Your First Winter With a Heat Pump: What to Expect

The first winter is when you find out whether a heat pump was sized and set up correctly, and whether your expectations match how it actually behaves. This guide explains what usually feels different from a boiler, what is normal, what is not, and how the experience tends to vary by property type and by the heating system you are replacing.

According to Nesta's heat pump research, most owners it surveyed were satisfied with their heat pump, but the experience depends heavily on installation quality, how well the home is insulated, and how well the homeowner understands the differences from a boiler. For technical details on what makes a good installation, see our installation guide.

Note: this page is editorial guidance. It does not report a survey or interviews, and the scenarios below are general descriptions, not individual case studies.

What Feels Different From a Boiler

• Radiators feel warm, not hot. Heat pumps work most efficiently at low flow temperatures (typically 35-50°C rather than 60-80°C), so radiators feel warm to the touch. That is normal.
• The system runs for longer. Instead of short bursts of high heat, a heat pump runs steadily for long periods. Turning it up and down like a boiler usually makes it less efficient.
• The temperature is steadier. With weather compensation set up properly, the home tends to sit at a more even temperature through the day.
• Hot water reheats more slowly. If you are replacing a combi boiler, you now have a cylinder that reheats over a longer period, so timing matters more.

What Is Normal (and What Is Not)

Normal: the outdoor unit steaming and sounding different for a few minutes during a defrost cycle in cold, damp weather; the unit working harder and using more electricity on the coldest days; radiators that are warm rather than hot.

Worth raising with your installer: rooms that never reach the target temperature, the system running at a high flow temperature all the time, frequent short on-off cycling, or bills far above the installer's estimate. These usually point to sizing, radiator or commissioning issues (such as weather compensation not being set up), which are fixable. See common installation mistakes.

How the First Winter Varies by Property Type

• 1930s-1960s semis and detached houses: often straightforward if cavity walls and the loft are insulated; a few radiators may need upgrading.
• Victorian and other solid-wall homes: heat pumps can work, but expect more radiator upgrades and more attention to sizing. There is often a learning curve while you get used to leaving the system running.
• Bungalows replacing storage heaters: a new wet heating system is needed, which adds cost, but the change in control over when heat is delivered can be significant.
• New builds with underfloor heating: well-insulated homes with underfloor heating suit heat pumps very well because they need low flow temperatures.
• Flats: possible where there is a suitable place for the outdoor unit and space for a cylinder; check lease and freeholder consent first.
• Large homes and ground source systems: ground source heat pumps draw on a steadier ground temperature, so their efficiency varies less through winter, but the upfront cost is much higher.

How It Varies by the Fuel You Are Replacing

Replacing gas: at current capped prices a heat pump can be somewhat cheaper to run than gas on unit rates if it is well designed and efficient (see the worked example below). Savings depend heavily on the system's real efficiency and your tariff.

Replacing oil or LPG: heating oil and LPG are not price-capped. Heating oil was about 117p per litre including VAT in October 2026 (around 11.4p/kWh, an indicative BoilerJuice average), so comparisons against oil often favour a heat pump; for LPG, compare against your own last delivery price. In England and Wales, the Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant is £9,000 for an air-to-water or ground source heat pump replacing oil or LPG in a home without a mains gas connection (21 July 2026 to 31 March 2027), and £7,500 in most other cases.

Replacing storage heaters or direct electric heating: because a heat pump delivers several units of heat for each unit of electricity, the electricity used for heating typically falls substantially.

In Scotland: Home Energy Scotland offers a grant of up to £7,500 (up to £9,000 with the rural or island uplift) plus an optional interest-free loan of up to £7,500. Heat pumps work in cold climates; efficiency falls as outdoor temperatures drop, so correct sizing for your local design temperature matters.

First-Winter Running Costs: A Worked Example

Take a home that needs 11,500 kWh of heat a year. A heat pump averaging a seasonal COP of 3.2 uses about 3,594 kWh of electricity: at the October 2026 price cap rate of 26.32p/kWh that is about £946 a year. A 90% efficient gas boiler needs about 12,778 kWh of gas: at 7.97p/kWh that is about £1,018 a year. These are unit-rate figures only; if you remove the gas supply entirely you also stop paying the gas standing charge (29.68p a day). Most of the year's heating cost falls between October and March, and a heat pump or time-of-use tariff can reduce it further. Use our running costs guide to work through your own figures.

Before-Winter Checklist

• Insulation and draughts: deal with cheap fixes such as loft top-ups and draught-proofing.
• Handover: ask your installer to explain the flow temperature, weather compensation and hot water schedule, and to leave written settings.
• Tariff: check whether a heat pump or time-of-use tariff suits how your system runs.
• Leave it running: resist turning the thermostat up and down as you would with a boiler.
• Neighbours: let them know about the installation in advance.

For the full picture on whether a heat pump makes financial sense for your situation, see are heat pumps worth it?

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a heat pump warm enough in a UK winter?

Yes. When correctly sized and installed, a heat pump maintains 20-21°C throughout winter. Heating feels different: radiators are warm rather than hot, and the system runs longer.

What tends to surprise people in their first winter?

Warm-not-hot radiators, the system running for long periods, the defrost cycle's steam and sound in cold, damp weather, and hot water taking longer to reheat than with a combi boiler.

Do heat pump owners regret switching from gas?

Nesta research reports that most owners it surveyed were satisfied. Where problems arise, common causes are installation issues rather than the technology.

How much does a heat pump cost to run over a year?

In the worked example above (11,500 kWh of heat, COP 3.2), about £946 a year at 26.32p/kWh, compared with about £1,018 for gas at 7.97p/kWh. Your figure depends on your home, the system's efficiency and your tariff.

What should I do before my first winter with a heat pump?

Fix cheap insulation gaps, check your tariff, get a clear handover on flow temperature and weather compensation, get more than one quote when choosing an installer, and tell neighbours in advance.