Heat Pump Manufacturers Supplying UK Homes

Heat pumps are moving from a niche purchase to a mainstream one, and the field of companies selling them into British homes is wider than most householders realise. There are at least 33 manufacturers supplying air source heat pumps in the UK, and at least 17 in the ground source market¹. Four of them, Mitsubishi Electric, Vaillant, Daikin and Samsung, account for nearly two-thirds of total annual UK air source sales¹. Around 1% of homes in the UK currently have a heat pump², and the Climate Change Committee estimates approximately 10% of existing homes will need to be heated by one by 2030³, so the market behind your quote is set to grow sharply.

The shape of that market matters to a householder in ways that go beyond the badge on the outdoor unit. Who makes the product determines where it is built, how long spare parts and support are likely to be available, what warranty terms apply, and whether the installer fitting it works within a manufacturer's own accredited network. Support is also available for installers and manufacturers to expand supply chains⁴, which signals that the government expects this field of suppliers to keep changing.

This page sets out who supplies heat pumps to UK homes, what each group of manufacturers sells, the specifications worth comparing, and the certification and planning rules that shape what can actually be installed on your property.

Which companies provide heat pumps for British households

The supplier landscape falls into three broad groups, and the official statistics describe them directly. First, the global HVAC groups: Mitsubishi Electric, Vaillant, Daikin and Samsung, companies whose core business is heating and cooling equipment sold worldwide, and which together account for nearly two-thirds of annual UK air source sales¹. Second, heating brands with long UK histories, such as Ideal, which was one of the main companies manufacturing air source heat pumps in the UK in 2024 alongside Mitsubishi Electric, Vaillant and Octopus Energy, a group with a combined 34% market share¹. Third, newer entrants, including energy retailers moving into hardware, of which Octopus Energy is the clearest example¹.

Ground source is a smaller and more specialised market. At least 17 manufacturers supply it, but only Kensa, holding 41% of that market, manufactures its systems in the UK¹.

The market is also young in deployment terms. Heat pump deployment statistics cover hydronic heat pumps with a capacity up to 45 kW installed in the United Kingdom⁷, and around 1% of homes have one². The government's Warm Homes Plan is a UK-level ambition⁸, and its targets imply a many-fold increase in installations over the coming decade, with an aim of 450,000 annual installations per year by 2030⁵. A market growing at that pace attracts new manufacturers, so the list of brands is likely to lengthen, and the manufacturer failures and orphaned products question, who will still be around in fifteen years, is a fair one to ask of any quote.

For the wider picture of who stands behind each brand, see brand ownership and parent groups.

Leading brands and their portion of the UK market

The concentration at the top of the market is the single most useful fact for a householder comparing quotes. With Mitsubishi Electric, Vaillant, Daikin and Samsung accounting for nearly two-thirds of total annual UK sales¹, most quotes will come from one of those four, and the comparison pages between them, such as Mitsubishi vs Daikin, exist precisely because so many households end up choosing between the same shortlist.

The UK-based manufacturers are a distinct group. The main companies manufacturing air source heat pumps in the UK in 2024 were Mitsubishi Electric, Vaillant, Ideal and Octopus Energy, with a total market share of 34%¹. Note the overlap: two of the big four sellers also build here. In ground source, Kensa is alone in manufacturing in the UK, with 41% of that market¹.

Sales volumes give a sense of scale and direction. A record 125,000 heat pumps were sold in 2025, a 27% increase over 2024, with approximately 45,000 manufactured in the UK⁵. The government's roadmap expects annual deployment to reach 600,000 by 2028⁹ and up to 1.9 million a year by 2035⁹. Against those targets, the Climate Change Committee judged in 2024 that the UK was off track for net zero³, which is the context for the steady flow of policy changes, grant increases and planning relaxations described later on this page.

Individual brand profiles across this site cover the ranges sold in the UK, including Mitsubishi Electric Ecodan, Daikin, Vaillant, Samsung EHS, NIBE, Grant, Stiebel Eltron, Dimplex, Aira and Octopus Cosy.

UK production compared with models from abroad

Most heat pumps sold in the UK are imported. The UK currently has a limited domestic heat pump manufacturing sector, meeting just over 30% of UK demand as of 2025¹. A consultation document puts the figure at around one third manufactured here, with two thirds imported¹⁰. The two statements agree closely: roughly one in three units on a British wall was built in Britain.

For scale comparison, the number of heat pump units installed in the UK is just 7% of that in France¹, which is one measure of how much of the UK market is still ahead of it, and how much manufacturing capacity could still be built to serve it.

