What’s the Best Heat Pump Tariff?
The goal of any electricity tariff is to get the lowest price per unit of electricity. The best heat pump tariff does the same, but also takes into account factors like your heat pump’s performance and how it interacts with time-of-use tariffs.
Key Factors in Choosing a Heat Pump Tariff:
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Lowest possible price per kWh: This ensures that the cost of electricity to run your heat pump is as low as possible.
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Time-of-use tariffs: These tariffs encourage you to shift energy usage to cheaper, off-peak times, making the average unit price more important than a simple single-rate tariff.
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Seasonal variations in heat pump performance: Heat pumps are most efficient in milder weather, and their efficiency drops when it’s colder. This affects both your energy consumption and running costs throughout the year.
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COP/SCOP: The Coefficient of Performance (COP) and Seasonal Coefficient of Performance (SCOP) of your heat pump are also critical factors in determining how efficiently your heat pump uses electricity.
The Best Combination: The ideal heat pump tariff combines low electricity import rates with a high COP/SCOP. Over the long term, this balance will help you get the best running costs for your system.
💡 Updated: November 2025
This guide to UK heat pump electricity tariffs is regularly checked for accuracy. Rates and deals can change quickly, so always confirm with your energy supplier before switching.
Table of Contents
How to Evaluate the Best Heat Pump Tariff for Your Home
When choosing the best heat pump tariff, the aim is to secure the lowest possible average import price per unit of electricity. This is no different from any other electricity tariff, but there are a few additional factors that come into play with heat pump systems.
Key Factors in Evaluating Heat Pump Tariffs:
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Lowest Price Per kWh
To start, aim for the lowest possible price per kWh from the grid. With a single-rate tariff, everything you import will be at the same rate, making it straightforward to assess. However, time-of-use tariffs are different. These tariffs encourage you to load-shift your usage into off-peak periods, so your average blended rate becomes the most important factor. -
Blended Rate vs. Short-Term Costs
It’s important to look at the blended rate over the long term rather than focusing on short periods of low or high prices. Heat pumps, as seasonal systems, have fluctuating running costs. For example, your heat pump will perform better in milder conditions, which affects both the electricity needed and the cost to run it. -
Seasonality of Heat Pump Performance
As mentioned, heat pumps are seasonal systems. They work more efficiently in milder temperatures, and performance decreases during colder months. It’s important to evaluate running costs over a 12-month period to get an accurate picture of the total cost. -
COP/SCOP
Heat pump performance is also affected by its Coefficient of Performance (COP) and Seasonal Coefficient of Performance (SCOP). These metrics determine how efficiently your heat pump uses electricity. During colder months, performance can drop slightly, but heat pumps are still far more efficient than gas boilers. -
Best Combination for Cost Efficiency
The best combination you should aim for is a low import cost per kWh paired with a high COP/SCOP. This will ensure your running costs are minimized, regardless of the external temperature fluctuations.In a previous blog post, I discussed the relationship between COP and your running costs in more detail which you can read it here: SCOP versus Pounds and Pence.
SCOP versus Pounds and Pence
Can Switching to a Heat Pump Tariff Really Save You Money?
Yes, but…
- If you can shift some heating to cheaper time windows, savings can be £200–£600/year.
- Example: 4,500 kWh/year at 15 p/kWh = £675/year vs ~£1,125/year on a 25 p/kWh standard tariff.
Factors Affecting Heat Pump Running Costs: What You Need to Know
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Insulation – better insulation means less work for your pump.
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Flow temperature – lower temps = better efficiency.
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Smart controls – perfect for squeezing every penny out of time-of-use tariffs.
Do You Need a Smart Meter for a Heat Pump Tariff?
If you decide to stick with your flat rate, same rate all the time, old skool tariff, then no, you won’t need a smart meter.
But if you want to leap into a Smart / Time of Use tariff like the ones listed on this page, then yes, you will need a smart meter.
What’s the Best Heat Pump Tariff for Your Setup?
Unfortunately it’s not as simple as to just say “go on this tariff”.
People can now have a variety of renewable technologies in their homes which can open up different tariff options.
As I’ve coined before, Solar, Batteries and a Heat Pump are the “Holy Trinity” combination.
