By Emily Rivers
Last updated 16th May 2025

A ground source heat pump, also known as a ground-to-water heat pump or geothermal heat pump, uses captured heat from the ground outside to heat your central heating system and heat the water in a hot water cylinder feeding to all of your hot taps and showers.

A ground source heat pump is made up of a loop of buried pipework that circulates a mixture of water and antifreeze fluid which flows around the ground loop pipe buried in trenches.

Heat from the ground is absorbed into the fluid (thermal transfer fluid -TTF), which then passes through a heat exchanger into the heat pump. This raises the temperature of the fluid and then transfers that heat to water in your central heating, warming your radiators or the water for your hot taps.

Ground source heat pumps are low-maintenance that can provide cooling in summer as well as heating in winter, but they are more expensive than investing in an air source heat pump.

Are ground source heat pumps a good idea?

Less than half of UK homes are suitable to have a ground source heat pump installed. If your property benefits from garden space, then government offers include financial aid (The Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) scheme) to help with the expensive upfront cost of installing a ground source heat pump. Having one installed will save overall on your energy bills, helping to recover the upfront costs of the installation. The Energy Savings Trust estimates that a ground source heat pump could save you up to £1,400 a year.

For every unit of electricity used by a heat pump, three to four units of heat are captured and transferred to your home. This means that ground source heat pumps are 300 to 400% efficient in terms of its use of electricity.

They let off 70% less carbon dioxide emissions compared to traditional gas boiler systems. If the electricity used to power the pump is provided by renewable energy, carbon emissions can be reduced to zero.

Heat pump systems are safer than gas-fired or oil-fired boilers as they rely on electricity rather than generating heat by burning fuel.

They have less on-going maintenance as there is no need for an annual check as they don’t pose the risk of a carbon monoxide leak. With less need for maintenance comes a longer life span because the ground heat exchanger element of the heat pump installation has a design life of over 100 years.

Cost to install a ground source heat pump

How much space do I need to install a ground source heat pump?

Mid-terraced homes and blocks of flats are not suitable for a geothermal heat pump as they need outdoor space around your home to be installed. Unless there is a communal piece of garden and the expense agreed to be shared. The heat pump does not need a large garden, but space close by for the trenches and boreholes to be dug. A ground source heat pump needs more space than an air source heat pump. An average horizontal system needs approximately 700 square metres, whereas a vertical borehole system needs enough outside space for the drilling rig to access the site, but boreholes are only approximately 20 centimetres wide.

Installing the ground loop will need earth that is suitable for digging and able to have the necessary machinery to access. The space must be clear from trees because roots will be an issue when creating the trenches. The length of the ground loop and trenches depend on the size of your home and the amount of heat you need.

For a small garden space, boreholes can be drilled vertical to gather the heat. Although, this can be more costly than digging trenches as drilling down will need a specialist ground survey. Larger houses may need multiple boreholes, which must be placed 5-6 metres apart. Borehole depth depends on the heat demand of a property and the underlying geology but is likely to be around 75-200 metres deep.

Inside the home will need space for the indoor heat pump unit, which contains key components. The inside unit will also house the hot water cylinder.

How much will it cost to install a ground source heat pump?

Installing a ground source heat pump is a very costly upfront expense. This can range between £13,000 and £45,000 depending on the type and size of the system. The time installing the heat pump can take up to a week's worth of labour and you may need a landscaper as well as a gas engineer. The installation is dependent on the layout of your garden and access to the ground. If you have the space, trenches will be cheaper than a borehole to lay the ground loop. 

Trenches only need to be dug up to two metres deep, keeping costs anywhere from £13,000- £35,000.

A borehole has to be dug up to a hundred metres deep, resulting in an expense of £30,000 - £45,000.

The brand, model and size of the geothermal heat pump will greatly affect the overall cost as well as the size of the house as this depends on how much heat will be needed from the unit. A new build will be easier to fit a ground source heat pump as there is not yet an established garden and during the building work phase, it should be easier to get the digger into the garden to prepare trenches or boreholes.

#ghp#

Installing a ground source heat pump system involves work on the outside of the house and the inside;

Outside house preparation

  • hiring a digger machine
  • hiring a person to control the digger
  • digging the trenches
  • laying the coils of pipework
    (If not enough space for trenches then two or three vertical boreholes to be dug)

Inside house preparation

  • installing the heat pump
  • this may include a hot water cylinder
    or may be a small pump fitted in a kitchen cupboard

Heat pumps are also generally installed close to an external wall to give easy access to the ground array pipes but with an electrical power output to run the pump.

