How much can I save with OVO Heat Pump Plus?

The savings quoted for it vary widely, and the variation is the story. OVO's own case study puts the figure at £443.77 for an air source heat pump with a SCOP of 2.8 and annual consumption of 3,689 kWh, measured against OVO's average standard variable tariff, and describes savings of up to £440 a year for heat pump owners using automated time-of-use tariffs such as Heat Pump Plus⁴. Independent guidance puts the wider benefit of a heat pump-appropriate tariff at up to £330 a year on heating bills⁵. A separate OVO claim of more than £500 a year, and a figure of £428, both appear in reporting of the same period and are not reconciled³.

What Heat Pump Plus is: a cheaper rate for the heat pump's own electricity

Heat Pump Plus sits alongside an OVO heat pump installation rather than replacing the household's supply contract. OVO offers heat pump installation plus the Heat Pump Plus add-on, which gives cheaper electricity rates for the energy the heat pump uses¹. The rate is 15p/kWh, and it applies to the heat pump's consumption only; a standard rate applies to all other energy use in the home².

That structure matters for how the saving works. A heat pump runs on electricity, and because it runs on electricity it can make savings on bills where the tariff is designed around it⁸. But the discount is confined to one load in the house. Everything else, lighting, cooking, appliances, any supplementary electric heating, is billed at the standard rate. The saving therefore scales with how much of the household's total electricity the heat pump accounts for, and with how efficiently that heat pump runs.

There is a further route to a lower running cost that does not depend on the supplier at all. Where a household already has solar panels, using the free energy they generate to power the heat pump saves more, and a solar PV system can be used to power a heat pump, lowering both electricity and heating bills⁹. That is a self-generation route to the same end: less of the heat pump's running cost bought in at any rate.

How much you can save: £249 to £444 a year, and OVO's claim of over £500

The independent and case-study figures for annual heating bill savings sit between £249 and £444. A typical heat pump household saving under the Renewables Obligation offset is put at £249⁸, while heat pumps are estimated to save around £295 per year compared with a G-rated boiler⁹. Switching to a heat pump appropriate tariff is reported to save up to £330 a year on heating bills⁶, and heat pump owners using automated type-of-use tariffs such as Heat Pump Plus could potentially save up to £440 per year compared to a standard variable rate⁷. OVO's own calculation for Heat Pump Plus puts the figure at £443.77, based on an air source heat pump with a SCOP of 2.8 and annual consumption of 3689 kWh against the OVO average standard variable tariff⁷. E.ON Next's Next Pumped tariff claims up to £67 savings on annual heating bills¹⁰. The spread reflects differences in the baseline tariff, the efficiency of the plant and how flexibly the household operates it.

The published savings figures for heat pump tariffs span a wide band, and they are not measuring the same thing.

The £443.77 figure is the most specific, and it is also the most conditional: it assumes a SCOP of 2.8 and a stated annual consumption, so a household running a less efficient heat pump, or using more or less heat, will not land on it⁴. The £640 to £750 range comes from modelling rather than a supplier's case study, and it compares flexible operation against a single-rate tariff rather than against a named product¹³. The £249 figure is a modelled offset rather than a bill¹¹.

OVO's claim of more than £500 a year, and a separate figure of £428, both appear in reporting of the same period and are not reconciled³. Where documents disagree, both figures stand: a household comparing them should treat the range as £428 to more than £500 on OVO's side, and £249 to £444 across the independent and case-study figures, with the higher numbers resting on efficient plant and flexible operation.

The 15p/kWh rate and how it compares with OVO's standard variable tariff

The headline number is 15p/kWh, described as a specialist OVO electricity tariff for heat pump owners¹. The same rate is reported as applying to the energy used by the heat pump only, with a standard rate on everything else².

The comparison that gives the rate its meaning is the price cap. Heat pumps use electricity which, bought at the standard, price-capped rate, currently costs around four times more per unit than gas⁷. That ratio is the reason a heat pump's running cost can look poor on a standard tariff and good on a specialist one. A rate of 15p/kWh narrows the gap between electricity and gas for the heat pump's own consumption, and the saving is the difference between that rate and the standard rate, multiplied by the heat pump's annual kWh.

Two qualifications follow. First, the discount applies only to the heat pump's share of consumption, so a household with high non-heat electricity use captures less of the benefit. Second, the comparison is against a moving baseline: the standard variable tariff changes, and the Which? heat pump savings calculator is updated quarterly to reflect the latest price cap⁷. A saving quoted against one quarter's cap is not a fixed annual amount.

Eligibility: who can add Heat Pump Plus to their account

Eligibility is narrower than the marketing suggests. The Heat Pump Plus tariff is only available as an add-on to customers who install a heat pump through the OVO and Heat Geek offer, or who have a compatible heat pump as listed on the OVO website³. So there are two routes in: buy the installation through OVO, or already own a model that appears on OVO's compatibility list.