And if you add in an Electric Vehicle (EV) and Time of Use tariffs alongside the Holy Trinity, I’ve called this the “Renewables Quintessentials”.
So this article talks more about approaches to take and strategies to employ depending on what kit you have, rather than just pointing you to a single tariff.
As I’ve owned solar since 2018, run this tariff website since 2019 and had my heat pump since 2022, I hope I’m in a reasonable position to give some helpful advice on the subject.
Along the way we’ve also added batteries, a Mixergy cylinder and an EV to our renewable portfolio. You can read about lots of this over in the blog section of the website.
Note: this article will talk about various smart and time of use tariffs, so it will assume you already have a smart meter installed meaning you can access types of these tariffs.
And also, we talk exclusively about electricity tariffs from Octopus Energy as they have the widest range of smart tariffs.
If you are considering switching to Octopus, use this referral link where you can claim £50 of free credit upon switching. Thank you if you decide to do that.
Octopus Cosy Tariff: Is It Right for Your Heat Pump?
If the only renewable kit you currently own is a heat pump then Octopus Cosy (or Cosy Octopus as it’s sometimes referred to) is the first recommendation.
This is a smart tariff from Octopus Energy created for heat pump owners.
We have more details about the tariff and its pricing across all 14 UK regions here on the Octopus Cosy Page.
If you need more granular graphs than the ones provided on those pages, do look at the Dashboard feature on the website:
Octopus Cosy’s main unique selling point is that it has 3 cheaper periods throughout the day. And during those dips the unit price is lower than the standard day rate.
These dips are a great time to schedule heavier energy usage tasks like hot water runs.
In an article I wrote called “The Heat Pump Hot Water Golden Rules” we proved that in most cases, an off-peak cheaper period beats COP for savings when heating hot water.
There are also some useful tips and tricks in that blog post to help you get better hot water performance too.
The cheaper off peak periods on Octopus Cosy are typically 50% cheaper than the standard day rate.
You can also see from the image above that there is a price hike between 4pm and 7pm. This is placed there to discourage high usage during times when there is a greater demand on grid infrastructure.
Typically this peak is around 35% more expensive than the standard day rate.
- Dips: 50% cheaper than the day rate
- Day Rate: inline with the Price Cap
- 4pm to 7pm: 35% more expensive then the day rate
So the make this tariff work you really need to be utilising the price dips and avoiding the 4pm to 7pm where possible to get the lowest blended rate.
Here are the last 7 days pricing of Octopus Cosy from the London region.
So it is recommended to avoid scheduling hot water runs during this more expensive period (4pm to 7pm) as well as not using other heavy duty items in the home for these 3 hours.
Remember, this tariff (and all smart tariffs) give you a unit rate for the whole house.
So if it is 13p per kWh in the dips of the tariff, you can run the whole house at 13p per kWh.
Similarly, during the 4pm to 7pm peak, all the house usage will be charged at 39p per kWh.
This means that those folks with other renewables in their house, like batteries or EVs can also take advantage of these lower price dips. Or put the washing machine on between 1pm and 4pm rather than 4pm to 7pm.
If you have batteries you could charge them during every cheaper Cosy dip period too. This could help you get through the standard day rate times as well as the higher priced 4pm to 7pm period using your batteries (filled with cheaper priced electricity).
And EV owners could also charge at 13p per kWh in those dip periods too.
Without a battery, some people on the Cosy tariff have been known to pre-heat their house a little during the 1pm to 4pm price dip and then coast through the 4pm to 7pm peak with their heating switched off. Using their house as a bit of a thermal store.
All this moving your usage around based on when the unit price changes is classic “load shifting” behaviour, which time of use tariffs are designed for.
Going back to what we said at the start, think about the average unit rate over the long haul and how you can use the tariff to your advantage.
If you’re thinking Cosy might be too much work, check out the Havenwise heat pump optimiser section later in the article and how it can automatically schedule your heat pump use for you around tariff price signals.
Is Octopus Cosy the best heat pump tariff in the UK? It depends if you can utilise those dips. So let’s look at some other options.
Octopus Tracker Tariff: The Dynamic Option for Flexible Households
If you think that Cosy tariff with its peaks and troughs is a little too complicated to schedule (and you don’t want to use something like Havenwise to organise things for you) then maybe you could consider a tariff where the price stays the same throughout the day.
