An air source heat pump fitted with a Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant cost a median £12,908 from 1 April 2026 to 30 June 2026, VAT included, before the £7,500 grant comes off. Ground source: £27,232. That is the government's own record of real installs in England and Wales, not a quote and not a guess.
Figures on this page last checked 2 October 2026. Each carries its own receipt with its own date.
Most heat pump price guides are written by people who would like to fit one for you, and the year in the headline is not always the year the figures are from. These numbers come from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, which publishes the costs installers report on grant-funded jobs, with a new release every month. When the next one comes out, this page is rebuilt from it. Nobody is going to ring you.
Half the air source heat pumps fitted with a Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant in April to June 2026 cost less than this and half cost more. It is the price installers wrote on the MCS certificate: the heat pump, the fitting and VAT, with the grant counted in rather than taken off. DESNZ drops the top and bottom tenth of reported costs before working it out, so one gold-plated job cannot drag it about. DESNZ also says some installers may read "include the grant" differently, which is a fair warning about any self-reported number.
£12,908
median reported cost of an air source (air-to-water) heat pump installation with a Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant paid, England and Wales, VAT included, grant not taken off
Covers 1 April 2026 to 30 June 2026.
Source: DESNZ, Boiler Upgrade Scheme statistics August 2026, Table Q1.1A · checked 2026-10-02 · JSON
The middle half of those installs. A quarter cost less than the lower figure and a quarter cost more than the upper one, so a quote outside this range is not wrong, just unusual, and worth asking about.
£11,128 to £15,627
lower quartile to upper quartile of reported air source (air-to-water) heat pump installation costs with a Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant paid, England and Wales, VAT included, grant not taken off
Covers 1 April 2026 to 30 June 2026.
Source: DESNZ, Boiler Upgrade Scheme statistics August 2026, Table Q1.1A · checked 2026-10-02 · JSON
The same measure for ground source heat pumps: half cost less than this, half more, VAT in, grant counted in. Far fewer are fitted than air source, so this figure jumps about more from one quarter to the next.
£27,232
median reported cost of a ground source heat pump installation with a Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant paid, England and Wales, VAT included, grant not taken off
Covers 1 April 2026 to 30 June 2026.
Source: DESNZ, Boiler Upgrade Scheme statistics August 2026, Table Q1.1A · checked 2026-10-02 · JSON
The middle half of ground source installs. The spread is wide because the ground work is: a borehole and a trench in a big garden are very different jobs.
£18,136 to £42,110
lower quartile to upper quartile of reported ground source heat pump installation costs with a Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant paid, England and Wales, VAT included, grant not taken off
Covers 1 April 2026 to 30 June 2026.
Source: DESNZ, Boiler Upgrade Scheme statistics August 2026, Table Q1.1A · checked 2026-10-02 · JSON
One grant per property, in England and Wales, in gov.uk's words:
| Towards | Grant |
|---|---|
| Air source heat pump (air-to-water) | £7,500 |
| Ground source heat pump (water source and shared ground loops too) | £7,500 |
| Air-to-air heat pump | £2,500 |
| Biomass boiler (off the gas grid, rural homes only) | £5,000 |
£7,500
grant towards an air source heat pump (air-to-water), England and Wales, one grant per property
The source page carries no date. Read 2 October 2026.
Source: gov.uk, Apply for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme · checked 2026-10-02 · JSON
Until March 2027 there is an extra £1,500 on top for an air source or ground source heat pump, if both are true: the property is heated by oil or LPG, and it has no mains gas connection.
£1,500 extra
additional grant towards an air source or ground source heat pump where the property is heated by oil or LPG and has no mains gas connection, England and Wales, until March 2027
The source page carries no date. Read 2 October 2026.
Source: gov.uk, Apply for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme · checked 2026-10-02 · JSON
A heat pump paired with a gas boiler gets nothing from this scheme. Nor does swapping one low carbon system for another.
No grant for a hybrid system
scheme rule
The source page carries no date. Read 2 October 2026.
Source: gov.uk, Apply for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme · checked 2026-10-02 · JSON
| Heat pump | Median cost | Grant | After the grant |
|---|---|---|---|
| Air source | £12,908 | £7,500 | £5,408 |
| Air source, home heated by oil or LPG with no mains gas | £12,908 | £7,500 plus £1,500 extra | £3,908 |
| Ground source | £27,232 | £7,500 | £19,732 |
| Ground source, home heated by oil or LPG with no mains gas | £27,232 | £7,500 plus £1,500 extra | £18,232 |
The after-grant column is our arithmetic: the DESNZ median installed cost less the grant gov.uk lists. It is a median less a fixed grant, not anyone's price: your house, the size of pump it needs and the radiators it already has will move yours. The costs are for 1 April 2026 to 30 June 2026, before the oil and LPG extra began on 21 July 2026, so the oil and LPG rows apply today's grant to that quarter's costs.
