Benefits of installing a Heat Pump in the UK in 2025

Written-by

Janet Richardson

Reviewed-by

Richard Burdett-Gardiner

Updated on

Dec 31, 2024

Benefits of installing a Heat Pump in the UK in 2025

In the UK, the benefits a heat pump system installation brings are many. They’re good for your bank balance and the planet, so it doesn’t matter whether your motivations are financial or environmental.

Over the last decade heat pump technology has matured and its appeal is wider than ever. Its rise in popularity is good news for everyone as the price trends downwards.  Today, heat pumps do everything traditional central heating systems can and are suitable for most UK homes.    

How do Heat Pumps Work?

Before we get into the benefits of heat pumps, let’s talk about what they do and how they function. Heat pumps use the natural laws of thermodynamics to extract heat from external sources, amplify it, and circulate it around our homes. For an in-depth look at the technology please check out our comprehensive guide here.

What’s the Difference Between Heat Pumps and Traditional Boilers?

One big difference is that some heat pump systems offer cooling and heating. Although most air or ground to water systems don't offer this feature, some, like air to air heat pumps can cool spaces in the summer and heat them in the winter.  

The other big difference is that heat pumps are better at reaching and maintaining a steady comfortable temperature. While mains gas, oil, LPG, and electric systems can provide a blast of heat quickly, heat pumps are designed to provide an ambient heat on an ongoing basis, regulating a consistent temperature.

Like everything, there are some exceptions. In general though, heat pumps are better at keeping a warm house warm, while traditional systems are better for heating colder houses.  

Are Heat Pumps a Renewable Energy?

The answer is complicated. As heat pump systems need electricity to work, they’re not considered a typical renewable energy. That said, as they create more heat than the electricity they use can produce otherwise, they count towards renewable energy grants. In short, they count where it matters. If you're getting your electricity from a provider that generates it using renewable technology, then it can be argued that they're carbon neutral. 

Benefits of Air Source and Ground Source Heat Pumps

Heat pumps boast high energy efficiency ratings

As mentioned, heat pumps offer the most efficient and cost-effective form of electrical heating. We’ll discuss COP (Coefficient of Performance) in a moment, but the COP of heat pump systems fluctuates between 2.5 and 4. This means they can achieve 2.5 to 4 kilowatts of heating or cooling power with one kilowatt of electricity.

Putting this into perspective, conventional electric heaters and even gas boilers often have a COP of less than 1.0. Simply put, generating 1 kilowatt of heat takes one kilowatt of power.  This means heat pumps are up to four times more efficient than the alternatives, making them cheaper to run. Also, using less energy lowers your carbon footprint. These facts make heat pump systems one of the cheapest ways to heat your property.

It's worth noting at this point that although heat pumps often work at 400% efficiency, mains gas is currently three or four times cheaper by the unit. So, due to the way a heat pump is designed to work, it could end up costing slightly more to run than a heat pump than a modern high efficiency gas boiler. We do expect gas to go up in price faster than electricity, and if you're switching out an old gas boiler you can still save money on running costs, but if finances are your prime driver and you've got a perfectly good, modern gas boiler, a heat pump is unlikely to save money on your bills.  

Can Heat Pump Systems Lower your Carbon Footprint?

Heat pumps operate by extracting existing heat. As a result, they don’t need to burn fuel to generate heat. Heat pumps work through heat exchangers, compressors, and refrigerants and there is no ignition. This means the only carbon loss occurs when we generate the electricity to run the pumps. If that power comes from a renewable source, then nothing is burnt at all. As you may know, the problems our planet faces come from the burning of fossil fuels. It’s this release of carbon, among many other toxic particulates, that gives its name to the term carbon footprint.

Every time we burn fuel, from our EasyJet flight to Milan to the coal-fuelled plant that boils our kettle, carbon escapes into the air. It’s not rocket science to say burning less fuel lowers our carbon footprint. Non-reliance on this process makes heat pumps the greenest way to heat or cool your home.

