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Octopus Energy announces £3,000 heat pump
Energy supplier Octopus has announced its own heat pump, which could cost around £3,000 to install with government grants.
The Cosy 6 heat pump, the first to be designed in-house by the company, will be available from December. Announcing the product in London on Thursday, Greg Jackson, chief executive of Octopus, claimed it “paves the way to heat pumps for everyone”.
It will be free to install for well-insulated homes that qualify for the government’s boiler upgrade scheme, Octopus said. For homes that need adjustments, such as new radiators, piping or a hot water tank, the heat pump would cost around £3,000 after the government grant has been applied.
It typically costs around £10,000 to buy and install a heat pump in the UK, but the competitive price point of the new product would bring installation costs closer to that of a gas boiler.
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Octopus will enter the market with a 6kW heat pump, aimed at a typical three-bed UK home, but it said more and larger models will follow over the next six months.
The Cosy 6 will be accompanied by room sensors, a home controls system and a smart tariff. This would allow it to offer better performance at the cheapest times and help customers save money, Octopus said. It will be manufactured in Northern Ireland.
Octopus entered the heat pump market in 2021 with the launch of Britain’s first R&D centre for heat pumps in Slough.
In May, it invested £70m into Cornwall heat pump manufacturer Kensa with Legal & General Capital.
The government aims to install 600,000 heat pumps a year by 2028 to cut carbon emissions, however last year only 55,000 were sold in the UK.
The government’s £450m heat pump grant scheme runs until 2028. It offers £5,000 towards the installation of an air-source heat pump and £6,000 off a ground-source heat pump, as well as zero VAT on installations.
Currently to qualify for a heat pump grant, a property must have a valid Energy Performance Certificate with no outstanding recommendations for loft or cavity wall insulation. This is because heat pumps work more efficiently in well insulated homes.
Mr Jackson said: “This is a huge day for clean heating. The combination of a high-temperature heat pump (as hot as a gas boiler), Octopus smart tariffs and room sensors across your home doesn’t just open up cheaper clean heating, but more comfort, too.”