The direction of policy is firmly towards more domestic production. The Warm Homes Plan states an aim that at least 70% of heat pumps installed in the UK are made in the UK¹¹, and the government's investor factsheet targets 70% manufactured in the UK by 2035 on the way to 450,000 annual installations by 2030⁵. A consultation predicts the UK-manufactured share will grow to around one half by 2030¹⁰.

Where a product is made matters for energy independence in a specific way: a heat pump removes a household's dependence on gas deliveries and on the gas grid, but it replaces them with dependence on a manufacturer's supply chain for the unit itself and, over a 20-year-plus life⁶, on that manufacturer's continued existence for spare parts and support. UK manufacture shortens that supply chain but does not remove it. The where home energy products are made page covers the question across all equipment types.

What the brands offer: air-to-water or air-to-air units

Almost everything sold into British homes is air-to-water. Low temperature air-to-water monobloc systems, a single outdoor unit that heats water for radiators or underfloor heating, represent 69% of the total heat pump market in the UK¹. An air-to-water system, in the words of the ECO4 guidance, "transfers heat drawn from surrounding air, to water in a wet central heating system"¹². Air source heat pumps generally are the most commonly installed type in the UK¹³.

Air-to-air systems, which blow warmed or cooled air directly into rooms, are a smaller category, and they are treated differently by support schemes: air-to-air "is not considered to be a renewable system in ECO4"¹². MCS implementation of air-to-air heat pumps entered its next phase in September 2026¹⁴, which points towards a wider certified offering over time.

For a householder, the choice the manufacturer presents is really about the heating system already in the house. A wet central heating system with radiators points to air-to-water, which is what nearly seven in ten UK installations are¹. Scottish building standards research modelled air source heat pumps across house archetypes and found the ASHP "was shown to consistently result in the lowest DDER across the archetypes modelled"¹⁵, and that air source had the lowest capital cost for the houses modelled, though not for a block of flats¹⁵.

Key specs to weigh: capacity, SCOP and flow temperature

Three numbers do most of the work when comparing manufacturers' products, and each has a catch.

Capacity. The median capacity of an air-to-water installation in England and Wales in the second quarter of 2026 was 8.0 kW¹⁶. That is the middle of the market, not a recommendation: the right capacity comes from a heat loss calculation on your home, which is one reason Energy Saving Trust recommends quotes from at least three installers¹⁷. Deployment statistics cover hydronic units up to 45 kW⁷, and air-to-air products extend well beyond domestic sizes, with a range above 12 kW and up to 1000 kW covered in product standards¹⁸.

SCOP. The seasonal coefficient of performance measures efficiency across a whole heating season. For grant purposes, heat pumps must have a SCOP of at least 2.8¹⁹. A figure of 300% efficiency is used as an illustrative example in official consultation material²⁰, meaning three units of heat moved for each unit of electricity consumed. A manufacturer's SCOP claim is a test-standard figure: how to read it like for like is covered on comparing manufacturer specifications.

Flow temperature. The lower the flow temperature a system is designed around, the more efficient it is in operation, and the more the design of your radiators or underfloor heating matters. The specification sheet is where this is declared, and the standards behind those numbers are explained on product testing and datasheet standards.

One caution on datasheets: where a manufacturer publishes two different figures for the same model and test condition, both may appear in its own documentation, and only the certificate, not the brochure, settles which applies. The manufacturer certification page explains how to check.

Certification: the Heat Pump KEYMARK and MCS

Two certification layers sit between a manufacturer's factory and your wall, and they answer different questions.

The Heat Pump KEYMARK is a voluntary European certification mark that supports the quality and performance of heat pumps on the European market²². The certificate is granted by independent Certification Bodies, with testing carried out by registered Test Centres²². A manufacturer applies to an empowered Certification Body, which sets out the testing, inspection, assessment procedures and costs; a factory inspection and product sampling then follow, with testing by a recognised institute and conformity assessment by the Certification Body²². Because it is voluntary, a KEYMARK certificate is a signal a manufacturer has chosen to have its claims independently verified, and certificates carry expiry dates, so a current certificate is the thing to ask for.

MCS is the domestic layer. Heat pumps are certified under MCS 007²³, and MCS product listing is what makes an installation eligible for grant support. The MCS certified product directory page explains where to find it, and the MCS equivalent schemes page covers which overseas certifications MCS recognises.

MCS also reaches into planning: development is permitted only if the air source heat pump installation complies with the Microgeneration Certification Scheme Planning Standards, MCS 020²⁴. In practice, certification is not paperwork for its own sake. It is the mechanism that ties a manufacturer's performance claims to an independent test, and ties your installation to a grant and to permitted development rights. A unit without the right listings can still be sold, but it costs you the grant and possibly the planning shortcut.

