Hertfordshire · Heat pump installation
Heat pump installers in How Wood
F-Gas certified and NICEIC approved, we cover How Wood for air source heat pumps. A fixed price before work begins, and a 24/7 emergency line.
- Comparing heat pump types
- Wanting to stop using oil, LPG or gas for heating
- Questions about where the outdoor unit can go
Air source heat pumps in How Wood
Until 31 March 2027, a heat pump installed in residential accommodation carries 0% VAT, with 5% from 1 April 2027. That follows HMRC Notice 708/6, and it does not apply to businesses. For air-to-air systems, we confirm the VAT on your quote. This is general information, not tax advice. If you’re dealing with questions about where the outdoor unit can go and working out whether radiators need upsizing, we can sort it out.
Whether a home near How Wood has mains gas makes a difference to the grant. Until March 2027, homes on oil or LPG without mains gas can get an extra £1,500 through the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, for an air source or ground source heat pump.
Warranty periods vary by brand and by product. Daikin, for instance, gives a standard 2 years on split air conditioning, with longer extensions only on its air-to-water heat pumps. Whatever the brand, the manufacturer’s terms are explained on your quote.
- Place
- How Wood (AL2)
- Region
- Hertfordshire
- Accreditations
- F-Gas certified company, NICEIC approved, MCS
- Quote
- Fixed, in writing
- Guide price
- Air-to-water £8,000–£16,000 before any grant (0% VAT for homes)
- Phone
- 07833 053749
- Page updated
- 30 October 2026
What air source heat pumps can’t fix
In fairness, some problems need a different answer:
- Gas boiler work, such as disconnecting the old boiler, which needs a Gas Safe registered engineer
- Getting planning permission or listed building consent on your behalf
- Insulation work, such as loft or cavity wall insulation
If you are not sure, just ring 07833 053749, or email if that’s easier and we will give you a straight answer before you book.
Parts of the system we cover
- Radiator systems
- Air-to-water heat pumps
- Air-to-air heat pumps
- Underfloor heating
- Hot water cylinders
- Homes heated by oil, LPG or gas
Common questions in How Wood
Is planning permission needed for a heat pump in How Wood?
The answer turns on the property and where the outdoor unit would sit. Around 6 listed entries sit within 0.5 miles of central How Wood. On a house, an air source heat pump can often go ahead under permitted development, with an outdoor unit of no more than 1.5 cubic metres and an installation that meets MCS 020(a), which includes a noise check. Those rights don’t reach the grounds of a listed building, and conservation areas rule out walls or roofs facing a road. If that might affect you, we ask the local planning authority (for How Wood, normally St Albans City council).
Is the heat pump grant available in How Wood?
How Wood is covered, as the scheme runs across England and Wales. For an air-to-water heat pump the amount is £7,500; an air-to-air system can get £2,500 if it replaces the fossil-fuel heating outright, meets the home’s full heating demand and is not an add-on to a boiler. As an MCS certified installer, we apply for it on your behalf.
How quickly will you reply?
The same working day. After that, we agree a survey, diagnosis or installation date that suits you, with a fixed price before work starts.
Do you look at the job first?
Yes, every time. Diagnosis comes before treatment: the survey tells us what the job needs and how to do it and the fixed price is built on it.
What’s the difference between air-to-water and air-to-air heat pumps?
Air-to-water replaces the boiler for heating and hot water, while air-to-air heats and cools rooms, and we help you choose. Both are part of what we install.
Who is responsible for leak checks?
The F-gas rules share it between the equipment’s operator and the engineers who work on it. The interval depends on the refrigerant charge, measured in tonnes of CO2 equivalent: at least yearly for 5 to under 50 tCO2e, and every 6 months for 50 to under 500 tCO2e.
Does servicing affect my warranty?
Each manufacturer decides. Where servicing is a condition, a missed service could give the manufacturer grounds to refuse a claim and we’ll tell you what your brand asks for.
More services for How Wood
Rented and managed buildings
The F-gas rules share responsibility for leak checking between the equipment’s operator and the service technicians. Where a building is let or managed, the lease or contract should make clear who looks after the system and we are happy to deal with whoever it is.