Octopus Tracker Tariff is a dynamic tariff where electricity prices change daily based on wholesale market prices. It’s designed to reflect the true cost of energy, often resulting in lower costs over time compared to standard tariffs, but with potential price volatility.
We have more details about the tariff and its pricing across all 14 UK regions here on this Octopus Tracker Tariff page.
If you need more granular graphs than the ones provided on those pages, do look at the Dashboard feature on the website:
On a day where there are a lot of renewables on the grid the day rate for Tracker can be low.
But on days where there’s fewer renewables the Tracker price may be more expensive.
You can see daily pricing from Octopus Tracker from the Yorkshire region over the last 365 days in this graph.
As there can be price fluctuations from day to day on Tracker, you can load shift to some extent on this tariff, but not as much as other smart tariffs.
Bur over the long haul Tracker has been below the various OFGEM price cap prices.
In the first 6 months of 2025 we’ve seen highs of 44p per kWh and lows of 12p per kWh. The average across that period has been around 22p per kWh.
So it’s not a fire and forget tariff. I would still suggest keeping an eye on trends etc.
If you follow energystatsuk on Twitter / X, Bluesky or Mastodon we publish graphs each day showing Tracker pricing.
Is Octopus Tracker the best heat pump tariff for you? Maybe, it could be a safe option if you want certainty below the price cap with the occasional lower priced day? So let’s look at some more dynamic options.
Octopus Agile Tariff: Maximize Savings with Smart Scheduling
From one extreme to another.
Like Tracker, Agile is a tariff based on the underlying price of wholesale energy.
But where Tracker is a single price for all 24 hours of the day, Agile on the other hand changes every 30 minutes.
So Agile is the ultimate time of use tariff.
Agile’s half-hourly pricing offers more opportunities to exploit lower prices than Tracker’s single daily rates, but it’s riskier due to peak-hour spikes as Octopus artificially inflates the pricing between 4pm and 7pm.
Just like the Cosy tariff, this monetary deterrent is placed there to discourage high usage during times when there is a greater demand on grid infrastructure.
Another caution for Agile is that because there are 48 different pricing slots per day it does require active management to maximize savings.
It’s a balance of risk and reward.
Plunge Pricing: During periods of high renewable generation (e.g., windy/sunny days), prices can drop significantly, sometimes to negative rates (so you are paid to use electricity).
We have a dedicated Agile Price Plunge page where pricing has gone negative.
Agile is best suited if you have smart controls and can shift heat pump usage to low-price periods. i.e hot water runs especially. By doing this you should be able to make savings versus a standard tariff.
If you follow energystatsuk on Twitter / X, Bluesky or Mastodon we publish graphs each day showing Agile pricing.
If you’re thinking the management and scheduling may be too much for you, look at Havenwise heat pump optimiser section later in the article and how it can automatically schedule your heat pump use around time of use tariff price signals.
Just like other smart tariffs, you can use everything in the house at the cheaper rates to make the most of the lower priced times; EV, heat pump, batteries etc.
Here’s an example of Agile pricing across the past week from the North West region and how it compares to Cosy.
We have more details about the Agile tariff and its pricing across all 14 UK regions on this dedicate Agile Tariff page.
Octopus Agile Tariff | Prices Today, Tomorrow and Price History
If you need more granular graphs than the ones provided on those pages, do look at the Dashboard feature on the website:
Is Octopus Agile the best heat pump tariff for you? It could, but let’s look at one last option.
Octopus Intelligent Go: The Best Tariff for EV and Battery Owners
As stated earlier, depending on what renewable equipment you have depends on what smart tariffs are available to you.
The biggest example of this is the Octopus Intelligent Go tariff (IOG).
We have more details about the Intelligent Go tariff and its pricing across all 14 UK regions on this dedicated Intelligent Go page.
If you need more granular graphs than the ones provided on those pages, do look at the Dashboard feature on the website:
Intelligent Go tariff is only available to those customers with a compatible EV or recognised charger.
By default, everyone on IOG gets 6 hours overnight at a cheaper rate. At the time of writing (July 2025) that is 7p per kWh between 23:30 and 05:30 every night. With a standard day rate for the other 18 hours of the day.
