The short version
- It can help, but nobody can promise a figure. The property-market evidence is mixed and depends on the home, the area and the buyer.
- A heat pump does not always raise your EPC score. Today’s Energy Performance Certificate is driven largely by running cost, and electricity costs more per unit than gas, so the headline rating can stay the same or even fall. The government is reforming how EPCs work.
- Nationwide’s June 2026 analysis found that, after controlling for other factors, an owner-occupied home rated A or B sold for about 1.6% more than a similar D-rated home — a modest difference, and an association rather than a promise for any one home.
- What a good install reliably does is make a home more comfortable, lower-carbon and future-ready, with documentation a buyer’s surveyor can check. A poor install can be a negative.
Does a heat pump increase property value? Sometimes, a little, but it is not a reliable way to make money, and the headline figures you see quoted vary wildly depending on who did the sums. This guide is general information for homes in England and Wales, not financial, tax or legal advice; for your own situation, take professional advice. Below is what the evidence actually shows, why the EPC angle is more complicated than it looks, and what protects a home’s value in practice.
The honest answer: it depends
If you are installing a heat pump purely as an investment, treat any increase in value as a bonus rather than the reason. The strongest, most recent UK analysis finds the effect on an owner-occupied sale price is small; older work finds larger associations, but those largely reflect the kinds of homes that happen to be energy efficient rather than the efficiency itself. Two things genuinely move together with a sensible install: lower-carbon heating with the potential for lower running costs on the right tariff, and a home that is in step with where the rules are heading.
What you should not expect is a fixed percentage or pound figure added to your home the day the heat pump is commissioned. Property value depends on the local market, the condition of the whole house and what a particular buyer wants. A heat pump is one factor among many.
Heat pumps and your EPC rating
An Energy Performance Certificate gives a property an energy efficiency rating from A down to G and is valid for 10 years; you must have one when you sell or rent a home, so buyers usually see it. It is natural to assume a heat pump, which is efficient and low-carbon, must push the rating up. It is not that simple.
Today’s domestic EPC headline is, in the government’s own words, a “single cost metric” — it is driven heavily by the estimated cost of running the home. Because electricity is priced higher per unit than gas, the government has acknowledged that an energy cost metric “can penalise electric heating systems relative to fossil fuel heating on basis of cost”. In its response on rented homes it went further, saying the current EPC can penalise people “for doing the right thing by installing low carbon heating systems, such as heat pumps”. In plain terms: under the current method a heat pump does not always raise the headline EPC score, and in some cases it can lower it. It depends on the home, the old system and the assumptions the assessor uses.
This is changing. The government is replacing the single cost metric with four new headline measures — energy cost, fabric performance, heating system and smart readiness — which should show a heat pump’s strengths more fairly. The new-style EPCs were due in October 2026, but on 9 March 2026 the launch was moved to the second half of 2027. So we will not promise that a heat pump moves your home to any particular band; if the rating matters to you, ask an accredited energy assessor before you commit. For the rules landlords face around EPC ratings, see heat pumps for landlords.
What the research says about value
The research is genuinely mixed, and every figure below is an association across many homes, not a guarantee for yours.
| Owner-occupied sale price vs a similar D-rated home | Nationwide, June 2026 |
|---|---|
| Rated A or B | +1.6% |
| Rated C or E | little difference |
| Rated F or G | −1.4% |
Nationwide analysis published June 2026, after controlling for other factors such as the type of neighbourhood and whether the property is new. The A/B figure is about £4,500 and the F/G figure about £4,000 at England’s average house price. An association across many sales, not a promise for any one home.
Nationwide’s senior economist put the owner-occupier effect as “modest”. Interestingly, the effect was much larger for buy-to-let purchases, where an A or B rating was associated with a 12.2% premium — landlords appear to price energy efficiency in more, which fits the tightening rules on rented homes.
Older government-commissioned research points the same way but with bigger raw gaps. A 2013 study for the then Department of Energy and Climate Change, looking at repeat sales across England, estimated that compared with a home rated G, homes rated A or B sold for about 14% more, C about 10% more and D about 8% more. The study itself cautioned that energy efficiency is “a weaker determinant” than it looks, because efficient homes tend to be newer or different in other ways; once you control for those factors, as Nationwide did, the gap shrinks. Treat the large numbers you see in headlines with that caution: a figure like the 59% premium for homes with heat pumps quoted by one property firm, Savills, mostly reflects that heat pumps are more common in higher-value areas, not that fitting one adds that much. That firm says as much itself.
What actually matters to buyers
Set the headline percentages aside and think about what a buyer notices. A well-designed heat pump offers several things people value:
- The potential for lower running costs. On a suitable tariff and a low flow temperature design, running costs can be competitive; this is not automatic, so see heat pump vs gas boiler running costs and how much electricity a heat pump uses.
