From our headquarters at Swanwick, about 11 miles north-west of the city centre, Infinity Energy Services designs and installs air source heat pumps all over Portsmouth. We’re MCS-certified, so we apply for your Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant – £7,500 for almost every home in the city – and take it straight off your invoice.
Portsmouth is a city of terraced streets: 43% of households live in a terraced house and another 27% in a purpose-built flat. Most are heated by mains gas. This page covers what that means here: where the outdoor unit goes on a small plot, how conservation areas and the seafront affect the design, and who looks after it afterwards.
For the full detail on the grant, running costs and the two heat pump ranges we generally fit, see our main guide to heat pump installers in Hampshire.
If you’d rather talk it through, call us on 0800 909 8882.
Portsmouth Homes and Heat Pumps
Most Portsmouth homes can take an air source heat pump. What usually decides the design here is space – room outside for the unit and room inside for a hot water cylinder.
The 2021 Census recorded 86,155 households in Portsmouth. Terraced houses are by far the most common home, at 43.4%. Just over a quarter of households (26.5%) live in purpose-built flats, 16.5% in semi-detached houses and 6.3% in a flat or bedsit within a converted house; only 4.5% live in a detached house.
Terraced houses
Most Portsmouth terraces have a compact back yard or garden, so the first thing we work out is where the outdoor unit can sit: it has to meet the noise limits, leave space for servicing and keep the pipe run into the house short. Inside, the cylinder usually goes where a combi boiler or an old airing cupboard is now. Some radiators may also need upsizing, because a heat pump runs at lower temperatures than a boiler.
Flats and converted houses
A heat pump can work in some flats, but you’ll normally need consent from whoever owns the building, a place outside for the unit and somewhere to put a cylinder, and planning works differently for flats than for houses. Tell us about your building and we’ll give you a straight answer on whether it’s practical.
Homes heated by electricity
One in nine Portsmouth homes (11.5%) uses electric heating alone, usually storage heaters. Many have no radiators, so the job includes fitting them, but it still qualifies for the grant – and because a heat pump turns each unit of electricity into several units of heat, running costs usually fall noticeably.
How Portsmouth homes are heated
Three in four Portsmouth homes (75.8%) are heated by mains gas alone, and only 0.3% by oil or LPG, so almost everyone here gets the standard £7,500 grant.
Source: Census 2021, type of central heating. Grant amounts from GOV.UK.
What We Check at a Portsmouth Survey
We begin every survey by working out the heat loss of each room. In Portsmouth, three other things often shape the design: how much outside space you have, how close you are to the sea and whether your street is in a conservation area.
Planning: Portsmouth City Council
Portsmouth City Council is the planning authority for the whole city. For a house, an air source heat pump is usually permitted development, so there’s no application to make. In May 2025 the requirement to keep the unit at least 1 metre from your boundary was dropped – a real help on Portsmouth’s narrow terraced plots (what changed in 2025). The unit still has to meet the MCS 020(a) noise standard, which we check at the survey.
Please note: a listed home always needs listed building consent. Portsmouth also has 25 conservation areas, among them Old Portsmouth, Owen’s Southsea, East Southsea, Craneswater & Eastern Parade and The Seafront, and these can limit where the unit goes. We find out which rules cover your address before we design anything.
Homes near the sea
Much of Portsmouth is on Portsea Island, so plenty of homes are close to the sea. Salt air is hard on outdoor units, so in Southsea, Eastney and Old Portsmouth especially we follow the manufacturer’s guidance on where to put the unit and how to protect it. Flooding is the other coastal factor: according to Coastal Partners, the existing sea defences leave 8,077 Southsea homes at risk of coastal flooding. If your home is one of them, we raise the unit off the ground.
Servicing your heat pump
We service the air source heat pumps we install, so we can keep looking after your system once it’s in. Regular servicing keeps it running efficiently, and near the seafront it’s a chance to clear salt off the outdoor unit.
The local grid
Portsmouth’s electricity network is run by SSEN. The network operator has to be told about every heat pump that’s connected, and some need its approval before they’re switched on. We look after that paperwork.
The Grant and Running Costs in Portsmouth
Almost every Portsmouth home that switches to an air source heat pump can get £7,500 from the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, deducted from your invoice.
