Essex · Heat pump installation
Heat pump installers in The Common
Our engineers work in The Common on air source heat pumps. A look at the job first, a fixed-price quote and written records at the end.
- Not knowing whether a grant applies
- Planning and permitted development questions
- Ageing boilers that will need replacing
About our air source heat pumps in The Common
In England, an air source heat pump on a house can often go in under permitted development rights. The conditions include an outdoor unit of no more than 1.5 m³ and compliance with MCS 020(a), and the unit can’t be used solely for cooling or sit within the curtilage of a listed building. We check the rules for your property as part of the survey. Typical jobs include questions about where the outdoor unit can go and moving away from fossil-fuel heating, on air-to-air heat pumps, air-to-water heat pumps and hot water cylinders.
Homes around The Common usually have room outside for a heat pump, so the design comes down to heat loss, radiators and hot water.
AirCon Doctor is an F-Gas certified company and NICEIC approved for electrical work, MCS certified for heat pumps and a Checkatrade member. Our engineers hold the F-gas qualifications needed to work on refrigerant.
- Place
- The Common (CB10)
- Region
- Essex
- Quote
- A fixed-price quote up front
- Costs
- £8,000–£16,000 (0% VAT on homes), before the grant
- Certified
- NICEIC approved, F-Gas certified, MCS
- Phone
- 07833 053749
- Page updated
- 30 October 2026
How it works
The visit has three parts, a bit like a doctor’s appointment: diagnose, treat and sign off. First we check the system or the space against the plan, then the work itself, and finally everything is tested, recorded and explained. Most of the time goes on the middle part, and that takes a few days for most air-to-water installations, with air-to-air systems often quicker. Photos of the existing unit help with repairs and servicing in The Common.
- We find out about your home and the heating you have now.
- We measure heat loss for every room.
- We design the system, check the radiators and cylinder and look at the outdoor unit position.
- Cost, grant and VAT appear on one fixed-price quote.
- Installation, commissioning and MCS registration complete the job.
Getting ready for the visit
- Keep pets out of the rooms we are working in
- Mention any roof access, ladders or high-level work
- Give us access to the outside wall, roof or yard where the outdoor unit sits
Getting a price
Want a quote for air source heat pumps? Please give us a ring on 07833 053749 or fill in the contact form and tell us about the job. We’ll talk you through the options and give you a fixed-price quote before anything is booked.
Advice
What a heat pump looks like in The Common
About 41 miles out from central London, The Common is part of the South East area we work across. Listed buildings are part of the picture here: about 9 within half a mile of the centre, such as Numbers 1-4 Thatched Cottages (grade II). That affects heat pumps: listed buildings need consent, and conservation areas limit where the outdoor unit can go under permitted development. Where needed, we check with the planning team at Uttlesford council, which usually handles The Common.
Sizing comes from the heat each room loses on a cold day, not from the size of the old boiler. If your home is one of the older properties near Church of St Mary the Virgin, the survey checks whether it’s listed or in a conservation area before the outdoor unit position is chosen.
The Common is about 4 miles east of Saffron Walden, in Essex. Anywhere in CB10, our engineers can take on air source heat pumps. The Common is one of 644 places in Essex we cover for homes and businesses. You can also see our page for London, about 41 miles away.
Every address in CB10 is within our area, from the main roads to the quietest streets. Places around The Common that are also on our list: Radwinter (1 mile south), Maple End (1 mile south-west), Wimbish (2 miles south-west), Hempstead (2 miles east) and Church End (3 miles north-west). Within a short drive, we also cover Braintree (13 miles south-east), Saffron Walden (4 miles west), Halstead (14 miles south-east) and Great Dunmow (10 miles south).
What’s near The Common
Nearby you will also find Castle Camps (2.8 miles north-east) and Saffron Walden Community Hospital (3.5 miles west). The countryside around The Common includes Hales and Shadwell Woods.
Questions from The Common
Is The Common within the area you cover?
We do. Villages and hamlets get the same service as the bigger towns. Visits to smaller places are planned so the engineer arrives with what the job needs.
Can I get the Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant in The Common?
The Common 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 isn’t an add-on to a boiler. The installer applies, and we are MCS certified.
Can you set up regular servicing?
Yes. Tell us what you have and how it’s used and we will propose a schedule and quote for it. Leak checks required by the F-gas rules can be built in for larger systems.
How long will it take to install a heat pump?
It 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. How much of the heating changes decides most of the time and the timing is set out with your quote.
Which manufacturers do you install and repair?
Mitsubishi Electric, Daikin, Fujitsu, Panasonic, Toshiba, LG, Samsung, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Hitachi and others. For new systems, we recommend a brand and model to suit the job and explain why.
Is there a survey before the work?
Yes. Photos often do the job for simple work, while larger systems and faults that need testing are seen on site.
Should I choose air-to-water or air-to-air?
Air-to-water feeds your central heating and hot water, while air-to-air warms and cools rooms directly. With air-to-air, hot water needs another source, and we explain which suits your home.
What owners can safely do
Don’t move, re-route or disconnect units or pipework yourself. Moving a unit involves the refrigerant circuit, so it needs an F-Gas qualified engineer, and the electrical side needs a competent person. Ask us to quote for a move instead.
Good habits make our visits easier, not unnecessary. Clean filters and a clear outdoor unit help the system run as it should, but the refrigerant circuit, the electrics and the parts you can’t see still need an engineer at the interval the manufacturer recommends.
Also near The Common
What else we do in The Common
How the job changes from property to property
Radiators and underfloor heating
Underfloor heating suits a heat pump’s lower flow temperature, and we can connect to it where it’s already in.
Outdoor unit position and planning
Flats and blocks of flats have different limits, and Article 4 directions can remove rights. Listed buildings also need separate consent and we check what applies to you.
When something else is needed
In fairness, there are a few things this work will not fix:
- Planning decisions, which rest with the council
- Any gas work on the existing boiler
- Formal advice on VAT for your situation
If you’re not sure, just phone us on 07833 053749 and we’ll give you a straight answer before you book.
What we work on in The Common
- Radiator systems
- Homes heated by oil, LPG or gas
- Air-to-air heat pumps
- Hot water cylinders
- Underfloor heating
- Air-to-water heat pumps
What a customer said
“Excellent service from start to finish. Two wall-mounted units installed in our home. Clean, tidy work: they protected all the floors and left no mess. The systems work brilliantly. Would highly recommend.”
Sarah M., East Grinstead