UK Heat Pump Installation Statistics

In the year ending September 2025, there were 47,507 heat pumps installed in the UK that were supported through a Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) heat pump scheme¹. That is the most recent rolling-year figure in the government's quarterly deployment statistics, and it continues a steady climb: 46,423 in the year ending June 2025, 45,076 in the year ending March 2025, 42,645 in the year ending December 2024 and 38,305 in the year ending September 2024².

Those counts cover only installations that received government support. A broader parliamentary figure puts total UK heat pump installations at 72,000 in 2022, against a government target of 600,000 per year by 2028⁵. Despite the growth, heat pumps still heat only around 1% of UK homes⁵.

Yearly figures and how each is defined

The headline numbers come from DESNZ's heat pump deployment statistics, a quarterly series covering the whole of the United Kingdom. The statistics have a precise scope: they monitor "the number of hydronic heat pumps with a capacity up to 45kW installed in the United Kingdom"⁷. In practice, the rolling-year totals count installations that were "either partially or fully funded through a DESNZ heat pump scheme", principally the Boiler Upgrade Scheme in England and Wales³.

Because the series is published quarterly, the most useful figures are rolling twelve-month totals, which smooth out the seasonal pattern. Read in sequence, they show a market growing by roughly a quarter in a year:

Two cautions apply when comparing these figures with anything else. First, the DESNZ series is narrower than the whole market: it excludes installations that received no government support, and it excludes heat pumps above 45 kW capacity. The 72,000 figure for 2022, quoted in parliamentary guidance, is a count of all installations in that calendar year and is not directly comparable with the supported-only rolling years⁵. Second, the series is revised as later quarters are published, so a figure quoted from an older release may differ from the same period in a newer one. The December 2025 release remains the current statement of the series' scope and coverage⁸.

For the counts of vouchers, applications and uptake under the grant scheme itself, see the separate page on Boiler Upgrade Scheme statistics.

Why installations cluster early in the year

Within the annual totals, installations are strongly seasonal. The quarterly figures show a pronounced peak in the first three months of the calendar year, when households rush to complete installations before the Boiler Upgrade Scheme's financial year closes. Unspent scheme budget is not carried over to the next scheme year, which adds to the incentive to finish before the year-end¹⁰.

The pattern is visible across recent years. In 2025 Q1 there were 12,175 supported installations, falling to 11,001 in 2025 Q2². In 2024, the fourth quarter saw 11,927 installations against 9,871 in the second quarter³. Go back further and the scale of growth is clear: 6,819 in 2023 Q2, 5,472 in 2022 Q3 and 5,769 in 2021 Q3⁹. One earlier quarter stands out: 11,086 installations in 2022 Q1, a figure the statistical tables flag with a note, reflecting the close of a predecessor scheme rather than a sustained rate¹².

The quarterly tables also break the UK total down by nation. England accounts for the large majority: 8,897 of the 11,001 UK installations in 2025 Q2, and 7,257 of the 9,871 in 2024 Q2². The remaining installations are spread across Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, where different support arrangements apply and where the Boiler Upgrade Scheme does not operate.

The factors behind the totals

Three forces sit behind the growth in installations: the grant, the targets and the supporting programmes.

The grant is the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, which provides upfront capital grants of up to £7,500 to encourage property owners to replace fossil fuel heating with a heat pump or biomass boiler¹³. It launched on 23 May 2022 and is administered by Ofgem¹⁴. The scheme had an initial budget of £150 million per financial year for 2022 to 2025, and as of 28 April 2026 it has been extended to 2030¹⁵. From 21 July 2026, eligible off-gas-grid properties replacing an oil or LPG system can apply for an uplifted grant of £9,000, in place until 31 March 2027¹⁵.

The targets give the direction of travel. An earlier target of 600,000 installations per year by 2028 was set against a baseline of 55,000 installations a year in 2021⁵. Measured against that target, the current rate of roughly 47,000 supported installations a year falls well short, and closing that gap is the explicit purpose of the grant uplifts and scheme extensions.

The supporting programmes address the practical barriers. The Heat Pump Ready Programme funds work on the challenges of high-density deployment, on the stated basis that "heat pumps are a key solution for decarbonising homes and will be critical for meeting the UK's commitment to achieve net zero"¹⁷. The scheme's own reporting rhythm, quarterly and annual reports from Ofgem plus monthly operational updates, keeps the uptake figures in public view and allows the grant levels to be adjusted in response¹⁵.

Britain's share: roughly 1% of dwellings

However the numbers are counted, the UK market is small in relation to the housing stock and in relation to neighbouring countries.

Parliamentary guidance states it plainly: "Heat pumps are widely used in some European countries but are currently installed in 1% of UK homes."⁵ The Climate Change Committee, the government's independent climate advisers, used the same order of magnitude in July 2024, noting that heat pumps heat only "approximately 1% today" of existing homes¹⁸. A Commons committee report the following year repeated the figure, stating that "around 1% have a heat pump installed"¹⁹.

