Heat Pump Installers Hull: MCS Air Source

Hull's flat ground and relatively mild coastal climate suit heat pumps. Its housing is the harder part. With nearly half of homes in terraces, many with only a small back yard, finding room for the outdoor unit and a hot water cylinder is often the first question.

Hull at a glance

Water hardness: Very hard. Yorkshire Water's Hull Central West zone (Newland, Sculcoates, Stepney, Dairycoates) averaged 148.4 mg/l calcium in 2024, about 370 mg/l as calcium carbonate. Kirk Ella and Hessle averaged 128.4 mg/l and Cottingham 145.3 mg/l (both very hard); Bransholme and Sutton 107 mg/l (hard). Source
Terraced homes: 46.7% of Hull households live in a terraced house, almost double the share in Leeds. 29.4% live in a semi, 8.4% in a detached house and 11.4% in a purpose-built flat. Source
How homes are heated: 80.1% of Hull households heat with mains gas only and 7.1% with electricity only. Just 40 homes in the city use oil only. In the neighbouring East Riding of Yorkshire, 8,770 households (5.8%) heat with oil only. Source
Flood history: On 25 June 2007, 110mm of rain fell on Hull in 24 hours and more than 10,000 properties were damaged across Hull and the East Riding. Hull City Council describes the city as a flat basin of low-lying land below sea level. Source
Local grants: Hull City Council was allocated £3,402,806 for the Warm Homes: Local Grant. East Riding of Yorkshire Council, which covers Hessle, Cottingham, Anlaby, Kirk Ella and Willerby, was allocated £1,500,000. Source
Energy ratings: About 48% of homes with an EPC in Hull are rated band D or below (median score 69, band C), against 47% across England. Based on certificates lodged in the 10 years to March 2025. Source

Terrace or semi?

Semis and bungalows with gardens are the straightforward cases. Terraces can work if there's a back yard with space for the unit and room indoors for a cylinder, perhaps in a former airing cupboard or a slimline model in the loft. Mid-terraces can have one unit under permitted development, provided it meets the MCS noise standard.

In a tight yard, the noise calculation at the neighbour's window decides where the unit can go.

Hard water and the cylinder

The heat pump's heating circuit is sealed, so Hull's hard water doesn't affect it. The hot water cylinder is another matter: it holds mains water, and in water this hard the coil and any immersion element will scale. Ask the installer about a scale reducer on the cold feed and how the cylinder will be maintained.

Grants

The Boiler Upgrade Scheme gives £7,500 off an air source heat pump, with no income test. Hull City Council has £3.4 million for the Warm Homes: Local Grant, and East Riding of Yorkshire Council, covering Hessle, Cottingham and the western villages, has £1.5 million. Both can fund heat pumps for eligible households in homes rated EPC D to G.

Ask for a proper design

Before you sign, ask for the room-by-room heat loss, the design flow temperature and which radiators will change. A system designed to run cool is cheaper to run. The heat pump cost guide on this site shows typical prices, and the air source heat pumps guide explains how they work in winter.

Heat pumps in Hull housing

Victorian and Edwardian terraces off the main roads

The unit goes in the back yard, on the ground or a wall bracket. Solid walls may mean bigger radiators in some rooms.

Interwar and post-war semis and estate houses

The best fit in the city. Fill any empty cavities and top up the loft first.

Bungalows in the villages around the city

Bungalows have a large loft and usually a garden, making them a good heat pump home. Loft insulation is the first job.

Areas covered

Engineers who cover Hull work across areas including The Avenues, Newland Park, Hessle, Cottingham, Anlaby, Kirk Ella, Willerby, Sutton-on-Hull, Bransholme and Kingswood.

View Hull on Google Maps

Questions people in Hull ask

Should the unit be raised in a flood-risk area?

It's sensible. Ask the installer to mount it on a raised stand or wall bracket if your home is at risk of surface water flooding.

Sources

Also nearby: Heat pump installation in York, Heat pump installation in Doncaster, Heat pump installation in Leeds

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