The Short Answer
A typical air source heat pump installation in the UK costs between £8,000 and £14,000 before any funding, depending on the size of your home and how much work the wider heating system needs. After the £7,500 Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant, most homeowners in England and Wales end up paying somewhere around £2,000 to £6,500 out of pocket. If your home is off the mains gas grid and currently runs on oil or LPG, the grant rises to £9,000, and the net cost drops further.
Two things catch people out. First, the grant is paid to your installer and taken off your invoice, so you never handle the money yourself. Second, the price you are quoted is for a whole heating system, not just a box on the wall outside.
Here is the full breakdown.
What Does an Air Source Heat Pump Cost in 2026?
The most reliable public dataset on real installed prices comes from Nesta’s analysis of the MCS Installations Database, which tracks certified installations across England, Scotland and Wales. Its median figures by property type are a useful starting point, though they are drawn from installations up to mid-2023 and today’s quotes tend to sit a little higher on complex jobs and a little lower on straightforward ones.
Combined with current 2026 installer pricing, here is what to expect.
| Property type | Typical gross cost | Standard grant | Typical net cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flat or small 1 to 2 bed home | £8,000 to £10,000 | £7,500 | £500 to £2,500 |
| 2 to 3 bed terrace or semi | £10,000 to £13,000 | £7,500 | £2,500 to £5,500 |
| 3 to 4 bed semi or small detached | £11,000 to £14,000 | £7,500 | £3,500 to £6,500 |
| Large detached or period property | £14,000 to £18,000+ | £7,500 | £6,500 to £10,500+ |
| Off-gas-grid home replacing oil or LPG | £11,000 to £16,000 | £9,000 | £2,000 to £7,000 |
Nesta’s MCS-based medians for comparison: roughly £9,700 for flats, £12,000 for semi-detached and terraced homes, and £14,000 for detached homes.
The spread inside each row is real, and it is almost never about the heat pump itself. Two identical 3-bed semis on the same street can be £4,000 apart because one needs six radiators upgraded and a new cylinder in the airing cupboard, and the other does not.
How Much Is the Heat Pump Grant in 2026?
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme is open to homeowners and small business owners in England and Wales. You get one grant per property, and it is applied to your installation cost rather than paid to you.
| Technology | Grant available |
|---|---|
| Air source heat pump (air-to-water) | £7,500 |
| Ground source heat pump, including shared ground loops | £7,500 |
| Air-to-air heat pump | £2,500 |
| Biomass boiler | £5,000 |
| Additional uplift for off-gas-grid homes replacing oil or LPG | £1,500 on top, until March 2027 |
That last row is the bit that gets mangled everywhere. The headline “£9,000 grant” is not a separate scheme. It is the standard £7,500 plus a temporary £1,500 uplift, and to qualify your property must both be heated by oil or LPG and have no mains gas connection. That uplift is currently scheduled to end in March 2027.
The £2,500 air-to-air grant is the other one people miss. Air-to-air systems are what most people would recognise as modern air conditioning: they heat and cool your rooms but do not produce your hot water. If you have been weighing up air conditioning anyway, it is worth knowing that funding now exists on that route too. Our guide to air conditioning installation costs in the UK covers those systems in detail.
One firm restriction: you cannot get a grant for a hybrid system that pairs a gas boiler with a heat pump, and you cannot use it to replace an existing low carbon heating system.
Source: GOV.UK, Boiler Upgrade Scheme: what you can get.
Do I Apply for the Grant Myself?
No, and this is the single most common misunderstanding we hear on the phone.
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme is installer-led. Your installer must be MCS certified, and they raise the application on your behalf. You confirm a few details as the homeowner, and the grant value is then deducted from your installation cost. You are never out of pocket for the full amount waiting on a refund.
That makes your choice of installer a financial decision, not just a quality one. If a company is not MCS certified, your grant does not exist. It is worth asking for the certification number before you go any further.
Domestic Heating Team is an MCS Certified installer and manages the installer side of the application as part of every air source heat pump installation we carry out.
What Is Actually Included in the Price?
A heat pump quote is a whole-system quote. This is why comparing two prices line by line matters far more than comparing headline numbers.
Usually included in a properly designed installation:
- The heat pump unit itself and its outdoor base or brackets
- Room-by-room heat loss calculations and full system design
- A hot water cylinder, because heat pumps do not produce instant hot water like a combi
- New heating controls and thermostats
- Pipework, hydraulic components and electrical work
- The DNO application where your local network operator needs to approve the load
- Commissioning, MCS certification and manufacturer warranty registration
- Boiler Upgrade Scheme administration
Often quoted separately, and worth asking about up front:
- Radiator upgrades, since heat pumps run at lower flow temperatures and some existing radiators will be undersized
- Building work to house the cylinder if you currently have a combi and no airing cupboard
- Insulation improvements
- Underfloor heating integration
- Making good decoration after pipe runs
If a quote looks unusually cheap, the cylinder or the radiator work is usually the thing that has been left out.
Two Deadlines Worth Knowing About
0% VAT ends on 31 March 2027. Heat pump installation in residential property currently carries a zero rate of VAT under the energy-saving materials relief, and that relief runs to 31 March 2027, after which the rate is set to revert to 5%. On a £12,000 installation, that is roughly £600 of difference. Not enormous, but it stacks with the point below.
The £1,500 off-gas-grid uplift also runs to March 2027. For an oil or LPG household, that is £1,500 plus the VAT change, so waiting could cost around £2,100 on a typical job.
None of that is a reason to rush a bad decision. It is a reason not to leave a decision you have already made sitting on the kitchen table for eighteen months.
