Heat Pump Installers London: MCS Certified

London's winters are mild by UK standards, which helps a heat pump run efficiently. The harder questions are where the outdoor unit can sit and whether planning rules allow it there.

London at a glance

Homes that are flats: 54.0% of London households (1.8 million) lived in a flat, maisonette or apartment in 2021, against 21.7% across England and Wales. Source
How homes are heated: 70.5% of London households heat with mains gas only, 12.6% with electricity only and 3.4% from a communal or district heat network. Oil-only heating is 0.1%, about 4,300 homes. Source
Heat pump planning: An air source heat pump is usually permitted development, up to 1.5 cubic metres on a house and 0.6 on a block of flats. In conservation areas it cannot face a highway; listed buildings need consent. Source
Local grant: The Warm Homes: Local Grant is run across London by the Greater London Authority for privately owned homes rated EPC D to G, usually with household income of £36,000 or less and savings under £25,000. Source
Energy ratings: About 42% of homes with an EPC in London are rated band D or below (median score 70, band C), against 47% across England. Based on certificates lodged in the 10 years to March 2025. Source

Planning rules for houses

On a house, one outdoor unit of up to 1.5 cubic metres is usually permitted development, provided the installation meets MCS 020a, which includes a noise limit. Semi-detached and terraced houses get one unit under these rights; detached houses get two.

Conservation areas add a limit: the unit can't go on a wall or roof that fronts a highway, or sit nearer the road than the house. Listed buildings lose permitted development altogether, so you need listed building consent. London boroughs have hundreds of conservation areas between them, so check your borough's map before the survey. Islington, for one, publishes a heat pump planning checklist.

Flats: the hardest London case

More than half of London households live in a flat. Permitted development covers a unit on a block of flats only up to 0.6 cubic metres, and you need the freeholder's consent for anything fixed to the building or placed on shared land.

About 3.4% of London homes take heat from a communal or district network. In those blocks, switching to heat pumps is a decision for the building owner, not each flat.

Paying for it

The Boiler Upgrade Scheme pays £7,500 towards an air source heat pump in England and Wales, with no income test. Lower-income owners in homes rated EPC D to G may also qualify for the Warm Homes: Local Grant, which lists heat pumps among the measures it funds. Our heat pump cost guide shows typical prices before the grant.

Fitting a heat pump to London homes

Victorian and Edwardian terraces

Mid-terraces have no side passage, so the unit goes in the back garden or on the flat roof of a rear extension, at least one metre from the roof edge. Front rooms with solid walls often need bigger radiators.

Converted flats and mansion blocks

A balcony or flat roof may be the only site, and the freeholder has the final say. Before paying for a full design, ask the installer whether a small cylinder will fit inside the flat.

Outer-borough 1930s semis

These are the easiest London fit: a side passage or garden, cavity walls that can be filled, and room for a cylinder. Get the cavity insulated before the heat loss survey so the system isn't oversized.

Areas covered

Engineers who cover London work across areas including Islington, Hackney, Camden, Brixton, Wimbledon, Ealing, Croydon, Walthamstow, Greenwich and Richmond.

View London on Google Maps

Questions people in London ask

Will a heat pump bother my neighbours?

MCS 020a sets a noise limit measured at the nearest neighbour's window. In tightly packed streets the installer must show the unit meets it, sometimes by choosing a quieter model or a different spot.

Can it cool my home in summer?

An air-to-water heat pump feeding radiators doesn't cool. Air-to-air units can, and the scheme pays £2,500 towards those. Our air source heat pumps guide explains the difference.

Sources

Also nearby: Heat pump installation in Reading, Heat pump installation in Luton, Heat pump installation in Chelmsford, Heat pump installation in Brighton

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