How Much Does a Heat Pump Cost to Run in the UK in 2026?
Last reviewed: 15 May 2026
The verified UK figures for what an air source heat pump actually costs to run in 2026 — including the heat-pump-specific tariffs that turn the running cost from "similar to gas" into "materially cheaper than gas."
In short
A typical UK 3-bed semi with a well-installed heat pump (SCOP ~3.5) consumes around 5,060 kWh of electricity per year for heating and hot water. On the Q2 2026 Ofgem standard variable tariff (24.67p/kWh), that’s about £1,250 a year — roughly £120 more than the same property on gas. But on a heat-pump-specific tariff (E.ON Next Pumped, British Gas Heat Pump, EDF Heat Pump Tracker), with the heat pump’s load timed into the off-peak windows via smart controls, the same heat pump runs for £930 to £1,000 a year — meaningfully cheaper than gas. Switching tariff is the single biggest lever on heat pump running cost. A homeowner who installs a heat pump but stays on the standard variable tariff loses £200–£350 a year of the value the system is designed to deliver.
On this page
- The arithmetic — three numbers determine the running cost
- Running cost by tariff (Q2 2026 rates)
- Heat pump vs gas boiler — the actual comparison
- What pushes a real install up or down the range
- The “66% of heat pumps more expensive than gas” survey — what it really says
- What to expect in the first winter
- Hot water cost — broken out separately
- The full running-cost picture, consolidated
- What this means for homes in Reading
The arithmetic — three numbers determine the running cost
The running cost of any heating system reduces to three numbers:
- How much heat your property needs per year (kWh). Driven by your floor area, insulation, occupancy patterns, and target indoor temperature.
- How efficient the system is at delivering that heat. For a heat pump, this is the SCOP (Seasonal Coefficient of Performance) — kWh of heat delivered per kWh of electricity used. For a gas boiler, it’s combustion efficiency.
- The unit cost of the fuel. Pence per kWh for electricity (heat pump) or gas (boiler).
For a typical UK 3-bed semi:
- Annual heat demand (space heating + hot water): around 17,700 kWh (BEAMA UK gas consumption analysis)
- Realistic SCOP for a properly-sized, well-installed heat pump: 3.5
- Electricity needed: 17,700 ÷ 3.5 = 5,060 kWh per year
Multiply by your tariff rate to get your annual running cost.
Running cost by tariff (Q2 2026 rates)
The Ofgem price cap for April–June 2026 sits at 24.67p per kWh for electricity on the standard variable tariff. Heat-pump-specific tariffs offer materially lower rates during off-peak windows that your heat pump’s controls can be configured to target.
| Tariff | Approximate effective rate | Annual heat pump cost (5,060 kWh) |
|---|---|---|
| Ofgem standard variable | 24.67p/kWh | ~£1,250 |
| British Gas Heat Pump tariff | ~17p/kWh effective (half-price 1-4pm + 12-7am, 10 off-peak hours) | ~£1,000 |
| E.ON Next Pumped | ~18-20p/kWh effective (8h super off-peak at 16.9p, 13h off-peak at 21.3p) | ~£930 |
| EDF Heat Pump Tracker | Tracker-priced (3-5p below standard, varies with wholesale) | ~£950-£1,050 |
These are illustrative figures for a typical 3-bed semi at SCOP 3.5 — your actual cost depends on your property’s heat demand, your heat pump’s achieved SCOP, and how well your heat pump’s load is timed into the tariff’s off-peak windows.
Important caveat on tariff effective rates. The “effective rate” assumes your heat pump load is well-timed into the off-peak windows via weather compensation, smart controls, or scheduled heating. A heat pump that simply runs whenever the property calls for heat (uncontrolled) sees an effective rate much closer to the time-weighted average — i.e. closer to peak than to off-peak. Smart-controlled timing is what converts a heat-pump tariff’s headline rates into the headline annual saving.
You’ll also need a smart meter capable of half-hourly readings (SMETS2 or SMETS1 with updated firmware) for any heat-pump-specific tariff. Smart meter installation is free through your energy supplier and typically takes an hour. Worth scheduling alongside heat pump install.
A note on Cosy Octopus. Octopus Energy’s Cosy tariff was one of the most widely-recommended heat pump tariffs from 2022 to early 2026 under its 3-window time-of-use pricing (cheap off-peak / standard / expensive peak). In Octopus’s March 2026 tariff restructure, the 3-window model was retired and the Cosy product survived as a fixed-rate offer for heat pump households. It is still available — check the current published rate on Octopus’s site. The three tariffs listed above remain useful comparators if your heat-pump load is well-suited to time-of-use pricing; Cosy in its new fixed-rate form is the right pick if you’d rather a single rate without time-of-day complexity. For a full look at how the heat-pump tariff landscape has evolved and which tariff fits which use case, see our heat-pump tariffs guide.