As with the other smart tariffs you can make use of these cheaper rates for all the other devices in house. So you could charge your batteries and do your hot water runs in these off peak periods. And you could heat the house all through the night with the heat pump, again at 7p per kWh.
The bonus functionality of Intelligent Go is that when you plug your EV in you may get extra charging slots outside of the set 23:30 to 05:30 period.
These slots are usually presented when the grid is perhaps greener. Look at the Greener Days page for a guide to this.
And you can also get more extra slots when your car has a bigger battery than could be satisfied in the 6 hours. (ie 7.2kW charge rate x 6 hours = 43.2 kWh)
For example, here’s some “extra” slots I got when plugging in at 1pm in the afternoon the other day.
So between 13:07 and 17:00 and as long as the EV was charging I would get those slots at 7p.
And the bonus is that you can also do “house things”, including the heat pump whilst the car is charging too and only be charged at 7p.
But beware. The car HAS to be charging during the 30 min slot for the rest of the house to get the 7p rate.
If your car is not charging or has finished charging, the 30 minute slot will be charged at the full day rate.
As you can see, using the dedicated overnight 6 hour off peak slots in conjunction with bonus slots can really drive down your long term average import unit price.
This is the exact method I used throughout the whole of 2024.
I filled the EV, charged the batteries overnight and also did my night time heat pump hot water run in the off peak period.
- 23:30 to 05:30 (charge batteries, but don’t discharge the batteries into the house)
- 05:30 to 23:30 (discharge batteries into the house)
By not allowing the battery to start discharging into the house until 05:30, it means you’re importing from the grid at 7pm all the way from 23:30 to 05:30.
So at 05:31 you are starting from a full battery.
Granted, there are some colder days when the battery was empty by lunchtime and I had to import at peak rate for the rest of the day. But this is how you get the long term blended rate.
Sticking to this routine throughout 2024 meant I was able to achieve an average import unit price (blended rate) of less than 10p per kWh across all of 2024.
You can read a detailed breakdown of how this was achieved in this whole house running costs and stats 2024 article.
For 2025 I have continued to do this, but have recently discovered a utility called Predbat that runs on Home Assistant. This is automatically doing all the heavy lifting of battery charging and discharging for me based on price signals.
https://springfall2008.github.io/batpred/inverter-setup/
Finally, if your EV is not compatible or your charger is not recognised by Intelligent Go then you can still get access to cheap overnight EV rates by using standard Octopus Go.
It has 5 hours at a cheaper rate (compared to 6 hours on Intelligent Go), but it does not have the smart ability to give you extra
Still a useful option to load shift things into the overnight cheaper period.
Is Octopus Intelligent Go the best heat pump tariff for you? If you have an EV and batteries, it’s certainly worth running the numbers.
Havenwise: Automate Heat Pump Optimization for Maximum Savings
Havenwise is a software-based platform that connects to your heat pump via its existing internet-enabled controls (e.g., manufacturer apps like Mitsubishi’s MELCloud, Vaillant’s myVaillant, Samsung’s SmartThings, or Daikin’s Onecta).
It uses machine learning to analyse your home’s thermal characteristics, weather data, and electricity tariff rates to optimize heat pump operation for comfort and cost savings.
Features:
- Automated Optimization: Adjusts heat pump settings to run during low-cost electricity periods (e.g., off-peak Agile and Cosy tariff rates) and pre-heats homes to avoid peak prices, maintaining efficiency.
- User Control: Intuitive app allows remote adjustments to heating and hot water schedules.
- Monitoring: Detects performance issues early and alerts users or installers, reducing maintenance visits.
- Installer Benefits: Simplifies commissioning by eliminating manual tweaks and provides remote diagnostics, saving installer time.
I started using Havenwise with my Vaillant heat pump towards the end of the last heating season and found that it did a far better job at hitting indoor target temperature than the manufacturers controls.
I would definitely recommend signing up for the free months trial and giving it a go, especially if you’re after some help controlling the heat pump to take advantage of the time of use tariffs we’ve talked about.
Selling Energy Back to the Grid: How Octopus Outgoing Can Save You Money
If you have solar then you can lower your running costs in two ways
- Use the generation in your home (run your heat pump etc)
- Sell any surplus generation back to the grid.
