Question 1

Who’s funding this trial?

Accepted Answer

We’re working with the UK government to run the trial. It’s fully funded by the Department of Business Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) via the Energy Innovation Programme’s Electrification of Heat Demonstration Project.

Question 2

Will I have to pay to take part in the trial?

Accepted Answer

You’ll get the heating system for free, but pay for your gas and electricity use, as usual. If you decide to leave the trial before it ends, you may be charged for the cost of the heating system – the same applies if it gets damaged. If you decide to move to a different type of heating system after we’ve installed this for you, it’ll be at your own cost.

Question 3

How long will the trial last?

Accepted Answer

We’re looking for it to run for 1.5 years from the date we install your new system. Although we may need to extend the trial beyond this. If so, we’ll write to you beforehand to let you know.

Question 4

What happens at the end of the trial?

Accepted Answer

Great news – the heating system is yours to keep!

Question 5

How will joining the trial affect my energy use?

Accepted Answer

It all depends on the fuel you use to heat up your home and hot water. If it’s gas, your gas use will go down and your electricity use will go up. If you have energy-efficiency upgrades installed, it’s likely your overall energy use will go down.

Question 6

Which locations are considered as South East England?

Accepted Answer

Click here to see which locations we consider as South East England.

Question 7

What data will you collect and how will it be used?

Accepted Answer

We’ll monitor the energy use of your home until 1st April 2022 in order to check the efficiency of the system. And we’ll need to share this info (along with your name and address) with our trial partners: Retrofitworks, Parity Projects, and BEIS and their partners Energy Systems Catapult, DELTA EE, who are managing the trial on their behalf. We will also share your data with our installation partners.

Feedback is key with a trial like this! So, we’ll also ask you to share your thoughts about the new system with consumer survey companies Kantar or ICF, on behalf of the Government. For more info about how your data will be used during the trial please see our Privacy Policy.

Question 8

I’ve got more questions. Can I contact you?

Accepted Answer

Sure – you can call our team on 0330 102 7423 (Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm) or email us at smarthometrials@ovoenergy.com.

Question 9

Who are Kaluza?

Accepted Answer

Kaluza is an intelligent grid tech company, part of the OVO Group, leading the digital transformation of the electricity system. Their mission? To connect all devices to a smart zero carbon grid, and help make the global transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy. Find out more here.

Kaluza will connect the heating appliances to its smart flexibility platform, streaming and analysing the data from sensors on every device. Insights from Kaluza’s clever technology platform will help give the trial partners an in-depth understanding of how the heating systems are behaving across homes.

From there, the really exciting part...Kaluza will explore how further cost savings and carbon reduction could be achieved if the devices were coordinated and intelligently controlled to consume energy – when it’s cheapest and greenest for the grid.

Question 10

Who are Retrofitworks?

Accepted Answer

Retrofitworks are a cooperative of installation engineers with a range of skill sets and trades. They make things simpler for customers because their retrofit coordinators build the property specification, liaise with the engineers, and coordinate the job to make sure the system performs effectively. Find out more here.

Retrofitworks will survey your home to make sure a heat pump is suitable – and identify any issues that might stop you joining the trial. They’ll then use the survey results to work out what type of heat pump and mix of heating tech is most suitable for your home. Their carefully vetted engineers will then install devices in your home to the highest standards.

Question 11

Who are Parity Projects?

Accepted Answer

Parity Projects use a range of publicly available data to model the energy efficiency of homes. Find out more here.

In this trial, Parity Projects are helping us to identify homes which could be eligible for the trial. They’re also modelling the energy-efficiency of our trialists' homes so we have a good idea of what’s needed, even before the site survey. This saves time and identifies the key questions for the site survey.

Question 12

Who are Sunamp?

Accepted Answer

Sunamp delivers market-leading thermal energy storage to homes, businesses and communities around the world. Efficiency is what they go for. Find out more here.

Sunamp’s thermal batteries are market-leading innovations, offering highly-efficient thermal storage within a small space (unlike a large hot water tank!). In this project, Sunamp will be supplying their commercially available UniQ thermal batteries for installation, product warranty and project support.

Question 13

Who are Mitsubishi Electric?

Accepted Answer

Originally founded in 1921, the company known as Mitsubishi Electric has almost 100 years of experience in providing reliable, high quality commercial and domestic products to consumers all over the world.

Mitsubishi Electric now leads the UK domestic heat pump market with products such as their multi award winning Ultra Quiet Ecodan. Find out more here.

Question 14

Who are Kensa?

Accepted Answer

Combining engineering ingenuity and years of ground source expertise, every heat pump in the Kensa range has been designed and tested to exacting standards for optimum efficiency and ease of use. Find out more here.

Question 15

Who are Daikin?

