Guide To Heat Pump Installation, Maintenance & Running Costs

In Summary: Heat Pump Installation, Maintenance & Running Costs

Running and installation costs for heat pumps will depend on a range of factors. Everything from how good your property’s insulation is, through to the size of your radiators will affect costs. 

Taking some averages, expect:

• To pay £6,500-£12,000 for a heat pump installation, but with up to £7,500 in government funding available, most heat pump installations cost under £5,000 without changing the emitters
• Running costs to sit in the region of £800-£2,500 per year
• Heat pump prices from leading brands tend to be comparable, with a 5-6kW unit priced at £3,000-£3,500 from leading brands such as Vaillant and Ideal Heating

Air source heat pumps consume a reasonable amount of electricity. Which means the perfect setup would incorporate both a pump, and solar panels and or a battery, where your budget allows.

By using solar panels and a solar storage battery, you could dramatically decrease your monthly electricity bill, as well as increase energy self-sufficiency, so you’re not at the mercy of rising energy prices! Have a look at our guide to charging your battery from the grid, using time of use tariffs, to really bring down the bills.

You can get: 

• Prices on heat pumps including installation here
• Prices on solar panels here
• Advice on your solar panel / heat pump setup by contacting our experts here

Air Source Heat Pump Cost Guide

Whether you’re looking at the cost of having a heat pump fitted, maintenance costs, prices from online retailers or running costs, there are variables that affect the price. 

Here are a few common variables that might affect heat pump costs / prices: 

• What size heat pump you need - A higher kW output heat pump will cost more than a lower output unit
• The specific brand and model you choose - Cheap brands offer upfront savings, but tend to have a lower warranty and be less efficient
• Government grants - Most air source heat pump installations will qualify for a grant of up to £7,500, to offset the overall cost of your heat pump
• Labour costs - Different installers charge different prices for labour
• Quality of your property’s insulation - High quality insulation would mean you’d need a less powerful heat pump
• Size and amount of radiators - Heat pumps work “low and slow”, so if you have lots of large radiators, and larger pipework, you can run at lower flow temperatures and increase efficiency
• The average temperature you keep your property at - The higher the temperature you set your central heating, the harder the heat pump works and the lower the efficiency

What’s The Average Cost of Heat Pump Installation?

Expect average heat pump installation costs to be in the region of £9,500-£13,000 for a 1-4 bedroom house, but you can reduce this by the £7,500 currently (Feb 2025) available with the Boiler Upgrade Scheme Grant, to £2,000 and £5,500 respectively.

Here are some estimations for heat pump installation costs based on property size, and the kW output of your heat pump:

Whilst property size in sq ft and amount of bedrooms is one way to estimate suitable heat pump size, it’s exactly that, an estimate. 

Other factors we’ve mentioned above such as quality of insulation and the radiators you have, could mean you need a bigger / smaller heat pump than the table above suggests. 

A 5kW unit is an “average” size heat pump, suiting many 1-3 bedroom properties. 

The total installation cost for this unit would be just under £4,000, after accounting for government subsidies via the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS). 

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For this you'll get a high quality heat pump from Vaillant. Their aroTHERM Plus 5kW is one of their most popular offerings, and as part of the installation process you'll get: 

• Free heat loss survey
• Government grants applied for on your behalf
• 7-year Warranty
• Vaillant Unistor 200L hot water cylinder
• sensoComfort controls (which can be used alongside the MyVaillant App)
• 1 radiator upgrade

Read more about air source heat pump installation costs here. 

Or, using our clickable heat pump tool here, you’ll be able to spec your system within a matter of minutes, with fixed prices on-screen. 

Heat Pump Prices From Leading Brands

There are dozens of brands selling heat pumps in the UK, all at different prices. 

To compare heat pump prices directly, we’ve looked at 4 of the best air source heat pump brands available in the UK. 

We took prices directly from a range of online plumbing merchants, so the heat pump prices below are for the unit only (excluding installation, fittings and heating controls).

Where a 5kW model wasn’t available, we’ve included a 6kW unit instead (Grant Aerona 3).

