What a heat pump actually costs to run vs a gas boiler.
Primary question · If I switch to a heat pump, what really happens to my heating bill?
On a standard electricity tariff with a SCOP of 3.5+, a heat pump comes out roughly level with a modern condensing boiler; sometimes 10% cheaper, sometimes 10% more. On a heat-pump-specific tariff (Octopus Cosy, British Gas Heat Pump, EDF Heat Pump Tracker), that gap widens to 20–30% cheaper than gas. The tariff is the lever.
Anyone weighing the 'will it actually save me money?' question honestly.
Typical 3-bed annual heating: £900–£1,300 on a heat-pump tariff vs £1,200–£1,700 on a gas boiler in 2026.
- Genuinely cheaper than gas on the right tariff
- Bills smooth out; no winter cliff-edge
- Standing charges only apply once
- On a flat tariff, the gap to gas narrows
- Older or wrongly-set-up units lose efficiency fast
Check the heat-pump tariffs from Octopus, British Gas and EDF before signing an install.
Heat pumps don't beat gas on physics. They beat gas on tariffs. Choose the tariff before you sign the install quote and you've already done the hardest part of getting the running cost right.