How much does a heat pump boiler cost?
MANY bill payers are looking for extra ways to keep the costs down this winter.
Millions have been hit with an energy bill sting, with the typical household paying £2,500 a year on average.
It means many people are looking at ways to lower their bill - and one solution is making energy efficient upgrades to your appliances.
Heat pump boilers are claimed to be more cost effective than traditional boilers, experts claim.
They take the available heat from the ground or air and increase it to a higher temperature using a compressor.
It then transfers the heat to the heating system in your home.
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The pump uses electricity to run but it takes less energy than the heat it produces, making it an efficient way to warm your home.
But many people might be unaware of the costs to install, and the help you can get to fund those initial costs.
An upfront cost is often required, which can be off-putting for a lot of households.
But installing a heat pump could have financial benefits in the long run.
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We take a look at those costs as well as what you would be installing into your home.
How much does a heat pump cost?
With the government's pledge to ban gas boilers by 2035, heat pumps are becoming the more attractive alternative, so it could be worth looking into them now to prepare your home.
The only issue is that they are considerably more expensive to install than gas boilers.
According to Which? data, air sourced pumps cost anywhere between £7,000 and £13,000 - which includes installation costs.
Whereas ground sourced heat pumps can cost considerably more, between £14,000 to £19,000.
For whichever type of pump you choose, the price will depend on the size and area of your home.
In comparison, the average installation cost of a new boiler in the UK can be between £500 and £3,00, according to .
While traditional boilers may be cheaper to buy and install, experts say there are savings you can make in the long-run on your energy bills.
A heat pump will maintain a lower temperature than a regular boiler, which will save you energy in the longer run.
That's the theory behind the government's drive towards heat pumps as least, as it plans to convert Brits to the alternative heating source in its net-zero strategy.
As a result, it also announced that councils will be able to foot the bill for some households looking to install a heat pump - but not until next year.
How can I pay for a heat pump?
Grants of £5,000 will be awarded to eligible homes to cover the costs of installing a heat pump.
But the initial plans to roll out the scheme could mean only 30,000 homes would be able to benefit from the government grant.
The £5,000 grants are due to be available from April next year but we don't know exactly when each council will be able to provide support for everyday households.
But, there are other grants already available now.
Council grants for home improvements
Many councils are offering grants worth up to £10,000 to low income households to help them afford the cost of making green home improvements.
What type of energy efficiency improvements the grant covers varies from council to council.
But in some cases, you can get money to put towards buying a heat pump boiler.
For the majority of councils, homeowners must have a total income of less than £30,000 to qualify for the help.
Domestic renewable heat incentive scheme
The Domestic RHI is a UK Government financial incentive set up to encourage the use of renewable heat.
Its aim is to cut carbon emissions and help the UK meet its renewable energy targets.
It offers quarterly payments over seven years, according to a set of tariffs based on the type of system installed.
This helps to offset the higher upfront cost of installing a renewable heating system, compared with a typical boiler.
The scheme closed on March 31, 2022.
We've asked the government if the scheme will open once more and when, and we will update this story when we know more.
Metering and Monitoring Service Package
The Metering and Monitoring Service Package involves having a set of heat meters, electricity meters and temperature sensors installed on your heating system.
This checks how well your system is performing, and helps to inform future research on the performance of heat pumps.
You could receive an up-front payment of £805, plus £115 per year for seven years, making a total of £1,610.
Is it worth getting a heat pump instead of a gas boiler?
The experts at Daikin explain that a typical air source heat pump is more than three times as efficient as a gas boiler.
A heat pump can be 350% efficient compared to only 90% for a gas boiler.
Daikan's energy expert Iain Bevan previously told The Sun: "Putting 1kW of gas into a boiler gives you 0.9kW of heat, whereas putting 1kW of electricity into an air source heat pump gives you around 3.5kW of heat."
"And, typically powered by 80% air and just 20% electricity, a typical air-to-water heat pump will generate 45% less carbon emissions compared to a gas boiler.
"That's a reduction of up to 43.5 tonnes of carbon emissions per home, over a system’s typical 15-year life span."
Not only this, but the cost savings to be made are significant too.
Energy Helpline estimates you can save up to £395 a year compared to the cost of running a gas boiler.
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Octopus estimates you can save an extra £385 from installing a heat pump because of the extra savings you can make on boiler cover, for example.
You will, of course, have to take into account the fact that the government are looking to eradicate gas boilers in roughly 14 years' time, so you may have no choice but to make the switch.