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Installing an air source heat pump is an increasingly popular choice for many households. The UK government has pledged a ban on new gas boilers by 2035 for all newly built houses and replacement boilers, so alternative heating methods are seeing more interest. And air source heat pumps are a good choice to reduce carbon emissions and energy bills. But how much do they cost? And how does it compare to traditional heating systems? Let's take a look.
The cost of installing an air source heat pump can vary considerably. On average, you can expect to pay anywhere from £2,000 to £20,000, depending on the type of heat pump, the size of your home, and any modifications that will need to be made.
You can receive money in the form of government grants to help pay for your air source heat pump if you live in England, Wales, or Scotland. This can be up to £7,500 in England, Wales, and Scotland and could increase to £9,000 if you live in a rural area in Scotland. In Scotland, there is also an additional interest-free loan available.
Check out: Why Are Air Source Heat Pumps So Expensive
There are two main types of air source heat pumps: air-to-air and air-to-water. They will both help to reduce your reliance on fossil fuels but they work slightly differently.
An air source heat pump is designed to extract heat from the outside air and transfer that heat into your home. They are powered by electricity, but output three to four times more energy than is used to power them.
An air source heat pump usually consists of an outdoor unit and an indoor unit (although some models have all of the components in the outdoor unit).
A coil located in the outdoor unit absorbs heat from the air. This is possible even in very low temperatures. The heat is then blown over the coil, transferring the heat to a liquid refrigerant.
The refrigerant heats up enough for it to evaporate and become a gas. The gas is compressed by a compressor, which raises the heat even further. It then flows to the indoor unit ready for the heat to be transferred into the property.
It is at this point that the two types of air source heat pumps differ.
Discover more: How Does An Air Source Heat Pump Work
With an air-to-air heat pump, a coil in the indoor unit blows heat directly into the indoor air. To heat multiple rooms, multiple fans and coils are needed.
An air-to-air heat pump is essentially an air conditioner. It can be used to either heat or cool the air inside your home. What it can't do, however, is heat your hot water.
An air-to-air heat pump is the cheaper option because the installation costs are much lower.
The average cost of an air-to-air heat pump is between £2,000 and £8,000.
An air-to-water heat pump does not blow heat directly into the air. Instead, it connects with your existing wet heating system by heating water in the pipe network.
This type of heat pump will heat your home either through radiators or underfloor heating. And it can also heat the hot water that comes through your taps.
The cost of air-to-water heat pump installation is much higher than air-to-air heat pump installation. It takes more work to connect it to your existing heating system and there is a greater chance of needing modifications in the home. This could be the installation of larger radiators or an underfloor heating system.
An air-to-water heat pump means that you will be using renewable energy for all of your heating needs. With an air-to-air heat pump, you would still need to use traditional methods such as electricity to heat your hot water.
The average cost of an air-to-water heat pump is between £8,000 and £20,000.
Ground source heat pumps are another option. They are very similar to air source heat pumps but instead of extracting heat from the air, they extract it from underneath the ground. This can have some advantages, especially because the temperature underneath the ground is much less variable than air temperatures, but the installation cost is much higher because of the need for digging and laying pipes.
The average cost of a ground source heat pump is between £18,000 and £50,000.
Discover: How Much Does It Cost To Install Ground Source Heat Pump
The average cost of installing a combi gas boiler is £500 - £2,500. This goes up to £3,000 - £6,000 if new radiators and pipework also need to be installed. An electric heating system will be between £2,000 and £4,000 (including the cost of installing new electric radiators).
A big reason why there is such a large range in air source heat pump cost is that it heavily depends on the size of the property. When you think about it, this makes a lot of sense. The larger the property, the more energy it will take to heat it, and the larger the heat pump you will need to cope with the extra demand.
You would likely need a 3kW air-to-air heat pump and this would cost between £2,000 and £6,200. For an air-to-water heat pump, you would likely need an 8kW model, and this would cost between £8,000 and £12,000.
You would likely need a 4-5kW air-to-air heat pump, and this would cost between £6,200 and £8,500. For an air-to-water heat pump, you would likely need a 13kW model, and this would cost between £10,000 and £12,000.
You would likely need a 10kW air-to-air heat pump, and this would cost around £8,000. For an air-to-water heat pump, you would likely need a 16kW model, and this would cost around between £12,000 and £15,000.