You do not pay the full price and claim the grant back. Your installer applies, Ofgem checks with you that the installer is acting for you, and the grant is paid to the installer. Since April 2026 installers must take it off the upfront price, so what you pay is the cost of the job less the grant.
The installer applies and the grant comes off your price
scheme rule
Covers 28 April 2026 onwards.
Source: DESNZ, Boiler Upgrade Scheme statistics August 2026, Scheme background · checked 2026-10-02 · JSON
Put in the price on a quote and pick what it is for. It takes off the grant gov.uk lists and nothing else. It runs in your browser and sends nothing anywhere.
Enter the price on your quote to see it with the grant taken off.
Arithmetic only. Whether a home qualifies is checked by Ofgem when your installer applies, not by this box.
Six things people are told about the grant, graded against the source.
Claim check
The heat pump grant is £7,500
England and Wales
£7,500 for an air source or a ground source heat pump, £2,500 for an air-to-air heat pump, and until March 2027 £1,500 on top for a home heated by oil or LPG with no mains gas connection.
Receipt: gov.uk, what you can get
Claim check
You can get the Boiler Upgrade Scheme in Scotland
Scotland
The scheme is open in England and Wales only. Scotland has its own, the Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan. For a heat pump: Grant up to £7,500, plus an optional interest-free loan up to £7,500.
Receipts: gov.uk, Boiler Upgrade Scheme, Home Energy Scotland
Claim check
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme pays for solar panels
England and Wales
It pays towards heat pumps and biomass boilers that replace fossil fuel heating. Not a penny of it goes on panels.
Receipt: gov.uk, Boiler Upgrade Scheme
Claim check
Air-to-air heat pumps get nothing
England and Wales, since 28 April 2026
They get £2,500. It was true before then, so a guide written earlier may still say it.
Receipts: gov.uk, what you can get, DESNZ scheme background
Claim check
You pay the full price and claim the grant back
England and Wales
Your installer applies and the grant is paid to them. Since 28 April 2026 installers must take it off the upfront price, so you pay the cost of the job less the grant.
Receipt: DESNZ scheme background
Claim check
A hybrid heat pump gets the grant too
England and Wales
gov.uk says you cannot get a grant for a hybrid system, for example a gas boiler with an air source heat pump.
Receipt: gov.uk, what you can get
From 23 May 2022 to 31 August 2026:
A voucher is the scheme's yes before the work starts. Not every one turns into a fitted heat pump: some expire and some owners change their mind.
125,321 vouchers issued
Boiler Upgrade Scheme vouchers issued, all technologies, England and Wales, since the scheme opened
Covers 23 May 2022 to 31 August 2026.
Source: DESNZ, Boiler Upgrade Scheme statistics August 2026, Table 1.1 · checked 2026-10-02 · JSON
Installs finished and paid for. This is the number of homes and buildings the scheme has actually helped so far.
93,364 grants paid
Boiler Upgrade Scheme redemptions paid, all technologies, England and Wales, since the scheme opened
Covers 23 May 2022 to 31 August 2026.
Source: DESNZ, Boiler Upgrade Scheme statistics August 2026, Table 1.1 · checked 2026-10-02 · JSON
Scotland has its own scheme for this, run by Home Energy Scotland for the Scottish Government. It is for homeowners in the home they live in, and rural and island homes can get more.
Grant up to £7,500, plus an optional interest-free loan up to £7,500
Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan for a heat pump, homeowners in Scotland, own home only
The source page carries no date. Read 2 October 2026.
Source: Home Energy Scotland, funded by the Scottish Government · checked 2026-10-02 · JSON
A heat pump in England also has to pass a noise sum to count as permitted development. Our heat pump noise page has the limit where you live and the sum itself.
The median for installs with a Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant was £12,908 from 1 April 2026 to 30 June 2026, VAT included, and the middle half of installs ran from £11,128 to £15,627. Take off the £7,500 grant and the median comes to £5,408. That last figure is our arithmetic: the DESNZ median installed cost less the grant gov.uk lists.
£7,500 towards an air source or a ground source heat pump, £2,500 towards an air-to-air heat pump and £5,000 towards a biomass boiler, in England and Wales, one grant per property.
Yes, until March 2027: £1,500 extra on top for an air source or ground source heat pump, if the home is heated by oil or LPG and has no mains gas connection.
No. Your installer applies, the grant is paid to the installer, and installers must take it off the upfront price.
No, it is for England and Wales. In Scotland the Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan covers heat pumps for homeowners in the home they live in.