We also work for facilities teams in offices, schools and public buildings across Hertfordshire. Work can be phased by floor, zone or building to keep disruption down.
Air source heat pumps around How Wood
The Valuation Office Agency’s council tax figures date about 40% of homes across How Wood and its surrounding area to the post-war years, 1945 to 1972, and about 62% of households live in detached or semi-detached houses, according to the last census (2021). Whether the walls and loft have been insulated makes a real difference to the heat pump size for homes of that period. Detached and semi-detached houses normally have room for the outdoor unit and a cylinder.
Historic houses such as High Elms Manor, about 2.2 miles south-west, are a reminder that listed homes need consent before a heat pump goes in. Older homes near Church of the Holy Trinity may need extra checks for planning and heat loss before a heat pump is designed.
How Wood is about 2 miles south-west of St Albans, in Hertfordshire. Whatever kind of property you have in How Wood, we can help with air source heat pumps. We reply to enquiries the same working day, and there’s a 24/7 emergency line. How Wood is one of 381 towns, villages and districts in Hertfordshire we cover for homes and businesses. Our London page covers places nearby (19 miles or so).
That includes properties on Ringway Road, Alder Close and How Wood and the roads around them. If your postcode is in AL2, the property is within reach. Neighbouring places we cover include Park Street (1 mile north-east), Chiswell Green (1 mile north-west), Frogmore (1 mile east), Bricket Wood (1 mile south-west) and Colney Street (1 mile south-east). Further out, we also cover Watford (4 miles south-west), Hemel Hempstead (5 miles north-west), Stevenage (15 miles north-east) and Welwyn Garden City (9 miles north-east).
Local landmarks in How Wood
In How Wood, that means homes and buildings near Marlborough Science Academy and The Falcon pub. There’s a railway station in How Wood itself: How Wood station. A little further out are Hilfield Castle (4.6 miles south) and Hypocaust Museum (2.1 miles north). Green spaces nearby include Broad Colney Lakes and Verulamium Lake.
What happens on the day
Everything the job needs comes with us, from tools and test equipment to ladders and dust sheets. All we ask is clear access to the units, or to where they’ll go, and to the consumer unit. On site, the work takes anything from a couple of days for air-to-air to the best part of a week for air-to-water with radiator changes. Tell us about any gates or steps at your property near How Wood when you book.
- Step one is understanding the house, how it’s heated today and what you’d like to change.
- On the visit we calculate what every room loses on a cold day, then check the radiators, room for a cylinder and outdoor unit options.
- You get a fixed-price quote, with any grant you’re eligible for and the VAT explained.
- The outdoor unit, the indoor equipment and the controls are installed and connected.
- The system is commissioned and registered under MCS, and we show you how to use it.
Preparing for the visit
- Dig out any previous service or F-Gas records
- Move furniture away from the wall where we will be working
- Give us access to the outside wall, roof or yard where the outdoor unit sits
How to get a quote
Getting a quote is straightforward. Send a few details and pictures, and we reply the same working day. Where a survey is needed, we arrange a time that suits you.
Related advice
Why deal with it now?
Replacing a boiler in a hurry when it breaks leaves little time to consider a heat pump. Planning ahead gives time for the heat loss survey, the design and the grant application before you need the heat. Booking before summer means the work near How Wood is done before the hot weather.
Putting the work off seldom saves money. Small problems, from blocked filters to slow leaks, tend to get worse, and a struggling system uses more electricity to do less. If you’re not sure what’s needed, call us on 07833 053749 or email us for straight advice and a fixed price.
Why choose AirCon Doctor in How Wood
- Emergency calls taken 24/7
- A site survey and a fixed-price quote
- We reply to enquiries the same working day
- Manufacturer’s warranty terms explained on your quote
See how installs are priced and our accreditations and certificates.
What a customer said
“Office air con broke down in the July heatwave. Called at 8am, engineer was here by noon and fixed within 2 hours. Brilliant emergency response. They now hold the service contract for the whole building.”
James T., Crawley, office manager