Heat Pump Running Costs UK (2026)

This is the part that confuses most people. Electricity costs 26.11p per kWh. Gas costs 7.33p per kWh (Ofgem price cap, 1 July to 30 September 2026). Electricity is 3.6 times the price of gas, so a heat pump has to be more than 3.6 times as efficient as a gas boiler before it costs less to run. At a seasonal COP of 3.2 it is not quite there.

A gas boiler burns gas at around 90% efficiency. For every £1 of gas you buy, you get about 90p worth of heat. The rest goes up the flue as waste.

A heat pump uses electricity at 300%+ efficiency (COP 3.2). For every £1 of electricity you buy, you get about £3.20 worth of heat. It doesn't create this extra energy — it extracts it from the outdoor air or ground.

Let's do the calculation for 1 kWh of heat:

• Gas boiler: 1 kWh ÷ 0.90 efficiency = 1.11 kWh of gas needed. At 7.33p/kWh = 8.1p per kWh of heat
• Heat pump: 1 kWh ÷ 3.2 COP = 0.31 kWh of electricity needed. At 26.11p/kWh = 8.2p per kWh of heat
• Oil boiler: 1 kWh ÷ 0.85 efficiency = 1.18 kWh of oil needed. At 7.5p/kWh = 8.8p per kWh of heat

At current rates, a heat pump's cost per kWh of heat is very close to gas and significantly cheaper than oil. But this calculation uses average figures. In practice, your actual costs depend on your home's heat demand, your heat pump's real-world COP, and whether you're on a specialist heat pump electricity tariff.

When you switch from a gas boiler to a heat pump, your electricity bill goes up and your gas bill goes to zero (or near-zero if you still use gas for cooking). The net effect for most homes is a lower total energy bill.

Important: If you cancel your gas supply entirely, you save the gas standing charge (£106 per year at the July–September 2026 cap). This is a real saving that's often overlooked. However, you'll still pay the electricity standing charge.

Heat pump electricity tariffs are available from some suppliers, offering a lower electricity rate for heat pump users. These can reduce running costs by 10–20%. Ask your supplier about dedicated heat pump tariffs, or check if you qualify for the government's proposed rebalancing of energy levies (shifting costs from electricity to gas, which would make heat pumps even cheaper to run).

If you're currently heating with oil, a heat pump will almost certainly save you money from day one. Oil costs approximately 7.5p per kWh, and oil boilers are typically 80–85% efficient. That gives an effective cost of 8.8–9.4p per kWh of heat — significantly more than a heat pump's 7.7p.

For a home using 18,000 kWh of heat per year (typical for a detached property on oil), the heat pump costs about £1,470 a year to run against roughly £1,590 for oil at 7.5p/kWh — a saving of around £120 a year on fuel alone. Be careful with any site quoting four-figure oil savings: at current prices that only holds if your oil is dearer than 7.5p/kWh, your boiler is well below 85% efficient, or you are on a heat pump tariff. The stronger off-gas-grid argument is the grant: oil and LPG homes with no mains gas connection get £9,000 rather than £7,500, which takes roughly £1,500 straight off the installed price and shortens payback far more reliably than the fuel saving does.

Oil prices are also volatile, having swung from 30p/litre to over 90p/litre in recent years. Electricity prices are more stable, giving you more predictable heating costs.

LPG costs approximately 8.5p per kWh, with boiler efficiency around 85–90%. The effective cost per kWh of heat is 9.4–10p — making LPG the most expensive common heating fuel in the UK. Switching to a heat pump saves £400–£1,000 per year for a typical home.

You also reclaim the space used by the LPG tank and avoid the inconvenience of arranging deliveries. If you're off the mains gas grid and currently on LPG, a heat pump is almost always the most cost-effective heating upgrade.

Electric storage heaters use electricity at 100% efficiency — 1 kWh in, 1 kWh of heat out. A heat pump uses electricity at 300%+ efficiency. This means switching from storage heaters to a heat pump could reduce your electricity consumption for heating by up to two-thirds.

For a home currently spending £1,500–£2,000 per year on electric heating, a heat pump could bring this down to £500–£700. That's a saving of £800–£1,300 per year — the fastest payback of any heating switch.

1. Your home's heat demand

The biggest factor. A well-insulated 2-bed terrace might need 7,500 kWh of heat per year. A poorly insulated 4-bed detached home might need 22,000 kWh. Better insulation means lower heat demand and lower running costs.

2. Your heat pump's COP

A heat pump with a real-world COP of 3.5 costs less to run than one with a COP of 2.8. COP is influenced by the heat pump model, installation quality, flow temperature settings, and outdoor temperature. Keeping the flow temperature low (35–45°C) is the single best way to maximise COP.

3. Your electricity tariff

Standard electricity costs 26.11p/kWh under the July–September 2026 price cap. Several suppliers offer heat-pump-specific tariffs below the cap, and because the gap between the capped electricity and gas rates is what decides whether a heat pump beats a boiler on running cost, the tariff you choose matters more than the hardware. Check live rates before you rely on any figure — heat pump tariffs are not capped and change often. Time-of-use tariffs (like Octopus Agile) can be even cheaper if you heat your home during off-peak hours. Smart controls can help you take advantage of cheaper electricity periods.

4. Solar panels

If you have solar panels, some of the electricity powering your heat pump is free. A typical 4 kWp solar system generates 3,400–4,000 kWh per year. While not all of this will coincide with heating demand, it can reduce heat pump running costs by 20–40%.

5. Maintenance costs

Annual servicing costs £100–£200. This is comparable to a gas boiler service (£80–£120) and cheaper than oil boiler servicing (£100–£200 plus potential filter and nozzle replacements).

Your heat pump heats both your home and your hot water. Hot water typically accounts for about 15–20% of total heating energy use. The heat pump heats a cylinder to around 50–55°C, with a periodic legionella pasteurisation cycle to 60°C.

In summer, when space heating is off, your heat pump still runs to heat water. Summer electricity costs for hot water are typically £10–£15 per month. The heat pump's standby power consumption (controllers, circulation pumps) is minimal — around 50–100 watts.