There’s no means test, and as an MCS-certified installer we make the application for you. For the small number of homes heated by oil or LPG with no mains gas connection, the grant rises to £9,000 until March 2027 (GOV.UK). HMRC also zero-rates heat pumps for VAT until 31 March 2027. For every grant level and how the application works, see our guide to the Boiler Upgrade Scheme.
With most Portsmouth homes on mains gas, what you save depends on two things: a system designed to run efficiently at low temperatures, and the electricity tariff you choose. Put your own figures into the calculator below, or read our guide to the grant and running costs.
How do you heat your home today?
Select your current heating, and discover heat pump installation and running costs compared to what you have now, and any grants you can claim.
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A Recent Hampshire Heat Pump Installation
In Southampton, we fitted a Samsung air source heat pump and solar panels for the Jenkins family. Their energy bills fell from £1,710.61 a year to £517.51.
Bear in mind that the saving came from the heat pump and solar panels working together, and energy prices have moved since – it’s a genuine local result, not a forecast for your home.
What our customers say
How Your Heat Pump Installation Works
- Free consultation. Call us or use the form below. We’ll talk about your home and how it’s heated now – by phone, video call or in person.
- Heat loss survey. A qualified surveyor visits your home, works out the heat loss room by room and checks the best spot for the outdoor unit.
- Fixed, itemised quote. You get a written quote with your Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant already deducted.
- Installation. A typical installation takes 3-5 days, including removing your old boiler.
- Handover and aftercare. We show you the controls, register your warranty and stay on hand for any questions.
For more on each stage, see how a heat pump installation works.
Areas We Cover in and Around Portsmouth
We cover every Portsmouth postcode, PO1-PO6: Old Portsmouth, Southsea, Eastney, Milton, Fratton, Baffins, Copnor, Hilsea, Cosham, Drayton, Farlington and Paulsgrove.
Beyond the city boundary, we also install heat pumps across Havant borough, including Havant itself, Waterlooville, Emsworth and Hayling Island. See also our Gosport and Fareham heat pump pages; for the rest of the county, see heat pump installation across Hampshire.
Frequently Asked Questions About Heat Pumps in Portsmouth
£7,500 for almost every home in the city. Three in four Portsmouth households heat with mains gas alone, which qualifies for the standard Boiler Upgrade Scheme rate. The £9,000 rate is only for homes on oil or LPG with no mains gas connection, and it runs until March 2027. We apply for the grant and deduct it from your invoice.
Usually, yes. The outdoor unit needs a spot in the back yard, garden or side return where it meets the MCS 020(a) noise standard, and you’ll need room indoors for a hot water cylinder. The removal of the 1 metre boundary rule in May 2025 has made small plots much easier. A survey will show the best layout for your house.
Not usually for a house, because most air source heat pumps are permitted development. Listed buildings need listed building consent, and in Portsmouth’s 25 conservation areas, such as Old Portsmouth and Owen’s Southsea, the rules can limit where the unit goes. Portsmouth City Council is the planning authority, and we check your address before designing anything.
We service the air source heat pumps we install in Portsmouth, so we can look after your system once it’s in. We don’t carry out repairs or service heat pumps fitted by other installers. Regular servicing matters most near the seafront, because salt air is hard on the outdoor unit. Call us on 0800 909 8882 to book.
Yes – every postcode from PO1 to PO6, from Old Portsmouth and Southsea to Cosham and Drayton, plus Havant, Waterlooville, Emsworth and Hayling Island. Our headquarters at Swanwick is about 11 miles from the city centre.
Book a Free Heat Pump Survey in Portsmouth
Want to know what a heat pump would cost for your Portsmouth home, and which grant you’d get? Fill in the form for a free survey, a no-obligation quote, or a second opinion on a quote you already have.
Call 0800 909 8882
with any questions or for expert advice
What happens next
- We get in touch to talk about your home and how it’s heated now.
- A qualified surveyor carries out a free heat loss survey.
- You get a fixed, itemised quote with your grant already deducted.
We cover every part of Portsmouth from our headquarters at Unit 6 Swanwick Business Centre, Bridge Road, Southampton SO31 7GB.