Heat pumps · 7 min read
Is a heat pump right for my Hampshire home?
The honest version: the appliance is rarely the problem. Whether a heat pump works in your home is decided by heat loss, emitter size and the control setup.
Start with heat loss, not with the heat pump
Every good heat pump installation starts with a room-by-room heat loss calculation. It tells you how much heat the property needs on the coldest design day, and therefore how big the heat pump has to be and how big each radiator has to be. Skip it and you get one of two failures: an undersized system that cannot keep up in January, or an oversized one that short-cycles and runs expensively all year.
This is a survey job, not a phone-call job. Anyone quoting you a heat pump size from your postcode and the number of bedrooms is guessing.
Flow temperature is where the money is
A gas boiler is broadly as efficient at 70°C as at 50°C. A heat pump is not. Every degree you can drop the flow temperature improves the coefficient of performance, and the difference between a system designed at 55°C and one designed at 40°C is a large share of your annual running cost.
That is why radiator sizing and underfloor heating matter so much. Underfloor heating is comfortable at 35–40°C, which is exactly where a heat pump is happiest. If you are considering both, do them together — it is far cheaper than revisiting the floors later.
Which Hampshire properties tend to work well
Across the SO postcodes we cover, the pattern is fairly consistent.
- Bungalows — usually the easiest. Plenty of external space for the outdoor unit and a compact, single-storey layout.
- Post-war and modern semis and detached houses with loft and cavity insulation — often the strongest candidates.
- Off-gas-grid property currently on oil or LPG — the biggest running cost savings, because you are displacing an expensive fuel.
- Period and solid-wall property — possible, but the fabric work and emitter sizing need proper attention first. We will tell you if it does not stack up.
What it costs and what the grant covers
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme currently offers £7,500 towards an air source heat pump installation, and £2,500 towards an air-to-air system. Qualifying energy-saving installations also carry 0% VAT on qualifying energy-saving installations.
To apply for the grant, your installer must be MCS accredited. BBI Heating is MCS accredited under registration NIC601962, and we handle the grant application as part of the job rather than leaving it with you.
The question worth asking your installer
Ask whether they also install gas and oil boilers. A company that only sells heat pumps has one recommendation available to it. Because we install gas, oil, electric, hybrid and heat pump systems — and do the electrical work ourselves — we can quote you two options and let the numbers decide.
Questions we get asked
Will a heat pump work with my existing radiators?
Sometimes, often partially. The heat loss survey tells us which radiators are already big enough at the design flow temperature and which need upsizing. We include that in the quote rather than discovering it on installation week.
Are heat pumps noisy?
A modern outdoor unit is comparable to a fridge at a few metres. Siting matters more than the model — we look at boundary distances and reflective surfaces during the survey.
Want this checked against your own property?
A survey costs nothing and turns general advice into specific numbers. We are Gas Safe, NICEIC and MCS accredited (NIC601962), so whichever direction the answer points, the same team can do the work.
More guides
Keep reading
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme explained — £7,500 for Hampshire homeowners
What the £7,500 Boiler Upgrade Scheme covers, who qualifies, why your installer must be MCS accredited, and how the money actually reaches you.
Read guideHeat pumpsHeat pump vs gas boiler: how the running costs actually compare
A straightforward way to compare the two without spreadsheets — and the three variables that decide the answer for your house.
Read guideSolarSolar PV in Hampshire: what a realistic system looks like
Roof orientation, panel count, batteries and the electrical work behind it — what actually changes the outcome.
Read guideReady to get started?
Tell us about your property and we will come back with a written, itemised quotation — not a phone estimate.