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About Us

Our Approach

Your home surveyed, sized, and warm

A heat pump can be excellent, but it is not a like-for-like swap for a boiler. The difference is that outcomes depend heavily on heat loss, emitter capacity, hot water needs, and where the outdoor unit can sensibly go. This site exists to make that whole chain of decisions understandable before any work starts.

How We Work

The service Northline Heat Pumps provides is built around three practical stages that turn an installed system into a comfortable system, with settings that match the home.

Survey and Design

Understanding the building, room by room, and agreeing what 'warm' means in your household. The survey translates your home's fabric and heat demand into sizing decisions based on evidence, not guesswork. We measure heat loss, assess emitter capacity for radiators or underfloor heating, evaluate hot water needs, and determine where the outdoor unit can sensibly go. Every decision is anchored in your property's actual characteristics—terraces, semis, flats, and older properties with mixed insulation levels all require tailored approaches. Clear assumptions and transparent calculations mean you understand exactly what the system is designed to deliver.

Retrofit Planning

Checking the heating circuit, hot water cylinder space, controls, and the outdoor unit location so the install is straightforward and tidy. This stage addresses the practical constraints that determine whether a heat pump retrofit will be disruptive or seamless. We assess condensate drainage routes, pipe paths, cylinder placement options, and how controls affect day-to-day comfort. Flow temperature considerations matter here: moving to lower-temperature heating often means evaluating whether current radiators are suitable at reduced flows, or what changes might be needed. The goal is a retrofit plan that respects your home's layout and minimizes surprises during installation.

Commissioning and Handover

The part that turns an installed system into a comfortable system, with settings that match the home. Commissioning is where technical specification meets real-world use. We configure flow temperatures, hot water recovery schedules, and control parameters to suit your household routines. Outdoor unit siting is verified for airflow and noise assessment—the permitted development noise limit of 42 dB(A) under MCS 020 methodology guides placement decisions. Quality checks cover pipework insulation, system tightness, and operational efficiency. You receive a clear explanation of how the system behaves, what the settings mean, and how to adjust comfort without compromising performance.

Heat Pump Policy Evolution

A short timeline helps explain why heat pumps can feel new to many households even though the technology is well established. These milestones show how grant support and technical standards have shifted the decision landscape for UK homeowners.

  1. May 2022

    Boiler Upgrade Scheme Launch

    The Boiler Upgrade Scheme opened to applications, making upfront grants a more visible part of the decision for many households. This marked a policy shift toward direct financial support for low-carbon heating technologies, reducing the initial cost barrier for eligible hydronic heat pumps.

  2. Oct 2023

    Grant Increase Announced

    The government announced an increase in heat pump grant support to £7,500, shifting the maths for many retrofit projects. This enhanced funding level made heat pumps financially accessible to a broader range of homeowners and accelerated adoption rates across the UK.

  3. Mar 2025

    MCS 020 b Standard Issued

    The MCS 020 b standard was issued with the permitted development noise assessment framework that many installers and homeowners rely on when siting outdoor units. The 42 dB(A) noise limit methodology provided clear, consistent guidance for compliant installations near property boundaries.

  4. Jul 2026

    Enhanced Off-Gas-Grid Grant

    The scheme information in Ofgem's guidance highlighted an enhanced £9,000 grant for certain eligible off-gas-grid homes, available from 21 July 2026 to 31 March 2027. This reinforced how quickly support levels can change and why checking current rules matters when planning a heat pump project.

Key Figures in Heat Pump Decisions

Four numbers come up often in UK heat pump decisions and provide a practical framework for understanding grant support, system design, and installation standards.

35–55°C Low-temperature flow range

Core Topics We Cover

The content on this site is organised to help you answer the questions that matter before you commit. Each topic is treated with the detail homeowners actually need, staying practical and checkable.

  • Heat-loss survey and sizing — Translating the building into a heating requirement based on room-by-room measurements
  • Emitter suitability assessment — Evaluating radiators and underfloor heating for performance at lower temperatures
  • Hot water planning — Cylinder fit, recovery expectations, and control settings matched to routines
  • Outdoor unit siting — Practical placement, airflow requirements, and noise assessment under MCS standards
  • Electrical supply and controls — How supply capacity and control choices affect day-to-day operation
  • Grant and documentation — How eligibility works and what installer routes typically involve
  • Installation quality checks — Pipework, insulation, and neatness that protects long-term efficiency
  • Commissioning and settings — The checks that turn an installed system into a comfortable one

Comfort comes from the design work you can see: a proper survey, clear assumptions, and settings that suit the home—not a bigger unit and a hope.

Northline Heat Pumps
Northline Heat Pumps Service approach statement

Ready to Start

Explore a Heat Pump for Your Home

If you're considering a heat pump for a Manchester-area property, the best next step is to start with the questions that a survey can answer: what the home loses, what the emitters can deliver, and how the system should be laid out.

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