Research / Topic

Heat Pumps

Real running costs, system design, installation decisions and practical advice for warmer homes.

18 researched guides 05 topics to explore Written for UK homes

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A good place to start

Know what changes the answer for your home.

The right heat pump starts with your home’s heat loss, not a brochure efficiency rating. Read real-world running cost analysis, system design lessons and installation guidance before choosing an installer.

Questions to answer before getting quotes

Can a heat pump work without a hot water cylinder? Check the hot-water design questions before choosing a system. Solar or heat pump first? Plan the installation order when upgrading both systems.

Featured in Heat Pumps

Published 16 October 2026

Smart thermostat for heat pump installation beside a radiator, contrasting with an outdoor heat-pump connection on a brick wall

Heat Pumps / 9 min read

Your Smart Thermostat Might Be Arguing With Your Heat Pump

Smart thermostat for heat pump installation: can you keep your boiler controls? Compare on/off and modulating controls, weather compensation and zoning before signing.

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The collection

Heat Pumps guides

Showing 1–12 of 18

Heat Pumps 4 October 2026 10 min read

You Own the Flat. Why Can't You Install Its Heat Pump?

Air source heat pump installation leasehold flat: owning your home may not mean owning its outside wall. Check consent, English planning rules and grants first.

Air source heat pump installation leasehold flat dilemma: a flat owner's keys beside a lease plan, facing a shared brick facade with an empty proposed unit position

Heat Pumps 2 October 2026 10 min read

Heat Pump Installation Commissioning Checklist: Is It Finished When It's Warm?

A heat pump installation commissioning checklist reveals what a warm radiator cannot: which checks, controls and handover records should your installer explain?

Heat pump installation commissioning checklist symbolised by a lit controller beside blank handover paperwork in a British utility room

Heat Pumps 30 September 2026 10 min read

Install Heat Pump Without Losing Heating? The Week Nobody Quoted

Can you install heat pump without losing heating? Check when your boiler stops, what happens to hot water and which backup your installer will put in writing.

Install heat pump without losing heating: old boiler and cold radiator beside a warm room with an agreed work schedule

Heat Pumps 28 September 2026 10 min read

Why the Air Source Heat Pump Installation Outdoor Unit Location Isn't the Obvious One

An air source heat pump installation outdoor unit location may look perfect yet fail a site check. Learn what England's rules, sound and clearance checks require.

Air source heat pump installation outdoor unit location illustrated by an obstructed side passage beside an open garden survey area

Heat Pumps 25 September 2026 10 min read

Why Did the Heat Pump Installation Heat Loss Survey Come After the Quote?

A heat pump installation heat loss survey can change a seemingly finished quote. See what room-by-room calculations reveal before choosing a unit or signing.

Heat pump installation heat loss survey illustrated by an unmeasured equipment estimate beside a carefully annotated room-by-room floor plan and measuring tape

Heat Pumps 24 September 2026 13 min read

Heat Pump SCOP Winter Running Costs: Why a 4.10 Rating Still Cost £265 in January

Heat pump SCOP winter running costs can far exceed the seasonal rating: real telemetry shows COP crashing from 4.15 to 2.25 in a UK cold snap.

Heat pump SCOP winter running cost myth shown as a golden autumn ErP label reading SCOP 4.5 beside the same heat pump's evaporator coil coated in frost during a freezing UK cold snap

Heat Pumps 23 September 2026 10 min read

Combined Solar and Heat Pump Installation: Why "Solar First" Doubles Your Electrical Bill

Combined solar and heat pump installation planning avoids the £1,060 sequencing trap: duplicate consumer units, DNO delays, and lost self-consumption savings.

Combined solar and heat pump installation myth of a shrink-wrapped heat pump sitting idle in the garden of a solar-panelled house, against the reality of a labelled consumer unit with dedicated solar and heat pump circuits

Heat Pumps 22 September 2026 11 min read

Ground Source Heat Pump Cost UK: Why the Same £7,500 Grant Still Beats Air Source

Ground source heat pump cost UK: the same £7,500 Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant as air source. Real metered data shows exactly when the extra capital pays off.

Ground source heat pump cost UK myth of a rural country estate against the reality of a mini-excavator burying a slinky loop in a normal suburban garden with a warm ground cross-section

Heat Pumps 10 September 2026 12 min read

Air Source Heat Pump Cost UK: 2026 Price Guide, £7,500-£9,000 BUS Grants, and Net Payback

Full 2026 price breakdown for air source heat pumps by property type, from £1,000 net cost on a small terrace to £8,500 on a rural off-gas farmhouse. How the £7,500-£9,000 BUS grant is claimed, ancillary costs explained, and running costs versus gas, oil and LPG.

An air source heat pump outdoor unit installed beside a UK semi-detached house with an installer reviewing a Boiler Upgrade Scheme quote

Heat Pumps 22 July 2026 10 min read

The Combi-Boiler Illusion: Where to Hide a Heat Pump Cylinder in a Terraced House

Want a heat pump without hot water cylinder space? Discover how phase-change heat batteries replace combi boilers, fitting under a kitchen counter.

A colossal tarnished copper unvented hot water cylinder positioned against a pristine compact white Sunamp heat battery the size of a microwave, showing a heat pump without hot water cylinder installation

Heat Pumps 22 July 2026 10 min read

The Cold Start Fallacy: Why Turning Your Heat Pump Off at Night Costs You More

Should I leave my heat pump on all the time? Discover the counter-intuitive physics of weather compensation and why turning it off spikes your bills by 33%.

A frost-covered yellowed mechanical heating timer dial switched to OFF positioned against a pristine glowing blue digital heat pump interface displaying 35C, illustrating should I leave my heat pump on all the time

Independent-minded guidance

Research you can actually use.

Written by Mark Anthony Haines, with over a decade in UK renewable energy. We work from published policy, industry data and real-world performance, and explain the assumptions behind the numbers.

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