Want to heat your home in an energy efficient way? A heat pump could be the answer

What is a heat pump?

Low carbon and energy efficient, heat pumps are suitable for heating almost all types of home. And, depending on your current heating system, you could even save money on your energy bills. Heat pumps use electricity to:

• take heat energy from a colder area, usually outside
• raise the temperature of the heat energy it takes in
• move that heat into your home.

Heat pumps produce significantly more heat energy than they use in electrical energy, making them more efficient than a traditional oil or gas boiler at heating your home. They produce far less carbon emissions than other heating systems too.

Can I save money on my energy bills with a heat pump?

If you have an older, G-rated gas boiler to replace for a well-designed heat pump, you could save £340 annually on your energy bills.

To increase your savings further, you could top up your home’s wall, floor and loft insulation before installing a heat pump. This would help reduce its running costs.

If you already have solar panels, you can use the free energy they generate to power your heat pump. A solar battery can store the sun’s energy to power your heat pump later in the day, saving you even more.

For more tips on saving on your energy bills with home improvements, visit the Energy Saving Home Improvement Tool.

Remember: not everyone who installs a heat pump will see savings straight away. Currently, electricity is more expensive than gas. If you are replacing a newer, more efficient gas boiler for a heat pump, your energy bills may take some time to go down.

How much space do I need for a heat pump?

You only need less than 1.5 meters wide (about two wheelie bins stood side by side!) in outdoor space for an air source heat pump. Though, they don’t provide instant hot water like combi boilers do, so you will also need space for something that can store hot water. Hot water cylinders are an option for this, which can usually fit in any cupboard that measures around 80x80cm.

Can I get financial support towards a heat pump?

Yes – there’s more financial support for heat pumps than ever before.

If you live in England or Wales, you can get a £7,500 grant with the Boiler Upgrade Scheme towards installing a heat pump.

If you live in Scotland, you could get a grant of between £7,500 and £9,000.

If you live in Northern Ireland, there is not currently a specific grant available. But, you can apply for funding for insulation to get your ‘heat pump ready’ via NI Energy Advice.

Energy companies are working to make heat pumps more affordable, with some suppliers offering specific energy tariffs designed to minimise their running costs.

If you’re considering installing a heat pump, we recommend researching these deals to maximise your potential savings.

Do heat pumps work well in cold weather?

Air source heat pumps are known to work well in cold weather.

Reported by the International Energy Agency, Norway has heat pumps installed in 60% of its buildings. Sweden has them in 41%, and Finland has them in 43% of its buildings. These Scandinavian countries making use of heat pumps have colder winters than in the UK.

Recent findings from the interim Electrification of Heat Demonstration Project showed heat pumps sometimes performed even better in homes in Scotland than in England, despite their generally colder outdoor temperatures.

Heat pumps may be influenced more by radiator design and control strategy than on the local weather, so if you do live in a particularly cold area, the installer should design a system that works in those temperatures.

Do heat pumps make a lot of noise?

Air source heat pump units are quieter than people think - the legal noise limit for them is 42 decibels, which is similar to a refrigerator or a gas boiler. Good news for both you and your neighbours, as they’re more likely to hear your TV or radio than your heat pump.

If the noise level of your heat pump exceeds this, you should speak to the installer to check it has been installed correctly, or if it is faulty.

Do I need to have a well-insulated home to have a heat pump?

Heat pumps still work well in homes that have less insulation. However, they will work most efficiently if the home is well-insulated, like any other heating system.

If insulation is not easy or appropriate, there are solutions, as your installer should assess your home and design a system that works for your house type and heating needs. For example, if you cannot install insulation or increase your radiator size, you could use a heat pump that delivers water at a higher temperature.

Will a heat pump actually lower my carbon footprint?

Yes, but it’s not a one-size-fits-all approach. In all cases, replacing existing fossil fuel heating systems with heat pumps will save carbon emissions. How much depends on the size of your home and the type of heating system you’re replacing.

Buildings account for around 17% of the UK’s emissions, according to a Climate Change Committee (CCC) report, most of which comes from using fossil fuel heating systems in our homes.

To put it into perspective, a semi-detached home with an old, G-rated gas boiler would save around 2,900kg of CO2 emissions per year by switching to an air source heat pump. That’s the same as flying to Vancouver and back from Cardiff.

How much maintenance does a heat pump need?

Heat pumps take similar work to maintain as gas boilers do. An annual service is often a condition of a heat pump warranty, and is recommended to identify any potential issues.

A heat pump service could include:

• cleaning coils
• cleaning fan blades
• inspecting filters
• checking refrigerant level and pressure
• checking that all electrical connections are safe.

Do heat pumps provide hot water?

Standard heat pumps do not provide hot water on demand like combi boilers, so you will need a way to store hot water. This is usually through a hot water cylinder. The required size of this depends on how much hot water your household typically uses.

If you do not have space for a hot water cylinder, there are other options. Hybrid heat pumps are designed so that the heat pump provides heating. Or some heat pumps include a heat battery or instantaneous water heater.

More heat pump advice

If you want more heat pump advice, you can visit Energy Saving Trust’s heat pump hub. Or, you can read stories from homeowners who have already made the switch on Energy Saving Trust’s case studies page.