When it comes to needing an exact estimate for an energy efficient system, it’s the quality of the enquiry that ensures an accurate response – which is better for the customer, the installer and the supplier. Nu-Heat Trade Account Manager Gary Davies explains what information the team needs in order to get it right first time.

‘When taking an initial enquiry’ says Gary, ‘the worst scenario is receiving a set of plans and a request for ‘underfloor heating and a heat pump’. It’s like going into a BMW showroom and saying ‘I want a 2 litre car.’ If we get enough project-specific information at the start, our response will be dead on.’

Ethical sales

With renewable products in particular there is no such thing as ‘one size fits all’. With enough detail, it should be possible for a supplier to ascertain reasonably quickly whether the desired system is, in fact, feasible. If it is obvious that it won’t work well – such as an enquiry for a heat pump in a badly insulated older property – an ethical supply company will explain why it is not a suitable solution.

The supplier can then offer options for the installer to suggest to the customer – such as solar thermal for domestic hot water or underfloor heating (UFH) working with a condensing boiler (where the low system water temperatures of underfloor heating enhance the efficiency of condensing boilers and give a degree of fuel savings). Even for a well-insulated property, a ground source heat pump (GSHP) might be the ideal, but the budget could indicate an air source heat pump (ASHP) as a cheaper but still effective choice.

Support

With a design and supply company such as Nu-Heat support can be given from an early stage if enough information is available. This covers additional elements like cylinders, solar thermal or even towel rails and considerations such as the most suitable floor covering. ‘Basically any questions that an installer has we will endeavour to answer, however weird and wonderful!’ comments Gary. 

By investing a short amount of time to provide detailed information for an initial enquiry will help ensure that the response is right first time, which is beneficial for everyone involved. It also gives added value by facilitating an open, professional dialogue between installer and supplier, opening channels for excellent advice and first rate price options to be offered.

Nu-Heat is an active member of Ethical Junction, learn more

Tags: advice, energy, solar power

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 27th, 2010 at 8:15 am and is filed under Energy and Environment. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.