Room-by-room heat loss
We work out how much heat each room loses on a cold day, so the heat pump and radiators are sized for your house, not a rule of thumb.
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Regency, Victorian and modern homes
Air Source Heat Pumps for Cheltenham’s Older Homes
Cheltenham is known for its Regency architecture, alongside plenty of 20th-century and new homes. Whatever the age of your house, a heat pump starts with a room-by-room heat loss survey, so it’s sized for how your home really holds heat.
With around 2,600 listed buildings and seven conservation areas in the town, we also check where the outdoor unit is allowed to go.
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Older homes
Will a heat pump work in an older Cheltenham house?
Usually, yes. An older home needs a bit more planning, not a different technology.
Simple fabric fixes
Loft insulation, draught-proofing and secondary glazing can cut heat loss without changing how a period home looks. Some changes to listed buildings need consent.
Radiators that fit
Heat pumps run radiators cooler. Big cast iron radiators often work well; some rooms may need a larger radiator.
Space for hot water
A hot water cylinder, often in an airing cupboard, utility room or the loft.
Cheltenham winters
How cold does Cheltenham get for a heat pump?
A little colder than Bristol or Gloucester, and well within what air source heat pumps are designed for.
Between 2005 and 2023, Cheltenham averaged around 413 hours a year below freezing, and only about 16 hours a year below −5°C. The coldest hour in those 19 years was about −11°C, in January 2013.
MCS installers size a heat pump for a design temperature for your area, so it keeps your home warm on the coldest days, not just an average one.
Hours below freezing each year
Average for 2005–2023
≈16 hoursa year below −5°C in Cheltenham
≈−11°Ccoldest hour, January 2013
Hourly 2-metre air temperatures from PVGIS (European Commission JRC) for one point in each town. Your survey uses the design temperature for your postcode.
Planning
Heat pumps in Cheltenham’s conservation areas and listed homes
Most heat pumps are permitted development, as long as they pass the MCS 020a noise check. In Cheltenham, two things come up often.
Conservation areas
In Cheltenham’s seven conservation areas, the outdoor unit can’t go on a wall or roof facing a road, or nearer the road than any part of the house. Rear gardens and courtyards usually work.
Listed buildings
Permitted development doesn’t apply in the grounds of a listed building, so you’ll need planning permission, and listed building consent is likely for work to the building itself.
Council guidance
Cheltenham Borough Council’s Climate Change SPD, adopted in June 2022, covers retrofit and is used when planning decisions are made.
Rules from the Planning Portal. Permitted development rights can be removed by a planning condition or an Article 4 Direction, so we check your address at the survey.
Planning a heat pump for a listed home?
We’ll suggest the least intrusive spot for the outdoor unit and the pipe runs, and give you the details you need for your application.
- Siting that keeps the unit out of view
- Pipe routes that avoid historic features
- Product details for your application
Air-to-air heat pumps for flats and smaller homes
An air-to-air heat pump heats rooms directly through indoor units, and can cool them in summer. It now qualifies for a £2,500 Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant.
- Heating and cooling from one system
- No radiators or cylinder needed
- Hot water heated separately
In a flat? Check these first
About 27% of Cheltenham homes are flats, including flats in converted houses.
- Permission from your freeholder or management company
- In a conservation area, the unit can’t face the road
- A smaller outdoor unit on a block of flats
What happens next
Your heat pump installation, step by step
- 1
Get your price
Use the Instant Heat Pump Quote to see your price with the grant taken off.
- 2
Survey and siting check
Room-by-room heat loss, radiators, cylinder space, and whether your home is listed or in a conservation area.
- 3
Permission, if needed
Most homes go straight to installation. Listed homes need consent from Cheltenham Borough Council first.
- 4
Installation
Outdoor unit, cylinder, any radiator changes and controls, with the house kept as tidy as we found it.
- 5
Grant, certificate and handover
We claim the grant, register the install with MCS and show you how to get the best from your controls.
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Areas we cover
Heat pump installers across Cheltenham
We install heat pumps across the town and surrounding villages, including:
- Charlton Kings
- Leckhampton
- Prestbury
- Pittville
- Montpellier
- St Mark’s
- Hatherley
- Up Hatherley
- Benhall
- Hesters Way
- Fairview
- Whaddon
- Swindon Village
- Bishop’s Cleeve
- Woodmancote
- Shurdington
Heat pump installers near Cheltenham
GloucesterWhere our office isTewkesburyTewkesbury and the ValeThe CotswoldsCotswold villagesCirencesterThe south Cotswolds
More for Cheltenham homes
Cheltenham FAQs
Heat pumps in Cheltenham: common questions
Including the period-home and planning questions we’re asked most in Cheltenham.
Live in a listed or period home?Call 01452 471031 and we’ll talk you through the options first.
Can I put a heat pump on a listed building in Cheltenham?
Yes, with permission. Permitted development doesn’t apply within the grounds of a listed building, so the heat pump needs planning permission, and listed building consent is likely to be needed for work to the building itself, such as new pipe runs. With around 2,600 listed buildings in Cheltenham, it’s worth checking early. We’ll suggest the least intrusive spot for the unit. See the council’s listed buildings guidance.
Where can the outdoor unit go in a Cheltenham conservation area?
Not at the front, in most cases. In Cheltenham’s seven conservation areas, a heat pump can’t go on a wall or roof that faces a road, or be nearer the road than any part of the house. A rear garden, courtyard or side wall that doesn’t face the road usually works. You can check your address on the council’s conservation area map.
Do I need to insulate my house before getting a heat pump?
Not necessarily. The heat loss survey shows where your home loses heat. Simple fixes like loft insulation and draught-proofing can mean a smaller heat pump and lower running costs, so we’ll tell you if they’re worth doing first. On a listed building, check before changing windows, walls or floors.
Can I keep my cast iron radiators with a heat pump?
Often, yes. Heat pumps run radiators at lower temperatures, so what matters is whether each radiator is big enough for its room. Large cast iron radiators often are. The room-by-room survey shows which rooms, if any, need a bigger radiator.
Is there a grant for air-to-air heat pumps?
Yes. The Boiler Upgrade Scheme now includes £2,500 towards an air-to-air heat pump. Air-to-air units heat rooms directly through indoor units, and can cool them in summer, but they don’t heat your hot water, so you’d keep a separate way of doing that. To be permitted development, a heat pump can’t be used only for cooling. See GOV.UK.
Does Cheltenham Borough Council have guidance on low carbon heating?
Its Climate Change Supplementary Planning Document, adopted in June 2022, sets out how the council expects buildings to respond to climate change, including retrofit, and is used when it decides planning applications. Most heat pumps don’t need an application, but it’s useful reading for listed and conservation area homes. See the council’s SPD page.
A heat pump that suits your Cheltenham home
See your price online in minutes, or book a free survey and siting check.
Instant Heat Pump QuoteOr book a free survey · call us on 01452 471031
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