Energy costs are a prevailing theme within the MSE homeowner community – consumers are curious about how much they will pay for electricity when swapping their boiler for a heat pump.

"How much are you paying, per kWh, on each rate?"

"What is your electricity cost per kWh at the time when you did the test (+/- 19:45)?"

"How many kWh are you using month/day?"

"How much kWh did it use [in] a cycle?"

"What's the total kWh for the year?"

Heat pumps run on electricity and are three to four times more efficient than other heating systems, including other electric heating systems such as storage heaters, electric radiators and electric boilers. This means heat pumps use three to four times less energy than other heating systems, to create the same level of comfort. Daily electricity consumption by an 8kW heat pump is around 6-10 kWh of electricity on average, which can translate to a monthly usage ranging from 180-300 kWh. This is roughly the same amount of electricity a typical home uses for other purposes, such as cooking, lighting and appliances. By comparison, a gas boiler in the same homes would typically use about 600-1000 kWh of gas per month. 

Whether a saving will be made on running costs when switching to a heat pump will depend on which system the home is switching from and the electricity tariffs available. There are likely to be savings on the heating bill if the  current system is an oil, LPG or electric boiler, electric radiators or storage heaters. When switching to a heat pump from a gas boiler, bills will likely stay similar under current tariff caps.

Smart tariffs, which charge different prices at different times, can help reduce this, while using solar panels, battery storage, or pre-heating during off-peak times can further lower costs. Work done by Nesta in collaboration with the Centre for Net Zero has shown that automating demand shifting by pre-heating homes before peak times can help households lower electricity consumption during expensive peak periods, reduces grid demand, and maintains thermal comfort. Further work done by Cornwall Insights for Nesta suggests that using a heat pump flexibly in conjunction with a smart tariff could save up to £600 per year compared to using a standard electricity tariff.