Will a heat pump save you money?

Air source heat pumps, specifically air-to-water heat pumps, are the most common type used in the UK and qualifies for a £7,500 government grant.

Air-to-air heat pumps are cheaper to install than air-to-water heat pumps, and are used to heat smaller homes, such as flats. They effectively work as air conditioning units, so can be used to cool your home in summer too. This type of air source heat pump is not eligible for any grants.

Ground source heat pumps (including water source heat pumps) are made up of a network of underground water pipes – also known as a ground loop – plus a heat pump at ground level.

This type of heat pump requires a lot of outdoor space and is much more expensive to install compared to an air source heat pump as deep trenches will need to be dug, or boreholes drilled. Even after the £7,500 government grant, you can expect to pay at least £10,000 (unless eligible through Warm Homes: Local Grant scheme, which could cover more of the cost).

Hybrid heat pumps combine an air or ground source heat pump with a gas or oil boiler. It monitors the temperature outside your home and automatically chooses the most energy efficient option to keep your water hot and your home consistently warm.

Hybrid heat pumps do not benefit from the £7,500 government grant. However, some low-income homes in England could get a hybrid heat pump through their local authority. You can check if you're eligible in our Warm homes: local grant guide.

While a heat pump will work with standard radiators that you'd typically have with a gas boiler, they might not always be suitable. Heat pumps generally operate at a lower temperature, so they generally work better with larger radiators, as a greater surface area enables more heat to be transmitted. It's worth asking your installer if you need larger radiators before you go ahead, and then working out if the extra cost is right for you.

You may want to factor in changing some of your radiators anyway, and adding more insulation to your home to ensure your heat pump can work to its full potential – but this can add thousands to the overall cost, but should bring down your annual running costs. Sometimes changing just a few radiators can have a big impact on your heat pump's performance, so could be worth the extra investment.

Many modern heat pumps can work at high temperatures, so its not always necessary to replace your radiators. Check with your installer what's best for your home and your budget.

Plus, if you replace your combi-boiler with a heat pump, you'll need some way of heating and storing your home's hot water supply.

Heat pumps operate at much lower temperatures than traditional gas boilers, plus they have fewer moving parts, so they tend to be cheaper to maintain. They also have a longer life expectancy of around 20 years compared to gas boilers, which usually need replacing after around 10 to 15 years.

According to the Eco Experts, getting your air source heat pump serviced will cost you around £200 (depending on the company you go with and the size of your heat pump).

Most heat pumps will come with a warranty as standard, but it'll usually require you to have your system serviced every year for it to be valid.

The most important part of looking after your heat pump is to keep it clean and make sure the airflow isn’t being obstructed. See more ways to keep your heat pump running efficiently.

The Energy Saving Trust estimates that households with electric storage heaters could make significant savings by switching to an air-source heat pump, compared to those with gas boilers - as much as £1,200 a year for a typical three-bedroom house.

If you only used gas to power your boiler, and replace it with a heat pump system, it's likely you'll just need an 'electricity only' tariff, not a dual-fuel tariff. See our Is it time to fix my energy? guide to see what tariffs are current available, or use our Cheap Energy Club for a bespoke comparison.

If you'll still have a gas supply for your cooking, you may want to consider swapping this for an electric cooker, as retaining a gas supply just for cooking will mean your annual standing charge is disproportionately high.

If you're completely disconnecting your gas supply, you need to contact your energy supplier, who will arrange for your gas meter to be removed - most suppliers will charge a fee for this and cost varies by supplier. If you also need your property's gas pipe removed, you'll need to contact your gas distribution network operator.

Remember, if you don't have any gas connection at all, you'll save on gas standing charges, which are currently £109 a year on average.

If you've had problems with your installation, the first thing you'll need to is contact your installed - if it won't or can't help, the Microgeneration Certification scheme may be able to get involved.

Speak to your installer first

If you experience problems with your new heat pump system, such as performance issues, faults, or safety concerns, the first thing to do is speak to your installer.

Send a formal complaint to the installer who carried out the work. They have 14 days from receiving your letter to resolve the issue(s).

If your installer won't help, see if you can get help from the Microgeneration Certification Scheme

If your installer can't or won't help, you can get help from the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS). The MCS has a list of what issues are covered by the scheme. You'll then need to complete and submit its “Something's Gone Wrong” form.