As well as the cost of the air source heat pump itself and its installation, you may also need to pay for additional factors as well. These will usually be related to modifications that need to be made inside your home.
It is always advisable to ensure that your home is properly insulated before installing an air source heat pump. If it isn't, there will be more heat loss, which will mean your heat pump will have to work harder to maintain the desired temperature. This will make it much less energy-efficient to run.
The cost of installing insulation will depend heavily on what insulation you already have.
An air-to-water heat pump will connect directly to the underfloor heating system to efficiently heat your home. This is a more energy-efficient method for several reasons:
They are a good fit for air source heat pumps and other renewable heating systems such as ground-source heat pumps. Heat pumps are designed to create a constant low heat unlike a gas boiler, which is designed to create shorter bursts of high heat.
Radiators need high temperatures to operate. To meet this, the air source heat pump would need to work harder, requiring more electricity. This would reduce its energy efficiency. Since the required temperature of underfloor heating is a closer match to the optimal running temperature of an air source heat pump, it will be more energy efficient.
There are two types of underfloor heating: electric and wet. Electric underfloor heating works by placing mats containing a mesh of cables underneath the floor. This can't be used with an air source heat pump.
A wet underfloor heating system can be connected to an air-to-water air source heat pump. It works by circulating warm water through a network of pipes set underneath the floor. These pipes can be connected directly to the heat pump.
The average cost of installing underfloor heating throughout a standard three-bedroom house with a usable floorspace of 91m² is between £4,450 and £9,100. This cost will decrease for smaller properties and increase for larger ones.
If an underfloor heating system isn't something you want to or can install, installing larger radiators can also help improve the energy efficiency of your air source heat pump.
Radiators emit heat into the room through convection and radiation. Larger radiators have more surface area, so they can operate at a lower temperature than standard smaller radiators.
Installing larger radiators throughout a standard UK property (with between five and 10 radiators) will cost £1,000 to £5,000.
Explore: Can Air Source Heat Pumps Work With Existing Radiators
It isn't always necessary to change the pipework when installing an air source heat pump in a property that previously used a gas boiler, but it can help to improve the efficiency. The pipework for gas central heating is a relatively narrow microbore. This has a diameter of 22mm for the main feed pipes and 10-15mm for the pipes that feed the radiators.
For the air source heat pump to work efficiently, larger diameter pipes would be needed. These would be 28mm or larger for the feed pipes and 15-22mm for the radiator pipes.
This is again because the water temperature output of an air source heat pump is lower than that of a gas boiler, so a larger surface area is needed to transfer the heat efficiently.
The average cost of replacing existing pipework with larger diameter pipework is around £2,000.
While the cost of installing an air source heat pump, especially an air-to-water model, can seem high, you can receive a large portion of it from the government. The Boiler Upgrade Scheme is a government initiative to encourage people to install renewable heating systems, such as heat pumps and wind turbines, instead of traditional methods.
Take a look: Can Air Source Heat Pump Replace An Oil Boiler
If you are eligible for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, you will receive £7,500 towards the cost of installing your air source heat pump.
To receive the Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant, you must be a homeowner in England and Wales (there is a separate grant available for Scotland). Your property must have an up-to-date Energy Performance Certificate (EPC). You don't have to live on the property. You can still receive the grant if you are currently renting it out to tenants or if the property is a business premises.
The grant can only be used to replace a heating system that uses fossil fuels, such as gas boilers, electric heating systems, or an oil boiler. It can't be used to replace one renewable heating system with another.
You are eligible for the grant if you have previously received a grant for other home energy efficiency measures, such as insulation, but you aren't eligible if you have previously received a grant for a low-carbon heating system.
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme is only available in England and Wales. Scotland, however, has a very similar scheme to help with the cost of heat pump installations.
This scheme provides grants and interest-free loans to help pay for low-carbon emissions heating systems and other energy-efficiency measures.
Explore in-depth: How To Apply For Air Source Heat Pump Grant
Just like the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, you could receive £7,500 towards your heat pump cost. If you live in a rural area, you could also be eligible for the rural uplift grant, which is a further £1,500.
You also have the option to apply for another £7,500 as an interest-free loan, with the potential for another rural uplift. This means that for people in rural areas, you could receive a total of £18,000. For everyone else, you could receive a total of £15,000. This could cover the entire cost of installing an air source heat pump, in many cases.