As you can see, heat pump prices from most leading brands like Ideal and Vaillant are comparable, sitting in the range of £3,000-£3,500, while there are manufactures that offer a lower price bracket. That said, it is not the only cost to consider, as the running costs and reliability will also differ between them.

The natural reaction is just to go for the cheapest heat pump. But the cheapest unit isn’t necessarily the best for your property. 

Each installation is different. 

One property owner might set their heat to 19 degrees and have excellent insulation, whereas another might set their heating to 21 degrees and have bad insulation. The most suitable heat pump for these 2 properties is likely to be different from one another.

Using a combination of our free home assessment and our clickable heat pump tool here, we can determine which is the best heat pump for your property.

How Much Do Heat Pumps Cost To Maintain?

Just like gas boilers, regular maintenance of a heat pump is worthwhile. Not only does it ensure everything works smoothly (reducing the chance of a costly repair bill), it also helps your heat pump to work at peak efficiency. 

Heat pump maintenance costs sit in the region of £200-£300 per year. You'll want to make sure you use a Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) registered engineer to complete the service, on an annual basis. 

So, what does the £200-£300 annual service get you?

Your MCS registered engineer will:

• Inspect all aspects of your ASHP
• Check refrigerant levels and top up if necessary
• Check and clean the fan blades

Ensuring you have the correct refrigerant and enough of it in your heat pump is essential. If you are running the wrong refrigerant or not enough, your air source heat pump won't work at anywhere near its optimal efficiency. 

As part of the £200-£300 maintenance cost, an engineer will check your refrigerant, top it up if necessary, and ensure your system doesn't have any leaks.

They’ll also check the fan blades. These blades are one of the most important components. If they’re bent, broken or dirty, they won’t be working efficiently, and your energy bills are going to skyrocket.

Put simply, the annual service cost of approximately £250 per year is likely to pay for itself in the long term thanks to improved efficiency, and a reduction in energy bills.

Our guide to heat pump efficiency covers everything you can do to improve the overall efficiency of your ASHP.

Heat Pump Running Costs

Now we’ll look at not just how much heat pumps cost to run, but compare running costs to gas boilers.

How Much Does A Heat Pump Cost To Run?

The majority of heat pumps (5kW-10kW) cost between £800-£2,500 per year to run. 

Heat pump running costs are affected the most by the following variables: 

• The kW output of your heat pump
• How well your property is insulated
• The size of your radiators (the bigger the better) and pipe diameter
• Current electricity prices
• Hot water and heating demand
• The design of the system

If you have a low kW heat pump, excellent insulation, large radiators and a low electricity tariff, then your running costs will be extremely low, assuming the design is good and has been kept simple wherever possible.

A small 5kW unit would cost as little as £67 per month to run assuming:

• Relatively low hot water and heating demand
• Large radiators are installed throughout
• The property is well insulated

Running costs for a 10kW heat pump would rise up to £208 per month assuming: 

• Reasonable hot water demand
• Medium-large radiators are installed throughout
• The property has good insulation

Heat Pump Running Costs Vs Gas Boilers

The big question is, is the cost of running a heat pump lower than a gas boiler?

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Generally, the answer is that "it can be". But, exactly how much you’re likely to save depends on your current system. For most people, this is going to be an old gas boiler. If the system is not well designed for efficiency then you won't save any money compared to a gas boiler.

As you can see from the Energy Saving Trust’s graphic above, an A-rated boiler is £14 per year cheaper than an air source heat pump on average.

However, most people looking to upgrade their gas boiler won’t have an A-rated unit. Instead, they’ll have a boiler that’s rated as low as G. In this case, the running costs of an air source heat pump are likely to be approximately £340 less!

One thing worth considering, is that a gas boiler can’t be coupled with solar panels, and an ASHP can. 

We fit both solar panels and air source heat pumps. Using a combination of both, you could remove your electricity bill completely! 

Speak to one of our experts here; they can advise on the best solar / ASHP setup for maximum savings. 

You can also use our clickable heat pump tool to spec your system.

And for further reading, check out our guide to the cost of solar panels here. 

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