Cost to install a ground source heat pump

Per

Average total labour cost

Digging trenches for an 11kw heat pump

Per day

£3750

Creating boreholes for an 11kw heat pump

Per day

£9750

Installing the ground source heat pump inside the house

Per day

£300

Installing the pipe work in the trenches

Per day

£520

How long do ground source heat pumps last?

Ground source heat pumps are long lasting. People can generally get 20-25 years lifespan out of a unit with some lasting as long as 50 years. The pumps are designed well and there is not much that can go wrong with the pump. Of course, longevity will vary depending on model and manufacturer.

Gas boilers tend to need replacing every 12 years or so. So the fact that the heat pump can double that lifespan, coupled with the RHI scheme, makes embarking on such a costly expense more worthwhile.

Usually, the component to break first is the compressor. This is a part that is constantly in use so it tends to burn out and can be replaced without needing to replace the entire ground source heat pump.

Common issues with a ground source heat pump

Before calling out a professional gas engineer, some troubleshooting to do first to diagnose the issue, would be to check that;

  • power is communicating to the unit and no tripped circuit breakers
  • air filters and coils are clean or replaced if dirty
  • the loop pumps are running
  • the thermostat is at an appropriate temperature
  • heat pump is correctly set to heating or cooling
  • there are no signs of leaks or broken wiring 
  • water is properly circulating through the heat exchanger
  • the pressure inside of the loop system is correct

Common issues with ground source heat pump include;

A decrease in heating or cooling levels
This might be caused by restricted air flow, especially if the air filters appear dirty, replace them to solve the issue.

Cooling function not working
Perhaps a low refrigerant charge which could be caused by the heat exchanger clogged with limescale or a faulty reversing valve. Possible fix might be as simple as repositioning the thermostat for a better and more accurate reading. 

High amounts of indoor humidity
Too much airflow or a unit that is too big for your home. Adjusting the fan motor speed may fix this problem.

Air Temperature too cool
Perhaps from too much airflow and the fan speed needs adjusting.


Estimates for common heating engineer jobs;

