The short version
- Worth it for many homes, not all. The case is strongest if you own the house, are replacing oil, LPG, electric heating or an ageing gas boiler, and will switch to a heat pump tariff.
- The main pros: in a government-funded trial the median air source heat pump delivered 2.78 units of heat for every unit of electricity over a year. It burns no fuel at home and comes with a £7,500 grant and 0% VAT until 31 March 2027.
- The main cons: a median installed cost of £12,908 before the grant, running costs that match or exceed gas on a standard tariff, and performance that depends on the design more than the brand.
- Radiators, outdoor space, noise and hot water all need a clear answer at the survey, before you sign.
A heat pump is very efficient when it is designed well, and disappointing when it is not, so both the advantages and the drawbacks below are real. This page covers England and Wales, where the Boiler Upgrade Scheme applies.
Heat pump pros and cons at a glance
| Topic | The upside | The catch |
|---|---|---|
| Efficiency | Nearly three units of heat per unit of electricity (trial median) | Drops if the system runs hot or is poorly designed |
| Upfront cost | £7,500 grant and 0% VAT until 31 March 2027 | Median £12,908 installed, before the grant |
| Running costs | Can undercut gas on a heat pump tariff | Often level with or above an efficient gas boiler on a standard tariff |
| Carbon | No fossil fuel burned in your home | Emissions depend on how the grid’s electricity is made |
| Safety | No flame, flue or gas supply for the heating | Still needs regular servicing |
| Space | One outdoor unit, usually without a planning application in England | Needs a spot that passes the noise calculation |
| Radiators | Many radiators and much of the pipework can stay | Some rooms need bigger radiators |
| Hot water | Can heat your hot water as well | The arrangement has to be planned for your home |
The advantages of heat pumps
1. They are very efficient
A boiler burns fuel, so it can never get out more heat than the energy it puts in. A heat pump moves heat from the outside air, so it can (see how an air source heat pump works). In the government-funded Electrification of Heat trial, across the 428 air source heat pumps in ordinary homes with a full year of data, the median delivered 2.78 units of heat for every unit of electricity over a year, counting the circulating pumps and back-up heaters as well as the heat pump itself.
2. Lower carbon emissions
On the 2021 figures cited in the trial’s summary report, heating homes generates 18% of UK carbon emissions, mostly from gas boilers. A heat pump burns no fossil fuel in your home, and the Energy Saving Trust says your carbon dioxide emissions will be lower with one than with other types of heating.
3. A £7,500 grant and 0% VAT
In England and Wales, the Boiler Upgrade Scheme gives £7,500 towards an air source or ground source heat pump. You must own the property; your installer applies on your behalf and takes the grant off your quote. Hybrid systems, where a heat pump works alongside a boiler, do not qualify (see our Boiler Upgrade Scheme guide). On top of that, installing a heat pump in a home is zero-rated for VAT until 31 March 2027, after which it is due to go back to 5%.
4. No flame, no flue, no gas supply
Nothing burns in a heat pump, so there is no flue and no carbon monoxide from the heating itself; the NHS says carbon monoxide can be made by fires and appliances that burn gas, wood, oil or coal. Landlords must arrange a gas safety check every year on each gas appliance and flue they provide, so removing every gas appliance removes that duty. A heat pump still needs regular servicing: ask what the manufacturer’s warranty requires.
5. It pairs well with solar panels
A heat pump runs on electricity, and solar panels make it. Energy Saving Trust research using measured data from 546 homes found that combining heat pumps, solar panels and batteries with time-of-use tariffs can achieve substantial bill savings. Solar produces least in winter, so the benefit comes across the year rather than on the coldest days. See our solar installations and whether solar panels are worth it.
6. They suit more homes than people think
The Electrification of Heat trial installed 742 heat pumps in homes built from before 1919 to after 2001, from detached houses to flats, and did not identify any type or age of property that cannot have a successful installation. After one heating season, 85% of participants had recommended, or were likely to recommend, a heat pump to friends or family, and said noise was not an issue. Even at -5°C, in half-hour readings, the median air source heat pump was still producing 2.30 units of heat per unit of electricity (more in do heat pumps work in cold weather?).
The disadvantages of heat pumps
1. The upfront cost is high
Government figures put the median installed cost of an air source heat pump in England and Wales at £12,908 in April–June 2026, with the middle half of jobs between £11,128 and £15,627. Those figures are self-reported by installers, include VAT and are meant to include the grant, so they are the price before the £7,500 comes off, which leaves about £5,400 at the median. That is still more than a like-for-like boiler replacement, which the Energy Saving Trust puts at around £3,700 on average. Ground source costs far more, with a median of £27,232. See air source vs ground source and how much a heat pump costs.
2. Running costs against gas are close
Under Ofgem’s price cap for 1 October to 31 December 2026, the average electricity unit rate is 26.32p per kWh and gas is 7.97p, so a unit of electricity costs about 3.3 times as much as a unit of gas. A heat pump’s efficiency has to close that gap before it saves you anything.
The Energy Saving Trust’s August 2026 research found that most heat pumps on a standard flat-rate tariff cost the same or more to run than an efficient gas boiler, while those on a dedicated heat pump tariff tended to cost less. Stop cooking on gas and disconnect the supply, and you also stop paying the gas standing charge. Our running costs guide works through the sums.
3. Design quality decides the result
In the trial, the median heat pump produced 3.50 units of heat per unit of electricity when sending water out at 35°C, but only 2.38 at 55°C. The lower the flow temperature a system is designed for, the cheaper it is to run.
