Infinity Energy Services installs air source heat pumps in Winchester and the villages around it, from our headquarters at Swanwick, about 12 miles south of the city centre. We’re MCS-certified and we apply for your Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant: £7,500 for most homes, or £9,000 if you heat with oil or LPG and have no mains gas. The grant is taken off your invoice.
Across Winchester district, more than a third of homes are detached, one household in ten heats with oil or bottled gas, and around 40% of the district lies inside the South Downs National Park. Below, we explain what that means for your home, your planning rules and your grant.
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.
Winchester Homes and Heat Pumps
Most homes across Winchester district can run well on an air source heat pump. What shapes the design here is usually the size and age of the house, and whether it has mains gas.
The 2021 Census recorded 51,715 households in Winchester district, which takes in the city and a large rural area around it. Detached houses make up 36.2% of homes, semi-detached houses account for 25.8% and terraces for 20.1%; 13.0% of households live in a purpose-built flat.
Detached and rural homes
A detached house usually has room outside for the unit and indoors for a hot water cylinder. Bigger homes lose more heat, so the room-by-room calculation matters even more: it sets the size of the heat pump and shows which radiators need upgrading. If your cottage or farmhouse has solid walls, we design for that.
Homes off the gas grid
Around 5,200 households in the district heat with oil or LPG alone. If yours is one of them and there’s no mains gas connection at the property, the grant rises to £9,000 until March 2027. Removing an oil tank or LPG cylinders also frees up space outside, and that spot sometimes suits the outdoor unit.
Older and listed homes in the city
Much of central Winchester, from Hyde to St Cross, sits within the city’s conservation area. A heat pump can suit an older home, but the design needs care: lower flow temperatures, larger radiators where they’re needed and a position for the unit that respects the building. A listed home needs listed building consent first – we’ll explain what that involves at the survey.
How Winchester homes are heated
Just over two-thirds of homes in the district rely on mains gas alone and would get the standard £7,500 grant. One in ten uses only oil or LPG, and many of those homes could qualify for £9,000.
Source: Census 2021, type of central heating. Grant amounts from GOV.UK.
What We Check at a Winchester Survey
We begin every survey with a room-by-room heat loss calculation. Around Winchester, the planning authority for your address and the way your home is heated also shape the design.
Planning: Winchester City Council
Outside the national park, Winchester City Council decides planning matters. Most air source heat pumps fitted to houses count as permitted development, so there’s usually no application to make. The rule that kept units at least 1 metre from the boundary was dropped in May 2025 (read about the 2025 planning changes), which gives more choice on tight plots. The unit still has to meet the MCS 020(a) noise standard; we work that out at the survey.
Please note: listed buildings need listed building consent before a heat pump goes in. Winchester City Council has designated 37 conservation areas across the district, including the city’s own – which runs from Hyde in the north to St Cross in the south – as well as New Alresford and Bishop’s Waltham. The rules on where the unit can go are stricter in a conservation area, so we confirm them for your address before we design anything.
Homes in the South Downs National Park
About 40% of Winchester district lies within the South Downs National Park, including villages such as West Meon and Droxford. There, the South Downs National Park Authority is the planning authority, although Winchester City Council handles most applications on its behalf. Extra restrictions can apply in the park, and some of its villages are conservation areas too, so we check before siting the unit.
The local grid
Winchester’s electricity network is run by SSEN (Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks). Every heat pump has to be notified to them, and some need approval before connection – we take care of both.
The Grant and Running Costs in Winchester
Under the Boiler Upgrade Scheme you get £7,500 towards an air source heat pump, or £9,000 if your home runs on oil or LPG with no mains gas supply.
The higher rate is available until March 2027 (GOV.UK). There’s no means test: we apply for the grant as your MCS-certified installer and deduct it from your invoice. HMRC also rates heat pumps at 0% VAT until 31 March 2027. For every grant level and how to apply, see our Boiler Upgrade Scheme guide.
Running costs depend on what you’re replacing. Homes switching from oil or LPG usually save more than homes on mains gas. Whatever your fuel, a well-designed system and a heat pump electricity tariff make the biggest difference. Put your own figures into the calculator below, or see our full 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.
Free to use · Grants checked against official schemes · No obligation
A Recent Hampshire Heat Pump Installation
In Southampton, we fitted a Samsung air source heat pump and solar panels for the Jenkins family. Their yearly energy bills went from £1,710.61 to £517.51.
Those savings come from the heat pump and solar panels working together, and energy prices have moved since, so please read them as a genuine example rather than a forecast.
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 Winchester
We fit heat pumps across Winchester itself – the SO22 and SO23 postcodes – including the city centre, Hyde, St Cross, Badger Farm, Oliver’s Battery and Harestock, plus Kings Worthy just to the north. In the SO21 villages we cover Twyford, Colden Common, Otterbourne, Compton and Shawford, South Wonston and Micheldever.
Further out, we also work in Alresford, Bishop’s Waltham, Swanmore, Droxford and Wickham. If you’re in Eastleigh borough, see our Eastleigh heat pump page; towards Andover, see our Andover heat pump page. For the rest of the county, see heat pump installation across Hampshire.
Frequently Asked Questions About Heat Pumps in Winchester
Homes on mains gas or electricity get £7,500 from the Boiler Upgrade Scheme. If your home runs on oil or LPG and has no mains gas connection, it’s £9,000 until March 2027 – relevant to around one in ten homes in Winchester district. We claim the grant for you and take it off your invoice.
It’s often worth it. Oil and LPG homes usually see bigger running-cost savings from a heat pump than homes on mains gas, and the grant is £9,000 rather than £7,500 if you have no mains gas connection. You also stop needing fuel deliveries and a tank. Use the calculator on this page to compare your current heating with a heat pump.
It can be, with the right consents and a careful design. Listed buildings need listed building consent, and in a conservation area – such as the city’s own, from Hyde to St Cross – the rules on where the unit can go are stricter. Older homes may also need larger radiators. We check the rules for your address at the survey.
For most houses, no: a heat pump usually counts as permitted development if the unit meets the size limits and the MCS 020(a) noise standard. Winchester City Council handles planning for most of the district; in the South Downs National Park, the national park authority takes that role and extra restrictions can apply. We check the rules for your address.
Yes. We cover the SO22 and SO23 postcodes across the city, SO21 villages such as Twyford, Colden Common and South Wonston, and places further out including Alresford, Bishop’s Waltham and Wickham. Our headquarters at Swanwick is about 12 miles south of the city centre.
Book a Free Heat Pump Survey in Winchester
Want to know what a heat pump would cost for your Winchester 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 Winchester from our headquarters at Unit 6 Swanwick Business Centre, Bridge Road, Southampton SO31 7GB.