Heat pump tariffs compared (2026)

A dedicated heat pump electricity tariff sells power at about 14p to 15p per kWh during set cheap windows, against 26.11p per kWh on the standard price cap. For a typical 3-bed semi that is the difference between about £895 and roughly £520 a year to heat, provided most of the heating runs inside the cheap hours. Four tariffs stood out in mid 2026: Octopus Cosy, Scottish Power Heat Pump Saver, Good Energy Heat Pump and EDF Heat Pump Tracker.

What a heat pump tariff is

A heat pump tariff is a time-of-use electricity tariff aimed at homes that heat with electricity. Instead of one flat unit rate all day, the supplier charges much less during set windows and the same or more the rest of the time.

Suppliers can offer this because a heat pump is a large but flexible load. Heating and hot water do not have to run at 6pm when the grid is busiest. They can run in the early morning, the early afternoon and late at night, when wholesale power is cheaper and the network has spare capacity. A time-of-use tariff passes some of that saving on, in exchange for you moving your demand.

Every tariff here needs a smart meter that sends half-hourly readings, according to Sunsave's 2026 tariff roundup. Most also ask for proof of a heat pump, though the rules differ: Good Energy asks only for a smart meter, and Octopus accepts electric boilers and electric radiators as well as heat pumps.

The 2026 tariffs compared

The rates below are from Sunsave's comparison, checked on 19 June 2026. Unit rates vary a little by region and change over time, so treat them as a snapshot and confirm the live rate with the supplier before switching.

Tariff	Cheap rate	Cheap windows	Rest of day
Octopus Cosy	14.53p/kWh	4am to 7am, 1pm to 4pm, 10pm to midnight	about 33.3p, peak about 51.7p from 4pm to 7pm
Scottish Power Heat Pump Saver	14p/kWh	11am to 4pm	about 27.6p
Good Energy Heat Pump	14p/kWh	5am to 9am, 1pm to 4pm	about 30.6p
EDF Heat Pump Tracker	14.9p/kWh	4am to 7am, 1pm to 4pm	about 24.9p

Octopus Cosy

Cosy gives eight cheap hours a day across three windows: 4am to 7am, 1pm to 4pm and 10pm to midnight. Octopus sets the cheap rate at 51% below the day rate for your region, with a peak rate 50% above the day rate between 4pm and 7pm. In the June 2026 snapshot that worked out at about 14.53p in the windows, about 33.28p for the rest of the day and about 51.68p at peak. The three windows spread nicely across the day, but the evening peak rate punishes anyone who cannot avoid heating between 4pm and 7pm.

Scottish Power Heat Pump Saver

The simplest structure of the four: one five-hour window, 11am to 4pm, at 14p per kWh, with the rest of the day at about 27.6p. You need a heat pump and a communicating smart meter, and full details are on ScottishPower's tariff page. A single midday window suits homes that can heat up strongly in the afternoon and coast through the evening, but it offers no cheap overnight hours.

Good Energy Heat Pump

Also 14p per kWh, across seven cheap hours in two windows: 5am to 9am and 1pm to 4pm. The rest of the day is about 30.6p. It is a fixed tariff, typically around 12 months, with a £75 fee for leaving early, and you need a smart meter but not necessarily a heat pump. The early-morning window is the longest of any tariff here, which helps with warming the house before the day starts.

EDF Heat Pump Tracker

This one works differently. EDF takes 10p per kWh off the standard rate for your region between 4am and 7am and again between 1pm and 4pm, and the rates move with the price cap every three months. In June 2026 that meant about 14.9p in the windows; EDF's own worked example for the East Midlands shows 15.10p against a 25.10p day rate. There is no peak premium, so the rest of the day simply costs the standard regional rate. You need an air source heat pump and a smart meter.

Two more tariffs sat just behind these four in the same roundup: E.ON Next Pumped, with a super off-peak rate of about 16.9p overnight, and British Gas Heat Power at about 16.8p off peak. Both are credible options, but their cheap rates are a couple of pence higher.

How they compare with the price cap

The Ofgem price cap for 1 July to 30 September 2026 sets a typical electricity unit rate of 26.11p per kWh with a 57.19p daily standing charge for Direct Debit customers. The cheap windows above sit roughly 43% to 46% below that.

