Nearly 20% of Herefordshire homes run on oil or LPG, the highest share of any area we cover. Swap that boiler for an air source heat pump and the fuel deliveries stop, and homes off the gas grid get £9,000 towards it from the Boiler Upgrade Scheme.
Farmhouse, barn conversion or timber-framed cottage, our survey sizes each system for a proper county winter.
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What happens when you switch, from the first price to the old tank.
The Instant Heat Pump Quote asks about your oil or LPG system, so your price shows the right grant.
We measure every room and plan where the outdoor unit, cylinder and pipework will go.
Ofgem gets our application before any work starts: £9,000 for homes off the gas grid.
The heat pump, cylinder, controls and any bigger radiators go in, and the oil boiler is removed.
Emptied and made safe, or removed.
Of the ten areas we cover, Hereford has the most hours below −5°C and the coldest single hour on record since 2005.
That’s still well within what air source heat pumps are designed for. MCS installers size each system for a design temperature for your area, so it keeps up on the coldest nights. Rural homes, often detached and older, also tend to lose more heat, which is why we measure every room.
How cold it gets
Hourly 2-metre air temperatures from PVGIS (European Commission JRC) for a point in Hereford.
42% of Herefordshire homes are detached. A detached house can have two heat pumps under permitted development, which can suit large or older farmhouses.
The outdoor unit doesn’t have to be on the house. Permitted development covers buildings in the grounds too, with the pipes running underground.
Most heat pumps are permitted development, as long as they pass the MCS 020a noise check.
Herefordshire has 64 conservation areas, including Hereford’s historic centre. In them, the unit can’t go on a wall or roof facing a road, or nearer the road than the house.
Many black-and-white houses are listed. Permitted development doesn’t apply in a listed building’s grounds, so you’ll need permission.
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. Check your address on the council’s conservation area map.
Herefordshire Council has a home energy page with advice and crisis support. Its Warm Homes Local Grant is currently fully subscribed, with a waiting list.
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme is separate and open to homeowners whatever their income.
Herefordshire Council: home energy
Watch Ann Martindale talk about her experience of working with the Precision Green Energy team.
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Heat pump installers near Hereford
More for Herefordshire homes
Oil tanks, cold nights and outbuildings: the questions Herefordshire homeowners ask us most.
A heat pump runs on electricity and takes most of its heat from the outside air, so there are no oil deliveries, no tank to maintain and no boiler flue. It gives steady, lower-temperature heat rather than short hot bursts, so some rooms may need bigger radiators. Running costs depend on your home and your electricity tariff; your quote shows projected costs for your home.
Yes, if your home heats with oil or LPG and has no mains gas connection. The Boiler Upgrade Scheme gives £7,500 towards an air source heat pump, plus an extra £1,500 until March 2027 for off-gas homes. 16.2% of Herefordshire homes heat with oil only and 3.5% with LPG only, so many homes here qualify. See GOV.UK.
Once the heat pump is running, the oil tank isn’t needed. It should be emptied and made safe, then either left in place or removed. Any oil left in it can sometimes be used up before the switch-over if the timing works.
Yes. Permitted development covers buildings within the grounds of your house, so a garage, stable or barn wall can work, as long as the unit passes the noise check. The pipes then run underground to the house. Longer runs lose a little heat, so we keep them as short as the site allows.
Yes. Hereford has the coldest nights of the ten areas we cover: between 2005 and 2023 it was below −5°C for about 19 hours a year, and the coldest hour was about −13°C, on Christmas Day 2010. We size every heat pump for a design temperature for your area, so it keeps your home warm on nights like that, not just on average ones.
We cover Hereford and the surrounding villages, plus Ledbury, Leominster, Ross-on-Wye and Bromyard. For homes further out, such as around Kington, give us a call to check.
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