Heat pump electricity tariffs in 2026: which UK supplier saves you most?

How heat-pump tariffs save money

A typical UK heat-pump household uses 3,400–4,500 kWh of electricity per year on the heat-pump system (the rest of the household’s electricity is 2,000–3,500 kWh). On standard variable at 28p/kWh average, the heat-pump portion costs ~£1,100. On a heat-pump tariff with most of that load shifted to a 14p/kWh cheap-rate window, the same electricity costs ~£550 — a £550/year saving. Real-world savings are typically smaller because not all heat-pump load can be shifted (cold-morning operation, hot-water recharge during day occupancy) — the realistic saving lands at £200–£400/year on a well-configured system.

The cheap-rate window is the key variable. Octopus Cosy’s 6-hour-per-day allocation (split across 4 blocks: overnight, mid-morning, lunchtime, late evening) captures heat-pump load most flexibly. Single-block overnight tariffs (British Gas, E.ON Next) work best for households that pre-heat overnight and coast through the day. Multi-block tariffs with a daytime window (EDF GoElectric) suit households with daytime occupancy.

Eligibility — what you need to qualify

All four major UK heat-pump tariffs share the same core requirements:

• MCS-certified heat pump on the property. Confirmed via your installer’s MCS certificate number. BUS-funded installs are MCS-certified by definition.
• SMETS2 smart meter (or SMETS1 enrolled in DCC). For half-hourly meter readings. Most UK households have one; if you don’t, the new supplier arranges installation as part of the switch.
• Active heat-pump usage.A few suppliers will check actual heat-pump electricity usage within the first few months and may move you off the tariff if the load profile doesn’t look like a heat-pump household. Practical implication: don’t switch to a heat-pump tariff if your heat pump isn’t actually running yet.

How the tariffs really differ

• Octopus Cosy — multi-block flexibility. The 6-hour-per-day allocation split across 4 windows (early hours, mid-morning, lunch, late evening) lines up with how heat pumps actually consume electricity in practice. Combined with Octopus’s smart-home API (Tado, Home Assistant integrations), homeowners who tune their heat-pump schedule typically extract the largest saving. Drawback: the multi-block schedule means actively managing operating hours is more important than for single-block tariffs.
• British Gas Heat Pump Plus — single-block simplicity.One 5-hour cheap window overnight, covers most heat-pump pre-heat + cylinder recharge. Saving is slightly smaller than Cosy’s upper bound but the operating model is “set and forget” — your heat-pump scheduling defaults to overnight pre- heat anyway. Good fit for households without smart-home tooling.
• EDF GoElectric — overnight + daytime midday. 5 hours overnight + 2 hours midday. The midday block is useful for households with daytime occupancy (work from home, retirees) who can use the cheap-rate window to run washing machines, dishwashers etc. alongside the heat pump. Slightly smaller cheap-rate window than Cosy, larger than the single-overnight tariffs.
• E.ON Next Heat Pump — dual-fuel customer option. Most useful for existing E.ON customers who want to keep their supplier relationship + add a heat-pump-specific tariff for the electricity portion. Standalone, the pricing is broadly competitive but rarely the cheapest of the four.

Standing charges matter — sometimes more than rates

Heat-pump tariffs typically come with slightly higher standing charges than standard variable (~52–58p/day vs ~48–52p/day on standard variable). The reason: time-of-use tariffs require smart-meter infrastructure + grid-services operational overhead that the supplier recovers through the daily charge. For a heat-pump household using ~6,000–8,000 kWh/year, the standing charge difference is £15–£35/year — small relative to the £200–£400 unit-rate saving. For low-usage households, it’s worth checking.

Switching — practical steps

1. Wait until your heat pump is commissioned and running. Suppliers may check load profile in the first 3 months; switching before the heat pump runs gives no benefit anyway.
2. Run the comparison on YOUR actual heat-pump load shape.Use your smart-meter half-hourly data (available through your current supplier’s app or via Octopus Watch / similar tools) to model each tariff’s saving against your real usage.
3. Switch via the supplier’s website directly,not a price-comparison site — heat-pump tariffs often don’t appear correctly on comparison platforms due to the specific eligibility criteria.
4. Configure your heat pump’s schedule to match the cheap-rate windows.Most modern heat-pump controllers support time-of-use scheduling natively — set overnight pre-heat to align with the tariff’s cheap window.

Pitfalls to watch for

• Standard variable as fallback.Some tariffs default you to standard variable if your heat-pump load profile doesn’t meet supplier thresholds. Read the small print on what happens to your tariff after the 6-month + annual review windows.
• Exit fees on fixed-term variants. Most heat-pump tariffs are rolling (no exit fee), but some fixed 12-month or 24-month variants exist with £50–£150 exit fees. Check before signing.
• Hot-water immersion peak-rate use. If your hot water cylinder boosts via electric immersion during peak hours (rather than the heat-pump coil during cheap-rate windows), you can quickly erase the tariff saving. Configure your cylinder to use the heat-pump coil primarily.

What to ask your installer at commissioning

1. Can the heat-pump controller schedule operation around a time-of-use tariff’s cheap windows?
2. How do I configure the hot-water cylinder to favour heat-pump heating over immersion during peak hours?
3. Do you have any tariff-supplier partnerships or recommendations based on customers in my area?

The takeaway

Heat-pump-specific tariffs are typically £200–£400/year cheaper than standard variable for UK heat-pump households. Octopus Cosy currently delivers the largest potential saving for households able to tune their schedule across multiple cheap-rate windows. British Gas Heat Pump Plus is the simplest set-and-forget option. EDF GoElectric suits daytime-occupancy households. E.ON Next Heat Pump suits existing E.ON dual-fuel customers. All four require an MCS-certified heat pump + smart meter. Rates change quarterly — verify current pricing with the supplier before switching.