The rest-of-day rates are the catch. On Cosy you pay about 33.3p outside the windows and about 51.7p between 4pm and 7pm, both well above the cap. Good Energy charges about 30.6p outside its windows and Scottish Power about 27.6p, also above the cap. Only EDF's rest-of-day rate, about 24.9p, sits at or under typical cap rates. Standing charges on the four ranged from about 44.8p to 53.9p a day in the June 2026 snapshot, at or below the cap's 57.19p.

So a heat pump tariff is not automatically cheaper. It pays when a large share of your electricity moves into the windows, and it can cost more than the cap if most of your usage lands at peak times.

What the cheap windows mean in practice

The whole idea is load shifting. You run the heat pump harder during the cheap hours, let the fabric of the house store the warmth, and coast through the expensive hours. In practice that means a few habits.

Heat ahead of the peak. Set the heating schedule to push the house a degree or so warmer during a cheap window, especially 1pm to 4pm, so it can drift gently until bedtime. On Cosy this matters most, because the 4pm to 7pm peak rate is roughly double the cap rate.

Move hot water into the windows. A hot water cylinder is effectively a heat battery. Scheduling the daily reheat into the 1pm to 4pm window, which all four tariffs share, costs nothing in comfort and shifts a decent chunk of load. The same goes for any weekly sterilisation cycle.

Let the controls do the work. Many heat pump controllers and smart thermostats can follow a time-of-use schedule automatically, and some integrate directly with these tariffs. Set it once and check the first month's half-hourly data.

Shift the rest of the household too. Dishwashers, washing machines and EV charging all benefit from the same cheap windows, which improves the overall economics beyond heating.

This works best in a home that holds its heat. A well-insulated house can be charged with warmth at 2pm and still feel comfortable at 7pm. A leaky one cools too fast to coast, so more of its heating lands in the expensive hours and the tariff advantage shrinks.

What a typical home could save

Take our model home from the running cost guide: a 3-bed semi needing about 12,000 kWh of heat a year, with a heat pump at SCOP 3.5, so about 3,429 kWh of electricity. At the cap's 26.11p that is about £895 a year.

If every unit ran inside a 14p window, the same heating would cost about £480. Realistically some heating falls outside the windows, so an effective rate of about 15p is a fairer planning figure. That gives roughly £515 a year, call it £520, a saving of around £375 a year, or about 40%.

Independent estimates are more cautious for households that do not shift much. Sunsave modelled annual savings between about £35 and £294 depending on the tariff, for a typical usage pattern, and EDF quotes about £146 a year for a typical customer using 2,500 kWh on its tracker. The gap between those figures and our £375 estimate is the shifting itself. The more heating and hot water you move into the windows, the closer you get to the top end.

The caveats

A few honest warnings before you switch.

The rest of the day can cost more than the cap. On Cosy and Good Energy in particular, units used outside the windows cost several pence more than a standard tariff. Heavy evening users can end up worse off.

A smart meter is required. All four tariffs need half-hourly readings, and switching can take a couple of weeks while the meter is set up.

It works best with good insulation. The saving depends on coasting through expensive hours, which a draughty home cannot do.

Rates are regional and they move. EDF's tracker changes with the cap every three months, Octopus's rates vary by region, and fixed deals are repriced at renewal. Always check the live quote for your postcode.

Compare the whole bill. Standing charges, non-heating usage and exit fees all matter. Good Energy and British Gas both carried a £75 early exit fee in the June 2026 snapshot.

The bottom line

A heat pump tariff is the single biggest lever on a heat pump's running cost in 2026. Cheap-window rates of about 14p to 15p against a 26.11p cap rate take a typical 3-bed semi from about £895 a year to roughly £520, provided the heating and hot water are scheduled into the windows and the home holds its heat. Check the live rates for your region before switching, and mind the pricier rest-of-day rates. To see what a cheaper unit rate does to your own numbers, set your tariff price in the calculator. All figures here are estimates based on the Ofgem price cap and supplier rates checked in June 2026, and will vary with your home, region and tariff.