Heat pumps

If you are looking to find an alternative way to heat your property, installing a heat pump could provide a long-term, cost-effective solution and significantly reduce your carbon footprint.

This part of our website aims to help you get to know all about heat pumps. If you want to connect a heat pump to our network, please visit our connections page.

What is a heat pump?

Put simply a heat pump is a device which uses a small amount of electricity to absorb the natural heat from the air or the ground and pump it around the heating system of your property. There are two types of electric heat pump - ground source and air source.

Why are heat pumps more energy efficient than gas central heating?

Heat pumps use naturally-occurring heat from the environment, which is a clean and sustainable source of power, so do not produce carbon emissions. The natural heat absorbed from the air or ground is constantly replenished by the sun, unlike most other fuels.

How much do heat pumps cost?

According to the Energy Saving Trust, installing a heat pump costs between £14,000 to £19,000 for a ground source system and £9,000 to £11,000 for air source, depending on the size of your property.

Although the initial cost of installation is higher than a traditional gas central heating boiler, there are a number of benefits such as lower fuel bills and reduced carbon emissions.

How much energy do they use?

Heat pumps are an extremely reliable and efficient method of heating, using only a quarter of the electricity used by conventional electric heaters to produce the same amount of heat. Fuel bills can be reduced by a massive 50%.

Are there any government incentive schemes for heat pumps?

For domestic properties you may also be eligible to claim payments from the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI), a government scheme which could give you quarterly payments for seven years if you install, or have already installed, renewable technology to heat your property. The equivalent non-domestic Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI), could give you payments over 20 years, based on the heat output of your system.

You can find out more about the different kinds of heat pumps, costs and government incentive payments in the pages below.