Frequently asked questions.

OMEGA Energy Solutions is a family-run installer headquartered in Colchester. We cover every postcode in Essex, Suffolk, Kent, and Cambridgeshire with our own engineers — no subcontractors. The team that surveys your home is the team that installs.

A 45-minute visit from one of our surveyors. We check your insulation, heating, loft, and electrics, explain what grants and funding you qualify for, and give you a fixed-price quote for any upgrades. You get answers on the day — no cost, no obligation, no pressure.

Loft insulation is typically half a day. Cavity wall is a single day. Solar PV is 1–2 days. Air-source heat pumps take 2–3 days. External wall insulation is the longest job — 5–10 days depending on the property. We confirm the exact timing in writing before any work starts.

Yes — every OMEGA install is TrustMark-registered, PAS2030-compliant, and where relevant MCS-certified. These are the same standards required by every UK grants and funding scheme, so we can register your job for funding the moment we start.

25 years on the product and 5 years on the installation as standard. If anything isn't right, we come back and fix it free. Our guarantees are backed by our TrustMark registration, so they remain valid even if OMEGA ever stopped trading.

No. After the survey we send one email with your quote and surveyor's direct number. If you want to proceed you reply. If you don't, that's it — no chase calls, no drip campaigns, no pressure.

Our engineering teams are based in Colchester, Chelmsford and Cambridge and cover every postcode in Essex, Suffolk, Kent, Cambridgeshire and parts of Norfolk and Greater London. If your postcode is borderline, ring 0800 229 4094 — we will tell you on the call whether we can survey within 5 working days.

No. The price you see on the quote is the price you pay. We do not charge for surveys, grant applications, EPC re-rates after installation, or post-install snagging. The only times the number changes are if you ask us to do additional work or if we discover something during install that genuinely requires it — and we will always agree it with you in writing first.

Yes — we always recommend it. A second or third quote helps you sense-check the spec, the cost and the installer before committing. Make sure every quote is from a TrustMark-registered, PAS2030-accredited (insulation) or MCS-certified (solar/heat pump) installer. If anyone refuses to put their accreditation numbers on the quote, walk away.

Ring the post-install support line — the number is on the back of every commissioning certificate. We aim to have an engineer on site within 48 hours for any heating, hot water or solar issue, and within 5 working days for cosmetic or non-urgent matters. The 5-year workmanship guarantee covers parts and labour at no cost to you.

Most ECO4 funding goes to households in receipt of a qualifying benefit, or living in an EPC band D–G home with a low income (under £31,000 via the LA Flex route). We run an eligibility check on the survey — you don't need to know the rules, we do.

The Great British Insulation Scheme (GBIS) funds insulation for homes in council tax bands A–D (A–E in Scotland) with an EPC of D or worse. Unlike ECO4, you do not need to be on benefits to qualify. Funding covers loft, cavity wall, or room-in-roof insulation.

£7,500 off an air-source heat pump or £7,500 off a ground-source unit, applied directly to your quote. We handle the application for you and you only pay the net price after the grant has been confirmed.

The Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) is a tariff paid by your electricity supplier for surplus solar power you export to the grid. Rates vary — typically 5–15 p/kWh. We advise on the best SEG tariff to switch to once your panels are commissioned.

We do — all of it. From the initial eligibility check, through the funding application and TrustMark registration, to the post-install lodgement. You sign two documents at the start and one at the end.

LA Flex (Local Authority Flexible Eligibility) is the route into ECO4 for households who do not receive qualifying benefits. There are three routes: Route 1 — household income under £31,000/year; Route 2 — anyone in the home has a health condition exacerbated by living in a cold home (respiratory, cardiovascular, immunosuppression, child under 5, age 65+); Route 3 — EPC E, F or G at the local authority's discretion. We submit the LA Flex application on your behalf with no fee.

Owner-occupied or privately rented homes in England and Wales with a valid EPC less than 10 years old, no outstanding loft or cavity insulation recommendations on the EPC, and where you are replacing a fossil-fuel system (gas, oil, LPG, electric storage). Replacing an existing heat pump does not qualify. New-build homes do not qualify.

Often, yes. The Boiler Upgrade Scheme (heat pumps) can be combined with ECO4 funding for the loft and cavity insulation needed to make the heat pump work efficiently. Solar PV is zero-VAT-rated until March 2027 and works alongside the SEG export tariff. We sequence and stack everything you qualify for so you get the maximum funded across the whole project.

ECO4 with qualifying benefits — usually 5-7 working days from survey. ECO4 LA Flex — typically 7-14 working days depending on which local authority you fall under. GBIS — 3-5 working days. BUS — applied at quote stage; the £7,500 is deducted before you pay anything. We never ask you to pay full price and chase the rebate.

Loft insulation (mineral wool, 300mm), cavity wall insulation (bonded bead or polystyrene), external wall insulation (EWI) for solid-wall homes, and room-in-roof insulation for converted lofts. We'll recommend the right type based on your property age and construction.

