Replacing electric heating with a heat pump means taking out storage heaters, panel heaters or an electric boiler and installing an air-to-water heat pump that heats water for radiators or underfloor heating and a hot water cylinder. If you already have an electric boiler and radiators, the change is similar to a boiler swap. If you have storage or panel heaters, there is no wet system yet, so radiators and pipework need to be installed throughout.
Installers in Hampshire work room by room, so you can stay in your home while radiators go in. Where a home in Hampshire has an airing cupboard, the immersion cylinder can often be swapped for a heat pump cylinder in the same space. Bungalows around Hampshire with suspended timber floors usually make running new pipework simpler.
Who it suits
- Properties with an electric boiler and existing radiators
- Flats with a suitable wall, balcony or ground-floor space for the unit
- Homes with storage heaters or panel heaters throughout
- Bungalows and houses with suspended timber floors that make pipe runs easier
Grants and rules for heat pumps in England
Homes in Hampshire can use the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, which takes £7,500 off the cost of an air source heat pump when it replaces fossil-fuel or electric heating. Replacing oil or LPG heating qualifies for £9,000 for installations from 21 July 2026 to 31 March 2027, and air-to-air systems for £2,500. The MCS-certified installer named in your quote applies for the grant and deducts it from the price.
There is no VAT on installing a heat pump anywhere in the UK until 31 March 2027. In England most houses can have an air source heat pump under permitted development, provided the unit meets the MCS noise and siting standards; the old 1 m boundary limit was removed on 29 May 2025. We flag listed buildings, flats and sensitive conservation-area positions at survey.
Electric heating to heat pump prices in Hampshire
Here are typical prices for replacing electric heating with a heat pump in Hampshire, installed and including VAT. Use the guide price tool for a figure based on your home, then a survey confirms it in writing.
| Home | Typical size | Installed guide price | After £7,500 grant |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1–2 bedroom flat or small terrace | 4–5 kW | £9,800–£12,900 | £2,300–£5,400 |
| 2–3 bedroom terrace or semi | 5–7 kW | £10,800–£13,900 | £3,300–£6,400 |
| 3 bedroom semi or small detached | 6–9 kW | £12,350–£15,950 | £4,850–£8,450 |
| 4 bedroom detached | 8–12 kW | £14,400–£18,550 | £6,900–£11,050 |
| 5+ bedroom or larger older house | 11–16 kW | £17,000–£23,200 | £9,500–£15,700 |
Installed, inc VAT: unit, cylinder, controls, minor pipework and commissioning.
Towns we cover in Hampshire
We cover 23 towns in Hampshire for replacing electric heating with a heat pump. Each links to local guide prices and the grant position for England.
| Town | Postcode district | Nearest town | Midwinter daylight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southampton | SO14 | Totton | 7 h 56 min |
| Portsmouth | PO1 | Gosport | 7 h 57 min |
| Basingstoke | RG21 | Alton | 7 h 52 min |
| Gosport | PO12 | Portsmouth | 7 h 57 min |
| Waterlooville | PO7 | Havant | 7 h 56 min |
| Farnborough | GU14 | Aldershot | 7 h 52 min |
| Eastleigh | SO50 | Southampton | 7 h 55 min |
| Winchester | SO23 | Eastleigh | 7 h 54 min |
| Havant | PO9 | Waterlooville | 7 h 56 min |
| Andover | SP10 | Winchester | 7 h 52 min |
| Fareham | PO16 | Gosport | 7 h 56 min |
| Aldershot | GU11 | Farnborough | 7 h 52 min |
| Fleet | GU51 | Farnborough | 7 h 52 min |
| Totton | SO40 | Southampton | 7 h 55 min |
| New Milton | BH25 | Lymington | 7 h 57 min |
| Bordon | GU35 | Alton | 7 h 53 min |
| Yateley | GU46 | Fleet | 7 h 51 min |
| Alton | GU34 | Bordon | 7 h 53 min |
| Romsey | SO51 | Totton | 7 h 55 min |
| Fordingbridge | SP6 | Ringwood | 7 h 55 min |
| Lymington | SO41 | New Milton | 7 h 57 min |
| Petersfield | GU31 | Bordon | 7 h 55 min |
| Ringwood | BH24 | Fordingbridge | 7 h 56 min |
Replacing electric heating with a heat pump questions
What if I live in a flat?
Many flats can have a heat pump, but you need a suitable outdoor position, such as a balcony, yard or wall bracket, and leaseholders need consent from the freeholder or management company. Planning permission may be needed depending on the nation and the building, which we check at survey. Where a wet system is impractical, an air-to-air heat pump with separate hot water is an alternative.
Can I keep my electric immersion cylinder?
Usually not for heating by the heat pump, because a standard immersion cylinder has no coil, or one too small to take heat at low flow temperatures. A heat pump cylinder replaces it, often in the same cupboard, and keeps an immersion element as backup. If you choose an air-to-air system instead, which does not make hot water, the existing cylinder stays in use.
Can I replace storage heaters with a heat pump?
Yes. Storage heaters are removed and replaced with an air-to-water heat pump connected to new radiators or underfloor heating and a hot water cylinder. Because there is no existing wet system, pipework has to be run to each room, so the job is larger than a boiler swap. The survey plans pipe routes and radiator sizes before you receive a written quote.
Is a heat pump cheaper to run than storage heaters?
It can be, but it depends on your tariff. Direct electric heat costs the full unit rate, 26.32p per kWh at the October to December 2026 price cap, while a heat pump with a seasonal efficiency of 3.0 delivers heat for about 8.8p per kWh. Storage heaters charged on a cheap overnight rate narrow that gap, so the survey compares on your actual tariff, insulation and expected flow temperature.