In spring, summer and autumn you will likely find you have more generation than you know what to do with. So selling that back to the grid is a good way to build up some credit in your account ahead of the winter.
Earlier in the article we spoke about looking at running costs for the whole year. Selling generation back to the grid is another way of helping with that long term view.
Again, this is another technique I have been doing for the past 18 months.
As of August 2025 you can still get 15p per kWh for every unit sent back to the grid on Octopus Outgoing tariff.
Many commentators, including myself, don’t see that lucrative price staying around in the long term. But even if it drops to say 8p, you may still be able to get some returns to swell the coffers in summer to then use that credit in the winter.
We have more details about the Octopus Outgoing tariffs and their pricing across all 14 UK regions here on this dedicated Outgoing Octopus page.
Octopus Outgoing Export Pricing
Goodbye Gas: How Switching to an Electric Home Can Save You £100s
Another way of saving money with a heat pump is to turn your house fully electric and have your gas meter removed.
By doing this you will no longer need to pay the gas daily standing charge, saving over £100 per year (based on 2025 prices).
The gas cooker was the final item we replaced (for an induction model) so Octopus Energy removed our gas meter for free.
We moved to a fully electric house in early 2024.
I talk more about the process here in this Goodbye Gas Meter article.
Goodbye Gas Meter
Summary: How to Choose the Best Heat Pump Tariff for Your Home
I hope you found this Best Heat Pump Tariff article useful.
The “best” heat pump tariff is the one that matches your heating habits. And because tariffs change regularly, it’s worth checking back every 6–12 months to see if a better deal has popped up.
As I said at the beginning I can’t recommend a single tariff to you. But I can explain good practice when it comes to the approaches to take and strategies to employ depending on what renewables kit you have.
To get the best out of Time of Use tariffs you need to schedule your devices to take advantage of the price dips.
On tariffs with dedicated fixed time slots like Cosy, Intelligent Go and Normal Go there is less to worry about. Simple scheduling on your devices should suffice.
Tracker is even simpler as the price is only changing day to day.
But for Agile where the price changes every 30 minutes you may need to look into some automation software to help.
Regardless of which tariff you choose, I would definitely recommend looking at Havenwise to schedule your heat pump and Predbat to control your batteries.
Predbat is free (coffee donation to the author recommended) and Havenwise is available on free months trial.
If you want to read more about my 5kW Vaillant heat pump (and solar installation) I have various articles on the site that highlight the installation and ongoing performance in our 1930’s semi detached house in Sheffield.
FAQ: Common Questions About the Best Heat Pump Tariffs in the UK
What is the best tariff for running a heat pump in the UK?
Based on my experience and data, Octopus Cosy is the top choice for most households. It provides three daily “cheap rate” windows that align well with heating and hot water schedules. However, if you have smart controls and the flexibility to manage your usage, Octopus Agile can offer savings and sometimes be even cheaper.
Is it cheaper to run a heat pump at night?
Yes, if you’re on a time-of-use tariff. I regularly pre-heat my home and hot water during off-peak hours, allowing me to avoid the more expensive peak times. With this setup, I’ve managed to save between 20-30% on annual running costs.
Do I need solar panels or a battery to benefit from smart tariffs?
Not at all. A heat pump on its own can take full advantage of off-peak rates. However, adding a battery significantly boosts savings by charging during the cheap periods and covering your usage during peak times. Solar panels add an extra layer of savings, especially in the summer months.
How much can I save by switching to a heat pump tariff?
It really depends on how flexible you can be with your energy usage. When I was on a flat-rate tariff, my heat pump bills were higher. After switching to Cosy or Agile, I’ve cut my annual costs by hundreds. Even without solar or a battery, many homes can save around 10–20% by load-shifting their energy use.
Which energy suppliers offer heat pump tariffs in 2025?
Currently, Octopus Energy leads the way, offering Cosy, Agile, Tracker, and Intelligent Go tariffs. Other suppliers are still catching up, but I expect more to offer similar tariffs as heat pumps become more widespread.
Is Octopus Cosy better than Agile for heat pumps?
Octopus Cosy is simpler and more predictable, making it ideal for those who want hassle-free, set-and-forget savings. On the other hand, Octopus Agile can be cheaper on average, but it requires more management and flexibility. Using automation tools like Havenwise can help make Agile work better for you.
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