Heat pump warranties: what’s covered and what to check

“Warranty” and “guarantee” are used loosely, and one quote can mention several of them. They come from different organisations and last for different periods. This guide is general information rather than legal advice; the terms in your own documents are what count.

The four protections, side by side

What a manufacturer’s warranty requires

Terms vary by manufacturer and model, so look at the document for the unit on your quote. In general, check for three kinds of condition:

• Registration. Is there a deadline, and who does it? Citizens Advice warns that a guarantee may not be valid if you have not registered it where you should have. Do not assume the installer has done this; ask for confirmation.
• Servicing. Must the unit be serviced every year, by whom, and within what window? Keep proof of each visit. Our heat pump maintenance guide covers what a service involves.
• Who installs and commissions it. Does any longer warranty period depend on a trained or approved installer, or on fitting a particular part?

As one real example, Baxi’s published domestic air source heat pump warranty terms (dated June 2023, so check for a later version) include all three. The unit must be registered within 30 days of commissioning, or of legal completion on a new-build, whichever is later. The standard period is two years. Any longer period depends on fitting the supplied magnetic filter and on commissioning by Baxi or one of its trained installers. The unit must be serviced annually, within 60 days of the anniversary of that commissioning or completion date, and proof must be available if you claim. This is an illustration, not a recommendation, and other terms differ. Our guide to heat pump lifespan compares published warranty periods.

Parts and labour

Never assume a warranty pays for both. Check whether the terms say parts only, or parts and labour, and whether that changes part-way through. Baxi’s terms are for parts and labour, but only for work it has authorised, and it will not meet the costs of a third party unless it agreed in advance. So before calling anyone out, ask who needs to approve the repair. Also check who pays for a visit if no fault is found.

What is often not covered

Using those same Baxi terms as a guide, check how your warranty treats:

• The wider heating system. Radiators, pipework, controls and thermostats are excluded there, as are faults from the design or installation of the system the unit connects to.
• Selection and installation errors. Choosing the wrong unit for the job, or installing or commissioning it incorrectly.
• Water quality and flow. Low system pressure, poor flow, dirty water or blocked filters.
• Outside causes. Accidental damage, freezing, floods, storms, an inadequate power supply, or blocked airflow around the unit.
• Routine items. Servicing costs and consumables such as seals and filters.

Faults in the first two groups are where the installer’s responsibility usually comes in, which is why the workmanship guarantee matters. If your design includes other equipment, ask which warranty each item falls under, and how long each one lasts.

The installer’s workmanship guarantee

This is the installer’s own written promise about the work. Read it for its length, what it includes (design as well as workmanship?), any conditions, and whether it transfers if you sell your home. On the existing scheme, MCS tells installers working with domestic customers that the workmanship guarantee must last a minimum of two years, must be transferable to a new owner, and must be insured in case the company stops trading. Two years is a floor, not a standard length, so ask what is actually offered. See what MCS certification means and how to compare heat pump quotes.

Which rules apply depends on the scheme

MCS is in the middle of a change. It says certification bodies will move installers onto its redeveloped scheme “in a phased approach, throughout 2026 and into 2027”. So two sets of rules are in use, and you need to ask which one your installer is on.

Installers on the existing scheme

Installers on the existing scheme work alongside consumer codes, such as the Renewable Energy Consumer Code (RECC), which the Chartered Trading Standards Institute approves. RECC requires its members to give a written workmanship guarantee valid for a minimum of two years, transferable if you move, with an insurance-backed guarantee so that the full term is honoured if the member becomes insolvent or ceases to trade. RECC also requires deposits and any further advance payments to be insured. Ask which code your installer belongs to.

Installers on the redeveloped scheme

Two documents apply here: the MCS Customer Commitment and the Installer Operating Requirements. The Requirements say the installer must give you a written guarantee for the system’s design and for the workmanship, plus an MCS approved financial protection. The Commitment says the installer must:

• put all relevant guarantees and warranties in your handover pack;
• tell you what any financial protections cover and your right to refuse them;
• tell you if you need to do anything to validate or maintain the guarantees or warranties, and help you understand how to avoid invalidating them.

MCS also sets minimum requirements for the financial protection products it approves. They include cover for no less than six years from completion, an excess of no more than £250, and transfer to a new owner when you sell. You do not have to “activate” the product. MCS says these products can also be bought by installers still on the existing scheme, so ask rather than assume either way.

Even approved products have limits. MCS allows them to exclude defects from a lack of appropriate maintenance, unapproved alterations that directly led to a defect, storm or weather damage, wear and tear, and claims that fall solely within a manufacturer’s guarantee. They need not guarantee performance, and cover can be limited to no less than 125% of the original contract value. Read the policy you are actually given.

Your legal rights under the Consumer Rights Act

Whatever any warranty says, the Consumer Rights Act 2015 gives you rights against the trader you contracted with. Three matter most here:

• Goods must be of satisfactory quality. The test is what a reasonable person would consider satisfactory, and durability is one aspect of quality.
• Installation counts. Where installation forms part of the contract and the goods are installed incorrectly by or for the trader, the goods do not conform to the contract.
• Services need reasonable care and skill. Every contract to supply a service includes this term.