Rates for other trades

Install a ground source heat pump cost in the UK
Estimate Install a ground source heat pump cost in the UK, including Ground Source Heat Pump valued at £9813, based on hourly/daily rate (excluding VAT or callout charges)
Location in UKInstall a ground source heat pump cost
Install a ground source heat pump near London£14,403
Install a ground source heat pump near Birmingham£13,563
Install a ground source heat pump near Leeds£13,518
Install a ground source heat pump near Glasgow£14,208
Install a ground source heat pump near Sheffield£13,593
Install a ground source heat pump near Bradford£13,518
Install a ground source heat pump near Liverpool£13,653
Install a ground source heat pump near Edinburgh£14,013
Install a ground source heat pump near Manchester£13,653
Install a ground source heat pump near Bristol£13,878
Install a ground source heat pump near Kirklees£13,488
Install a ground source heat pump near Fife£14,073
Install a ground source heat pump near Wirral£13,578
Install a ground source heat pump near North Lanarkshire£14,223
Install a ground source heat pump near Wakefield£13,503
Install a ground source heat pump near Cardiff£13,593
Install a ground source heat pump near Dudley£13,563
Install a ground source heat pump near Wigan£13,653
Install a ground source heat pump near East Riding£13,218
Install a ground source heat pump near South Lanarkshire£14,058
Install a ground source heat pump near Coventry£13,578
Install a ground source heat pump near Belfast£13,383
Install a ground source heat pump near Leicester£13,518
Install a ground source heat pump near Sunderland£13,938
Install a ground source heat pump near Sandwell£13,548
Install a ground source heat pump near Doncaster£13,608
Install a ground source heat pump near Stockport£13,668
Install a ground source heat pump near Sefton£13,623
Install a ground source heat pump near Nottingham£13,473
Install a ground source heat pump near Newcastle Upon Tyne£13,998
Install a ground source heat pump near Kingston-upon-Hull£13,233
Install a ground source heat pump near Bolton£13,698
Install a ground source heat pump near Walsall£13,563
Install a ground source heat pump near Plymouth£13,638
Install a ground source heat pump near Rotherham£13,578
Install a ground source heat pump near Stoke-on-Trent£13,578
Install a ground source heat pump near Wolverhampton£13,563
Install a ground source heat pump near Rhondda, Cynon, Taff£13,473
Install a ground source heat pump near South Gloucestershire£13,878
Install a ground source heat pump near Derby£13,458
Install a ground source heat pump near Swansea£13,548
Install a ground source heat pump near Salford£13,653
Install a ground source heat pump near Barnsley£13,503
Install a ground source heat pump near Tameside£13,653
Install a ground source heat pump near Oldham£13,638
Install a ground source heat pump near Trafford£13,698
Install a ground source heat pump near Aberdeen£14,253
Install a ground source heat pump near Southampton£14,013
Install a ground source heat pump near Highland£14,118
Install a ground source heat pump near Rochdale£13,608
Install a ground source heat pump near Solihull£13,563
Install a ground source heat pump near Gateshead£13,983
Install a ground source heat pump near Milton Keynes£14,163
Install a ground source heat pump near North Tyneside£13,998
Install a ground source heat pump near Calderdale£13,503
Install a ground source heat pump near Northampton£14,088
Install a ground source heat pump near Portsmouth£13,908
Install a ground source heat pump near Warrington£13,728
Install a ground source heat pump near North Somerset£13,773
Install a ground source heat pump near Bury£13,653
Install a ground source heat pump near Luton£14,298
Install a ground source heat pump near St Helens£13,638
Install a ground source heat pump near Stockton-on-Tees£13,788
Install a ground source heat pump near Renfrewshire£14,103
Install a ground source heat pump near York£13,383
Install a ground source heat pump near Thamesdown£14,508
Install a ground source heat pump near Southend-on-Sea£13,833
Install a ground source heat pump near New Forest£13,983
Install a ground source heat pump near Caerphilly£13,533
Install a ground source heat pump near Carmarthenshire£13,398
Install a ground source heat pump near Bath£13,923
Install a ground source heat pump near Wycombe£14,448
Install a ground source heat pump near Basildon£13,968
Install a ground source heat pump near Bournemouth£13,968
Install a ground source heat pump near Peterborough£14,133
Install a ground source heat pump near North East Lincolnshire£13,623
Install a ground source heat pump near Chelmsford£13,878
Install a ground source heat pump near Brighton£13,938
Install a ground source heat pump near South Tyneside£14,013
Install a ground source heat pump near Charnwood£13,458
Install a ground source heat pump near Aylesbury Vale£14,118
Install a ground source heat pump near Colchester£13,788
Install a ground source heat pump near Knowsley£13,668
Install a ground source heat pump near North Lincolnshire£13,398
Install a ground source heat pump near Huntingdonshire£14,118
Install a ground source heat pump near Macclesfield£13,653
Install a ground source heat pump near Blackpool£13,698
Install a ground source heat pump near West Lothian£14,223
Install a ground source heat pump near South Somerset£13,743
Install a ground source heat pump near Dundee£14,433
Install a ground source heat pump near Basingstoke & Deane£14,268
Install a ground source heat pump near Harrogate£13,503
Install a ground source heat pump near Dumfries & Galloway£13,503
Install a ground source heat pump near Middlesbrough£13,788
Install a ground source heat pump near Flintshire£13,413
Install a ground source heat pump near Rochester-upon-Medway£13,773
Install a ground source heat pump near The Wrekin£13,623