- A modern heating system with a warranty. A buyer taking on a recently installed, documented system inherits remaining warranty and years of life, rather than an ageing boiler due for replacement.
- No combustion in the home. A heat pump burns nothing, so there is no flue and no carbon monoxide from the heating. The NHS lists gas boilers among appliances that can produce carbon monoxide if faulty or poorly maintained, and a home with no gas boiler has no annual landlord gas safety check to arrange for the heating.
- Comfort and future-proofing. Steady, even warmth, and a home that is already off fossil-fuel heating as rules tighten.
On that last point, the direction of travel is clear even though most of it is not yet law. For rented homes, the government has decided to raise the minimum standard to the equivalent of EPC C, with a single compliance date of 1 October 2030; it needs new legislation first, and that applies to rentals, not owner-occupiers. It is still a signal that energy performance is becoming more important to buyers and lenders alike.
Be honest about the counterpoints, too. Some buyers are still unfamiliar with heat pumps and may be wary, and a poorly designed or noisy installation can put people off rather than add anything. That is why the quality of the work matters more than the technology itself.
Protecting the value: a quality installation
The thing most within your control is the standard of the installation. A system sized from a room-by-room heat loss calculation, designed for a low flow temperature, sited and commissioned properly and handed over with full documentation is the version a buyer’s surveyor can look at with confidence. The paperwork matters: keep the design and commissioning records, the warranty and any Building Regulations and electrical certificates. A heat pump claimed through the Boiler Upgrade Scheme has to be fitted by an MCS-certified installer to a recognised standard, which is part of what gives a later buyer reassurance.
On grants, if you own your home in England or Wales and are replacing fossil fuel heating, you may be eligible for the £7,500 Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant towards an air source heat pump; an MCS-certified installer applies on your behalf and takes it off your quote. An EPC is no longer a requirement for the grant, which changed on 28 April 2026. Installing a heat pump in a home is also zero-rated for VAT until 31 March 2027, and an air source voucher runs for three months from issue, so the work has to be finished in that time. See our Boiler Upgrade Scheme guide, and for the whole-cost question, can the grant cover the whole cost?
What a heat pump costs depends on your property: the size of system it needs from the heat loss, whether any radiators or pipework need upgrading (see do I need new radiators? and what size heat pump do I need?), where the outdoor unit goes and how far the pipe run is, how hot water will be provided, and any electrical work. There is no single number, so the right next step is a proper survey.
ByEco is based in Manchester and installs air source heat pumps for homeowners across England and Wales, mostly around Greater Manchester. Our MCS and TrustMark certification is in progress, so we cannot yet lodge a Boiler Upgrade Scheme application on your behalf; only an MCS-certified installer can. If you would like an honest view of what a heat pump would mean for your home, including its value, get in touch and we will arrange a free survey and give you a clear, itemised quote; if you are happy with it, we can go ahead. You can also read the wider benefits of a heat pump or see our heat pumps page.
Sources
Every figure on this page was checked against primary sources on 22 October 2026. Grant rules, planning rules and prices change — if you are reading this much later, verify before acting.
- Nationwide Building Society — Energy efficiency ratings have limited impact on owner-occupied house prices (House Price Index, June 2026)
- DECC — An investigation of the effect of EPC ratings on house prices (2013)
- Savills — Buyers paying significantly more for homes with low carbon technology (transactions 2019–2021)
- GOV.UK — Reforms to the Energy Performance of Buildings regime: partial government response
- GOV.UK — Reforms to the Energy Performance of Buildings regime (update of 9 March 2026)
- DESNZ — Improving the energy performance of privately rented homes: government response (21 January 2026)
- GOV.UK — Domestic private rented property: minimum energy efficiency standard – landlord guidance
- GOV.UK — Selling a home: Energy Performance Certificates
- GOV.UK — Boiler Upgrade Scheme: what you can get
- GOV.UK — Boiler Upgrade Scheme: check if you’re eligible
- GOV.UK — Boiler Upgrade Scheme: how to apply
- Ofgem — Boiler Upgrade Scheme: guidance for installers (Version 5.1)
- legislation.gov.uk — Boiler Upgrade Scheme (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2026
- legislation.gov.uk — The Boiler Upgrade Scheme (England and Wales) Regulations 2022, regulation 15
- HMRC — VAT on energy-saving materials and heating equipment (VAT Notice 708/6)
- NHS — Carbon monoxide poisoning
- HSE — Gas safety checks: who needs them?
Book your free home survey
Every home is different. The cost depends on the size of system, any radiators that need upgrading, the pipework and where the outdoor unit goes. Get in touch and we will arrange a free survey of your home and give you a clear quote. If you are happy with it, we can go ahead.