Heat pump installation in Sidmouth, designed properly for period homes
Plenty of Sidmouth’s period and solid-walled homes get written off as unsuitable elsewhere. We measure every room ourselves, size the system to the numbers, and take on properties other installers turn down.
James and the team provided a first rate end to end service, our old oil boiler failed on Good Friday and within 3/4 weeks we were up and running with a new energy efficient air source heating system.
James Stalker, owner
NAPIT MCS assessor
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What your Sidmouth installation includes
The majority of heat pump problems are design problems. Get the design right and the technology just works. The design absorbs the effort, and that is genuinely what your money buys. Every installation includes:
- A heat loss survey done properly, every room in turn, with nothing extrapolated from floor area or postcode.
- A design that answers to the survey, capable of heating the house on the year’s coldest day without the waste that oversizing brings.
- A clear radiator plan. We name the ones, if there are any, that need upsizing to perform at a lower temperature.
- Heat pump, a new cylinder intended for heat pump systems, and all pipework and controls, supplied and installed by us.
- Commissioning and optimisation as standard, so efficiency is settled before we leave site.
- Smart controls with weather compensation where the benefit is real, letting the heat pump follow both the weather and the household’s demand.
- A handover worth the name, so you know how the thing runs, backed by aftercare later.
We also fit underfloor heating, and where it is already installed you are ahead, because it suits low-temperature systems by design.
Told a heat pump won’t work in a house like yours?
Sidmouth’s housing was never built with modern heating in mind.
- Regency villas near the Esplanade, Victorian terraces climbing towards Salcombe Hill, cob and stone cottages up the valley in Sidbury and Sidford. Solid walls, high ceilings, the odd single-glazed sash that isn’t going anywhere.
- Much of the town and both villages sit within conservation areas, and plenty of properties are listed. Ring a national installer about heat pump installation in Sidmouth and you’ll often get one of two answers: a templated quote that ignores all of that, or a flat “your property isn’t suitable”.
Neither answer is engineering.
- Heat loss is a number, not an opinion.
- When every room is measured and calculated properly, a solid-walled period property becomes a design problem with a design solution: radiators sized to the actual figures, and a system run at flow temperatures of 45 to 50°C, which suits older homes because the heat is steady and gentle rather than blasted in short bursts. And there’s a second Sidmouth story beyond the period terraces: head up the Sid Valley or out along the A3052 and many homes in Sidbury, Sidford and Salcombe Regis still run on oil, with a tank in the garden, deliveries to chase, and a winter fill that costs whatever the market says that week.
That calculation is the whole basis of our air source heat pump installation service.
- Eco Pro Renewables installs air-to-water heat pumps only, nothing else, and every system starts with a room-by-room heat loss survey done in person by James Stalker: owner, heat pump engineer since 2010, 100+ heat pump installations, and a freelance NAPIT MCS assessor who audits other installers’ work for a living.
- Heat pump installation in Sidmouth’s older stock is exactly the work volume installers avoid. It’s the work we take on.
And if your oil boiler is getting old, timing matters too: off-grid oil and LPG households can now apply for a £9,000 Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant instead of the standard £7,500, on applications made up to 31 March 2027.
Why Sidmouth homeowners choose us
A heat pump on a period property is a five-figure decision, and in Sidmouth it often comes after another company has already said no. Here is what changes when the owner does the assessment, designs the system and stands behind the result.
You deal with the owner.
- James answers the phone, does the assessment and designs the system; he commissions it, hands it over and keeps the aftercare, so a later question reaches someone who understands your house.
- You will not meet a salesperson on commission or be told someone will be in touch. Read more about James and how the business runs.
★★★★★
“James Stalker is the most reliable man I know.”
Stephen M. · Google review · five stars
The man who marks other installers’ homework.
- As a freelance NAPIT MCS assessor, James audits other companies’ heat pump installations.
- He knows precisely where installs go wrong, because inspecting them is part of his job. That knowledge goes into every Sidmouth system he designs.
Room-by-room heat loss design.
- Every radiator, every room, every calculation done for your actual house.
