Heat Pumps UK 2026: Suitability, Quotes & BUS Grants

Last updated: 19 July 2026 · Originally published April 2026 · By James Wright

Last checked: 19 July 2026. A heat pump should be selected from a room-by-room heat-loss design and a complete written quote—not a generic “best model” list. Output, flow temperature, emitters, hot-water demand, noise, electrical supply and installer design all affect whether an exact unit is suitable.

Boiler Upgrade Scheme change from 21 July 2026

From 21 July 2026, eligible applications in England and Wales for an air-to-water or ground-source heat pump at an off-gas-grid property replacing oil or LPG can qualify for £9,000. The application must be properly made on or after that date; the uplift is stated to run through 31 March 2027.

It is not a blanket £9,000 grant for every off-grid home or every heat-pump type. Other qualifying air-to-water and ground-source installations generally remain at £7,500, while qualifying residential air-to-air systems have a £2,500 category. Eligibility, technology definitions and regional schemes differ. An MCS-certified installer applies on the property owner’s behalf.

Check the official BUS grant categories and effective date

Quick verdict

Best route: commission a design-led quotation from a competent MCS-certified installer and compare the assumptions, not only the headline price. This page does not rank an exact heat-pump model because the current research did not establish a universally suitable model or one configuration that can be recommended without a property design.

Good candidate: a home with a credible heat-loss calculation, practical outdoor/ground access, suitable emitters or funded upgrades, an acceptable electrical and noise design, and owners comfortable with steady low-temperature heating.

Pause or redesign: where the quote omits room heat losses, design temperatures, emitter outputs, hot-water recovery, noise, electrical work, commissioning or the exact indoor/outdoor product codes.

Start with the building, not the badge

Design input	What the quote should show	Why it matters
Room-by-room heat loss	Fabric and ventilation assumptions plus design outdoor temperature	Determines required output and emitter sizing
Flow temperature	Target design flow and expected weather compensation	Higher temperatures can reduce seasonal efficiency
Radiators/underfloor heating	Room emitter outputs at the proposed flow/return temperatures	Nominal radiator sizes at boiler temperatures are not enough
Hot water	Cylinder model/volume, recovery strategy, immersion and hygiene cycle	Space heating and hot water create different loads
Exact equipment	Outdoor unit, indoor/hydraulic unit, cylinder, controller and generation/product codes	A family name can contain materially different outputs and configurations
Sound and siting	Location drawing, airflow/clearance, condensate/defrost water and sound assessment	Planning, neighbours and reliable operation depend on the final position
Electrical work	Supply, protective devices, isolators, cable route and any network-operator action	Prevents excluded or unsafe electrical assumptions
Performance estimate	Seasonal model, climate, controls, tariff and household assumptions	A headline COP at one test point is not an annual bill

Air-to-water, ground-source and air-to-air

Air-to-water

An outdoor unit supplies a wet heating system and usually a hot-water cylinder. It is the common retrofit route, but the outdoor location, noise, defrost water, radiator or underfloor-heating outputs and cylinder space must be designed. Ask for performance at the property’s design temperature and proposed flow temperature—not only a nominal output.

Ground-source

Ground-source systems use trenches or boreholes and can benefit from steadier source temperatures. The quote must cover ground-loop design, permissions, drilling or trenching, pumping energy, access, reinstatement and responsibility if ground conditions differ from assumptions. Higher civil-work complexity makes a hardware-only comparison particularly misleading.

Air-to-air

Air-to-air systems heat air directly and may also provide cooling. They do not automatically provide domestic hot water, and the BUS category, residential eligibility and approved-technology requirements are distinct. Confirm the official rules and the whole-home hot-water plan.

Who should buy—and who should wait?

Consider proceeding when

the existing boiler or oil/LPG system is approaching replacement and the property can support a well-designed alternative;
fabric improvements and emitter upgrades have been assessed as part of one plan;
the installer supplies a transparent seasonal estimate and explains how controls will run;
the grant is treated as a contribution, not proof that the design is good;
you can compare at least two complete quotes with the same scope.

Pause when

a quote is based only on floor area or the old boiler’s badge output;
radiators, hot water, electrics, planning/noise, condensate or commissioning are “to be confirmed” after deposit;
the installer promises a fixed saving or payback without your consumption, tariffs and design assumptions;
the exact model/generation and included controls are missing;
the sales case relies on £9,000 without confirming the off-gas-grid, replaced-fuel, technology, application-date and regional conditions.

How to compare written quotes

Normalise scope: include surveys, design, hardware, cylinder, emitters, electrical/civil work, controls, removal, commissioning, certification, VAT and making good.
Compare assumptions: heat loss, flow temperature, weather data, hot-water use, tariff and seasonal performance model.
Check exclusions: scaffolding, lifting, trenching, asbestos, network upgrades, planning, decoration and future service.
Check ownership: warranty length and conditions, labour coverage, installer insolvency protection, monitoring/account dependence and data access.
Check handover: commissioning values, weather curve, user training, hydraulic/electrical drawings and a route to support.

Review Ofgem’s BUS installer requirements

Running cost, controls and subscriptions

No fixed saving is supportable without the home’s delivered heat demand, previous-system efficiency and fuels, heat-pump seasonal performance, tariff, standing charges and control strategy. Ask for the calculation in kWh and retain the assumptions so it can be rerun when tariffs change.

Confirm which controls work locally, which require the manufacturer’s account or internet service, whether remote monitoring is optional, who can see system data and what happens if a cloud service ends. A heat pump is not a media-storage product, but monitoring data storage can reveal temperatures, energy use and occupancy patterns; check retention, deletion/export and installer access. Avoid third-party room controls that fight the heat pump’s weather compensation or close too many emitters without the system designer’s approval.

Installation and regional warnings

The Boiler Upgrade Scheme described here applies to England and Wales; Scotland and Northern Ireland have different support and rules.
Planning and permitted-development conditions, noise assessment and building regulations must be checked for the actual property.
Refrigerant, electrical and hydraulic work requires appropriately competent people.
Do not order an outdoor unit online as though it were a plug-in appliance. The complete designed and commissioned system is the product.

How we researched this guide

This is a research-led planning guide, not a Smart Home UK installation trial or model test. We used GOV.UK and Ofgem Boiler Upgrade Scheme materials available on 19 July 2026 and retained a design-first approach because current research did not validate a universal exact-model ranking. We assess grant accuracy, system boundary, quote completeness, compatibility and installation risk. We do not publish unsupported prices, savings, payback periods or efficiency guarantees.

Official sources

Frequently asked questions

Does every heat pump receive £9,000 from 21 July 2026?

No. The £9,000 category is for eligible England and Wales applications for air-to-water or ground-source systems at off-gas-grid properties replacing oil or LPG, properly made on or after 21 July 2026. Other categories and conditions differ.

Which heat-pump model is best?

There is no universal model winner. The exact output and configuration must be selected from the property’s heat loss, flow temperature, emitters, hot-water demand, electrical supply, siting and noise design.

Will a heat pump reduce my bill?

It can, but no fixed saving is guaranteed. Compare delivered heat, previous fuel/system efficiency, seasonal performance and the applicable tariff using transparent assumptions.

Smart Home UK Team - Research-led UK smart-home editors who compare manufacturer specifications, UK availability, verified owner feedback and authoritative sources. Independent. No sponsored placements.