Not only that, but unlike some other renewable energies (solar, we’re looking at you) manufacturing heat pumps doesn’t produce excess toxins. Not to mention, most heat pumps don’t need foul chemicals to function. We said most because as ever there are some exceptions.

In general though, heat pumps don’t need noxious substances to work. This is a big step up from related technologies like refrigerators and freezers. These machines also extract heat, but they need ozone-destroying refrigerants to work. Today, most heat pumps use chemicals like R410A refrigerant that won’t harm the ozone layer when released.

Heat Pumps can Prevent Condensation

If you use your heat pump to cool your home in the summer, you’ll have the added benefit of a dehumidifier. These systems automatically reduce moisture in the air as they operate.  You’ll get the same benefit In the winter too. As your system circulates warm air around your property it will also suck up excess moisture and reduce condensation.

Heat Pumps Improve the Air Quality of your Home

As discussed, heat pumps don’t burn anything to create heat. So, they don’t produce any smoke, or particulates, or add other nasty fumes to the air. As a result, the air in your home will be cleaner and less harmful.

Air to air heat pumps circulate the air in your rooms, where filters in the vents can clean and purify the air. These screens remove dust, mould spores, odours, smoke, and other particles.

Heat pumps can also improve indoor humidity levels, contributing to a more comfortable and healthier living environment.

These facts make heat pumps an ideal choice for anyone suffering from asthma, breathing problems, allergies, and the like.

Combining Heat Pumps and Solar PV Systems in the UK

Combining heat pumps with solar panels offers significant benefits, decreasing your dependance on the national grid and your carbon footprint, whilst improving energy efficiency and saving money on your energy bills.

The combination is growing in popularity, especially with the recent jump in energy prices. Using solar PV to help run a heat pump can improve the system's payback period, as the savings from reduced energy consumption and potential government incentives make the combination an attractive option to grid relience.

It's worth noting though, that you'll need the heating in the winter when the days are shorter and your solar panels are generating as much. Solar PV can go some way to covering the running costs of a heat pump system, but are unlikely to cover them. 

Heat Pump Efficiencies (COP)

We touched on this earlier. The actual COP of systems varies from installation to installation. This can come down to the parts used, the ratings of the materials, and even the skill of the installers. However, there is one looming factor you need to address first.

The efficiency of any system comes down to the energy efficiency of the property itself.  We alluded to this earlier when we mentioned the few exceptions to the rule. In short, for a heat pump system to function well, the property needs to be suitable. By suitable, we mean well-insulated.

By design, heat pumps are better at reaching and maintaining comfortable temperatures. They are not great at rapidly heating colder areas. It’s easy to maintain a temperature in a well-insulated room, but if the heat escapes, the system will struggle to keep it warm.

It’s also close to impossible to reach a given temperature when heat escapes constantly. Therefore, to work well, heat pumps need a house that keeps heat in, and the best way to do that is to insulate.

Now let’s get back to the coefficient of performance COP or sometimes written as CP of a system is the ratio between the electricity invested in running the heat pump, and the heat the pump outputs. COP is not a constant and varies between each type of system, it will also rise and drop depending on the outside temperature or, in the case of a ground source heat pump, the temperature of the ground. 

Most air source heat pumps will offer a COP of 3 or 4 until the outside temperatures reaches 0°C, after this the COP can often drop to 2 or lower. Most modern air source heat pumps are capable of effectively heating your property when the outside temperature drops to -15°C or even -25°C in some cases.

Ground Source Heat Pumps COP Benefits

These systems often boast an efficiency of between 3 and 4 (i.e. 3 or 4 units of heat generated from 1 unit of power driving the system). The temperature of the soil in the UK doesn't vary too much through the seasons so GSHP's are capable of offering a consistant COP through the year. 

Water Source Heat Pumps COP Benefits

As residual water has a higher temperature than the surrounding ground, water sourced heat pumps are more efficient. In general, these systems boast a COP between 3 and 5 (i.e. 3 to 5 units of heat for every unit used to drive the pumps).

Air Source Heat Pumps COP Benefits

These pumps offer a lower COP during cooler times of the year as the air is cooler than the ambient water and ground temperature. Still, they offer an average COP of between 1.5 and 4. (i.e. 1.5 to 4 units of heat for every unit used to drive the pumps).
 