- Not a postcode estimate, not a template. Oversized systems short-cycle and waste money; correctly sized ones just quietly work.
Older homes welcome.
- Cob, stone, solid brick, listed, conservation area.
- If you’ve been told no, that usually means the last company didn’t want to do the sums. We do the sums first and give you a straight answer either way.
Grant handled and deducted upfront.
Grant handled and deducted upfront.
- As an MCS-accredited installer we apply for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme on your behalf and take it off the price before you pay. You never fund it and claim it back.
- And aftercare doesn’t stop at commissioning: we service heat pumps across the Sidmouth area, including systems installed by other companies. Along the coast we cover heat pump installation in Beer.
What homeowners say on Google
Grants and costs for Sidmouth homes
Because we’re MCS accredited, we handle the application and deduct the grant from your quote upfront.
Check if your home qualifiesA word on running costs, because this is where the industry oversells.
Against oil on a standard electricity tariff, savings are usually modest.
- What a heat pump genuinely buys you is predictability: no more watching the tank gauge, no more deliveries, no more winter price swings, and access to dedicated heat pump tariffs that improve the economics further.
- We’ll talk you through honest numbers for your house at the assessment, not a fantasy figure on a leaflet.
Grant figures correct as of August 2026. Eligibility criteria apply and are confirmed at your free home assessment.
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The Boiler Upgrade Scheme currently offers eligible homeowner-occupiers in England and Wales £7,500 towards an air source heat pump.
- Off-gas-grid homes replacing oil or LPG heating can qualify for £9,000 instead, on applications made up to 31 March 2027.
- For the oil-heated homes around Sidmouth, that window is worth planning around: a survey booked now can have its grant application timed to capture the higher figure.
- Eligibility rules apply and not every property qualifies, but two recent changes work in favour of older Sidmouth homes. Since April 2026 a valid EPC is no longer strictly required to apply, which removes a hurdle for period properties. And installation is charged at 0% VAT until 31 March 2027.
The kit we fit, and why
Your Sidmouth design is built on the survey’s measurements.
On a run-of-the-mill off-grid home that means an output matched to the heat loss, worked out room by room rather than guessed.
We choose the cylinder for your home, as we do the heat pump, and it usually arrives pre-plumbed with its valves and stats fitted.
We fit weather-compensating controls where they add value, and set them up at commissioning.
The survey comes first and the choice of heat pump follows, because we work with no fixed manufacturer.
Ideal features on plenty of James’s jobs, yet a Sidmouth house gets the kit that fits its heat loss, airing cupboard size and daily hot water draw, which a firm tied to one or two brands does not offer. A 4 to 10 kW unit matches most Devon housing, and the pre-plumbed cylinder we typically fit includes filter, diverter valve, cylinder stat and overheat stat from the factory.
The install is cleaner and faster as a result. Many installs in, that cylinder still gives consistent results.
Our process, from free visit to handover
Four steps, and the first one is free.
Free home visit
We come out, look at your property, answer your questions, and tell you honestly whether a heat pump is right for your home.
Book my free home assessmentYour heat loss survey and design
A full room-by-room heat loss survey and a designed system, with a fixed written scope and price. The survey is £250 plus VAT, and that fee is wiped from the final bill when you go ahead with the install.
Installation and commissioning
A clean MCS install, usually about a week start to finish, one or two jobs at a time, with the system properly commissioned and dialled in.
Handover and aftercare
We show you how it runs, and we are here afterwards, with servicing when it is due.
“After comparing several quotes and gathering details I decided to go with Eco Pro after speaking with James and couldn’t be happier. Their design was really detailed, explained clearly and the heat pump works perfectly.”
DJ G. · Google review · five stars
Your guarantees
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IWA workmanship warranty and deposit insurance.
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Registering the manufacturer’s warranty is part of our commissioning work on every make we fit. On an Ideal unit it runs to seven years of parts and labour. Other makes follow the terms their own maker sets.
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MCS certified, RECC and APHC member, NAPIT assessor, Ideal Heating partner.
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The grant paperwork handled for you, start to finish.
