed the date for the survey :)

      Heat Geek are sub-contracting the install to the Heat Geek network of engineers.

      There seems to be a network of Heat Geek affiliated companies that hold the necessary certifications to meet the boiler upgrade scheme requirements.

      Here are the details of  Heat Pump Plus add-on Terms and Conditions | OVO Energy

      It looks like it is similar to the EV charging add, it that it’s driven by the energy usage from the heat pump.

       

       

       

      @PaulWa be great to hear how the survey goes 

        juliamc
        Rank 20
        juliamc
        Rank 20
        January 25, 2024

        Where are you @PaulWa ?

          P
          Newcomer
          PaulWa
          Newcomer
          January 25, 2024

          North East Hampshire, not far from Heat Geek HQ

            Tim_OVO
            OVO Staff
            Tim_OVO
            OVO Forum Legend
            January 25, 2024

             @PaulWa that’s fantastic to hear. Would you be happy to keep this forum updated with how things go? I’d love to be able to have someone document this, from signing up, surveys, installation and beyond. It will be super valuable to others considering the change to this low carbon technology. 

             

            @dr_dongle on the 31st January, assuming no delays, we’ll be posting on the forum about something you will be very interested about. My advice is to wait till then and then make an informed decision on this.

            Carbon neutral - we need a community to get there! My green tech: Aclara SGM 1411-B smart meter, Chameleon IHD6
              D
              Newcomer
              dr_dongle
              Newcomer
              January 25, 2024

              @Tim_OVO: You’ll have my full attention and I’ll be very happy to spread good news!

                Jeffus
                Rank 20
                Jeffus
                Rank 20
                January 25, 2024

                To juliamc:

                No-one has mentioned pipes though it had occurred to me: the main pipe runs are 22mm dropping to 15mm at each end of the radiators. The installer engineer is due here tomorrow, I’ll check though, thanks. I hope to have a full schematic for the system soon after that as well.

                Concerning Octopus Agile I think the main requirement is for networking round the house and one of the more recent SMETS2 smart meters - one reason I’ve been holding off on OvO installing theirs. 

                I take your points about accreditation and there, the funding bodies and private customers can easily check and insist on that. I’m a bit more concerned about the  OvO/Heat Geek partnership using OvO’s dominant market position to leverage Heat Geek’s position as installer-brokers. It is dangerously close to being a restrictive practice.

                I’ve not researched tariffs further than Octopus - I’m not expecting to save money (it may even cost me) but this is me doing my bit to save the planet.  It may make this house more saleable, but that’s hopefully a LONG way into the future. Of course if we’re all using hydrogen or glowing zero-point modules by then I’m doomed ...

                Do you have an old smart meter at the moment or a traditional meter @dr_dongle 

                If smart try this check to see if it has been migrated to the same connectivity as SMETS2 meters which would mean any supplier can read them.

                https://smartmetercheck.citizensadvice.org.uk/

                 

                  Jeffus
                  Rank 20
                  Jeffus
                  Rank 20
                  January 25, 2024

                  Sorry, me again but you mentioned batteries - were you thinking about photovoltaic input? A 12-panel Maxeon 3 solar array generates a bit over 5 kW under ideal conditions. Scotland is far from ideal so best take 80% of that when the sun shines - in December we average 27 hours of direct sun over the entire month (42 in January) so all of December equates to 111 kWh which is 3.6 kWh or a bit over £1 worth of electric power per day. I’ve tried to make PV work but there’s just not enough sun for heating or cars - it would take 5.5 days to half-charge a small 40 kWh EV. You get some PV output under bright cloud but it drops off a lot.

                  Where batteries or more likely a generator might be handy in a hybrid system is that if you had a power cut (and we do get them here) or the ASHP failed you could power the oil boiler and pump for a while till things came back on again.

                   

                  Hi @dr_dongle no not solar but battery storage. The majority of people are using batteries to capture cheap electricity from the Grid rather than for power cuts

                  The only people I have personally come across that have made the Octopus Cosy tariff viable are those with battery storage to charge up in the cheap slot to get through the expensive daytime slot.

                  You would need to see how your heat pump performed if it was throttled in the expensive daytime slot. You might find it it would work for you. @juliamc gave it a go for example.

                  Your designer should be able to give you some thoughts based on your heat loss and you could always see how your heat pump would perform without actually switching to Octopus 

                    Jeffus
                    Rank 20
                    Jeffus
                    Rank 20
                    January 25, 2024

                    Very happy to talk about my up-and-coming installation if this is the best forum… I have a generous 4 bedroom house (1975-1990), all on one level so lots of floor and roof. I’m off grid for gas and I’m burning 4000 litres of oil/annum (=over 10 tonnes of CO2) in a big 20 year old boiler. One heat pump will struggle on the coldest days so I’m going for a hybrid - a 14 KW Vaillant ASHP and a much smaller condensing oil boiler as a top-up - I’m hopeful that that will just be for a couple of weeks each year.  I’m replacing some of my radiators (P+ and K2 for the cognoscenti) with K3 which have three panels with fins. The rads I have chosen have the same height, width and pipe position as the current ones so I’m hopeful that they will go in one-for-one, just thicker - we’ll know about that next week when they’re installed.

                    Despite all of the discussion about heat pumps I feel that I am path-finding with this setup but there must be lots of heat-inefficient large rural properties for which this would be an option. 

                    I keep learning things which make me realise the magnitude of the problems with switching to sustainable power, e.g.: “A Tesla Powerwall will store as much energy as 1.3 litres of kerosene”.

                    Hi @dr_dongle you will find very few hybrid setups these days.

                    We have some double panel double fin radiators in our old house even with a gas boiler. They have helped when we are a bit constrained in a conservation area and with rubble filled very narrow cavities.

                    The grants outside  Scotland don't cover hybrid heat pumps.

                    You will find a few setups under the old RHI Renewable Heat Incentive scheme, including examples running HVO Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil rather than oil for environmental reasons. You may already have come across this example of rural house with a hybrid setup running HVO.

                    https://myhomefarm.co.uk/category/sustainability

                    If you are interested in batteries then this is an interesting forum to check out. A few of the posters have gone down the DIY route which is dramatically cheaper if you feel confident about that sort of thing. It is also a good forum for advice about heat pump designs and optimising.

                    https://renewableheatinghub.co.uk/forums

                    One of the free heat loss tools might be worth checking out if you haven't already as a comparison to your designers heat loss calculations 

                    https://heatpunk.co.uk/home

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