On properties suitable for CWI it is safe and effective — but not every home is suitable. We survey the wall, check the exposure zone, and only proceed if it's the right fit. Where there's any risk of damp we'll recommend EWI or internal insulation instead.

A semi-detached home upgrading from no loft insulation to 300mm typically saves £300–£450 per year on heating (Energy Saving Trust figures). The work is often fully funded under ECO4 or GBIS, so the saving is pure gain.

Multifoil wins when rafter or ceiling depth is tight and you cannot afford to lose headroom — typical room-in-roof retrofits, loft conversions and listed-building rafters. For an open loft with full headroom, mineral wool is cheaper and equally effective. PIR is best for new-build rafters or where the cost-per-mm of thickness matters more than headroom. We will recommend whichever is right for your property — not whichever pays us more.

Typical 2026 EWI cost on a UK semi-detached is £9,500-£14,000 fully fitted, depending on render finish and complexity. ECO4-eligible households often have this fully funded. Self-funded prices include scaffolding, EPS or mineral wool boards, mesh-and-render system, decoration and 25-year material warranty. Planning permission is rarely required outside conservation areas — we'll advise on the survey.

Yes. We lift floorboards in a sequence that lets the family stay in the house, fit mineral wool or sheep wool insulation between the joists with mesh nets supporting it, then re-bed and reinstate the floor. Typical install for a 3-bed semi takes 2-3 days and saves £180-£280/year on heating. ECO4 funds it in full for eligible households.

ProPERLA is a BBA-certified breathable wall coating that reduces water absorption by 96% while still allowing the wall to release moisture vapour outward. Conventional masonry paint is the opposite — it stops both water in and moisture out, which traps damp inside the wall fabric. ProPERLA carries a 25-year material warranty and is the only product we use for coastal or driving-rain exposure properties.

A typical 4 kW system on a south-facing Essex roof generates 3,500–4,200 kWh per year. Self-consumption saves £700–£900 and SEG exports pay another £150–£250. Real numbers depend on your roof and usage — we model it on the survey.

For most households, yes — a 5 kWh battery typically lifts self-consumption from 35% to 70%+. Payback is usually 6–9 years. We quote with and without a battery so you can see the numbers and decide.

East–west splits work well in the UK — we lose about 15% versus south-facing, which is often outweighed by matching solar output to when you use electricity. Shading is a bigger issue; we'll flag it on the survey and suggest optimisers or a different bank if needed.

For most homes: Octopus Outgoing Fixed at 15p/kWh on the export side, paired with whatever import tariff is cheapest in your region. If you have a battery, consider Octopus Cosy or Intelligent Octopus (off-peak windows of 7p/kWh) on import. We include a tariff recommendation with every commissioning handover so you can switch on day one.

No, provided the install is MCS-certified and uses non-penetrating mounting kits compatible with your tile or slate type. We use rail-mounted brackets that hook over the rafters under existing tiles — no holes drilled into the roof membrane. Every install includes a roof condition photo report and a separate weatherproofing warranty alongside the 25-year panel warranty.

Yes — flat roofs use ballasted A-frame mounting systems that sit on top of the membrane without penetration, angled at 10-15° for optimal generation. The mounting weight (typically 35-55 kg/m²) is checked against the roof structural rating during the survey. Output is 5-10% lower than an equivalent pitched south-facing array but still well within payback windows.

It extracts heat from outside air using a refrigerant cycle — similar to a fridge running in reverse. Every 1 kW of electricity in delivers 3–4 kW of heat, so running costs are typically 20–35% lower than gas and far lower than oil or LPG.

Sometimes — heat pumps run at a lower flow temperature (around 45°C) so some radiators need upsizing to deliver the same heat output. We survey every room and include any radiator changes in the fixed-price quote — no surprises.

Yes — a hybrid setup is an option on some properties and the heat pump does 80–90% of the work with the boiler covering the coldest days. Pure heat-pump installs are more efficient but we'll only recommend what suits your home.

Most ASHP installs fall under Permitted Development (PD), which requires the outdoor unit to sit at least 1m from the property boundary and meet a 42 dB(A) noise limit at the nearest neighbouring window. We do an MCS-compliant noise calculation on every survey using the exact unit specification and your boundary distances. If PD will not work, we will flag it before quote and recommend a quieter unit or alternative siting.

Yes — modern ASHPs operate efficiently down to -15°C. UK design standards size the unit for a -3°C external temperature, with 5-10% headroom. In a typical English winter you will see the unit run a brief defrost cycle every 60-90 minutes during sub-zero periods, which is normal and accounted for in the SCOP rating. The system was sized for the worst few days of the year, not the average.

Ground source (GSHP) makes sense when you have garden or paddock space for ground loops or a borehole, you are off the gas grid (replacing oil at £1,800-£2,800/year — payback halves), the property is listed or in a conservation area where an outdoor ASHP unit is unacceptable, or you want a 25+ year asset with very long compressor life. For most suburban homes, ASHP is the right answer — same £7,500 BUS grant, 50-70% lower install cost.