Air source heat pumps

The Warm Homes Plan is set to invest close to £15 billion in improving the UK’s homes to cut energy bills.

For people on low incomes, there’ll be fully funded government support to install heat pumps.

There’ll also be low and zero-interest loans available for homeowners regardless of income.

We’ll update this guide when we know more.

For more information, read our blog on what the Warm Homes Plan means for you.

Air source heat pumps take heat from the air and transfer it to a fluid refrigerant. This fluid passes through a compressor, which raises the fluid’s temperature and transfers the heat to your central heating system. 

For a more detailed look at how they work, see our in-depth heat pump guide.  

There are several benefits of air source heat pumps: 

• Lower your energy bills: depending on what heating system you’re replacing, you can save money on your energy bills.
• Reduce your energy use: unlike traditional boilers (which use fossil fuels), heat pumps use electricity. And heat pumps are more than three times more efficient than a gas or oil boiler, helping to lower your energy use. 
• Improve your carbon footprint:  your CO₂ emissions will be lower with a heat pump compared other types of heating. This is because they don’t use fossil fuels, instead taking heat from their environment.  

Air source heat pumps are the most common type of domestic heat pump in the UK and are suitable for most types of homes. There are a few things you should consider before deciding whether a heat pump is right for you. 

The typical cost of installing an air source heat pump is around £11,000.

The cost of installation varies depending on: 

• the size of heat pump 
• the size of your property 
• whether it’s a newbuild or an existing property 
• whether you need to upgrade your radiators 

If you live in England and Wales, you can get £7,500 towards an air source heat pump with the Boiler Upgrade Scheme. 

For Scotland, you might be able to get an interest-free loan or a grant to make your home more energy efficient. 

If you live in Northern Ireland, there isn’t a specific grant currently available but you can still ‘get heat pump ready’ and apply for funding for insulation via NI Energy Advice. 

Heat pump running costs can vary depending on: 

• Whether your radiators are appropriately sized. 
• Your electricity tariff, especially if you switch to a heat pump time-of-use tariff. 
• How the heat pump is controlled. 

How much you could save on your energy bills also depends on what heating system you’re replacing. 

On standard electricity tariffs, where electricity is nearly four times more expensive than gas, heat pumps can cost slightly more to run than new gas or oil boilers. 

However, our latest research shows that by switching to a heat pump time‑of‑use tariff, you can reduce running costs significantly. This means a heat pump can cost less to run than a gas boiler. 

This is because heat pumps are much more efficient than traditional heating systems. When combined with tariffs with cheaper electricity at certain times of day, this can translate into lower energy bills. 

If you’re also able to disconnect the gas once you’ve fitted a heat pump, you can save even more because you won’t have to pay the gas standing charge. 

Here are the potential annual savings of installing a standard air source heat pump, including any recommended radiator upgrades, in an average sized, three-bedroom semi-detached home. You can see the savings with or without switching tariff, and with or without disconnecting the gas supply. 

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