Xpert Energy Installations Ltd

08/07/2026

Updates to the Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant funding:

What is the Boiler Upgrade Scheme?
The government’s boiler upgrade scheme is administered by Ofgem and designed to encourage homeowners to replace fossil-fuelled heating systems with heat pumps, and in limited circumstances biomass boilers.
Under the scheme, eligible homeowners will be able to receive grants to support the purchase of low-carbon heating systems, which are more environmentally friendly than natural gas, oil, solid fuel or LPG boilers – and typically have lower running costs.

How long will the BUS scheme run?
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme is expected to run from April 2022 until April 2029

How much funding can I receive?
Under the current BUS Guidance (v5) heat pumps may be eligible for grant support of £7500. The Government announced in April 2026 that this will increase to £9000 where heat pumps replace oil or LPG installations and the house is not connected to the gas grid, and this increased grant is expected to be available for new applications from 21st July onward.

How will the scheme work?
Xpert Energy will apply to Ofgem for a grant “voucher” on your behalf, if eligible.
Once the application is made and approved, you will have 3 months to complete the work, or another application will have to be made and automatic renewal of the application is not guaranteed.
Once the works are complete, we will “redeem” the voucher and the grant will be paid to us, your installer. The value of the grant will be deducted from your invoices.

Who will be eligible?
All homeowners, small landlords and private landlords will be eligible to apply for grant. Some self-build projects will also be eligible.

For full details please refer to the detailed scheme Guidance document here.

17/02/2026

BUILDING FOR HEAT PUMPS AND LOW CARBON - INTERMEDIATE

Covering Air Source and Ground Source Heat Pumps, MVHR systems, good energy design and an overview of new SAP /part O and heating calcs

20/01/2026

How can I make my home “heat pump ready”?

Making your home heat pump ready: what you can do now.
Why should I get heat pump ready? Why not? It might save you money immediately, and help avoid some costs later too. Read on to find our more….
What does a “heat pump ready” look like?
It could be an Edwardian terraced house, a 1990’s semi, or even a detached Victorian home. The type of house matters less than what preparation you have done to move towards a net-zero future with economic and efficient renewable heating. So, what do you need to consider?
1. Plan a logical sequence of actions
If your existing heating system is working fine, then you have some time to plan ahead and schedule preparations to align plans for heating electrification with other plans for your home such as; redecoration, refurbishments or internal alterations, extensions, replacement of other heating system components (like hot water cylinder), or addition of solar PV and battery systems. Focus on “no regrets” actions so that you don’t end up with wasted investments (e.g. replacing an old radiator when it may need up-sizing in the future to suit a heat pump operating at lower temperature).
2. Understand, and reduce, your heat losses now
Heat is lost through the building fabric itself (walls, floor, roof, windows and doors), and through excessive ventilation (through gaps and holes). Addressing these opportunities now will reduce heating costs immediately, and also reduce your peak heat demand which might mean that a smaller, cheaper, heat pump can be specified when the time comes to replace your boiler.
Airtightness
High air permeability can account for more than 40% of total heat loss. While a home needs to “breathe” to prevent condensation and mould, and occupants need some fresh air, many homes haemorrhage heat through excessive ventilation.
Airtightness is now a specific item on an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) with a default, poor, value used in the calculations unless there is actual test data. Having an airtightness test with a decent score can immediately help achieve an improved EPC rating, making it more attractive to future buyers or tenants. A test costs around £200 from an organisation like BSRIA and the process will help identify significant leaks. During the test, the building is usually de-pressurised to a defined level and then the rate of air leakage measured. While the test is underway, you can walk round the building noting where draughts are being sucked into the house and make a plan to tackle these.
Your test findings can also be used to provide a more accurate result in the heat loss calculations which must be undertaken during design for a heat pump installation. Again, a poor default value is required to be used unless actual test results are available, so reducing air leakage will not only save energy but could reduce the size of heat pump and radiators needed and ongoing running costs.
Addressing sources of air leakage can often be a low-cost DIY job – sealing up around pipe and cable entries into the house, caulking gaps (under skirting boards for example), adding a letter box cover or brushes, draught excluder strips around doors, windows and loft hatches, or blocking up unused fireplaces.

