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Heat pump or boiler

Checked against its sources: Updated

Between a heat pump and a gas boiler, official sources call heat pumps "around 3 times more efficient" and grants exist for them, but no official saving for a given home was read.1 Nothing read bans replacing a gas boiler in an existing home.2

Covers
UK-wide statements where marked. Grants and building rules differ by country.
You
Use GOV.UK's checker, and ask each installer for figures for your house.
A professional
Gas boilers: Gas Safe registered engineer. Heat pump grants in England and Wales: an MCS certified installer.

1 What official sources claim

The Warm Homes Plan says heat pumps are "around 3 times more efficient than gas boilers"1. The Clean Energy campaign says "3x", and up to 70% less CO2 over 15 years than a gas boiler3. These are general statements, not a forecast for one house, and no official source read gives a typical bill saving.

GOV.UK runs a heat pump check which aims to show whether a heat pump could suit a home before installing one, and it compares likely costs and carbon savings7. That tool is the official place to start.

2 Unit rates on today's cap

Under Ofgem's Oct-Dec 2026 cap, electricity costs 26.32p per kWh and gas 7.97p per kWh, by Direct Debit, in Great Britain8. Dividing one by the other shows electricity at about 3.3 times the price of gas per unit; this sum is not an Ofgem figure8. Set beside "around 3 times" efficiency, the rates alone do not show a saving or a loss. Boiler efficiency, heat pump performance, tariffs and standing charges all vary, and rates change every quarter. See price cap and running costs.

3 Rules and money

The Boiler Upgrade Scheme is for England and Wales, one grant per property, with no grant for hybrid systems4. Scotland's grant requires a heat pump to supply all heating and hot water, and excludes hybrid, air-to-air and exhaust air types5. For other nations, see heating grants by country.

For a gas boiler, England's Part L sets a 92% ErP minimum, and that continues in the 2026 edition, in force from 24 March 202729. The same 2021 edition's 55°C design figure applies to wet systems newly installed or fully replaced; it is not running advice9. The Warm Homes Plan confirms plans for a Future Homes Standard for new homes1. See replacing a boiler.

From the Nesta channel on YouTube. Nesta explains in under a minute how a heat pump collects heat from outside air using electricity, compared with a gas boiler burning gas, and it covers no particular make. Nothing loads from YouTube until you press play.

Sources

  1. Warm Homes Plan, 21 January 2026, with later update read 3 November 2026.
  2. Volume 1 Dwellings, England, 2026 edition, Table 5.3 read 3 November 2026.
  3. Heat pumps, Clean Energy campaign, GOV.UK read 3 November 2026.
  4. Scheme amounts, GOV.UK Boiler Upgrade pages read 3 November 2026.
  5. Grant and loan page, Home Energy Scotland read 3 November 2026.
  6. Energy-saving materials VAT notice 708/6 read 3 November 2026.
  7. Check if a heat pump is suitable, GOV.UK read 3 November 2026.
  8. Unit rates and standing charges, Ofgem, Oct-Dec 2026 read 3 November 2026.
  9. England's in-force dwellings guidance, 2021 edition, Table 6.2 and para 5.10 read 3 November 2026.