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Ongoing servicing when you need it, including years down the line. Heat pump servicing →
More recent projects
Exmouth
A 1930s six-bedroom home with 34 windows
The owners doubted a heat pump could heat an older, larger property. A detailed design running at a low 47 degrees, with seven radiators upgraded and the rest kept, proved it could, comfortably.
West Hill · Ottery St Mary
The job three installers said could not be done
The owners wanted their hot water cylinder relocated to the garage. Three previous companies refused. We redesigned the pipework and did it, on a 311m² home with uninsulated floors.
Newton Abbot
A period home others had written off
We redesigned and re-piped the entire heating system for low-temperature running, and added radiators to rooms that never had them. “Too old” is usually a design problem, not a dead end.
We install across East Devon, including Exmouth, Budleigh Salterton, Sidmouth, Ottery St Mary, Woodbury, Lympstone, Newton Poppleford, West Hill and Honiton. Along the coast past Ladram Bay, heat pump installation in Otterton means cob and thatch rather than Regency render.
Street, Somerset: three installers, three different answers. We designed it correctly.
Before calling us, this homeowner had already had two national installers and another company out, and been handed completely conflicting advice, one proposing an oversized 16kW system, another saying the property was not suitable for a heat pump at all. Our room-by-room heat loss survey showed the home was suitable, but nowhere near the 16kW that had been quoted. We sized it correctly, upgraded only the radiators that genuinely needed it, and fitted an Ideal Logic Air matched to the actual heat loss rather than the quote sheet.
Common questions
Usually yes, and the honest answer comes from measurement rather than assumption. Solid-walled Sidmouth homes lose more heat than modern builds, so the system is sized to that reality: a room-by-room heat loss calculation, radiators matched to the figures, and a 45 to 50°C flow temperature that suits older fabric. If the numbers genuinely don’t work, James will tell you that too.
Book my free home assessmentIt depends on the property and the unit’s position. Parts of Sidmouth, Sidford and Sidbury are conservation areas and many buildings are listed, so placement needs more care than on a modern estate. James assesses this at the free home visit and tells you straight whether consent is likely to be needed before anything is ordered.
Book my free home assessmentIt depends on heat loss, radiator changes and the cylinder, which is why we don’t publish a one-size figure. Heat pump installation cost in Sidmouth is confirmed as a fixed quote within 24 hours of your heat loss survey, with the Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant already deducted and 0% VAT applied until 31 March 2027. The free assessment gives you a realistic estimate before you commit to anything.
Book my free home assessmentIf you own and occupy your home and it currently runs on oil or LPG, you can qualify for £9,000 on applications made up to 31 March 2027. Other eligible Sidmouth homeowners can access the standard £7,500. Eligibility rules apply, and as your MCS installer we handle the application and deduct the grant upfront. Oil-heated homes out in Newton Poppleford, Tipton St John and Branscombe can qualify on the same terms.
Book my free home assessmentAbout a week for most Sidmouth properties. We normally start on a Monday and commission on the Thursday or Friday, with the electrical work completed in a day. Because we run one or two jobs at a time, the people who start your installation are the people who finish it.
Book my free home assessmentSometimes, but rarely all of them. The heat loss survey tells us which radiators in your Sidmouth property are already big enough for a lower flow temperature and which need upsizing. You’ll see the full radiator schedule in the survey output before you decide anything, so there are no surprises mid-install.
Book my free home assessmentYes. The home visit is free with no obligation. The detailed heat loss survey is £250 plus VAT, and that charge disappears from the final bill when the install goes ahead. It stays payable only if you decide the work is not for you.
Book my free home assessmentBook your free home assessment in Sidmouth
James will look at your Sidmouth property, whether that’s a terrace near the Esplanade or a cottage up the valley, and give you straight answers either way.
★★★★★
“We had an excellent 10/10 experience with James and would highly recommend him. … Communication was outstanding throughout, he responded quickly and always provided clear explanations whenever we had questions.”
Georgie S. · Google review · five stars
Prefer to talk it through first? Call 01395 202030 and you will get James, the owner, not a call centre.
