Moving a new build off gas with the help of a government grant and Octopus Energy
When buying their home in the Hanborough Gate development, the owner was already thinking of its potential to add solar panels and a heat pump: what was the house and driveway’s orientation? How far away was it from the next property?
Starting with an already well-insulated home
Built only around five years ago, the house already had cavity wall insulation, UPVC windows and good loft insulation. The owner says: ‘I could not afford installing a heat pump myself. But with the B EPC rating, I was hoping to make the most of government grants for air source heat pump installation.’
That chance came with the government’s Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS), where the installer chosen by the homeowner applies for the grant. This is then taken off the amount charged for the installation. Depending on how much or little work is needed, the install can cost the homeowner as little as £500.
Octopus Energy are an energy supplier but also an installer applying for BUS grants for homeowners. Already a customer, this new build’s owner contacted them straightaway on seeing their heat pump offer and paid a £500 deposit to start the process. (NB you don’t have be with Octopus for your utilities to have them install an air or ground source heat pump or solar panels.)
A local expert from the regional Octopus hub surveyed the home very thoroughly. Over several hours, they took careful measurements to draw up a plan for the install. They talked to the owner, to help decide where the different pieces of equipment would best fit.
The survey concluded that Octopus Energy could install the air source heat pump for the cost of the deposit, so just £500. That was because nothing apart from the boiler and heating system needed to be changed. Being so new, the house’s radiators, insulation and windows were all up to spec and compatible with a heat pump.
Why a heat pump and why this installer?
‘From the knee, I have been an advocate of “living lightly”’, says the owner. ‘In the previous house, the owner had solar panels with the feed-in tariff. Sadly, that can’t be ported to a new home but I was keen to move onto renewable energy here, as an alternative to reliance on fossil fuels.’
‘With the BUS grant and Octopus Energy as installer I could decommission my gas supply and change to electric heating with the heat pump. With a larger corporate, I was looking for reassurance about technical excellence in terms of the install and about good aftercare. This has turned out to be true, with Octopus taking on board feedback sent.’
‘I feel very confident about the quality of the work done, and Octopus Energy have honoured their commitment to customer care: they have responded to queries and came out to rectify minor snags straightaway, within 24 hours.’
What it’s like getting and living with a heat pump
The installation took place in the summer of 2024. The owner says: ‘I had a good experience with the local team of engineers, led by a line manager and including apprentices learning on the job. The team of five took five days to finish the install.’
‘They were happy to take up suggestions where best to put the pipes, both to save space in the home and to make it easier to maintain or service the pump in future. The pipes run under the bathtub, so are easily accessible, rather than going up into the attic, in case we want to convert that later. The pipes also partly go along the back of an inbuilt wardrobe, leaving a little more space in what had been the airing cupboard.’
‘The water tank just fits into the cupboard, where the controls sit too – though I can also use the app on the phone. A second tank is in the attic. The tank holds the water temperature very well, even when the pump is charged only once or twice during the day. The pump prioritises hot water over heating.’
‘The heat pump app is user-friendly once you get used to it. It’s easy to reprogramme it, though there’s also the physical thermostat in the hallway. I have reduced the temperature from 21 degrees to 18 now. It seems to be more efficient to keep the temperature as even as possible, so currently I am lowering to 13 degrees overnight, as opposed to 10 degrees previously to avoid a large jump to 18 degrees in the morning.’
Image: The heat pump unit outside on the driveway, with the pipes running not along the attic space but lower down. The homeowner preferred this solution, to make them more accessible for maintenance, while futureproofing the house for a potential attic conversion.
‘The pump is quieter than the boiler was, and it feels like cleaner energy. The actual unit is outside too, rather than inside the house. It’s a much gentler heat overall, as you’re heating the whole house all the time. It’s an open circuit – it’s latently warm. It feels as though it dries the air less than gas heating did, it’s not that surge of heat from a boiler firing up from zero.’
I’m very grateful to have pioneered this on my development at Hanborough Gate. I want to actively encourage others to engage in thinking about it, and to get sound advice. It’s likely many more houses here and no doubt more widely in our villages qualify for the same government grant (while it exists until 2026), and a quality instal with good aftercare.
Some useful pointers
The heat pump unit itself is in a sheltered area and facing south-west. That means a weather sensor is needed, positioned elsewhere, in this instance on a north wall, to get a more accurate reading of the actual temperature outside and to start the pump when it’s needed.
It’s important to keep space around the heat pump clear, as it’s an air-to-water heat pump. The owner’s decision was to lose one of three parking spaces to ensure enough space around the unit’s side and front for constant air circulation. Another option would have been to put the unit in the garden or on brackets on the wall.
The pump sits in a gravel bed. There are minimum distances for where it can be sited, including to make sure any noise is within what is allowed.
The heat pump needs careful programming to make use of the Cosy Octopus tariff, taking advantage of cheaper energy at certain times of the day (and night). The owner is comparing notes with friends who have had the same heat pump put into their house in another village nearby, Freeland.
This case study has been prepared as part of the implementation of the Community Action Plan for Zero-Carbon Energy (CAPZero). The first of its kind in the UK, the CAPZero shows how a cluster of communities in West Oxfordshire can create a zero-carbon energy system in their area by taking action now. To reach net zero by 2050, 40% of homes need to do cost-effective energy efficiency improvements by 2030.
Wondering how to make your home warmer and cheaper to live in?
Join us at our Big Home Energy Day on 22 March in Eynsham Village Hall!
CAPZero is currently offering match-funding Cosy Homes Oxfordshire energy assessments and Whole House Plans.
Case study written by Kathrin Luddecke, in conversation with the home owner, February 2025.