Heating & Cooling in Essex and London

We are based around the Rayleigh area and cover the whole of Essex, plus London inside and around the M25, and Kent. That takes in Basildon, Southend-on-Sea, Chelmsford, Brentwood and the surrounding towns. If you are not sure whether you are in range, call 07535 674043 and we will tell you straight away.

Green Plumbing and Heating Ltd was set up in October 2019, and James has been in the plumbing and heating trade for 18 years and in air conditioning for the last two. In nearly seven years of trading we have never advertised, which tells you where the work has come from.

Yes. All gas work is carried out by a Gas Safe registered engineer. We are also REFCOM registered and F-Gas qualified for refrigerant work, and hold Part P for the electrical side of installations. You are welcome to ask to see the cards on the day.

No. Quotes are free. For anything beyond a simple repair we prefer to look at the job in person rather than price it over the phone, because pipework, flue routes and radiator sizes all change the number and we would rather the price we give you is the price you pay.

Yes, we offer a 24-hour call-out service for emergencies such as a leak or a total loss of heating and hot water. Call 07535 674043 and you will get through to James rather than a call centre.

Our normal hours are 08:00 to 20:00 Monday to Saturday, and we are closed on Sunday. Emergency call-outs are handled outside those hours as well. If you message us in the evening we will pick it up first thing.

We fit the Vaillant range as standard for new boilers, and the Hive system for controls. Vaillant units are reliable, parts are widely available and the warranties are strong. Hive lets you run the heating and hot water from your phone. If you would prefer a different make, tell us and we will price it up and give you an honest comparison.

Most installations land between £2,000 and £4,500 supplied and fitted. A straight combi swap in the same position sits at the lower end. Moving the boiler, converting from a conventional system to a combi, or adding a cylinder pushes it up. You get a written, itemised price before anything is booked in.

A straightforward swap in the same position is usually one to two days. A full system conversion, or a relocation involving new pipework, is three to five days. We will tell you which yours is at the survey, so you can plan around being without heating and hot water.

Yes. Removing the old boiler, taking it away and making good the pipework is all part of the price. We protect the working area before we start and leave the space clean when we finish.

Yes. We register the manufacturer warranty on your behalf and hand over the paperwork and the commissioning record. Keeping the boiler serviced every 12 months is what keeps that warranty valid, so we set a reminder for you at the same time.

It depends on the budget. The best brands are Daikin and Mitsubishi, then the mid range of LG, Fujitsu, Samsung and others. We will talk you through what each one gives you for the money and size the unit properly for the room rather than selling you more than you need.

A typical single-room wall-mounted system runs between £1,800 and £3,000 supplied and fitted. The variables are the unit you choose, the size of the room and how far the pipework has to travel between the indoor head and the outdoor condenser.

Yes. Modern inverter units are heat pumps, so they heat as well as cool and do it efficiently. That makes them a good answer for a conservatory, a loft conversion or a home office that the central heating struggles to reach, and it means the unit earns its keep all year.

For most houses the outdoor unit falls under permitted development, provided it is sited sensibly and is not on a listed building or in a conservation area. Flats and some conversions are different. We will flag it at the survey if we think you need to check with the council.

Yes, once a year. Filters need cleaning, the refrigerant charge and the condensate drain need checking, and the outdoor coil needs clearing. It keeps the running cost down and the warranty intact. We keep reminders for air conditioning checks the same way we do for boilers.

Annually. A yearly service is what keeps the manufacturer warranty valid, keeps the boiler running efficiently and catches small faults before they become a winter breakdown. We keep a reminder for every customer we service, so you will hear from us when yours is due.

We take the casing off, strip and clean the components, check the gas rate, run a combustion analysis, and inspect the flue, the seals and the safety devices. You get a written record at the end. It is a proper inspection, not a visual check and a sticker.

A standard annual service starts at £120. Repairs are priced after diagnosis so you know what has actually failed and what the part and labour will cost before we order anything. Most repairs land somewhere under £500.

All the major makes, including Vaillant, Worcester Bosch, Glow-worm, Baxi, Ideal and Potterton. If it is a make we cannot get parts for quickly we will say so up front rather than leave you waiting.

For a total loss of heating and hot water we will get to you as quickly as we can, and we run a 24-hour call-out service for emergencies. Call 07535 674043 rather than emailing if it is urgent.

Because sludge builds up. Iron oxide from inside the radiators, flux and general debris settle in the bottom of radiators and in the low points of underfloor loops, and they stop the system moving heat properly. The signs are cold spots where radiators stay cold at the bottom or through the middle, slow heating, banging or kettling noises from the boiler or pump, and dirty water when you bleed a radiator. A powerflush clears it out.

Between £300 and £800. The number of radiators is the main factor, and underfloor heating takes longer because each loop has to be flushed separately through the manifold. The price includes dosing the system with inhibitor afterwards.

A typical domestic system is half a day to a full day. Larger properties and systems with underfloor heating take longer. We will give you a realistic time at the quote so you are not left wondering.

Yes. Underfloor heating is flushed loop by loop through the manifold rather than as a whole system. It is slower than flushing radiators but it is the only way to be certain every circuit is clear, and it is where sludge tends to settle worst.

Usually yes. A new boiler has a much finer heat exchanger than an old one, so old sludge will block it quickly. Most manufacturers make cleaning the system a warranty condition. We will tell you at the survey whether a full powerflush or a chemical clean is the right call for your system.

Yes, both kinds. Air-to-water systems feed radiators, underfloor heating and a hot water cylinder, so they replace what a boiler was doing. Air-to-air systems heat the room directly and use the same technology as the air conditioning we fit. We install and service both across Essex, London and Kent. Refrigerant work is carried out under our F-Gas qualification, with the company registered with REFCOM.

We quote after a survey rather than off a price list. A heat pump has to be sized against how much heat the property actually loses, and the emitters have to be able to give that heat back at a lower flow temperature. Those two things move the number far more than the unit itself does, so a figure quoted over the phone would not be worth much. The survey and the quote are free.

Sometimes, and sometimes not. A heat pump runs at a lower flow temperature than a boiler, so radiators sized for 70 degrees often need to be bigger to give the same heat out at 45 degrees. Underfloor heating suits a heat pump particularly well for the same reason. We check this at the survey and tell you up front if radiators need upgrading, rather than finding out afterwards.

Yes, annually, the same as a boiler or an air conditioning system. The service covers the refrigerant charge, the filters, the condensate, the outdoor coil and the system controls. It keeps the running cost down and the warranty intact, and we keep the reminder for you so you are not the one having to remember.

It can be, but it depends on the property. A heat pump delivers several units of heat for every unit of electricity it uses, which is what makes it efficient. Whether that beats gas on your bill comes down to how well the property holds heat, what the emitters are, and the rates you are on. We will give you an honest view at the survey rather than a sales pitch, including when the answer is that insulation comes first.

Grant-funded work has to be installed under the MCS scheme. We are not MCS registered ourselves, so where an installation needs that certification it is handled through the MCS registered company we work with, which is what lets the grant application go ahead. Tell us at the survey that you want to apply and we will confirm what your property qualifies for and what the current grant is worth before you commit to anything.