# Heat pump or new boiler — what should I actually do in 2026?

*The Datum team · Heating, cooling & plumbing engineers · Datum · updated 2026-10-19 · Heat pumps*

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.
>
> — The Datum team, Heating, cooling & plumbing engineers

## Related questions

### Are heat pumps more expensive to run than gas?

It depends on how efficiently the heat pump runs. At Ofgem's 1 Oct–31 Dec 2026 price cap, electricity is 26.32p per kWh and gas 7.97p, so a heat pump needs to deliver more than three units of heat per unit of electricity just to match gas on running cost. The install quality and the house's heat loss decide whether it does — which is why the survey matters more than the brochure.

### What grants exist right now?

The government's Boiler Upgrade Scheme supports qualifying heat-pump installations — but it can only be claimed through an MCS-certified installer, the eligibility rules are strict (it must replace an existing fossil-fuel or electric heating system, and Ofgem says hybrids with a boiler are not eligible), and it never applies to cooling-only air conditioning. We won't promise a deduction we can't yet claim; we'll tell you plainly at the survey what's real for your home and where we're up to. Eligible low-income households may also access ECO4 boiler and insulation support while that scheme runs.

### Can I have both a boiler and a heat pump?

Yes — hybrid setups and boiler-plus-air-to-air arrangements are possible, and often the sensible transition: heat pump efficiency where it's easy, boiler backup where it's not. Just be aware that Ofgem says hybrid systems are not eligible for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme.

## Sources & verification

- [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)](https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/environmental-and-social-schemes/boiler-upgrade-scheme-bus)
- [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)](https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/environmental-and-social-schemes/boiler-upgrade-scheme-bus/property-owners)
- [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)](https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/your-energy-supply/your-energy-bill/energy-price-cap-unit-rates-and-standing-charges)
- [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](https://www.climamarket.eu/en/wall-split-ac-daikin-perfera-35)
- [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](https://www.climamarket.eu/en/mitsubishi-electric-msz-ay25)
- [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](https://www.climamarket.eu/en/mitsubishi-electric-msz-ay35)
- [Ofgem — Energy Company Obligation (ECO4 runs until 31 December 2026; accessed 19 Oct 2026)](https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/environmental-and-social-schemes/energy-company-obligation-eco)
- [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)](https://www.baxi.co.uk/help-and-advice/faqs/how-long-does-a-boiler-last)

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