Heat Pump or New Boiler: How to Decide.

Most people ask us this the wrong way round. They ask which is better. The honest answer is that it depends on three things about the building you already own, and a survey settles all three in about an hour.

What your radiators can give back

A boiler pushes water round at about 70°C. A heat pump runs closer to 45°C. Cooler water carries less heat, so the same radiator puts out less into the room.

That is not a reason to rule a heat pump out. It is a reason to measure. In most houses two or three radiators need to go up a size, and the rest are already big enough. In a few, every radiator needs changing, and that cost belongs in the quote rather than in a surprise halfway through the week.

How well the house holds heat

Loft insulation, cavity walls, the draught under the back door. A heat pump rewards a house that keeps what it is given, because it works steadily all day instead of blasting twice.

If the loft is bare, insulate it first. It is cheaper than any heating system and it improves whichever one you end up with.

Where the outdoor unit would sit

It needs airflow, a firm base, and a run back to the cylinder that does not cross the whole house. Side returns are usually fine. A tight courtyard with a neighbour’s window a metre away usually is not.

When a boiler is still the right answer

A small flat with a combi and no room for a cylinder. A house where the pipework is due to be ripped out in two years anyway. A landlord who needs heat back on this week and has a tenant in the house.

We fit both. If a heat pump is wrong for your home we will say so on the survey, in writing, and quote you a boiler instead.