Heat pump cost guide
Published figures put a typical air source installation around £12,000, with scheme data higher. We show £10,000 to £16,000 so a quote can sit either side.
Key takeaways
- Before the grant: £10,000 to £16,000 for a typical air-to-water install.
- After £7,500: about £2,500 to £8,500. After £9,000: about £1,000 to £7,000.
- No single price, and no bedroom split, until we have sourced numbers.
Before grant
£10,000 to £16,000
Grant used here
£7,500
After grant
£2,500 to £8,500
The air-to-water band sits around Energy Saving Trust’s typical figure of about £12,000 and the average Boiler Upgrade Scheme air source cost of £13,431 for October to December 2025, as reported by Which?. It is not split by bedroom count.
Energy Saving Trust · Which? · Grant values. This is a guide, not a decision. Your installer applies and Ofgem decides.
How we calculateWhere the range comes from
Energy Saving Trust says a typical air source heat pump installation costs around £12,000, and that the price varies with size, property and whether radiators need upgrading. Which? reports that the average air source installation under the Boiler Upgrade Scheme in October to December 2025 cost £13,431.
Our data file stores £10,000 to £16,000 as a band around those two figures. It is not a quote, and it is not a price for a one-bed flat or a five-bed farmhouse. We will not publish bedroom bands until each band has a source and a checked date.
Taking the grant off
Subtract £7,500 and the band becomes £2,500 to £8,500. Subtract £9,000 and it becomes £1,000 to £7,000. If the grant is larger than the bottom of the range, we do not show a negative price. The estimator does this and links the grant to the values notice.
Ground source and air-to-air are left blank on price. Using the air-to-water average for them would invent a number.
What can sit outside the headline
Radiators, a hot water cylinder and pipework are the usual extras. We describe them and we do not price them. VAT is also unpublished: we have not cleared a dedicated VAT page against the current notices.
A quote should list the heat pump, the extras, the grant category and the balance. Use what a quote must contain when you compare two installers.
Sources
- Ofgem: Boiler Upgrade Scheme for property owners
- Ofgem: Boiler Upgrade Scheme for installers
- Ofgem: Boiler Upgrade Scheme property owner guidance (April 2026)
- GOV.UK: Notice of approved grant categories and values (updated 29 September 2026)
- GOV.UK: Apply for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme — what you can get
- GOV.UK: Apply for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme
Reviewed by
UK Heat Pump & Funding Specialist
MCIBSE and MCS certified retrofit specialist. Director of Thomson and Sons Low Carbon Consulting Firm Ltd, specialising in heat pump retrofits since 2005.