Of course, heat pump technology is improving all the time, and as it does these numbers will nudge upwards. Remember though, no two systems are identical and the COP of your system won't match your neighbours, even if they have the same model. It’s also fair to suppose that COPs published by manufacturers or installers are ‘best case scenarios’.

As we mentioned, any system’s efficiency is dependent on many factors. The quality of the parts, the competency of the installer, maintenance of the system, site location, your central heating system, and the energy efficiency of the house can all affect the COP. Even how well you use it can affect the numbers. So, make sure you get a manual and always seek guidance from competant professionals.

Coefficient of performance (COP) Heating Equation

How much Money can a Heat Pump save you in the UK?

Predicting an exact figure is tricky. There are so many variables and factors to consider and there are many different heat pump systems out there. You need to determine the source for your heat pump. Will it be air, water, or ground sourced? If it’s air sourced, will it also provide hot water?  If it’s ground sourced, will you need a vertical or a horizontal matrix? If your house isn't suitable for insulation, will you need a high-temperature heat pump? Will you have a hybrid system? Do you need to change out raditors or pipework?

To answer the simple money question, you’ll need to know all the other answers before you can work it out. If you’d like to learn more about all the different types of heat pumps check out our comprehensive guide.

What factors can affect the savings heat pumps offer?

We’ve discussed most of these already, but here’s a reminder of everything you need to consider before installing a heat pump:

• Your eligibility for incentives like the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS)
• What kind of heating system is the heat pump replacing? (gas, oil, LPG, electric etc.) The cost of each varies. Gas is cheaper than oil and LPG, while electric heating is more expensive still.  
• Your property’s location: Is it on the national grid or mains gas network? Additional grants and funding exist for homes not connected to gas mains.
• The available outside space: do you have room for a horizontal ground-sourced array? Is there a suitable location for to site an ASHP?
• Your proximity to a suitable body of water: if you have a source nearby, a water-sourced system may be more suitable.
• The energy efficiency of your home: is it, or can it be, insulated? If not, you may have to opt for a high-temperature system.
• Your energy consumption: do you use enough energy to make a switch worthwhile?
• The price of the system, the installation, maintenance and parts: are you planning on a high-end system? Size matters too, if you live in a big house, you’ll need a larger, more expensive system.
• Type of system installed: Air-to-air is the cheapest. Ground sourced systems can vary in price depending on whether you need a vertical borehole. In general though, high-temperature heat pumps will cost the most.
• You central heating system: If your pipework is microbore it may only be suitable for a high temp system. If the rads are singles, you may need to change a few out. 
• Whether you have solar PV to help with the running costs

Without accounting for these variables, the table below gives you a rough idea of the savings from air, ground, and water source heat pumps. 

As you can see, heat pumps don't always provide an attractive payback period like solar panels, they're simply an option to a traditional boiler and often cheaper to run. 

System type	System cost **	Energy source being replaced	Annual approx. running costs	Annual saving ***	Break-even point
Air-source	£6,500	Oil	£1,800	£1,000	6.5 years
Air-source	£6,500	LPG	£1,250	£450	14.4 years
Ground source	£17,500	Oil	£1,800	£1000	17.5 years
Ground source	£17,500	Liquid gas LPG	£1,250	£450	38 years

*  These figures assume that a property has loft and wall cavity insulation and double glazed windows. They assume that the property has two floors, around 90 square meters of floor area, and, in the case of ground source heat pumps, around 180 square meters of available outside space for the installation of tubing.

** These figures assumed that the property received Boiler Upgrade Scheme which is £7,500 off the initial cost. We assume that the average cost of installing an air-source heat pump is £14,000 and the average cost of a GSHP was £25,000. The initial upfront cost of an ASHP for a standard residential property in the UK can be between £2,000 and £10,000. 

*** We assumed that the running costs of an air-source heat pump and ground-source heat pump in the UK is £800 PA. The running costs can vary between approx. £650 to £1,500, based on a 3-4 bedroom residential property.