Heat pumps – central to a government energy efficiency drive started under Boris Johnson – could save 20 per cent higher n household energy bills, it is claimed.

To encourage more people to install heat pumps, the government is offering landlords and owner occupiers grants of up to £6,000 on heat pump installations as part of the Boiler Upgrade Scheme.

However it’s now claimed that only around 4.8m of the UK’s 27.8m homes are eligible for heat pumps to be installed.

Renewables firm Nu-Heat says it’s developed a tool to help landlords and owner occupiers calculate if they’re able to have a heat pump installed in their homes. 

This tool asks questions regarding the home’s construction type, glazing, loft insulation, and available space and will work out whether a heat pump can be installed based on these answers.

Nu-Heat spokesperson Jo Snell says: “It’s amazing that the government are actively trying to hit their targets and encourage the public to follow suit. 

“However, it’s important to be realistic about how doable this is. We hope our tool can help people figure out if they can install a heat pump and take advantage of the government grant.” 

Heat pumps are considered by many to be an environmentally friendly alternative to gas and oil boilers and are promoted as being a key contributor to the UK hitting its net-zero target by 2050.

Heat pumps work by transferring heat from the air or ground, absorbing the heat into a fluid and passing it through an exchanger into the heat pump which raises the temperature and transfers the heat to water. 

This water is then sent to radiators or underfloor heating to heat the home and can be stored for taps, showers and baths. 

You can see the calculator here.