The international comparison is starker. The government's own heat and buildings analysis notes that "the number of heat pump units installed in the UK is just 7% of that in France"⁶. France is not an outlier among European markets; it is simply the nearest large example of what a mature heat pump market looks like. For the European sales data behind that comparison, see European heat pump market statistics.

What this means for a UK household is that the technology is established and certified, but the supply chain, installer base and consumer experience around it are still scaling. A market installing around 47,000 supported units a year into a stock of over 20 million homes is in its early growth phase, and the 1% figure is the number to watch: it will move only slowly even if annual installations double.

Differences across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

The UK-wide totals hide a structural difference between the nations, because the main grant does not cover the whole country.

The Boiler Upgrade Scheme supports homes and small non-domestic buildings in England and Wales only¹³. Ofgem's installer guidance states the same rule: "Only properties located in England and Wales are eligible for BUS funding."²⁰ A property must be in England or Wales, and the installation must replace an existing fossil-fuel or electric heating system²¹.

The effect shows in the quarterly tables. England accounted for 8,897 of the 11,001 UK installations in 2025 Q2, roughly four in five². In 2024 Q2 the England figure was 7,257 out of 9,871¹¹. Wales makes up a much smaller share of the remainder, and Scotland and Northern Ireland, outside the scheme entirely, contribute through their own support arrangements rather than through the counted BUS-supported installations.

This matters when reading the UK totals. The DESNZ series counts supported installations across the whole United Kingdom, but the dominant support mechanism operates in two of the four nations. Growth in the England and Wales figures reflects grant policy; movements in Scotland and Northern Ireland reflect different policies with different budgets. For the nation-level detail, see the pages on heat pumps in England, heat pumps in Scotland, heat pumps in Wales and heat pumps in Northern Ireland.

The criteria governing which installations are recorded

Every installation that appears in the supported counts has passed through a set of rules, and those rules shape what the statistics actually measure.

The starting point is certification. The installer must be certified by the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS), "a nationally recognis[ed]" certification body for small-scale renewable installations¹³. MCS certifies, quality assures and provides consumer protection for microgeneration installations and installers, covering heat pumps alongside solar photovoltaics, biomass and wind¹⁵. All heating systems installed under the Boiler Upgrade Scheme must meet the relevant MCS standards approved and published by the Secretary of State¹⁵.

The scheme's eligibility rules then determine which installations are counted:

• Capacity limits: 45 kWth for an individual heat pump system, 70 kWth for a multi heat pump system, and 300 kWth total for shared ground loop systems, with each connected heat pump not exceeding 45 kWth¹⁵.
• Performance floor: air-to-water and ground source heat pumps must achieve an in situ seasonal coefficient of performance (SCOP) of at least 2.8¹⁵.
• Full replacement: the funded system must fully replace the property's existing fossil fuel or electric heating system, and must provide 100% of the property's space heating needs²².
• One grant per property: only one voucher can be redeemed per property, and a property is not eligible if a previous BUS grant has already been received at the same address²².
• Exclusions: social housing is not eligible, new builds by developers are not eligible, and fossil fuel hybrid systems are not eligible²².
• EPC change: from 28 April 2026, properties are no longer required to have a valid Energy Performance Certificate to apply¹⁵.

The process runs in two stages: the installer submits a voucher application, Ofgem issues the voucher, and the installer then submits a voucher redemption application to receive the grant payment¹⁰. The application must be properly made within 120 days of the commissioning date, and Ofgem may grant an extension to that rule in defined administrative circumstances¹⁵. The full grant value must be deducted from the quote before any payment is made by the property owner¹⁵. Ofgem can conduct site or desk audits at any point after an application, including after grant payment²¹.

What the data says about households generating their own power

A heat pump changes what a home depends on, rather than removing dependence altogether.

The gain is real: a heat pump takes a home off gas, oil or LPG for heating, ending reliance on those fuel deliveries and their price swings. For off-gas-grid homes in particular, the £9,000 uplifted grant recognises that oil and LPG households face the highest and most volatile heating costs¹⁵. The national direction reinforces the shift: grid planning assumes 23 million homes in Great Britain will have heat pumps by 2050²⁴, and government programmes treat heat pumps as critical to the net zero commitment¹⁷.

The remaining dependence is the electricity system. A heat pump's compressor must be electric-driven²², so the home stays connected to the grid and exposed to electricity prices. A household that pairs a heat pump with solar PV or home battery storage reduces that exposure further, and heat pumps that integrate with solar photovoltaic systems are eligible under the scheme²², but the grid connection itself remains.

For the market as a whole, the statistics tell a story of growth from a small base: supported installations up from 38,305 to 47,507 in two years of rolling comparisons⁴. For an individual household, the numbers mean the technology is certified, grant-supported and increasingly common, but still rare enough that most neighbours heat with gas. What that balance of independence and dependence means for the wider goal of self-sustaining homes is traced on the page on market data and energy independence.