For households on the outside of that, the practical questions are the same ones any heat pump owner faces. A heat pump installation is exempt from VAT at 0%, which reduces the upfront cost¹⁴. Boiler Upgrade Scheme support requires an in situ SCOP of at least 2.8, a capacity of no more than 45 kWth, and a heat pump that meets the property's heating and hot-water demands⁶. Eligible technologies under the scheme include air-to-water heat pumps¹⁶.

There is also a supply-side condition that catches some properties. Installing an air source heat pump can require a fuse or supply upgrade, and that work has a cost and a lead time¹⁷. None of this is specific to OVO, but it determines whether a household is in a position to take a heat pump tariff at all.

Heat Pump Plus or OVO Beyond: the two heat pump offers side by side

OVO's heat pump proposition has more than one element, and they are not the same product. Heat Pump Plus is the tariff add-on: a 15p/kWh rate for the heat pump's energy¹. A Heat Pump Plus trial also suggested a wider set of incentives, including reduced tariff rates, reductions to standing charges, bill credit and running cost guarantees⁴. Those are trial suggestions rather than a published product, and no monthly credit figure is given for them.

The distinction matters because a household comparing offers may be comparing a rate against a bundle. A rate is measurable: 15p/kWh against a standard rate, applied to a known annual consumption. A bundle of standing-charge reductions, credit and guarantees is harder to value, and no figure is published for any of its parts.

For context on how suppliers structure these offers, E.ON Next allows customers to spread the cost of an air source heat pump with up to two years 0% APR interest-free credit⁷. That is a finance mechanism rather than a running-cost discount, and it addresses the upfront barrier rather than the bill. The two approaches answer different problems: one lowers the cost of the electricity, the other lowers the cost of the equipment.

What your actual saving depends on: SCOP, consumption and tariff

Three variables decide whether a quoted saving materialises.

SCOP. The £443.77 case study assumes a SCOP of 2.8⁴. That is also the minimum in situ SCOP for Boiler Upgrade Scheme support, so it is a floor rather than an ambitious figure⁶. Independent guidance goes further: with a specialist tariff providing cheaper energy, savings would be made even with a lower SCOP of 2.0⁷. Efficiency is not the only lever, but it sets how many kWh the heat pump draws for each unit of heat delivered.

Consumption. The case study uses 3,689 kWh a year⁴. A larger or leakier home draws more, and a well-insulated one draws less. Because the discount applies per kWh, the saving moves with consumption in a straight line.

Tariff and how the heat pump is run. Switching to a heat pump time-of-use tariff should reduce the cost of running the heat pump, making it more likely that a household saves money¹⁹. A study by energy consultancy Cornwall Insight found savings simply from being on a typical time-of-use tariff²⁰. But not every tariff helps: research identifies which tariff types provide the best heat pump savings, and which might actually increase energy bills²¹. Heat pump tariffs vary by supplier, taking the form of a set, cheaper rate per kWh regardless of where you live, or a discount against the region's standard tariff²⁰.

Additional savings are possible with flexible electricity tariffs²². The scale of that flexibility is significant: modelling found average savings of £640 to £750 a year by operating a heat pump flexibly on a time-of-use tariff, against a single-rate tariff with a standard heat pump profile¹³.

What this means for a household's energy independence

A tariff like Heat Pump Plus changes the price of imported electricity; it does not change where that electricity comes from. The household remains connected to the grid and to a supplier, and the heat pump remains dependent on both. What the tariff does is reduce the running-cost penalty that electricity carries against gas at the standard, price-capped rate, where electricity costs around four times more per unit⁷.

The independence available here is partial and comes from two directions. One is price: a specialist rate of 15p/kWh for the heat pump's consumption lowers the cost of each unit bought in¹. The other is self-supply: where a household has solar panels, using the free energy they generate to power the heat pump saves more, and a solar PV system can power a heat pump to lower both electricity and heating bills⁹. A household with generation and a heat pump tariff is buying less at the margin and buying what remains more cheaply.

The dependence that remains is worth stating plainly. The rate is set by the supplier and can change; the standard variable tariff it is measured against moves with the price cap, and the savings calculator tracking it is updated quarterly⁷. Eligibility is tied to a supplier relationship, either an OVO installation or a compatible model on OVO's list³. And the discount covers one load in the house, not the household's supply. A heat pump can provide both space and water heating, which significantly lowers fuel bills, but the tariff that makes it cheap is still a commercial product held by someone else²³.

For households weighing the wider picture, loft insulation is ten-times more cost effective at bringing down bills than a heat pump²⁴, and not everyone who installs a heat pump will see savings straight away, because electricity is currently more expensive than gas⁹. Dedicated savings schemes could encourage people to save for a heat pump and related changes like insulation²⁵. The Heat Pump Ready Programme is intended to help bring down costs and installation time²⁶. After grant support, the additional cost of a heat pump has been put at £500⁵.