An industrial heat pump runs for many years, and the manufacturer stays part of the plant for all of them. So the shortlist matters as much as the quotation.
Most plants invite three or four makers to quote. We set out nine questions that help decide which ones to invite.
1. How many machines have you installed, and where?
An installed base shows that a maker has solved real problems on real sites. Ask for the number, and ask how many are in your industry. A food plant learns more from a dairy reference than from a hotel.
Customer names are often confidential in India. Ask for an anonymised reference with the duty, the output temperature and the fuel it replaced.
2. What output temperature do you deliver continuously?
Brochures often quote a maximum. Ask for the temperature the machine holds continuously, at full load. That is the figure your process depends on.
3. What COP do you state, and at what temperatures?
A COP is meaningful only with its source and output temperatures. A maker who states COP 4.5 to 5.2 at 60°C output on a water source has told you something. A maker who states “COP up to 5” has not.
4. Which configurations do you build?
Air source, water source and cascade suit different sites. A maker that builds only one will propose that one. Ask which they build, and which they would choose for your plant, and why.
5. Will you survey the site before quoting?
A sound proposal starts with the plant’s own loads: temperature, flow and hours, and any warm stream on site. A maker who quotes from a phone call has sized the machine to a guess.
6. How do you integrate with our controls?
The heat pump has to work with your BMS, SCADA or PLC network. Ask which protocols they support, such as Modbus or BACnet, and which control systems they have worked with.
7. How fast do you respond to a breakdown?
Ask for the service response time in writing, and where the nearest engineer is based. A hot water loop that stops can stop production. A response of a day or two is a reasonable expectation to test.
8. Which certifications can you provide?
Some plants and their customers require certified equipment or processes. Ask which certifications the maker can provide for your project. Many obtain them per project, which is fine if it is written into the order.
9. Do you offer a shared savings model?
Some makers will install a machine and take payment from the measured saving. It moves the risk from the plant to the supplier. If they offer it, ask how the saving is measured and who signs it off.
What the answers look like in practice
As a reference point, one Indian maker publishes these answers openly. It states more than 200 installations, a temperature ceiling of 120°C, and control to ±0.5°C. It builds air source, water source and cascade machines, and quotes a 24 to 48 hour service response.
Those are the kinds of figures to collect from every maker on the list. A longer guide to the heat pump manufacturers in India covers how they differ. The figures above come from one Indian manufacturer, Tetra Heat Pump.