More than 15,000 heat pumps were installed in the United Kingdom in the first three months of 2025, according to the latest data from MCS. The certification body recorded 5,605 heat pump installations in March, the fourth highest monthly total to date and a 22% increase on March 2024.
Strong installation figures for March 2025 helped set a first-quarter record of 15,758 certified heat pump installations, beating the previous first-quarter record of 14,211 set in 2022. March 2022 remains the busiest period for UK heat pump installations to date, with 7,775 certified installations recorded as consumers rushed to beat a subsidy scheme deadline.
The positive start to 2025 reflects a ramping up of heat pump installations in the United Kingdom, with nine of the top 10 months for certified installations occurring between May 2024 and March 2025. MCS recorded a total of 58,176 heat pump installations in 2024, a new annual record.
MCS certification is not required to install a heat pump in the United Kingdom, but it is necessary to access subsidy support available to consumers through the UK government’s boiler upgrade scheme (BUS). A GBP 7,500 ($10,000) grant is currently available for air-source and ground-source heat pumps through the scheme, which is open to homes and small and medium non-domestic buildings in England and Wales. An equivalent grant is offered to Scottish consumers by Home Energy Scotland.
MCS CEO Ian Rippin said that heat pump installations have increased “as more homeowners transition to low-carbon heating, driven by initiatives such as the boiler upgrade scheme.”
Data from the UK government’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) reveal 42,645 heat pumps installed in 2024 were either partially or fully funded through a DESNZ support scheme. Almost all government-supported installations were air-sourced heat pumps (98%).
Despite more generous subsidy support than comparable European markets, the pace of heat pump deployment is well below the level required to hit UK government targets. A report from the UK National Audit Office released March 2024 found uptake of the BUS subsidy had been lower than expected, and warned the government’s target of 600,000 installations per year by 2028 was “based on optimistic assumptions.”
In response, DESNZ increased the grant funding available from GBP 5,000 to GBP 7,500, which allowed some energy suppliers to offer heat pump installations starting at GBP 500. The government also loosened rules around planning permission for air source heat pumps in November 2024 following industry lobbying. Previously, heat pumps in England could not be installed within one meter of a property boundary without planning consent
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