Do I Need to Upgrade My Radiators for a Heat Pump?

This is one of the biggest concerns for homeowners considering a heat pump. The short answer is: it depends on your home, but you probably won't need to replace all of them.

Heat pumps operate most efficiently at lower flow temperatures than gas boilers, typically 35-45°C compared to 60-80°C for a boiler. This means your radiators need to emit the same amount of heat at a lower temperature, which sometimes requires larger radiators.

During our home survey, we perform a room-by-room heat loss calculation. This tells us exactly how much heat each room needs and whether your existing radiators can deliver it at the lower flow temperature.

In practice, about 60-70% of existing radiators in a typical UK home are already large enough. The rooms that usually need upgrades are smaller spaces with undersized radiators, often bathrooms, hallways, and smaller bedrooms.

If upgrades are needed, we typically replace individual radiators with larger panel convectors. The cost per radiator is usually £200-£500 including fitting. This is factored into your quote upfront.

Underfloor heating is the ideal partner for a heat pump because it operates at very low temperatures and distributes heat evenly. If you're renovating, it's worth considering for ground-floor rooms.