Ground source heat pumps
A ground source heat pump collects heat stored in the ground, through pipes buried in trenches or down a borehole, and uses it to heat your home and hot water. We install them as an Alto Assured Partner Installer: Alto Energy designs and commissions each system to MCS standards, so the government grant comes straight off your quote.
What’s included
What you get
- A survey of your home and land, with a room-by-room heat loss calculation
- System design to MCS standards by Alto Energy
- Groundworks for the loop, in trenches or a borehole
- Heat pump, hot water cylinder and controls
- Underfloor heating or radiator upgrades where needed
- Commissioning, the MCS certificate and the grant handled for you
Up to £9,000 off for homes moving from oil or LPG
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme gives £7,500 towards a ground source heat pump, plus £1,500 extra until March 2027 if your home is heated by oil or LPG and has no mains gas. Alto Energy applies for you, and the grant comes straight off your quote.
Alto Energy designs and commissions every system to MCS standards, which the government grant requires.
How it works
Heat from under your garden
The ground holds heat all year round. A ground source heat pump collects it through a loop of buried pipe and raises it to heat your home and hot water. The Environment Agency puts a well-working heat pump at about three units of heat for every unit of electricity.
Cooler fluid outWarmer fluid back
An honest answer
Is ground source right for my home?
- A good fit
Land for the loop
Trenches are typically 1 to 2 metres deep and need a good-sized garden or paddock. It's usually the cheaper way to lay the loop.
- A good fit
Short of space? A borehole
The pipes can go down a borehole instead. It needs specialist drilling, so it costs more, but takes very little room.
- A good fit
Moving off oil or LPG
Homes with no mains gas get the biggest grant: up to £9,000 until March 2027.
How the grant works - Worth knowing
When air source makes more sense
If there's no room for groundworks, or the budget is tighter, an air source heat pump may suit you better. We'll say so.
About air source
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme
Up to £9,000 off, taken straight off the quote
The government grant for ground source heat pumps. Alto Energy, the MCS-certified company we install under, applies for it on your behalf, and you only ever pay the balance.
- You own the home, in England or Wales
- It replaces oil, gas, LPG or electric heating
- One grant per property, and hybrid systems don't qualify
- Taken off your quote upfront, so you never wait to be paid back
- Every eligible homeAir or ground source heat pump
- £7,500
- Plus, for oil or LPG homesNo mains gas, until March 2027
- +£1,500
- Up toTaken off your quote
- £9,000
How a job runs
From survey to switch-on
- 1
Survey and heat loss
Your home, your land and a room-by-room heat loss calculation.
- 2
Design to MCS standards
Alto Energy designs the system and the ground loop.
- 3
Groundworks
Trenches dug or the borehole drilled, and the loop laid and tested.
- 4
Installation
Heat pump, hot water cylinder, controls and any radiator or underfloor work.
- 5
Commissioning
Alto commissions the system and you get your MCS certificate.
- 6
Handover and warranty
Alto's five-year parts and labour warranty, and we look after servicing.
FAQs
Common questions
It depends on how the loop goes in. Trenches are typically 1 to 2 metres deep and need a good-sized garden or paddock, but they're usually the cheaper option. Where space is tight, the pipes go down a borehole instead: that needs specialist drilling and costs more, but takes very little room on the surface. We look at your site at the survey and design around it.
Let's get it sorted.
Tell us what's going on and we'll get back to you, usually the same day. Quotes are free and there's no obligation.