If goods do not conform, you can require a repair or replacement, unless that is impossible or disproportionate, and the trader must bear the necessary costs, including labour and materials. If a service falls short, you can require it to be done again, unless that is impossible, again at the trader’s cost. Where goods do not conform at any point within six months of delivery, the law generally treats them as not having conformed at delivery, unless the trader shows otherwise. That rule covers goods, including goods installed incorrectly under the contract, but not a claim that a service lacked reasonable care and skill. Citizens Advice says it is usually easier to use your rights within those first six months, and that you have legal rights for up to six years if there is a fault. That six years is a time limit for bringing a claim, not a promise that every part will last that long.

A warranty cannot take these rights away. A contract term is not binding if it would exclude the trader’s liability for satisfactory quality or for reasonable care and skill, and a guarantee on goods given at no extra charge must state that your statutory rights are not affected. Citizens Advice puts it simply: warranties and guarantees add to your legal rights.

So your first call about an early fault is usually to the installer, as the business you paid.

What happens if the installer stops trading

This is when the layers really matter, because legal rights against a business are of little use once it has gone.

• Product warranty. Citizens Advice says a manufacturer’s warranty or guarantee should still be valid, so contact the manufacturer directly. This is one more reason to keep the registration confirmation.
• Workmanship guarantee. Check if it is insurance-backed. Citizens Advice says this means a policy has been taken out so the guarantee is still valid if the trader goes out of business, and that your paperwork should say how to claim.
• MCS approved financial protection. If you have one, MCS requires it to fund remedial work by a replacement installer where the original has ceased to trade. MCS counts insolvency, bankruptcy and retirement, among other things, as ceasing to trade.
• RECC members. RECC tells customers to check their paperwork for the insurance-backed workmanship warranty and deposit protection, and to contact the relevant insurer or liquidator.
• Card payments. Citizens Advice explains that you can ask for your money back using Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act if you paid by credit card, as long as the single item cost more than £100 and no more than £30,000. Those limits apply to the item’s price, not the amount on the card, so paying only a deposit by credit card can still count. You usually cannot use it if you did not buy directly from the trader.

All of this depends on having the documents, so keep the contract, handover pack, warranties, policy, MCS certificate and service records in one folder. They matter again when you sell your home, so check what transfers to a new owner.

Questions to ask an installer

Ask these before you sign, and get the answers in writing:

• What is the manufacturer’s warranty on this exact model, and can I see the full terms?
• Does it include parts and labour, and for how long?
• Who registers it, by when, and how will I know it has been done?
• Does keeping it valid need a yearly service, and who can carry that out?
• How long is your workmanship guarantee, does it include the design, and does it transfer to a new owner?
• Are you on MCS’s redeveloped scheme, or the existing scheme with a consumer code? Which one?
• What insurance-backed or financial protection will I get, from which provider, and what does it exclude?
• How are my deposit and any stage payments protected?
• Who do I call first if something goes wrong, and what happens if you stop trading?

Our guide to what to expect from installation covers the handover stage.

ByEco is MCS certified for air source heat pump installation (certificate IAA10330), and we apply for the £7,500 Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant on your behalf. You may be eligible for that grant; see the Boiler Upgrade Scheme explained. We install air source heat pumps for homeowners in England and Wales. Ask us every question on this list. The cost depends on your property, as our page on what affects heat pump cost explains, so please get in touch for a free survey and an itemised quote, and go ahead only if you are happy.

Sources

Every figure on this page was checked against primary sources on 30 October 2026. Grant rules, planning rules and prices change — if you are reading this much later, verify before acting.

• legislation.gov.uk — Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 9 (satisfactory quality)
• legislation.gov.uk — Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 15 (installation)
• legislation.gov.uk — Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 19 (enforcing terms about goods)
• legislation.gov.uk — Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 23 (repair or replacement)
• legislation.gov.uk — Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 30 (goods under guarantee)
• legislation.gov.uk — Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 31 (liability that cannot be excluded: goods)
• legislation.gov.uk — Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 49 (reasonable care and skill)
• legislation.gov.uk — Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 55 (repeat performance)
• legislation.gov.uk — Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 57 (liability that cannot be excluded: services)
• legislation.gov.uk — Limitation Act 1980, section 5
• MCS — Customer Commitment, Issue 1.1 (September 2026)
• MCS — Installer Operating Requirements, MCS:2025 2.0, Issue 2.0
• MCS — Moving over to the redeveloped Scheme
• MCS — Financial Protection
• MCS — Requirements for Appropriate Financial Protection, Issue 1 (December 2025)
• MCS — Insurance Backed Guarantee Products
• Renewable Energy Consumer Code (RECC) — The Code
• Renewable Energy Consumer Code (RECC) — Consumer support
• Citizens Advice — Claim using a warranty or guarantee
• Citizens Advice — If you’re unhappy about poor service
• legislation.gov.uk — Consumer Credit Act 1974, section 75
• Citizens Advice — Getting your money back if you paid by card or PayPal
• Baxi Heating UK — Domestic Air Source Heat Pump Warranty Terms and Conditions (June 2023)