Electrics and gas
The heat-pump isolator is inside a locked meter cupboard. Was the electrical isolation even seen?
No. The electrical isolation was not seen. The heat-pump isolator sits inside a locked meter cupboard, so the survey could not look at the switch, the labels, or how the supply is cut. An outdoor unit in view is not the isolator. The visit recorded the lock. It has not decided the isolation is suitable, and it has not tested the electrics. The survey does not issue a building-regulations certificate for the installation.
Last reviewed 24 October 2026. Written for buyers in England and Wales unless this answer says otherwise. No named surveyor has signed this page. It is general guidance, not a report on your house, and not legal advice.
What is the fuller explanation?
An isolator is the switch that lets someone cut power to the appliance. If it is behind the meter cupboard door, and that door is locked, the device might as well be off site for the purpose of this inspection. Labels that warn which unit it serves, and the details of the device, stay unread. The heat pump can still be standing on its base outside. That view does not open the cupboard. Electrical condition remains outside the report.
Ask the solicitor or the seller for the cupboard to be opened, and ask an electrician if you need the isolation checked. Keep any installation papers separate from this survey. The survey does not decide grant eligibility. Do not tell a lender the heat pump was electrically isolated in a proved way. The finding is narrower and blunter: the isolator was not seen because the meter cupboard was locked.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Was the meter cupboard locked for the whole visit?
- Did that lock hide the heat-pump isolator?
- Has any electrical test been ruled out of this report?
What are the typical next steps?
- Record the isolator as not seen.
- Ask for the meter cupboard to be opened if isolation must be checked.
- Do not describe the outdoor unit as proof of the isolator.
Costs vary with the building and with who you instruct. Where this page does not cite a published figure, ask the surveyor, a relevant specialist, or your solicitor for a written quote. Do not treat a forum average as the price.
Also asked about this
Could the isolator be a fused switch rather than a simple toggle?
It could, and the survey cannot say, because the device was not seen. Type, labelling and condition all sit behind the locked door. Guessing the form of the isolator would pretend an inspection. Leave the device undescribed until the cupboard is opened and someone qualified looks at it.
Does a visible outdoor cable prove the isolation is beside the unit?
No. A cable shows a connection running somewhere. It does not show the isolator, and this isolator is described as inside the locked meter cupboard. The survey did not trace the cable to a switch it could not see. The outdoor run is not a substitute for the locked device.