Heat pump costs explained

Considering making the switch to a heat pump? It’s natural to want to understand more about heat pump costs before diving in headfirst. There's a lot to consider, from the initial heat pump installation to the running and maintenance costs. 

In this guide, we’ll explain all of these costs as well as top tips on how to reduce and fund them. To learn more about heat pumps as a whole, see our heat pump guide. 

Looking for an installer? Find one today.  

Heat Pump Costs by Type

The cost to install, run and maintain your heat pump varies depending on its type. For example, a ground source heat pump costs around £28,000. Air source heat pump installations cost usually around £14,000, according to Energy Saving Trust. 

Heat Pump Installation Cost by Type

Ground source heat pumps can often have an extremely high installation cost due to the digging required, According to Green Match, installing a ground source heat pump vertically can cost £23,000-49,000, while a horizontal ground source pump will cost £16,200-31,000 to install.

Since no digging is required, air source heat pumps are much less expensive to install than ground source heat pumps. 

Split air source heat pumps are slightly more expensive to install than monobloc air source heat pumps as engineers must be F-gas certified to install split heat pumps, whereas with a monobloc heat pump, the F-gas is kept in a sealed unit, so engineers do not require an F-gas certification to install it safely. See our guide to different types of heat pumps to learn more about the distinctions between heat pump types. 

Our guide to selecting and installing the right heat pump can help you find the most cost-effective heat pump type for your home. 

Heat Pump Running Cost by COP and SCOP

Heat pump COP stands for Coefficient of Performance and describes how efficiently a heat pump can run by looking at how much heat energy is created from each unit of electricity your heat pump uses. 

SCOP stands for Seasonal Coefficient of Performance and considers the impact seasonal changes have on efficiency for an average Coefficient of Performance across the entire heating season. We explain this further in our guide to heat pumps in winter and cold weather. 

Because our heat pumps consistently have a COP of over 300%, you will get three times more heat energy output than electricity input, giving you a high value for the electricity you pay for. The higher your heat pump’s COP, the less electricity you need to use. 

Heat Pump Maintenance Costs

Your heat pump will require annual servicing. Our guide on what to expect from a heat pump service explains this process. 

There are simple things you can do to maintain your heat pump so it does not need additional servicing. One is regularly clearing the fan of debris and leaves so the pump can work at optimum efficiency and avoid freezing in cold weather. 

All Ideal heat pumps include a magnetic filter to protect your system from debris. However, other heat pump suppliers may require you to buy this separately and attach it during installation. 

You should also ensure that you have the best warranty to alleviate maintenance costs. With Ideal, your Heat Pump comes with a five-year parts and labour warranty. With a parts-only warranty, you would have to find and pay for an engineer separately. 

Heat Pump Cost vs Gas Boiler Cost

If you’re choosing between a heat pump or gas boiler, cost comparison is likely to factor in your decision.

The installation cost of a heat pump is significantly higher than that of a gas boiler, between £7,000 -  £14,000 compared to a gas boiler’s mere £500 - £3,500. 

However, heat pumps are significantly more efficient. Gas boilers are less than 100% efficient, compared to heat pumps, which are 300% efficient or more.

To understand more about the difference between gas boilers and heat pumps, our Heat Pumps vs Gas Boilers guide can help you decide which is the best choice for your home.

Home Improvement Costs for Installing a Heat Pump

When installing a heat pump, the cost of the heat pump itself and its installation may not be the only costs involved. Further heat optimisation might be needed for your heat pump to work to the best of its ability. This can include:

• Radiator upsizing

• Home insulation

• Adding a hot water cylinder to the home if a combi boiler was there previously

However, it is also possible that your home will be sufficiently insulated, have large enough radiators, or already have a hot water cylinder, so these additional costs may be avoided.  

If additional insulation or heat optimisation is needed for your home, implementing these will decrease the running costs of your heat pump over time as less energy, and therefore electricity, will be needed to keep your home warm.

How to Fund Low-Carbon Heating

You can also reduce heat pump costs through grants and loans for an even more cost-effective heating solution. 

Boiler Upgrade Scheme

Until 31 December 2027, homeowners in England and Wales can access a heat pump grant of up to £7,500 via the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, cutting heat pump installation costs significantly. This has replaced the Renewable Energy Incentive and is open to both homes and small non-domestic buildings. Just be sure to check your Boiler Upgrade Scheme eligibility online first. 

Low Carbon Funding via Banks

There are a number of green mortgages and loans available from UK banks to help with heat pump costs as well as other low-carbon home heating improvements. 

With Nationwide, homeowners can access a Green Additional Borrowing Mortgage. This allows for borrowing between £5,000 and £15,000 to make energy-efficient improvements to your home, with 0% interest for the first two or five years.

Barclays offers a Greener Home Reward to mortgage customers, which is £2,000 to help with the cost of a heat pump, solar panels or insulation. 

Virgin Money offers a Green Reward to their mortgage customers in the form of £250 cashback when you spend £2,5000 on up to six energy-saving improvements, including installing a heat pump. 

Heat Pump Tariffs

Energy suppliers also have tariffs to aid with the costs of running your heat pump.

OVO Energy offers Heat Pump Plus, which allows you to pay only 15p per kWh of energy used to power your heat pump. 

Octopus offers the Cosy Octopus tariff, which gives two ‘cosy periods’ per day, between four and seven AM and one to four PM, during which energy rates are much lower.

EDF Energy similarly offers two low-cost periods per day, which it claims can save customers up to £164 compared to its standard tariff.

Learn more about heat pumps and our other heating solutions on our blog page, or browse our air source heat pump collection to make the switch to heat pumps today.