Most homes can technically take a heat pump. The real question is whether yours can take one and run it efficiently without an unreasonable amount of extra work. This page sets out the checks we make at survey, so you can form a view before anyone visits.
Being straight about this saves everybody time. If your property needs insulation work first, we would rather tell you that than install a system that never performs as the design promised.
The six checks that decide it
- Heat loss: how much heat the house needs on the coldest design day, calculated room by room.
- Emitters: whether radiators can deliver that heat at a lower flow temperature, or which need upsizing.
- Outdoor space: a position with clear airflow, a stable base and sensible distance from windows and boundaries.
- Indoor space: room for a cylinder with a heat pump sized coil, plus a little plant space.
- Current fuel: oil, LPG and direct electric heating usually produce the strongest case.
- Eligibility: whether the property and household qualify for the Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan.
Property types we see across the Borders and Lothians
Newer estate housing in the Lothians is often straightforward: reasonable insulation, modern radiators, a workable outdoor position. Rural Borders properties are more varied. A solid stone farmhouse off the gas grid with an ageing oil boiler can be an excellent candidate financially, but frequently needs emitter work and sometimes insulation improvements to hit the efficiency it should.
Converted steadings and extensions with underfloor heating are usually the easiest of all, because the low temperature distribution the heat pump wants is already installed.
What tends to disqualify a property, at least for now
The common blockers are no viable outdoor position, no space for a cylinder in a flat with a combi and no airing cupboard, and severe uninsulated heat loss that would demand an unrealistically large unit. In listed or conservation settings, siting consent can also be the deciding factor.
None of these are permanent in every case. Insulation improvements, a loft cylinder position or a different outdoor location often turn a no into a yes, and we will say what specifically would need to change.
Grants, paperwork and what we handle
For qualifying households the Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan offers grant funding of up to 7,500 pounds towards a heat pump, with an interest free loan available alongside it. Accessing it requires an MCS certified installer, which we are, and we are also RECC members. We prepare the design documentation and support the application so it does not land on you.
Frequently asked questions
- Does my house need to be new or perfectly insulated?
- No. It needs enough insulation that the heat loss can be met at a low flow temperature without absurdly large emitters. Plenty of older Borders homes work well, sometimes after loft or floor insulation improvements.
- I have a combi and no cylinder. Can I still have a heat pump?
- You would need somewhere for a cylinder, because heat pumps produce hot water differently from a combi. Where there is genuinely no space, that is often the deciding constraint, and we will tell you straight away rather than after a deposit.
- How long does the whole process take?
- Survey and design first, then grant paperwork, then typically three to five days on site for the installation itself, followed by commissioning and certification. It is planned work, so it is not the answer to a boiler that failed yesterday.
- What if the survey says no?
- Then you get an honest explanation of why and what would change the answer. We would rather lose a job than install a system that disappoints, because in a rural trade our reputation travels faster than our advertising.
Ask us whether your property qualifies
Tell us your postcode, current heating fuel and roughly when the property was built, and we will give you an honest first view before any survey.