Heat pumps
Heat pump or new boiler — what should I actually do in 2026?
3 min read · Last updated · Reviewed for accuracy before publishing
Honestly: for a well-insulated home with generous radiators (or underfloor), an air-source heat pump is a serious option — and government grants exist for qualifying installs, claimed through MCS-certified installers. For a typical draughty UK home with microbore pipework and standard radiators, a modern boiler is still often the pragmatic swap today — with the house prepared (insulation, radiator upgrades) so a heat pump is the natural next step. And there's a middle path most people miss: air-to-air heat pumps (air conditioning that heats) can take over room-by-room heating now at low cost.
Where a heat pump wins now
Good insulation, room for a cylinder, radiators sized for lower flow temperatures (or a willingness to upgrade them), and a household that suits steady background heat. Do it properly — surveyed heat-loss calculations, not guesswork — because running cost depends heavily on how well the heat pump suits the house.
Where a boiler still wins
Poorly insulated homes, tight budgets, or 'my boiler died on Tuesday' timelines. A wrong-sized heat pump in an unprepared house is expensive to run and sours people on the technology — we won't sell you that. Baxi says a boiler serviced annually lasts 10 to 15 years.
So a boiler replacement is also the moment to plan the house for a heat pump.
The air-to-air middle path
Air conditioning units are air-to-air heat pumps: they can heat the rooms you live in most at heat-pump efficiency, while the boiler carries the rest. It's cheap to install and it works in the house you have today — and if you've seen grant adverts for it, read the scheme rules first: they're stricter than the ads suggest, and we'll tell you straight what applies.
“The right first step for most homes is not boiler-or-heat-pump — it is getting the house ready so the heat pump works when you make the jump.”
Get the honest answer for your house →
Sources
- Ofgem — Boiler Upgrade Scheme (£7,500 for air-to-water, ground and water source heat pumps; £2,500 for air-to-air heat pumps for residential properties only; installers must be MCS certified; accessed 19 Oct 2026)
- Ofgem — Boiler Upgrade Scheme: property owners (the new system must "replace an existing fossil fuel or electric heating system" and not replace an existing low-carbon one; hybrid systems such as a fossil fuel boiler plus an air source heat pump are not eligible; air-to-air heat pumps £2,500, residential properties only; £9,000 for air-to-water or ground source in eligible off-gas-grid homes from 21 Jul 2026 to 31 Mar 2027; accessed 19 Oct 2026)
- Ofgem — Energy price cap unit rates (average unit rates by Direct Debit, Great Britain, 1 Oct–31 Dec 2026: 26.32p per kWh electricity and 7.97p per kWh gas; accessed 19 Oct 2026)
- Daikin Perfera FTXM35A datasheet figures (SCOP 5.2, quietest indoor sound 19 dB(A), nominal cooling input 0.76 kW) — via ClimaMarket, verified 9 Jul 2026
- Mitsubishi Electric MSZ-AY25 datasheet figures (SCOP 4.8, silent mode 18 dB(A), nominal cooling input 0.6 kW; rated heating capacity 3.20 kW at nominal heating consumption 0.78 kW) — via ClimaMarket, verified 9 Jul 2026
- Mitsubishi Electric MSZ-AY35 datasheet figures (SCOP 4.7, minimum indoor sound level 18 dB(A)) — via ClimaMarket, verified 9 Jul 2026 and re-checked 19 Oct 2026
- Ofgem — Energy Company Obligation (ECO4 runs until 31 December 2026; accessed 19 Oct 2026)
- Baxi — How long does a boiler last? ("10 to 15 years if you have it serviced annually and look after it properly"; accessed 19 Oct 2026)
Datum's engineers install and service boilers, air conditioning, heat pumps and plumbing across South Hertfordshire and London. Guides are written from real jobs, not brochures.