Building fabric
Upgrading insulation to reduce heat lost through the building fabric is also important. Quick-wins such as adding loft insulation, or cavity wall insulation where suitable, are relatively low cost, and there is a wealth of advice available from the Energy Saving Trust. Other upgrades, like double glazing have significantly higher cost and longer payback through are often worth doing for other reasons like improved security or reduced maintenance.
3. Plan for lower flow temperature and possible pipework modifications.
Heat pumps run most efficiently at lower temperatures than fossil fuel boilers. While they can operate at similar temperatures to a gas boiler (60C or more), this will not reduce running costs, so heat pump systems should be designed to operate at a maximum of 45C, ideally lower. This means that some radiators are likely to need to be increased in size to provide the same output, and pipework may need to be upgraded or modified to ensure adequate heat can be delivered to the radiators.
Where a home has already had major thermal improvements such as upgrading from single to double glazing, addition of loft and cavity wall insulation for example, the existing radiators may already be oversized so often only a few require changing.
If you are planning to install a heat pump, try and map out where your existing pipework is located and if it is under floorboards then you might want to delay laying new floor coverings just in case they need to be lifted again as part of the works. Early discussions with a quality installation partner like Xpert Energy will help you plan for your future heat pump project.
4. Review your electrical infrastructure for capacity and safety
A gas or oil-fired central heating system usually has a small electricity supply to the boiler and controls, and a separate supply to an immersion heater in the hot water cylinder. These are likely to have separate fuses or miniature circuit breakers on your electricity consumer unit. A heat pump will typically need a larger power supply to the outdoor unit, and a power supply to the heat pump controls and immersion. It is likely that you would need to upgrade MCB(s) and/or have a spare “way” on the consumer unit to add a new dedicated circuit. If there is no spare capacity on the consumer unit then the heat pump installer or your electrician can arrange for an additional consumer unit to be installed. If you are planning other future electrical works like adding solar PV, battery system or EV charger, or need to modernise your consumer unit anyway, then it is worth planning allowance for suitable capacity rather than upgrading in a more piecemeal way and ending up with a messy installation.
Many homes now have a 100A incoming power supply which is often adequate, but if yours is only 60 or 80A then additional capacity may be needed especially if you’re planning other electrification projects like installing an EV charger. Xpert Energy liaise with the local electricity distribution companies to check capacity and obtain permission for heat pump connection as part of our installation processes.
5. Floor plans
Having floor plans of your home available will be helpful to a heat pump installer. They will also be needed if you want an airtightness test undertaken. A decent sketch with dimensions is fine, but if your home has had significant extensions, or been sold in the last few years, there may already be floor plans on the local authority Planning Portal, or on Rightmove.

Renewable energy solutions from Xpert Energy, including heat pumps, ventilation & heat recovery, and underfloor heating.

09/01/2026

Big energy savings!
Energy Savers Week 19-25 Jan 2026. Stay warm, spend less.
The annual Energy Savers Week from Citizens Advice and The Energy Saving Trust returns in January and is a great reminder to us all to look for opportunities to save money on your heating and wider energy use. Read on to find out more, but first, if you want to understand more about how energy is used in the home, this article from Nesta provides great insight from their extensive research:
How different households use energy and how much it costs them | Nesta Energy saving advice
Energy Savers Week helps individuals access advice and take action to save energy. Follow these links to see some of the advice available and take action yourself:
https://energysavingtrust.org.uk/campaign/energysaversweek/
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/energy/energy-supply/save-energy-at-home/
How do heat pumps save money?
Heat pumps are typically 3-4 x as efficient as a gas or oil boiler at providing space heating and hot water. However, electricity currently costs around 3 x as much as gas per unit (kWh). Nonetheless, heat pumps can definitely reduce your running costs, even compared to a mains gas-fired boiler, and there are several ways to ensure this:
Good system design:
Firstly, ensure that your heat pump system is properly designed, installed and commissioned by an experienced MCS accredited installer like Xpert Energy. Designing your heat pump system to operate at lower temperature than conventional fossil fuelled boilers delivers higher efficiency performance. For retrofit projects where a boiler is replaced with a heat pump, the temperature of radiators generally reduces to a maximum of 45-50C compared to perhaps 65-75C for the existing system. This means that some radiators and pipework are usually upgraded as part of the installation to ensure they deliver the right amount of heat to keep your home cosy.
Understand the controls:
We are used to running higher temperature heating systems intermittently as they are quick to respond and deliver heat, but running a heat pump “low and slow” for longer periods is more efficient and will help keep your home at a more constant and comfortable temperature. Don’t just take our word for it, the Energy Saving Trust provides a lot more detail here:
The most efficient way to run a heat pump - Energy Saving Trust
Consider switching to a “time of use” electricity tariff instead of a fixed rate tariff:
The Energy Saving Trust also provides useful information for those who have moved into a house and have no previous experience of operating a heat pump system. This article also notes that switching tariffs may provide opportunities to run your heat pump more economically. This is particularly true when paired with a battery storage system which can be charged up using cheaper tariff periods, and then used to run the heat pump during more expensive tariff periods.
What to do if you’re inheriting a heat pump - Energy Saving Trust
Maintenance:
Heat pump systems should not have significant maintenance requirements. However, they do need periodic inspection during which the engineer will ensure the system settings are correct for efficient operation, visually inspect condition of unit casing, secure and replace covers to reduce noise, check sensors are in the correct position and reading correctly, ensure the heat exchanger coil is not obstructed or excessively fouled with debris, and a range of other checks. They will also instruct the user on correct operation of the system and controls if required, and advise if any further maintenance is recommended.
Xpert Energy undertake servicing on a wide range of heat pump and MVHR (mechanical ventilation with heat recovery) ventilation systems. We don’t just service systems that we installed ourselves, so if your heat pump needs repair or you want to put in place a service plan, please give us a call on 0118 930 3600 and select Option 2 for our Service & Maintenance team.
See how much energy you can save during Energy Savers Week, and beyond.
If you would like to explore how a heat pump could reduce your heating costs, please call 0118 930 3600 Option 1, or email [email protected]
We will be attending Baughurst Repair Café at Heath End Hall, Baughurst on 18th January so please take the opportunity to come an chat with us there about your heating.

Information about saving energy at home. Get help on how to make your home more energy efficient, saving money heating your home and more.