Install a ground source heat pump near Newbury£14,208
Install a ground source heat pump near Falkirk£14,298
Install a ground source heat pump near Reading£14,373
Install a ground source heat pump near Wokingham£14,388
Install a ground source heat pump near Windsor & Maidenhead£14,433
Install a ground source heat pump near Maidstone£13,908
Install a ground source heat pump near Redcar & Cleveland£13,743
Install a ground source heat pump near North Ayrshire£13,593
Install a ground source heat pump near Blackburn£13,518
Install a ground source heat pump near Neath Port Talbot£13,503
Install a ground source heat pump near Poole£13,968
Install a ground source heat pump near Wealden£13,908
Install a ground source heat pump near Arun£14,043
Install a ground source heat pump near Bedford£14,208
Install a ground source heat pump near Oxford£14,313
Install a ground source heat pump near Lancaster£13,893
Install a ground source heat pump near Newport£13,638
Install a ground source heat pump near Canterbury£13,743
Install a ground source heat pump near Preston£13,623
Install a ground source heat pump near Dacorum£14,313
Install a ground source heat pump near Cherwell£14,298
Install a ground source heat pump near Perth & Kinross£13,878
Install a ground source heat pump near Thurrock£14,088
Install a ground source heat pump near Tendring£14,193
Install a ground source heat pump near Kings Lynn & West Norfolk£13,413
Install a ground source heat pump near St Albans£14,388
Install a ground source heat pump near Bridgend£13,443
Install a ground source heat pump near South Cambridgeshire£13,938
Install a ground source heat pump near Braintree£13,833
Install a ground source heat pump near Norwich£13,713
Install a ground source heat pump near Thanet£13,818
Install a ground source heat pump near Isle of Wight£13,908
Install a ground source heat pump near Mid Sussex£14,043
Install a ground source heat pump near South Oxfordshire£14,343
Install a ground source heat pump near Guildford£14,358
Install a ground source heat pump near Elmbridge£14,433
Install a ground source heat pump near Stafford£13,533
Install a ground source heat pump near Powys£14,313
Install a ground source heat pump near East Hertfordshire£14,238
Install a ground source heat pump near Torbay£13,668
Install a ground source heat pump near Wrexham Maelor£13,758
Install a ground source heat pump near East Devon£13,578
Install a ground source heat pump near East Lindsey£13,383
Install a ground source heat pump near Halton£13,683
Install a ground source heat pump near Warwick£13,593
Install a ground source heat pump near East Ayrshire£13,443
Install a ground source heat pump near Newcastle-under-Lyme£13,578
Install a ground source heat pump near North Wiltshire£14,268
Install a ground source heat pump near South Kesteven£13,803
Install a ground source heat pump near Epping Forest£14,448
Install a ground source heat pump near Vale of Glamorgan£13,593
Install a ground source heat pump near Reigate & Banstead£14,343
Install a ground source heat pump near Chester£13,623
Install a ground source heat pump near Mid Bedfordshire£14,133
Install a ground source heat pump near Suffolk Coastal£14,613
Install a ground source heat pump near Horsham£14,073
Install a ground source heat pump near Nuneaton & Bedworth£13,548
Install a ground source heat pump near Gwynedd£13,143
Install a ground source heat pump near Swale£13,743
Install a ground source heat pump near Havant & Waterloo£13,938
Install a ground source heat pump near Teignbridge£13,668
Install a ground source heat pump near Cambridge£13,953
Install a ground source heat pump near Vale Royal£13,428
Install a ground source heat pump near Amber Valley£13,578
Install a ground source heat pump near North Hertfordshire£14,178
Install a ground source heat pump near South Ayrshire£13,548
Install a ground source heat pump near Waverley£14,313
Install a ground source heat pump near Broadland£13,758
Install a ground source heat pump near Crewe & Nantwich£13,638
Install a ground source heat pump near Breckland£13,488
Install a ground source heat pump near Ipswich£14,448
Install a ground source heat pump near Pembrokeshire£12,993
Install a ground source heat pump near Vale of White Horse£14,373
Install a ground source heat pump near Salisbury£14,058
Install a ground source heat pump near Gedling£13,488
Install a ground source heat pump near Eastleigh£14,043
Install a ground source heat pump near Broxtowe£13,518
Install a ground source heat pump near Stratford-on-Avon£13,578
Install a ground source heat pump near South Bedfordshire£14,208
Install a ground source heat pump near Angus£14,748
Install a ground source heat pump near East Hampshire£14,013
Install a ground source heat pump near East Dunbartonshire£14,223
Install a ground source heat pump near Conway£13,353
Install a ground source heat pump near Sevenoaks£14,103
Install a ground source heat pump near Slough£14,433
Install a ground source heat pump near Bracknell Forest£14,403
Install a ground source heat pump near West Lancashire£13,653
Install a ground source heat pump near West Wiltshire£14,268
Install a ground source heat pump near Ashfield£13,533
Install a ground source heat pump near Lisburn£13,323
Install a ground source heat pump near Scarborough£13,623
Install a ground source heat pump near Stroud£14,208
Install a ground source heat pump near Wychavon£13,758
Install a ground source heat pump near Waveney£13,743
Install a ground source heat pump near Exeter£13,683
Install a ground source heat pump near Dover£13,623
Install a ground source heat pump near Test Valley£14,058
Install a ground source heat pump near Gloucester£14,463
Install a ground source heat pump near Erewash£13,458
Install a ground source heat pump near Cheltenham£14,343
Install a ground source heat pump near Bassetlaw£13,578
Install a ground source heat pump near Scottish Borders£15,378