Heat pump vs gas boiler — the actual comparison
For the same 3-bed semi using 17,700 kWh of heat per year:
Modern gas boiler at 90% efficiency:
- Gas consumption: 17,700 ÷ 0.90 = 19,667 kWh per year
- Q2 2026 gas standard variable: 5.74p/kWh
- Annual gas running cost: ~£1,130 per year
Heat pump comparison:
- Standard variable tariff: ~£1,250 (heat pump runs ~£120 more, ~11% above gas)
- Heat-pump-specific tariff (well-timed): ~£930-£1,000 (heat pump runs ~£130-£200 less, ~12-18% below gas)
The gap between staying on the standard tariff vs switching to a heat-pump tariff is roughly £250-£320 per year. This single switch is the largest lever in heat pump running cost — bigger than any one design or commissioning decision.
For the deeper view including 15-year total cost of ownership (capital + running + servicing), see our heat pump vs gas boiler 15-year cost comparison.
What pushes a real install up or down the range
The £930-£1,250 range above assumes SCOP 3.5 and average heat demand. Two factors explain most of the real-world variance:
Your heat pump’s SCOP
Real-world SCOPs from monitored UK installs average 3.87 (HeatpumpMonitor.org, n=252 installs with billing-grade metering). Premium models reach 4.5-5.3. Poorly-installed or undersized systems can run at SCOP 2.5 or below. Each 0.5 SCOP step changes your annual cost meaningfully — at SCOP 4.5 the same property costs around £970/year (standard tariff); at SCOP 2.5 it costs around £1,750/year.
The drivers of SCOP — flow temperature, sizing accuracy, install quality, refrigerant choice, controls commissioning — are addressable at install time. They’re the reason that a thorough survey and proper design (per our installation process guide) matters so much.
Your property’s heat demand
Approximate annual heat demand by property size:
| Property type | Annual heat demand |
|---|---|
| Small 1-bed flat | ~6,000-9,000 kWh |
| Medium 2-bed terrace | ~10,000-13,000 kWh |
| Typical 3-bed semi | ~15,000-18,000 kWh |
| Larger 4-bed detached | ~20,000-26,000 kWh |
| Period 4-bed solid-wall detached | ~25,000-35,000 kWh |
Scaling the running cost proportionally: smaller properties land at ~£500-£900 a year; larger properties at ~£1,500-£2,200; large period properties at ~£1,800-£2,500. These are the SCOP-3.5-standard-tariff figures; the heat-pump-tariff figures scale similarly.
Tariff choice
The single largest single-decision lever. £200-£350 a year between standard variable and a well-used heat-pump-specific tariff for a typical 3-bed semi install.
The “66% of heat pumps more expensive than gas” survey — what it really says
A HomeOwners Alliance survey of UK heat pump owners found that 66% reported their homes were more expensive to heat than their previous system. This is a real datapoint reflecting real outcomes — and worth understanding rather than dismissing.
The identifiable causes of those bad outcomes:
- Wrong tariff. Homeowners left on the standard electricity tariff rather than switched to a heat-pump-specific tariff. This is the single largest contributor — accounts for most of the gap on its own.
- Underperforming heat pump. A heat pump achieving SCOP 2.5-3.0 instead of designed-for SCOP 3.5+ costs ~40% more to run. The causes: oversizing, flow temperature designed above 50°C, poor controls commissioning, inadequate radiator sizing for the design flow.
- Property heat demand underestimated. A heat pump sized to a lower-than-actual demand runs harder, leans on backup electric heating in cold weather (efficiency ~1.0), and consumes more total electricity than projected.
What the 66% figure does not mean is that heat pumps inherently cost more to run. In a properly-sized, properly-installed system, on a heat-pump-specific tariff, in a home with reasonable insulation, the running cost is at or below a gas boiler’s. The variance between the bad-outcome group and the good-outcome group is the difference between addressing those three drivers and not addressing them.
The implication: a heat pump install that includes proper survey work, careful design, controls commissioning depth, tariff guidance, and a 12-month review (per our first-year aftercare guide) materially reduces the chance of landing in that 66%. An install that skips those steps meaningfully contributes to it.
What to expect in the first winter
First-winter heat pump bills can shock new owners for three reasons:
1. The consumption pattern looks different. Heat pumps run for more hours per day at lower flow temperatures rather than fewer hours at higher flow temperatures. If you check your daily smart meter readings, you’ll see continuous electricity use through the day rather than the spike-and-rest pattern you were used to with gas. This is a perception issue, not a cost issue — what matters is the total kWh, not the moment-by-moment pattern.
2. Tariff lag. If you haven’t switched to a heat-pump tariff at the time of commissioning, the switch typically takes 4-6 weeks to take effect. Your first winter month on the standard tariff costs materially more than subsequent months on the optimised tariff. Worth booking the tariff switch in tandem with the install rather than as a follow-up.
