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Will I need to spend a lot insulating my home to get a heat pump? Many people fear the UK’s draughty old properties are too great a challenge for the technology
Heat pumps could be the single largest step a household can take to reduce their carbon emissions while saving money on their bills. But many in Britain fear that, even though millions of homes across Europe have benefited from the shift away from gas or oil boilers, the UK’s draughty old homes could prove too great a challenge for the technology.

The concern is unsurprising given that the UK has some of the least energy efficient homes in Europe. A study by the smart home company tado° monitored 80,000 users across Europe to find how quickly properties lose heat when outdoor temperatures fall to zero. It found that UK homes lost on average 3C after five hours without heating, compared with just 1C in Germany and 0.9C in Norway.

The previous article in the series concluded that while in the vast majority of cases properties of any age can successfully make the switch from a gas boiler, improving insulation helps. So is it necessary to spend a lot on insulation and other mitigating measures to make a heat pump work?
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Independent experts argue that households don’t need nearly as much insulation as they might think for a heat pump.
A study of almost 750 UK homes previously referenced in this series by the independent research and technology organisation the Energy Systems Catapult (ESC), found that 85% of homes – from south-east Scotland and Newcastle to south-east England – did not require any extra insulation to have a heat pump successfully installed.
About 15% of properties required some energy efficiency upgrades – but in the majority of cases this was loft insulation, which costs less than £1,000 and can be done with minimal disruption. Only “a few” propertiesrequired cavity wall insulation – which carries a cost of about £2,700 – or the replacing of old doors.
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So are there homes which should not install heat pumps until they’re properly insulated? Yes, says Sissons. These are households struggling with fuel poverty. They should first take advantage of the government funding available to low-income and vulnerable households to improve their insulation at no cost.
This would bring immediate benefits to the household – in lower bills and a warmer home – and make it easier to design a heat pump system which can deliver the largest possible cost savings over the long-term.

The verdict
If you currently live in a home where the heating system keeps rooms comfortably warm, it is very likely that you won’t need to undertake any extra insulation before installing a heat pump. A certified installer can give advice on each individual property.