Your rights are also protected by a number of codes, set up to safeguard consumers in renewable energy sectors. There are organisations like the Renewable Energy Consumer code (RECC) and the Home Insultation and Energy Systems Contractor Scheme (HIES) which can also help.

If your installer is MCS certified (which is has to be to get the Government grant), it's a condition that they must be a member of one of these organisations. The MCS can tell you when to get in touch with them.

As heat pumps are fairly new technology, it's difficult to say how long they'll last, but typically, you'd expect the lifespan of a heat pump to be similar to that of a modern gas boiler. Make sure you choose a good-quality heat pump from a reputable manufacturer, and have it installed by a trained professional to ensure optimal performance and longevity.

Heat pumps are significantly more efficient than other heating systems because they use energy from the environment rather than from burning fossil fuels.

In general, a heat pump will produce around three to four times more energy than it takes in – meaning it can create three kilowatts of heat from every one kilowatt of electricity. So you might see a heat pump being referred to as 300% efficient, whereas an A-rated gas boiler has an efficiency of around 85%.

Given the average home in England and Wales typically uses around 10,000 kilowatt hours of gas to heat their homes each year, a heat pump would use less than 3,500kWh of electricity to produce this.

Obviously, this will vary depending on the size of your home, how well insulated it is and how much hot water you use. It's also worth nothing that electricity unit rates are generally more expensive than gas, so while heat pumps are more efficient, that doesn't necessarily mean they are cheaper to run. 

For an air-source heat pump, the unit is quite large and needs to be fitted to a wall or placed on the ground next to your home. It'll need some space around it for good airflow.

For a ground-source heat pump, much of the system needs to be installed underground, so you need some outside space on your property.

In England, you won't usually need planning permission as a heat pump is classed as a permitted development. Up until 29 May 2025, you needed to get planning permission if your heat pump was to be installed within one meter of your property's boundary, but this requirement has now been scrapped.

However, you will need planning permission for larger units over 1.5 meters cubed (larger than 0.6 meters cubed before 29 May 2025). Extra restrictions are in place for listed buildings. You may also need to get planning permission if you want to install more than one heat pump, or live in a conservation area or in a listed building.

If you live in a flat (or terraced house) with a garden or balcony, it's possible to have an air source heat pump installed – as long as the outside space is at least one square metre (that's roughly the size of the heat pump unit).

If you don't have a balcony or garden, it's still possible to have a heat pump, but the outdoor unit needs to be attached to the outside wall of the flat, similar to an air conditioning unit and it would need to be easily accessible for any maintenance work to be carried out.

The only option if you live in a block of flats is to have a shared ground source heat pump installed, which is then connected to individual indoor units within each flat. In this situation, it's up to the freeholder of the building to decide if they want it.

If you don't own your home, you'll need to get permission from the property's freeholder, which may not be easy.

Over the coming years, the Government is planning to expand the UK's heat network system so that 20% of homes, including blocks of flats, can be moved to a clean heat network, whereby a large heat pump or other clean energy source supplies the block or even a whole town.

If you have home emergency breakdown insurance, make sure you check the small print, as your heat pump may not be covered. 

Some insurers will cover your heat pump in the event it breaks down, but only under certain conditions. While other providers explicitly exclude air and ground source heat pumps from their home emergency cover policy. For some providers, you may need to choose heat pump breakdown repairs as an add on to your home emergency cover - although not all insurance providers offer this option - it depends on your policy, so do check. For more on insurance see our Home Insurance guide.

If you have home emergency cover, you should check for exclusions and terms and conditions that apply to cover heating appliances, otherwise you may face significant repair costs if your heat pump ever breaks down.

If you buy a house that already has a heat pump, and the current owner has been receiving renewable heat incentive (RHI) payments for less than seven years, you may be able to take over their contract as the new owner of the heat pump, and receive RHI payments until the end of the seven year period.

The current owner will need to tell Ofgem there’s been a change of ownership and you'll need to confirm this within 12 months buying the property. 

You’ll then need to provide Ofgem with various documents, including the heat pump's original MCS certificate number, the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) number, and documents proving you’re the new owner of the house. You can find full information on Ofgem's website.

Note, the Domestic RHI scheme closed to new applicants on 31 March 2022, so you can only get these payments now if you're buying a property that has an eligible heat pump and has been receiving RHI payments.