You must be a homeowner. Unlike the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, you will only be eligible for a grant or loan from Home Energy Scotland if the property is your main dwelling. There are other schemes available for private-sector landlords.
You will need to have a quote from a Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS)-trained installer before applying.
The other funding options available are targeted towards those on low income or in receipt of certain means-tested benefits.
Both homeowners and renters can receive this grant that pays the entire heat pump cost, including installation. The property must have an EPC rating of E or below, or D and below for those with certain health conditions.
The property must have a low energy rating, and you must either be of pensionable age or in receipt of passport benefits. If you are eligible, you could receive a £10,000 interest-free loan towards the cost of improving the energy efficiency of your home.
This is available for both homeowners and private renters.
These are available in England and Wales and are managed by local authorities. The eligibility criteria and amount you receive can vary.
The cost of installation is just one side of the coin. The other side is how much your heating system will cost to run. This can get a little complicated because of the difference in the cost of electricity and gas.
Heat pump technology is far more efficient than a traditional central heating system. The energy efficiency is measured with the coefficient of performance (CoP). This is the ratio of heat output compared to energy input.
An air source heat pump has a CoP of 3-4 (although this can drop to 2.25 in temperatures below freezing). This translates to an energy efficiency of 300-400%, meaning that for every unit of electrical energy used to power the heat pump, it will give out three to four units of heat.
Let's compare this to other heating systems:
Your air source heat pump will require electricity to power it, and electricity costs are high. At the moment, electricity costs 24.50 pence per kWh (kilowatt hour). Gas prices are only 6 pence per kWh. This gap type is likely to close in the future, reducing the running costs of an air source heat pump considerably.
An air source heat pump will require much less energy to heat a home due to its high CoP. Let's break it down for the average older house heat demand and level of insulation.
The average energy need would be 10,000kWh a year. Because a gas boiler's energy efficiency is around 90%, it would need to generate 11,111kWh. At 6p per kWh, this works out as £666.66 per year or £55.55 per month.
Let's take the air source heat pump's mid-range CoP at 3.5. This would reduce its energy need to 2,857kWh. At 24.50p per kWh, this works out as £700.97 per year or £58.41 per month.
Initially, you would probably pay about the same amount each month for heating your home. There are, however, ways of lowering the running costs.
Some energy companies have specific green energy tariffs for renewable energy sources. Being on one of these tariffs will reduce the cost of running your heat pump to much less than a gas boiler.
Good insulation is invaluable for maximising the energy efficiency of your air source heat pump. Any heat released into your home will remain there for longer. Therefore, your air source heat pump will work less hard to maintain the desired temperature. New build homes will already be well-insulated, so your running costs will be lower.
You can get free or cheaper insulation with the government's Great British Insulation Scheme if your property is in council bands A to D (England) or A to E (Scotland and Wales) and your EPC rating is D to G. You can get it if you own your home, are a landlord, or if you're a tenant (both private and housing association).
Insulation will keep the heat you generate in your home for longer, but solar panels will reduce the cost of generating that heat in the first place. If you obtain the electricity to power the heat pump from solar panels rather than buying it, you can run your air source heat pump at a fraction of the cost.
For a standard three-bedroom house, you would need 8-10 solar panels to power your heat pump. Installing these would cost between £7,000 and £13,000.
You may be eligible for a government grant to pay towards the costs, such as the Home Upgrade Scheme Phase 2, or a loan via the Green Deal scheme.
As experienced heat pump installers, we understand the costs involved inside and out, and we can advise you on the best option to suit your budget. We will also be your point of call for applying for a government grant. For the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, we would apply for the grant on your behalf. We can also guide you through any modifications needed to your home that would improve the efficiency of your air source heat pump.
If you are concerned about air source heat pump costs, we can help. While the price can seem expensive at first glance, in reality, it can work out a lot cheaper.
Contact us today to start your air source heat pump journey.
Air source heat pumps are an energy-efficient method of heating your home. The initial supply and insulation costs are much higher than those for a standard gas boiler, but you will often be eligible for government grants or loans to pay the bulk of it, so you will often end up paying less. Some air source heat pump types are more expensive than others, but each has its own pros and cons. Improving the energy efficiency of your home and using renewable electricity generation, such as solar panels, can reduce the running cost of the heat pump, and bring them lower than for a gas boiler.
