Our Journey Into Vaillant Heat Pumps - And What We’ve Learned This Year
Heat pumps have been a big talking point in the heating world over the last couple of years. They promise high efficiency, lower running costs, and a more sustainable future. Yet, for many homeowners, they still feel a bit mysterious - and in some cases, they’ve gained an unfairly poor reputation.
At MJ Ryder, we wanted to make sure we were fully prepared before offering heat pumps as a service. That meant taking the time to truly understand how they work, what they need, and how to design systems that deliver real comfort and real efficiency.
This year has been a huge learning journey for us - one that we’re proud of and excited to share.
Why Heat Pumps Get a Bad Name (And What’s Really Going On)
We’ve heard the stories: cold houses, high bills, systems that just don’t seem to perform. But when we’ve been called out to look at struggling installations this year, there’s one thing that comes up again and again:
👉 It’s not the heat pump that’s the problem, it’s the design.
A heat pump is not a “like-for-like boiler swap.” It needs the right pipework, correct radiator sizing, proper flow rates, and accurate commissioning. When any of these areas are overlooked, performance drops - and so does comfort.
Designed and set up correctly? A heat pump is one of the most comfortable and efficient heating systems you can have.
Putting Our Money Where Our Mouth Is - A Live Test Installation
Before offering Vaillant heat pumps to our customers, we wanted to experience everything first-hand.
So earlier this year, we carried out a full test installation in our director Amanda Ryder’s new build home.
Her previous heating system was an 18kW gas system boiler, running on microbore pipework. We replaced it with:
A 5kW Vaillant aroTHERM heat pump, and
An unvented hot water cylinder
And kept the microbore pipework
Not only was this a huge reduction in capacity, but it also allowed us to put the system through its paces under real daily living conditions - not lab tests, not simulations, but genuine family life.
And the result?
👉 It works beautifully.
👉 Efficient, steady, reliable heating.
👉 A constant level of comfort that simply wasn’t possible with the old gas boiler.
There’s no more “hot and cold” swings - just a cosy, warm, perfectly balanced home all day long.
Training, Testing, and Doing It Right - No Guesswork
To ensure everything we install meets the highest standard, our lead engineer Oliver Taylor dedicated a huge amount of time this year to training.
He has completed:
Multiple manufacturer-specific training courses, including Vaillant
Independent hydronics courses
Design and performance testing
Real-world modelling and efficiency analysis
All of this means we can prove how a system will perform before an installation even begins. No guesswork. No assumptions. Just proper design and engineering.
This is the difference between a heat pump that works “okay”… and a heat pump that works brilliantly.
Why Proper Design Is Everything
If there’s one message we want homeowners to take from this blog, it’s this:
The success of a heat pump installation comes down to design - full stop.
A well-designed heat pump system provides:
✔ Consistent comfort
✔ Lower running costs
✔ Impressive efficiency
✔ Quiet operation
✔ Long-term reliability
A poorly designed system will struggle - and that’s why some heat pumps out there have given others a bad name.
At MJ Ryder, we take the time to calculate, design, and specify every detail long before installation begins. And that’s why we’re confident in the heat pumps we install.
Our Own Experience? I Honestly Love It - From our Director Amanda Ryder
Speaking personally - I am thrilled with my own installation. The comfort level is exceptional. My home is always the perfect temperature, without sudden highs and lows. It’s simply cosy all the time.
If that’s the kind of heating experience you're after, a properly designed Vaillant heat pump is absolutely worth considering.
Interested in a Heat Pump? We’re Here to Help
We’re more than happy to guide you through the entire process - from initial design and surveys right through to installation and aftercare.
And don’t forget:
You can claim the £7,500 Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) grant
We handle the application for you, making everything simple and stress-free.
Just give our team a call on 01423 540021 to get started. We’d love to help you discover what a properly designed heat pump can do for your home.
