Heat pump service costs and maintenance plans in the UK (2026)

Quick answer: An air source heat pump service costs £180 to £300 in 2026, with some national firms charging a fixed £220. Most manufacturers make the annual visit a warranty condition. Dedicated maintenance plans are only just appearing: Octopus charges £12 a month, but only on heat pumps it installed itself.

How much does a heat pump service cost?

£180 to £300, depending on where you live and what’s on your wall, per Boiler Central (checked August 2026). Boiler Central itself advertises a fixed £220 service nationwide through MCS-accredited engineers, a useful pricing anchor if a local quote comes in high, though note the company went through a pre-pack administration in December 2025 and its business was sold on, so treat that figure as a benchmark rather than a recommendation.

That’s roughly double a gas boiler service, which runs £80 to £120. Why the gap? Far fewer engineers are qualified to work on refrigerant circuits, and scarce trades charge accordingly. As installations climb, expect that premium to shrink.

Budget around £200 a year and you won’t be caught out anywhere in the UK.

What gets checked during the service?

Boiler Central’s service specification is a fair template for the industry:

• Air filters cleaned or replaced
• Evaporator coil cleared of leaves and debris
• Refrigerant levels verified and the circuit pressure-tested for leaks
• Fan operation and electrical connections checked
• A full system performance test

Most of the value is in the boring parts: clean filters and a clear coil are what keep efficiency, and your bills, where the installer promised. We’ve covered the visit in more detail in what a heat pump service includes.

Do you need an annual service to keep the warranty?

Usually, yes. Boiler Central puts it plainly: most manufacturers “require annual servicing by a qualified technician as a condition of maintaining warranty validity”. Terms vary by brand in length and strictness; we’ve compared them in our heat pump warranty comparison.

There’s one notable dissenter. Octopus makes annual health checks optional under its Cosy Care plan and says they aren’t required to maintain its warranty, and it leans on remote monitoring instead. That’s a glimpse of where servicing might head. It only applies to Octopus’s own installs, though.

Until your manufacturer says otherwise in writing, treat the annual service as the premium that keeps your warranty alive. Coastal homes should go further: Boiler Central flags salt-air fouling as a reason to inspect more often.

What maintenance plans exist so far?

The boiler-cover industry hasn’t caught up with heat pumps yet. Two offers are worth knowing about.

Octopus Cosy Care: £12 a month, £144 a year, including an eight-year workmanship warranty running alongside the manufacturer’s, remote smart monitoring with faults often fixed remotely, and a 24-hour priority call-back promise. The catches: Octopus must have installed the pump, you have to join within two years of installation, and the system must stay connected to its data network.

Hometree heat pump cover: three tiers, from a servicing-only plan up to Your Heat Pump Plus, which folds in heating, plumbing, drains and electrics. Every tier includes the annual service, and the two repair tiers add a free replacement if the pump is beyond economic repair and under seven years old. Prices only appear at quote. We’ve covered the wider market, including what home insurance already handles, in our heat pump insurance guide.

For everyone whose pump wasn’t fitted by Octopus, the plan market is still thin, and that’s fine. Thin markets are a bad place to buy insurance you don’t yet need.

Plan or pay as you go?

If Octopus installed your pump, take Cosy Care. £144 a year against a £220 standalone service is already ahead before you price in the workmanship warranty and the monitoring.

For everyone else, pay as you go wins for now. A heat pump has fewer wearing parts than a gas boiler, the manufacturer warranty carries the risk through the early years, and roughly £200 a year buys the service that keeps it valid. Put the plan money in a repairs pot instead.

Our guides to heat pump maintenance costs and heat pump lifespan cover what to expect as the unit ages, and our heat pump hub is the place to start if you’re still choosing a system. Revisit the decision when the manufacturer warranty ends; that’s when repair cover starts earning its premium.

FAQs

How often does a heat pump need servicing?

Annually, because that’s the schedule most manufacturer warranties demand. Homes near the coast, or with heavy leaf fall around the outdoor unit, benefit from an extra visual check each autumn, which you can do yourself.

Can my gas boiler engineer service a heat pump?

Only if they’re trained on them. Work on the refrigerant circuit needs specific qualifications, so look for manufacturer accreditation or an MCS-linked firm rather than assuming a Gas Safe card carries over. It doesn’t.

Does a service plan replace the manufacturer warranty?

No, it sits alongside. Octopus adds a workmanship warranty on the installation, Hometree adds repair cover, and the manufacturer still covers the hardware on its own terms. Keep every service record whichever route you take, because that paperwork is what a warranty claim stands on.