Booking a Heat Loss Survey in Leicester — How to Prepare and What You'll Get

Before the visit

A little preparation makes the survey quicker and the result more accurate.

Have ready:

• Your energy usage. A year of gas readings, or recent annual statements, help the surveyor check their calculation against reality.
• Any EPC for the property. It’s no longer needed for the grant, but it contains useful details about walls and insulation.
• Knowledge of past work. Have the cavities been filled? When was the loft insulated? Any extensions?

Make accessible:

• the loft hatch
• the airing cupboard or wherever a cylinder might go
• the consumer unit and electricity meter
• the cellar, if you have one
• the back yard or garden

Think about:

• Which rooms are cold, draughty or damp now?
• Where would you like, or hate, to see the outdoor unit?

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During the visit

In a Leicester terrace or semi, expect two to three hours.

Inside

The surveyor measures each heated room, records windows and doors, and notes what the walls, floor and ceiling are made of. In a Victorian terrace they’ll note the solid nine-inch brick, the suspended timber floor and the party walls shared with neighbours. In an interwar semi in Knighton or Western Park, they’ll want to know whether the cavity walls have been filled.

They’ll then record every radiator’s size and type, check the pipe sizes (looking for microbore), and look at the hot water arrangements.

Outside

They’ll look at where the outdoor unit could go: access, drainage, the distance to neighbours’ windows for the noise calculation, and whether the house is in one of Leicester’s 25 conservation areas, which affects front-facing positions.

Electrics

A quick look at the consumer unit and main fuse to check the supply can take a heat pump.

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After the visit: reading the results

You should receive a design and quote. Here’s how to read the key numbers.

Whole-house heat loss

Shown in kilowatts, such as “6.2 kW at −2°C outside”. This is how much heat your home loses on a cold design day, and it sets the heat pump size. For context:

Leicester home	Typical heat loss
Two-bed terrace	4–5 kW
Three-bed terrace	5–7 kW
Three-bed interwar semi, filled cavities	5–7 kW
Four-bed Victorian villa	9–13 kW

Leicester’s colder winters, similar to the rest of the East Midlands, mean design temperatures are a little lower than in the South West.

Flow temperature

The temperature of the water going round your radiators, for example “designed for 45°C”. Lower is more efficient. 45–50°C is a good target.

Room-by-room radiator schedule

A table listing each room’s heat loss and whether its radiator is big enough. Radiators marked for replacement are on the quote.

Cylinder size

Usually 150–210 litres for a Leicester terrace or semi. Severn Trent’s water here is hard, so the quote should specify a heat pump-rated coil.

Noise calculation

The predicted sound level at your neighbour’s nearest window. It must be 37 dB(A) or less to stay within permitted development.

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Red flags

• A size quoted over the phone or from floor area
• A visit of under an hour
• No room measurements
• No radiator schedule
• No noise calculation

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What it costs

Many installers include the survey free when you go ahead, or charge a fee that’s refunded against the installation. Ask up front.

If your household income is under £36,000 and your EPC is D to G, check Leicester City Council’s Warm Homes: Local Grant before booking: the council’s own assessment may lead to a free heat pump.

Next: what size heat pump you need · preparing for installation