Heat pump running cost for a 5+ bedroom flat / apartment
A 5+ bedroom flat / apartment uses roughly 15,000 kWh of heat a year. At the current Ofgem price cap an air source heat pump (SCOP 3.5) would cost about £1,128/yr to run, versus about £1,437/yr for mains gas. That is roughly £309 saved a year. A typical ~8kW system costs about £12,500, or £5,000 after the £7,500 grant, paying back in about 16.2 years.
Your standard rate. The tariff scenario is shown separately.
Efficiency. 3.5 is typical.
On a standard tariff (price cap)
electricity at 26.32p/kWh
£309 /yr saved
Heat pump £1,128/yr · payback 16.2 yrs
On a heat pump tariff (~15p/kWh)
cheap-rate electricity
£794 /yr saved
Heat pump £643/yr · payback 6.3 yrs
Heat pump tariffs (Octopus Cosy, EDF, Scottish Power) offered off-peak rates of about 14p to 15p/kWh in June 2026. The ~15p scenario assumes most heating runs in the cheap hours.
- Now: mains gas heating
- £1,437/yr
- Gas standing charge saved
- £108/yr
- Heat pump electricity use
- 4,286 kWh/yr (~357/month)
- Indicative system size
- ~8kW
- Install after grant
- £5,000
- CO₂ saved
- 2,163 kg/yr
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Estimate only. Real figures depend on your home, install and tariff. Prices: Ofgem cap, Oct-Dec 2026.
What a 5+ bedroom flat costs to run in each UK region
Same home, same heat pump (SCOP 3.5), priced at each supply region’s Ofgem cap for Oct-Dec 2026, cheapest first.
| Region | Electricity p/kWh | Heat pump £/yr | Gas boiler £/yr | Saving/yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Midlands (Nottingham, Leicester) | 25.36 | £1,087 | £1,412 | £325 |
| North East (Newcastle) | 25.46 | £1,091 | £1,428 | £337 |
| West Midlands (Birmingham) | 25.60 | £1,097 | £1,425 | £328 |
| Yorkshire (Leeds, Sheffield) | 25.60 | £1,097 | £1,425 | £328 |
| Scotland: south (Glasgow, Edinburgh) | 26.11 | £1,119 | £1,420 | £301 |
| Scotland: north (Aberdeen, Highlands) | 26.35 | £1,129 | £1,420 | £291 |
| Hampshire & Southern England | 26.47 | £1,134 | £1,470 | £336 |
| North West (Manchester) | 26.49 | £1,135 | £1,418 | £283 |
| Wales: south (Cardiff, Swansea) | 26.55 | £1,138 | £1,457 | £319 |
| South West (Bristol, Devon, Cornwall) | 26.58 | £1,139 | £1,462 | £323 |
| East Anglia & Eastern England | 26.61 | £1,140 | £1,427 | £286 |
| London | 26.60 | £1,140 | £1,467 | £327 |
| South East (Kent, Sussex, Surrey) | 26.88 | £1,152 | £1,450 | £298 |
| Merseyside & North Wales (Liverpool) | 27.86 | £1,194 | £1,427 | £233 |
The tariff you are on matters more than the house
Every figure above uses the 26.32p/kWh price cap. A dedicated heat pump tariff runs nearer 15p in its cheap windows, roughly 43 percent off the unit rate, which moves the running cost further than any change to the property itself.