Octopus Energy launched its smart heating system Cosy Octopus on 14 September 2023, presented by chief executive Greg Jackson at the WIRED & Octopus Energy Tech Summit in London. The company said the system will be available from December1.
Cosy Octopus combines the Cosy 6 heat pump, a home controls system called Cosy Hub, room sensors called Cosy Pods, a bespoke smart tariff and Octopus service support1. It enters the market with a 6kW heat pump aimed at a typical three-bedroom UK home, with more and larger models to follow over the next six months1. The Cosy 6 is Octopus Energy's first heat pump built entirely in-house. It was designed by Dr Jason Cassells, chief executive of the Octopus-acquired Renewable Energy Devices, now known as Octopus Heating, and is manufactured in Craigavon, Northern Ireland, with six patent applications pending. The Cosy Hub and Cosy Pods were developed by a London team led by electrical engineer Derya Robinson1.
On cost, the company said Cosy Octopus is free for homes that need no work to fit the system, after the Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant. Homes needing adjustments such as new radiators, piping or a hot water tank will get the system from around £3,000 after the grant1. The system runs on Octopus's Kraken technology platform, which the company says allows it to run at the cheapest and greenest times1.
"This is a huge day for clean heating. The combination of a high-temperature heat pump (as hot as a gas boiler), Octopus smart tariffs and room sensors across your home doesn't just open up cheaper clean heating, but more comfort too."
Octopus entered the heat pump market in 2021 with an R&D centre for heat pumps in Slough, and says it has since invested over £50 million in heat pump rollout1. Heating buildings accounts for over 17% of UK carbon emissions, and the country is targeting 600,000 heat pump installations a year by 20281. The launch follows the pattern of Octopus Energy heat pumps and the Cosy range and the wider Octopus Cosy heat pumps line.
Why it matters for households
A heat pump package priced from zero after the Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant, for homes needing no radiator, pipework or cylinder changes, sets a clear reference point for anyone weighing a heat pump against a replacement boiler. The £3,000 starting figure for homes needing adjustments covers the work that most often pushes quoted prices up, though the source does not break that figure down by measure or property type1.
The controls side matters as much as the unit. Room sensors and a tariff that shifts running times towards cheaper, lower-carbon periods are the parts of a system that determine running cost rather than purchase price, and they connect directly to Home Heating and Energy Independence. For homes off the gas grid, where the alternative is often oil or LPG, a system of this kind competes on a different set of numbers, as set out in Heating a Home Off the Gas Grid.
What the launch does not establish is real-world performance in UK homes, since the system had not been installed at the time of the announcement. The 6kW output suits a typical three-bedroom home, but households with higher heat demand, poorer insulation or larger floor areas fall outside that first model, and the source gives no dates for the larger units beyond a six-month window1.
What happens next
Availability begins in December 2023, with more and larger heat pump models following over the next six months1. No further dates, eligibility criteria or tariff rates have been reported.
Sources1 cited
- Octopus Launches New Heat Pump - Cosy 6, flexi-orb.com