How to get a heat pump: quotes, grants and the routes that make sense
With £7,500 off from the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, the real question isn't whether a heat pump is affordable — it's how to get a good install at a fair price. There are two honest routes, and here's how each works.
By Tom Rowland · Updated 20 July 2026
Every route below assumes the £7,500 Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant (£9,000 for off-gas-grid oil/LPG homes from 21 July 2026). Your installer claims it and deducts it from your quote. See who's eligible and how it works →
Local MCS-certified installers
The gold-standard route: a certified local firm surveys your home, designs the system around it, and claims the grant for you. Use the official MCS register to find certified installers near you, then ask three for a survey and quote.
Find MCS installers near youOfficial MCS 'find an installer' tool — free, not an ad.
Fixed-price online installers
National installers that give you a fixed online quote and handle the survey, install and grant end-to-end. Quicker and more transparent on price — good for a fast benchmark quote to compare against local firms. Both below are MCS-certified.
Some links on this page are affiliate links: if you get a quote or buy through them we may earn a commission, at no cost to you. It never changes which routes we recommend, and we only point to MCS-certified installers. The MCS register link is not an affiliate link.
Before you get quotes
Four things separate a heat pump that quietly saves you money from one that disappoints — and all four are decided before installation, not after:
- 1Insist on a heat-loss survey
A proper survey sizes the system to your actual home. Walk away from anyone quoting off a rule of thumb — it's the single biggest cause of a heat pump that underperforms.
- 2Check the MCS certification
The installer and the equipment both have to be MCS-certified for the grant to apply. You can look a firm up on the MCS register before you sign anything.
- 3Get three quotes
Prices and system designs vary a lot. Three quotes tells you what's reasonable and flushes out anyone cutting corners on the survey or radiator sizing.
- 4Line up the right tariff
A heat-pump or time-of-use electricity tariff is what makes the running costs stack up. Sort this before you switch on — on a standard tariff the savings often don't appear.
Common questions
How do I get quotes for a heat pump?
Two routes work well. Use the official MCS 'find an installer' tool to find certified local firms and ask three of them for a survey and quote; or use a national fixed-price installer that gives you an online quote and handles the grant for you. Either way, make sure the installer is MCS-certified — it's required to claim the £7,500 grant.
Do I need to apply for the grant myself?
No. Whichever route you choose, your MCS-certified installer applies for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant through Ofgem on your behalf and deducts it from your quote. You don't fill in a government form.
Are fixed-price online quotes cheaper than local installers?
Not necessarily — they're faster and more transparent, but a good local installer who surveys your home carefully can design a more efficient (and sometimes cheaper) system. Comparing at least one fixed-price quote against local quotes is a sensible way to sanity-check the price.
Get the heat-pump quote checklist
The questions to ask every installer, plus a calm heads-up if the grant rules change. No noise, no sales calls.