Do I Need Planning Permission for a Heat Pump?
For the large majority of homes in England, no. The rules were relaxed significantly on 29 May 2025.
What changed:
- The old 1 metre boundary rule was removed, so a unit can now sit close to a neighbouring wall or fence provided the noise assessment passes
- The maximum permitted unit size rose from 0.6m³ to 1.5m³
- Detached houses can now install two air source heat pumps under permitted development
- Combined heating and cooling units became eligible
The trade-off is that the noise assessment now does the heavy lifting. Your installation must meet MCS 020 and demonstrate 37 dB(A) or lower at the assessment position of the nearest noise-sensitive neighbouring property. From 28 May 2026, MCS 020 is the only certification route accepted for permitted development, with the transition window for older noise standards now closed.
Listed buildings, conservation areas and properties covered by an Article 4 direction are the usual exceptions and still need a conversation with the council. If your home falls into one of those categories, factor that into your timeline rather than your budget.
What About Running Costs and Servicing?
Installation is the headline number, but it is not the whole cost of ownership.
On running costs, a well-designed heat pump can be cheaper to run than a gas boiler, but the answer depends heavily on your tariff, your system’s efficiency and how well the design was done. We break the maths down properly in is a heat pump cheaper than a gas boiler.
On servicing, heat pumps need an annual service to keep the manufacturer warranty valid, in the same way a boiler does. For context, our own air source heat pump service plans start at £180 for a one-off annual service, with cover plans from £27 a month.
Heat Pump or a New Boiler? A Quick Cost Comparison
| Air source heat pump | New gas boiler | |
|---|---|---|
| Typical installed cost | £8,000 to £14,000 | £2,000 to £4,500 |
| Government grant | £7,500 or £9,000 | None |
| Typical net cost | £500 to £6,500 | £2,000 to £4,500 |
| VAT | 0% until 31 March 2027 | 5% or 20% depending on circumstances |
| Typical lifespan | 15 to 20 years | 10 to 15 years |
| Needs a hot water cylinder | Yes | Not with a combi |
| Planning permission | Usually not required | Not required |
Once the grant is applied, a heat pump and a new boiler can land in genuinely similar territory on a straightforward job. The gap widens on properties that need significant radiator or cylinder work. For the boiler side of that comparison, see how much a new boiler costs in the UK, and if you are wondering whether you even have a choice, read are gas boilers being banned.
How to Get an Accurate Number for Your Home
Online calculators guess from your postcode and bedroom count. A real quote comes from a heat loss survey, and any installer who skips that step is sizing your system on a hunch.
A proper process looks like this:
- Initial assessment. You share details of the property and current heating system, and get an indicative cost range.
- Heat loss survey and design. Room-by-room calculations determine the correct heat pump output and which radiators, if any, need changing.
- Final proposal. A fixed price, with the Boiler Upgrade Scheme funding already applied.
- Installation and commissioning. Typically two to four days for a standard home.
- Certification and handover. MCS certification, warranty registration and a walkthrough of the controls.
The single most important thing to look for in a quote is evidence that someone calculated your home’s heat loss rather than looking at your floor area. Oversized heat pumps cost more to buy and run worse.
Ready to Find Out What Your Home Would Cost?
Domestic Heating Team is an MCS Certified heat pump installer covering London, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Essex. We design the whole heating system, handle the Boiler Upgrade Scheme paperwork and give you a fixed price with the grant already deducted.
Get your free heat pump estimate or talk to our team on 0800 118 2718.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does an air source heat pump cost in the UK? Most UK installations cost between £8,000 and £14,000 before grants. After the £7,500 Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant, homeowners in England and Wales typically pay around £2,000 to £6,500. Off-gas-grid homes replacing oil or LPG qualify for £9,000, reducing the net cost further.
Is the heat pump grant £7,500 or £9,000? Both. The standard grant for an air source heat pump is £7,500. Properties with no mains gas connection that are replacing oil or LPG heating get an additional £1,500 on top, bringing the total to £9,000. That uplift runs until March 2027.
Do I get the grant paid into my bank account? No. The Boiler Upgrade Scheme is installer-led. Your MCS certified installer applies on your behalf and the grant is deducted from your installation cost, so you only ever pay the balance.
Can I get a grant for air conditioning? There is a £2,500 Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant for air-to-air heat pumps, which heat and cool your rooms but do not provide hot water. Standard cooling-only air conditioning is not covered.
Do I need planning permission for an air source heat pump? Usually not in England. Since 29 May 2025 the 1 metre boundary rule has been removed and the permitted size limit raised, so most installations proceed under permitted development provided the MCS 020 noise assessment shows 37 dB(A) or lower at the nearest noise-sensitive property. Listed buildings, conservation areas and Article 4 areas are the main exceptions.
Will I need new radiators? Not always. Heat pumps run at lower flow temperatures, so each radiator has to be checked against the room’s calculated heat loss. Some homes need none replaced, others need several. A proper heat loss survey tells you before you commit.
Do heat pumps work in older houses? Yes. Correct system design and heat loss calculation matter far more than the age of the property. Older homes sometimes need more emitter work, which shows up in the quote.
How long does a heat pump installation take? A typical domestic installation takes two to four days on site, following the heat loss survey and design stage. Larger or more complex properties can take longer.
Is it cheaper to run a heat pump than a gas boiler? It can be, but it depends on your electricity tariff and how efficiently the system was designed. A well-designed system running at low flow temperatures on a heat pump tariff usually beats gas. A poorly designed one may not.
