Study finds air pumps can outperform boilers in new homes

Air source heat pumps (ASHPs) can work four times as efficiently as gas boilers in new homes, according to research by Bellway and the University of Salford. The data could impact how the housebuilding sector adapts to the new Future Homes and Buildings Standards that come into force next year. 

House built in climate chamber

Bellway built a full-size three-bedroom house to Future Homes Standards inside the university’s Energy House 2.0 climate chamber, which simulates conditions ranging from a Nordic winter to an African summer.

Academics tested how low-carbon heating systems would perform in a range of climate conditions, discovering:

• ASHPS can produce more than four times the amount of heat from one unit of energy compared with a typical gas boiler
• Heating costs for the ASHP used in the testing were as little as £1.19 a day
• The most efficient way to use a heat pump is to keep it running at a low temperature all day then turn it up for a period in the morning and the evening, or during periods of extreme cold.
  
  

What the data reveals

The main findings of the study included that at typical winter temperatures of 5ºC, an ASHP used in combination with underfloor heating downstairs and radiators upstairs will produce 4.71 units of heat for every unit of energy used. Heating costs in these conditions were between £1.19 and £1.84 a day, based on Ofgem’s energy price cap from 1 July to 30 September 2025 of 25.73 p/kWh.

Constant low heat, supported by increased heating for a period in the morning and evening, is the most efficient in these conditions. Even at more extreme winter temperatures of -5ºC, an ASHP will produce 2.98 units of heat per unit of energy used. In these conditions, ASHPs work most effectively when they run at a constant comfortable heat level (18-21ºC).

Changes are coming

New homes built from 2027 will require heat pumps or heat networks, rather than gas boilers, under the Future Homes Standards that are to be implemented following amendments to the Building Regulations 2010.

This will ensure that new homes and non-domestic buildings are built with low carbon heating and high levels of energy efficiency, so that they will not require retrofitting to become zero carbon in use as the electricity grid decarbonises.

“The research shows that new build homes can provide low-carbon, low-running-cost heating without the need to pay for expensive retrofitting of second-hand homes, which can run into tens of thousands of pounds,” said Jamie Bursnell, Bellway’s Head of Technical and Innovation.