Accepted Answer

Daikin are devoted to providing high-quality products and total climate solutions to create comfortable and sustainable interior environments for all of the people and regions of the world. Find out more here.

Question 16

Who are Vaillant?

Accepted Answer

The Vaillant Group is an international family-owned company – with more than 140 years’ of experience in giving customers easy, energy-saving solutions for heating, cooling, and hot water.

Vaillant’s air source heat pumps are some of the most economical and eco-friendly out there – helping you cut your carbon footprint and heating bills too! Win win. Find out more here.

Question 17

How will you choose my heating system?

Accepted Answer

Our partner, Retrofitworks, will survey your home and come up with a ‘whole house plan’ with the best mix of low carbon tech that will be installed as part of the trial. The one that can help reduce your costs, energy and carbon emissions – faster.

If we can install a heat pump without making any changes to your home, then that’s what we’ll include in the plan and design.

It might be that we need to do a bit of extra work to get the heat pump up and running – like install larger radiators or additional insulation. There might also be a few options for the heat pump itself. In that case, our friends at Retrofitworks will discuss these with you before finalising everything.

The cost of some of these will be covered by the project, but unfortunately we can’t guarantee that all works will be funded. If you want to carry on with additional works that aren’t needed for the heat pump installation, you can of course do that at your own cost – just let us know, and we’ll help sort it.

Question 18

Will I need to do work to my home before the system is installed?

Accepted Answer

If you’re successfully accepted onto the trial, we’ll do a survey of your home to check it’s suitable. If it isn’t, but there are changes you can make to address this, then the decision to do so is all yours – and you’d have to cover the cost of this extra work yourself.

Question 19

What about maintaining the heating system?

Accepted Answer

Good news! This heating system is designed to last 20 years – and maintaining it isn’t expensive. OVO/the trial will cover the cost of annual maintenance and any repairs for 3 years from your installation date. After that you’ll need to pay for any annual maintenance checks needed on the system – this should cost about the same as a boiler service.

But more good news! Each component for the system comes with a manufacturer’s warranty which will cover most problems over the warranty period. (Just be sure to check the warranty periods for each component as they might vary).

You’ll need to read your warranty carefully to understand what’s covered by it and what’s excluded. Plus, anything you need to do to make sure the warranty is valid – like registering it with the manufacturer, or carrying out certain maintenance checks. You’ll be responsible for the cost of any repairs or replacements not covered by the warranty, for example if you damage the system or forget to register your warranty.

Question 20

Does the home need to have underfloor heating or is it compatible with radiators too?

Accepted Answer

The system is compatible with radiators, but the survey would highlight if any of the existing radiators are too small. We’d upsize radiators as needed & talk you through this after the survey. Our goal is to make sure your radiators can release enough heat into the room to keep things warm, so sometimes bigger radiators are needed.

Question 21

How does the heat pump connect with the current heating system in the house?

Accepted Answer

We'll remove your boiler & hot water tank (if you have one). The heat pump would then need to be installed on an external wall of your house, ideally near connections with your existing heating system on the other side (like pipework to radiators). The external heat pump needs to be plumbed in through the external wall (without major structural changes to the wall, just pipes feeding through). The new hot water storage system (cylinder or heat battery) usually goes where your old tank or boiler was. The existing pipework is usually OK. All of this will be covered in the site survey. connect with the current heating system in the house?

Question 22

Does this heating system supply heating for the house too?

Accepted Answer

Yes, this is where the Sunamp heat battery comes in. It’s like a hot water tank, but better – using off-peak energy to charge up and delivering heat on demand when you run a tap. The power output is more than enough to generate hot water the same as a combi boiler does, and also at mains water pressure – so the output temperature shouldn’t be a problem. The capacity of the heat battery needed will depend on the size of your home, the number of people living there and bathrooms. This will also be covered during the survey.

Question 23

What will happen with my current heating system?

Accepted Answer

We’ll remove it, and turn off the gas supply (if needed). If you want to keep your old heating system just make sure you store it somewhere safe. And if you want to dispose of it later, it’ll be your responsibility.

Question 24

What will happen to my garden during the installation?

Accepted Answer

Installing ground loops will mean a fair bit of disruption, but don't worry. Our team will be very careful and leave your garden as good as new, re-filling and re-turfing it.

Our Zero Carbon Heating Trial

The next steps

Join the UK’s low-carbon heating revolution

Lighten your carbon footprint with up to £15,000 of tech

A low-carbon heating system

Energy efficiency upgrades

A more planet-friendly home

Full manufacturer’s warranty

The coolest way to heat your home

Heat Pump

Heat Pump

Hot water storage

Hot water storage

Additional home upgrades

Additional home upgrades

How the trial works

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

Who can take part

Who can take part

More about our Smart Home tech

The world’s best low-carbon heating solutions explained

The Green Homes Grant

7 ways to make your home more energy efficient

Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions