Air Source Heat Pump Cost UK (2026)
An air source heat pump installation in the UK typically costs £7,000–£14,000 before support in 2026, with most standard homes landing £8,000–£11,500. The Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant — its current amount confirmed with every quote — comes off that for eligible homes in England and Wales, claimed by your MCS installer on your behalf. The honest cost conversation has three parts: the hardware, the system upgrades your survey finds, and the running costs that follow the design quality.
What the installed price covers
The core package: the outdoor heat pump unit sized to your home's calculated heat loss, a heat-pump-compatible hot water cylinder (larger coil, typically 180–300 litres), controls, and the commissioning that MCS certification wraps. On top, survey-driven items: radiator upsizing where rooms need more emitter surface for lower flow temperatures (commonly 2–6 radiators at £150–£300 each), pipework alterations, and electrical work including a possible consumer-unit upgrade.
The spread explained: a well-insulated modern home needing minimal radiator work lands £7,000–£9,500; a typical three-bed needing a handful of radiator upgrades £8,500–£11,500; larger or harder-to-treat properties £11,000–£14,000+. Quotes below the band deserve the same scrutiny as cheap boiler quotes — what's missing is usually the design work that makes the system perform.
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme, practically
The BUS grant supports heat pump installations replacing fossil-fuel systems in eligible homes in England and Wales. Mechanics that matter: your installer must be MCS-certified (mandatory for the grant), the installer claims the grant and deducts it from your quote — you don't front the money or file paperwork — and eligibility broadly requires a valid EPC and the replacement of a fossil system. Grant amounts have changed over the scheme's life, so verify the current figure at quote time rather than trusting any static page, this one included.
Scotland and Northern Ireland run their own support schemes with different structures and amounts — devolved funding changes more often than England's, so the same verify-at-quote rule applies doubled. Our scheme guide covers eligibility detail; the practical takeaway is simply that the quote you compare against a boiler should be the after-grant figure, obtained from an MCS installer who handles the claim.
Running costs: the honest arithmetic
A heat pump's running cost is its efficiency (SCOP — seasonal units of heat per unit of electricity, typically 3–4 for good installs) against your electricity price. Worked honestly: a home needing 12,000 kWh of heat via a SCOP-3.5 system uses ~3,430 kWh of electricity; the same heat via a 90%-efficient gas boiler uses ~13,300 kWh of gas. Whether the electricity bill beats the gas bill depends on the tariff ratio — standard tariffs make it roughly a draw; heat-pump tariffs with cheap windows tilt it to the pump; poor design (low SCOP) tilts it away.
The controllable variable is design: flow temperatures, emitter sizing and controls set-up determine whether you get SCOP 3.5+ or a disappointing 2.5. That's why the cheap under-designed quote costs more every winter thereafter — and why our running-cost guide insists on worked numbers per home rather than national averages. On carbon the answer needs no arithmetic: the heat pump wins decisively on any UK grid year.
Whole-life comparison with a boiler
Against a £2,500 boiler, the after-grant heat pump still typically costs several thousand more up front. The whole-life case: heat pumps last 15–20+ years to a boiler's 10–15, annual servicing costs are comparable, and the running-cost gap ranges from modestly against to meaningfully in favour depending on tariff and design. Homes replacing oil or LPG see the strongest financial case — those fuels' higher costs flatter the comparison — which is exactly who the grant most sensibly targets.
The honest recommendation pattern: gas-connected homes with ageing boilers should price both routes and decide on their own numbers and priorities; oil and LPG homes should take the heat pump comparison seriously as a default; and anyone insulating or renovating anyway should get the heat pump quote first, because the fabric work moves the design maths in the pump's favour. All three start with the same step — an MCS survey that produces real figures for your actual house.
| Item | Typical range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Installed cost (before grant) | £7,000–£14,000 | Most homes £8,000–£11,500 |
| Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant | verified at quote | England & Wales, via MCS installer |
| Radiator upsizing (each) | £150–£300 | Commonly 2–6 radiators |
| HP-compatible cylinder | included/£900–£1,600 | If quoted separately |
| Annual service | £100–£180 | Comparable to boiler servicing |
How to use these price bands
Treat the ranges above as calibration, not quotation: your job sits somewhere in the band depending on access, boiler brand, system condition and region, and a written quote after a survey is the only number that binds anyone. The practical use of national bands is spotting outliers — a quote far above the range deserves a written justification, and one far below usually has the missing money hiding in exclusions. Ask what's included, whether a system cleanse and magnetic filter are in the price, and how any extra time is charged.
Frequently asked questions
How much is a heat pump after the grant?
Take the £7,000–£14,000 installed band and subtract the current Boiler Upgrade Scheme amount — which changes over time, so we confirm it with every quote rather than publish a figure that goes stale. Your MCS installer deducts it directly.
Why do heat pump quotes vary so widely?
Design depth: heat-loss calculation, radiator upgrades and cylinder work differ per home, and quotes that skip the design are cheaper up front and costlier every winter. Compare quotes on their surveys, not their headlines.
Are heat pumps cheaper to run than gas boilers?
It hinges on design quality and tariff: a well-designed SCOP-3.5+ system on a heat-pump tariff competes with and can beat gas; a poorly designed one on a standard tariff won't. Against oil or LPG the pump's case is stronger. Demand worked numbers for your home.
Is there VAT on heat pump installations?
Energy-saving materials including heat pumps have benefited from zero-rated VAT in Great Britain under measures running for a defined period — your installer's quote reflects the current treatment, which is worth confirming at quote time like the grant.
The honest next step
Where you go from here depends on what you've worked out. A boiler that's running but grumbling can wait for a standard appointment, which is cheaper and calmer for everyone. No heat in cold weather — especially with young children, elderly or medically vulnerable residents in the house — should be booked as urgent, and you should say so when you call, because that's how triage works. Either way, describing the symptoms in the terms this guide has given you gets the right engineer with the right parts first time.
Carbon monoxide safety: symptoms, alarms and what to do — essential reading for every home with a fuel-burning appliance.