Heat pump hassle

sir – I read with interest your report (January 16) on air-source heat pumps and the lack of companies capable of installing and maintaining them.

My heat pump was commissioned in 2016. It worked well for two years before a weld failed and it lost its gas charge. A replacement part was swiftly acquired and fitted, and the unit recharged and commissioned.

During Storm Arwen in 2021 I lost power for 94 hours and the unit shut down. I was unable to reprogramme the control unit, despite having a comprehensive information pack. I tried to contact my installer, only to find that it had gone out of business. I then contacted Stiebel Eltron, the manufacturer, for a recommendation of an alternative maintenance company and was given several names within 50 miles of my home, the closest being 20 miles away. I phoned all of them, only to be told that as they had not installed the equipment they would not maintain it or help to fix it.

A local company with no experience with the equipment finally agreed to look at it, and after two days of reading the manual and fiddling with the control unit managed to get it working.

Just before Christmas last year the unit froze internally due to the outside temperature falling to -7C, and I had to switch it off at the mains. Having defrosted it I was again unable to reprogramme the control unit, which showed an error message, “Err: High Press”, which is not in the manual.

Given the huge demand for repairs to frozen gas boilers in our area, I have not yet managed to get it fixed. When it works it is very efficient, supplying under-floor heating and domestic hot water to my 800-litre storage tank.

Jeff Ratcliffe

Ormskirk, Lancashire