3. Controls dial-in period. Weather compensation curves take a heating season to tune to your specific property. The first winter month may show non-optimal flow temperatures (typically too high — installers tend to commission cautiously), which produces higher kWh consumption than the system will settle to once tuned. A return visit at 4-6 weeks and a 6-month review catches this and adjusts.
For a more detailed look at first-winter expectations and the diagnostic steps if your bill comes in higher than expected, see our first-winter heat pump bill guide.
Hot water cost — broken out separately
The 17,700 kWh annual heat demand figure includes hot water (around 2,500 kWh on typical UK use). Hot water is slightly less efficient on a heat pump than space heating because the target temperature is higher (50-55°C cylinder vs 45-50°C heating flow):
- Cylinder heated to 50-55°C daily: SCOP 2.5-3.0;
910 kWh per year electricity = **£225 per year** on the standard tariff - Weekly Legionella cycle at 60°C+ (required by MIS 3005): adds ~£15-30 per year
Scheduling cylinder heating into the off-peak window of your heat-pump tariff saves a further £40-70 per year vs running it at the time-weighted average rate.
The full running-cost picture, consolidated
The realistic 2026 running-cost picture for a typical 3-bed Reading semi, SCOP 3.5, well-timed onto a heat-pump tariff:
| Component | Annual cost |
|---|---|
| Heat pump space heating | ~£700-800 |
| Heat pump hot water | ~£200-280 |
| Annual servicing | £150-300 (one-off, scheduled) |
| Electricity standing charge | £209 (Q2 2026 at 57.21p/day) |
| Gas standing charge | £106 (only if retaining gas — typically zero on heat pump) |
| Total annual on a well-optimised heat pump | ~£1,050-1,400 |
| Equivalent gas + boiler running case | ~£1,250-1,400 |
The well-optimised case is meaningfully cheaper than gas. The unoptimised case (standard tariff, SCOP 3.0 or below) can land £200-500 a year above gas. The variance is genuine, and the upper end of it is the outcome that drives the 66% HomeOwners Alliance statistic.
Two ongoing watch-items for running cost from 2026 onwards:
- Ofgem price cap resets quarterly. The 24.67p electricity / 5.74p gas figures will move each quarter. Re-anchor the running cost arithmetic at each reset.
- Heat-pump tariff landscape evolves. Cosy Octopus was restructured in March 2026 (3-window time-of-use model retired; product survived as a fixed-rate offer for heat pump households). New tariff products continue to emerge across providers. The general direction is more sophisticated time-of-use products with longer off-peak windows. The benefit of switching tariff is durable; the specific best tariff changes every 12-18 months.
What this means for homes in Reading
Reading’s housing-stock distribution maps onto running-cost outcomes roughly as follows:
Modern estates in Lower Earley, Woodley, and the western expansion areas typically deliver the lowest running costs. Insulation is good (heat demand toward the lower end of the range for the property size); modern radiators often allow lower flow temperatures (higher SCOP); electrical supplies are generally sized for smart-meter and heat-pump-tariff demand. These properties tend toward the well-optimised end of the cost picture.
Inter-war semis in Tilehurst, Earley, Whitley, and parts of Caversham sit in the middle. Heat demand is moderate (~14,000-18,000 kWh per year for typical three-beds); SCOP after radiator upgrades and proper commissioning tends to land at the 3.5-3.8 range; running costs cluster around the £900-£1,100 mark on a heat-pump tariff.
Period properties in central Reading and lower Caversham — Victorian and Edwardian terraces — have higher heat demand (often 20,000-30,000 kWh per year for solid-walled properties without external wall insulation). Running cost scales proportionally — typically £1,400-£2,200 a year on a heat-pump tariff for a well-installed system. These properties benefit most from R290 high-temperature systems and careful flow-temperature design.
All Reading homes share the same tariff landscape — switching to a heat-pump tariff is a free choice for every property type, and the benefit (£200-£350 per year) applies uniformly. The single most reliable cost-reduction step a Reading homeowner can take post-install is booking the smart meter and tariff switch in the weeks immediately after commissioning.
Reading sits within SSEN’s electricity network and is served by all major UK heat-pump tariffs. No regional restriction applies.
Related guides
- Heat-pump electricity tariffs — Octopus, E.ON Pumped, British Gas, EDF compared — the deep look at tariff choice, switching, and how each tariff structure pairs with different heat pump use patterns.
- Why your first winter heat pump bill might shock you — expectations vs. reality for the first 3 months, and the diagnostic steps if the bill comes in higher than projected.
- SCOP, COP and HSPF — heat pump efficiency metrics explained — the metric foundation behind this article’s arithmetic, and how to compare systems on efficiency.
- Heat pump vs gas boiler — 15-year cost comparison — the longitudinal picture combining capital cost (A10.1), running cost (this article), and servicing.
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