Heat Pump Running Costs in Leicester — Compared With Gas, Oil and Storage Heaters
Last reviewed: 2 October 2026
Whether a heat pump saves you money in Leicester depends mostly on what it replaces. Here are October 2026 running costs for a typical Leicester home switching from gas, oil and electric storage heaters.
Start with what you have now
Most people asking “will a heat pump be cheaper to run?” are really asking “cheaper than what?” In Leicester, homes are heated by:
- mains gas — the large majority, across the terraces, semis and estates on Cadent’s network
- electric storage heaters — common in flats, some post-war blocks and converted houses
- oil or LPG — a small number of homes on the edges of the city and in surrounding villages
The answer is very different for each.
The assumptions
- Home: a three-bedroom Leicester semi needing about 11,000 kWh of heat a year, including hot water.
- Heat pump: seasonal efficiency of 3.2, realistic for a well-designed system in the East Midlands climate.
- Prices: the Ofgem price cap for October to December 2026 — electricity about 26p/kWh, gas about 8p/kWh, gas standing charge about £108 a year.
- Oil: heating oil prices move a lot; we use about 7p per kWh of oil (roughly 70p a litre), which can swing either way.
- Storage heaters: Economy 7 off-peak electricity averaging about 18p/kWh, with some top-up at peak rates.
Switching from gas
| Gas boiler (90%) | Heat pump, standard tariff | Heat pump, off-peak tariff | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Energy used | 12,200 kWh gas | 3,440 kWh electricity | 3,440 kWh electricity |
| Energy cost | £975 | £905 | £620 |
| Gas standing charge | £108 | £0 (gas capped) | £0 (gas capped) |
| Annual total | £1,083 | £905 | £620 |
Saving: about £180 a year on a standard tariff, about £460 on an off-peak heat pump tariff.
On a standard tariff, gas and heat pumps are closer than many people expect, because electricity costs over three times as much per unit as gas. The heat pump wins because it produces more than three units of heat per unit of electricity. A heat pump tariff, which lets the system heat the house and cylinder in cheaper hours, widens the gap.
Switching from oil or LPG
| Oil boiler (85%) | Heat pump, standard tariff | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual cost | about £800–£1,100 depending on oil prices | about £905 |
| Servicing and tank upkeep | £150–£250 | £120–£200 |
Oil prices are volatile, so the saving varies year by year. Homes switching from LPG usually save more, because LPG costs more per kWh. The bigger incentive for these homes is the £9,000 grant available on applications from 21 July 2026 to 31 March 2027.
Switching from electric storage heaters
| Storage heaters | Heat pump, standard tariff | Heat pump, off-peak tariff | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electricity used | about 11,500 kWh | 3,440 kWh | 3,440 kWh |
| Annual cost | £2,000–£2,300 | £905 | £620 |
Saving: £1,100–£1,600 a year. This is where heat pumps make the most dramatic difference. Storage heaters turn one unit of electricity into one unit of heat; a heat pump turns it into more than three. Flats and smaller homes heated by storage heaters often have the most to gain, provided there’s somewhere to put the outdoor unit.
Leicester’s climate
Leicester’s winters are colder than the South West’s and similar to Cambridge’s. The nearest long-running Met Office station, at Sutton Bonington, averages a January overnight low of about 1.9°C. Efficiency dips a little in the coldest weeks, which is why installers size the system for a cold design day and why radiator sizing matters. Spring and autumn, when the air is milder, are where most of the annual savings come from.
Getting the best running costs
- Ask for a low flow temperature design — 45–50°C if your radiators allow it. Every few degrees lower improves efficiency noticeably.
- Leave it running steadily. Heat pumps are most efficient holding a constant temperature, not reheating a cold house twice a day.
- Look at heat pump tariffs once the system is commissioned.
- Protect the cylinder from scale. Severn Trent’s water in Leicester is hard, so a cylinder coil rated for heat pumps, and a scale reducer if limescale is already a problem, keeps hot water efficient.
Next
See what a heat pump would look like in your Leicester home
The mechanism is the same in every UK home; the design is specific to yours. Our team carries out a free in-home survey including a full room-by-room heat-loss calculation, identifies the system size and configuration that fits your property, and provides a written quote with the £7,500 BUS grant already deducted.
You'll see the actual figure you'd pay — not an estimate — and the projected efficiency for your specific install.