How permitted development affects what you can fit

Installing an air source heat pump is permitted development²¹, meaning no planning application is needed, provided the installation meets a set of conditions. Those conditions effectively set the outer limits of what manufacturers can sell into UK homes.

The core conditions, as set out in the permitted development rules for England²⁴:

• The outdoor compressor unit, including its housing, must not exceed 1.5 cubic metres on a house, or 0.6 cubic metres on a block of flats²⁴.
• Noise must stay at or below 42 decibels measured from a metre away from any habitable room²¹; if exceeded, planning permission is needed²⁶.
• Only the first installation is permitted development on a house which is not detached or a block of flats; on a detached house, the first two are permitted²⁴.
• There must be no existing wind turbine on the property; additional heat pumps or turbines require a planning application²⁴.
• Installations on pitched roofs are not permitted development; on a flat roof, all parts must be at least one metre from the external edge²⁴.
• The unit must be sited, so far as practicable, to minimise its effect on the external appearance of the building and the amenity of the area²⁷.
• It must not be used solely for cooling, and must be removed when no longer needed²⁴.

The legal basis in England is Part 14 (Renewable Energy) of The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015²⁸.

Two important exceptions apply everywhere: permitted development rights do not apply within the curtilage of a listed building or within a site designated as a Scheduled Monument²⁴, and listed buildings require planning permission and listed building consent²¹. In conservation areas and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty there are further restrictions, including a ban on installation on a wall or roof fronting a highway²⁵. Ground source heat pumps are typically considered permitted development²¹.

Building regulations apply in addition: parts A to T apply to an air source heat pump installation, plus Regulation 7²⁶.

What published price ranges reveal about cost

Two published ranges describe what a household pays, and they measure slightly different things.

The Construction Products Association puts the typical cost of a heat pump at £7,000 to £14,000⁶. The government's own guidance, published in March 2024, states that including VAT, labour costs and the Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant, you could expect to pay around £6,500 to £11,500¹³. The second figure is net of the grant; the first is the gross picture. Both are ranges, not quotes: the size of the unit, the state of your radiators and the amount of pipework all move the number, which is why multiple quotes matter¹⁷.

Beyond the purchase, the industry body cites potential energy savings of £385 for a household switching to a heat pump⁶, and a lifespan of 20+ years⁶, which spreads the capital cost over a longer period than most boilers.

For a household thinking about total energy independence, the cost of the heat pump is one line in a bigger picture. A heat pump converts electricity into heat at three or more units per unit consumed²⁰, so it pairs naturally with solar generation, and the government has announced rooftop solar requirements for new builds as part of the same programme of home upgrades³⁰. The manufacturers and energy independence page draws the two together.

Efficiency, running expenses and the independence of owning one

The honest position on running costs is that they are currently similar to gas. A Parliamentary research briefing states plainly: "Heat pumps currently have similar running costs to gas boilers."⁴ The same briefing notes that "reducing the price of electricity relative to gas would make heat pumps more competitive"⁴, and a Commons Committee report records that electricity prices mean heat pumps can be more expensive to run³¹. The efficiency is not in question; the price ratio between electricity and gas is what it is.

What that means in practice is being studied closely for the households it affects most. Government-commissioned research on the transition to heat pumps for households at risk of fuel poverty combined in-depth interviews, technical home audits, analysis of monitored heat pump performance data, cost modelling and a review of existing evidence³². That research exists because a heat pump is an electricity-dependent appliance: when it runs, it draws from the grid at whatever the standing charge and unit rate of your tariff are.

The independence picture is therefore mixed, and worth stating firmly on both sides. On the benefit side, a heat pump removes a household's dependence on the gas grid and on gas imports entirely: the fuel is electricity, which can be generated on your own roof. Heat pumps are technically suitable for most UK homes if installed appropriately⁴. On the remaining-dependence side, the unit itself is imported for around two thirds of installations¹⁰, its 20-year-plus life⁶ is supported by a manufacturer whose future you cannot guarantee, and its running cost is tied to electricity pricing policy you do not control. The manufacturer warranties and warranty registration pages cover what protection exists on the equipment side.

The long-term policy direction is unambiguous: the roadmap aims to phase out fossil fuel heating in homes and businesses on the gas grid by 2035⁹, and the Warm Homes Plan describes the biggest home upgrade programme in British history¹¹. A household choosing a heat pump manufacturer now is choosing a partner for roughly two decades of that transition.