The price cap will rise by £63 in October, the third increase this year. Against that backdrop, Centrica’s claim that eco-tech has moved “from Tomorrow’s World to today’s homes” sounds like a sales pitch. Except it’s backed by numbers.
As reported by Centrica, the parent company of British Gas, the shift from prototype to product is happening faster than most homeowners realise. Heat pumps, solar panels, and smart home batteries are no longer exhibits at the Science Museum, they are being installed on semi-detached homes in Milton Keynes, Leeds, and Bristol.
What Centrica’s data actually shows
Centrica’s own figures reveal that British Gas installed over 50,000 smart home devices last year alone. Not trial units, paid-for installations. The company says the average heat pump install now costs between £7,000 and £13,000 after the Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant of £7,500. That’s within striking distance of a new gas boiler, which runs £2,500–£4,000 but offers no future fuel savings.
Ofgem’s latest data shows the typical household using a heat pump saves around £300 a year compared to a gas boiler running on current price-cap rates. The catch: your home needs decent insulation first. A draughty 1930s semi will leak that heat straight through the loft. The Energy Saving Trust recommends topping up loft insulation to 270mm and cavity-wall filling before even thinking about a heat pump.
Who qualifies, and who doesn’t
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme is open to all homeowners in England and Wales, but it’s not a blank cheque. You need an EPC with no outstanding recommendations for loft or cavity-wall insulation. That rule alone blocks an estimated 40% of applicants, according to industry figures seen by The Guardian. Scotland runs its own Warmer Homes Scotland programme, with different eligibility.
Solar panels are simpler. A typical 4kW system costs £5,000–£6,500 and can cut a household’s electricity bill by 50–70%. The Smart Export Guarantee pays you for surplus power sent to the grid, currently around 5–15p per kWh, depending on your supplier. Octopus Energy pays the highest rates, at 15p/kWh for their outgoing tariff.
What the EPC impact looks like
An EPC rating of C or above is becoming a de facto requirement for mortgage lending. Nationwide and Barclays already offer lower rates for homes rated A–C. Adding solar panels alone can lift a D-rated home to a C. A heat pump plus solar and battery storage can push it to a B.
Estate agent data from Rightmove suggests a one-band EPC improvement adds 5–14% to a property’s sale price. On a £300,000 home, that’s £15,000–£42,000, far more than the cost of the upgrades. Yet only 42% of UK homes currently have an EPC of C or above, according to the government’s latest statistics.
What this misses
But the Centrica narrative glosses over two realities. First, installers are still scarce. Heat pump installations in the UK hit 60,000 last year, a record, but that’s a fraction of the 1.7 million gas boilers sold. Wait times for a qualified heat pump installer in some regions exceed six months. Second, the upfront cost remains a barrier for lower-income households. Even with the £7,500 grant, a heat pump costs more than a boiler, and solar panels require capital many renters and cash-poor homeowners don’t have.
The government’s Great British Insulation Scheme is meant to help, but it has reached only 30,000 homes since launch, against a target of 300,000. The National Audit Office called its delivery “significantly behind schedule” in a report last month.
Households on standard variable tariffs can check their eligibility for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme at gov.uk from 4 November. Applications close on 31 March 2027. For solar, start by getting three quotes from MCS-certified installers, the Microgeneration Certification Scheme mark is non-negotiable for grant access. The technology is here. The infrastructure to install it at scale is not, but that gap is narrowing faster than most people think.
Frequently Asked Questions
After the Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant of £7,500, a typical air-source heat pump installation costs between £7,000 and £13,000, depending on the size of your home and whether you need new radiators or hot water cylinder upgrades. Running costs are roughly £300 a year less than a gas boiler under the current price cap.
Renters cannot typically install solar panels without landlord permission, but some housing associations and councils offer shared-ownership or rent-to-own schemes. If you own your home, a 4kW system costs £5,000–£6,500 and can pay for itself in 8–12 years through bill savings and the Smart Export Guarantee.