The trial also found that in 91.9% of the homes where the two could be compared, real-world efficiency was lower than the design figure, with the median 17.9% below it, and pointed to inconsistent design and installation quality. So the survey matters more than the brand: you want a room-by-room heat loss calculation, a stated design flow temperature, and a heat pump sized to the house rather than to the old boiler (see what size heat pump do I need?).
4. Some radiators may need replacing
A heat pump runs cooler water through your radiators than a boiler usually does, so some rooms need a bigger or deeper radiator. MCS’s heat emitter guide says a radiator system designed for a 41–45°C flow temperature needs radiators whose standard catalogue rating is 3.1 times each room’s heat loss. In the trial, homes built since 2001 were harder to convert because many designers and installers were reluctant to connect a heat pump to their narrow microbore pipework. Read do I need new radiators for a heat pump?
5. You need space outside
In England, most outdoor units are fitted under permitted development. Since 29 May 2025 the unit no longer has to be 1 metre from the boundary, but it must be no bigger than 1.5 cubic metres, only one is allowed on a house that is not detached, and the installation must meet the MCS 020(a) noise calculation. Wales has its own rules. In the trial, mid-terrace homes were harder to design for because of a lack of suitable outdoor space. See heat pumps in terraced houses and are heat pumps noisy?
6. Hot water has to be planned
A heat pump can provide your hot water as well as your heating, but the arrangement varies from home to home and affects what equipment goes where. Ask the installer to spell out exactly how hot water will be provided before you sign.
7. It is a bigger job, and demand is rising
In the trial, the biggest reason participants dropped out was the potential disruption to their home. To claim the grant you need an MCS-certified installer, who must commission the system within 120 days of applying. July 2026 saw 8,150 grant applications across all technologies, the most in any month since the scheme started, so leave time to get quotes from at least three certified installers, as the Energy Saving Trust recommends.
Are heat pumps worth it in the UK?
For many homes, yes, but three things matter more than the heat pump itself:
- What you are replacing. Against an efficient gas boiler on a standard tariff, running costs are roughly level or worse. Heating oil is not protected by Ofgem’s price cap, and oil was the second most common fuel replaced under the grant scheme, at 17% of paid grants.
- How well it is designed. A low flow temperature, with radiators to match, turns efficiency into lower bills.
- Your tariff. On the Energy Saving Trust’s evidence, the tariff often decides whether a heat pump saves or loses money against gas.
The grant and the zero VAT rate help with the upfront cost; the design and the tariff decide the running costs you live with for years.
Should I get a heat pump?
A heat pump is likely to suit you if
- you own your home in England or Wales and are replacing oil, LPG, electric heating or an ageing gas boiler;
- there is space outside for the unit that can pass the noise calculation;
- you will move to a heat pump or time-of-use tariff; and
- your home is reasonably well insulated, or you will tackle the worst heat loss first.
You may be better off waiting if
- you rent: the grant goes to property owners, so it is your landlord’s decision;
- your gas boiler is new and you do not want to change tariff, where the running-cost case is weakest;
- you are about to extend or insulate: size the heat pump for the house as it will be;
- your home is a new build the developer is still building, or social housing, which the grant does not cover;
- no installer has yet shown you a room-by-room heat loss calculation.
What to ask an installer, and where ByEco stands
Whoever you talk to, a good quote should answer these in writing:
- What is each room’s heat loss, and what design flow temperature is the system built around?
- Which radiators stay, which are replaced, and does any pipework change?
- Where will the outdoor unit go, and does it pass the MCS 020(a) noise calculation?
- How will hot water be provided?
- Which tariff do you suggest, and how will the controls be set up?
ByEco is based in Manchester and installs air source heat pumps and solar panels in England and Wales, mostly across Greater Manchester. The grant has to be claimed by an MCS-certified installer, and ByEco’s MCS and TrustMark certification is in progress, so we cannot lodge a grant application for you yet. Get in touch for an honest view on whether a heat pump suits your home and your timing, or see our heat pumps page.
Sources
Every figure on this page was checked against primary sources on 19 September 2026. Grant rules, planning rules and prices change — if you are reading this much later, verify before acting.
- GOV.UK — Boiler Upgrade Scheme: what you can get
- GOV.UK — Boiler Upgrade Scheme: check if you’re eligible
- GOV.UK — Boiler Upgrade Scheme: how to apply
- HMRC — VAT on energy-saving materials and heating equipment (VAT Notice 708/6)
- DESNZ — Boiler Upgrade Scheme statistics, July 2026 (table Q1.1A and commentary)
- Energy Systems Catapult for DESNZ — Electrification of Heat: Heat Pump Performance Data Analysis Report (December 2024)
- Energy Systems Catapult for DESNZ — Electrification of Heat Demonstration Project: summary report (December 2024)
- Ofgem — Energy price cap unit rates and standing charges
- Ofgem — Energy price cap and standing charges explained
- Energy Saving Trust — Air source heat pumps
- Energy Saving Trust — What really cuts energy bills: heat pump, technology and tariff combinations (August 2026)
- HSE — Gas safety checks: who needs them?
- NHS — Carbon monoxide poisoning
- legislation.gov.uk — The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) (Amendment) Order 2025 (S.I. 2025/560)
- MCS — MCS 021 Heat Emitter Guide for domestic heat pumps, Issue 2.1
Get a figure for your house
National averages only get you so far. Send us your postcode and a little about your home, and we will come back with a realistic price and an honest view on whether a heat pump suits it.
