How to use the payback tool
- Choose your house type. Costs and savings are different for a terrace and a detached house.
- Choose how you heat your home now. It changes the heat pump grant and how far you can trust the savings.
- Read the list from the top. The quickest payback is first.
- Open the notes under any row to see where the figures come from.
Why use this tool
Insulation, solar and a heat pump all cost money and all save some. This puts them side by side, so you can see which pays you back first.
Payback is simple: the cost, divided by what you save in a year. It ignores energy price changes, grants that end and the comfort you gain. Use it to compare, not to predict.
Tips
- Cheap and simple jobs, like loft insulation, usually pay back first. Do those before the big ones.
- Check for grants. The Boiler Upgrade Scheme takes money off a heat pump in England and Wales, and other schemes may help with insulation.
- Get a few quotes. Our costs are typical ones, and your price will depend on the house.
- Insulate first, then size a heat pump. A better insulated home needs a smaller one.
FAQs
What does payback mean?
It is how many years of savings it takes to cover what you spent. If something costs £750 and saves £190 a year, it pays back in about four years.
Where do the savings come from?
From published guides, mainly the Energy Saving Trust, for homes heated by gas. Each row has a notes section that explains the figures.
Why can I not see a payback for the heat pump?
We have not found a reliable, sourced figure for the yearly saving, and it depends a lot on what you replace. Rather than guess, we show the cost after the grant and mark the payback as not yet available.
Why does the list change when I pick oil, LPG or electricity?
The savings figures are for gas-heated homes. If you use something else, we cannot give you a sourced saving, so we tell you that. The heat pump grant is also higher for homes off the gas grid that use oil or LPG.
Do the savings include VAT or grants?
Installing insulation, solar panels and heat pumps in a home currently has no VAT. The grant is only taken off the heat pump.