Posts tagged #heat-pump-tariffs

Guides, analysis and updates on UK electricity tariffs for heat pump and EV households.

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NIBE Heat Pump: Best UK Electricity Tariff 2026

NIBE heat pumps are built for cold-weather reliability, with SCOP ratings up to 5.0+ and strong performance well below freezing. That efficiency profile changes which electricity tariff actually saves you the most — particularly if you're running a ground source S-series model with steadier, less peaky demand than a typical air source unit. Here's what to look for in a tariff if you own a NIBE heat pump, and how to find the one that actually fits your usage.

· Ashley
Why Heat Pump Tariffs

Why Heat Pump Tariffs Beats Generic Comparison Sites

Generic energy comparison sites are built for average households on flat-rate tariffs — not heat pump owners running time-of-use tariffs with usage that shifts by season and time of day. Heat Pump Tariffs uses your actual half-hourly smart meter data instead of national averages, so the comparison reflects how your heat pump really runs. Here's why that distinction matters, and what it actually changes about the numbers you see.

· Ashley
Tariff comparisons

British Gas Heat Power explained: 10 hours of half-price electricity for heat pump owners

British Gas Heat Power gives heat pump households 10 hours of half-price electricity every day — seven overnight from midnight to 7am, and three more in the early afternoon from 1pm to 4pm. There's no peak rate. The standard rate applies for the remaining 14 hours. It's a simpler structure than Cosy Octopus and suits households that want meaningful cheap windows without managing a peak penalty.

· Ashley
Tariff comparisons

Cosy Octopus vs Octopus Agile: which is better for a heat pump in 2026?

Both tariffs are from Octopus Energy and both can deliver cheap electricity for heat pump owners. But they work completely differently. Cosy gives you the same three cheap windows every day, predictably. Agile gives you 48 half-hourly prices that change daily — sometimes very cheap, sometimes expensive. The gap between the two can be hundreds of pounds a year depending on how much automation you're willing to set up.

· Ashley
Tariff comparisons

EDF FreePhase vs British Gas Heat Power: the no-peak-rate heat pump tariff showdown

EDF FreePhase and British Gas Heat Power are the two main heat pump tariffs without a punishing peak rate. Both give you cheap overnight electricity; Heat Power adds a midday window that FreePhase doesn't have. FreePhase keeps you with EDF and has a simpler three-band day structure. Heat Power gives more total cheap hours but requires switching to British Gas. Here's the head-to-head.

· Ashley
Tariff comparisons

Cosy Octopus vs E.ON Next Pumped: which heat pump tariff wins in 2026?

Cosy Octopus and E.ON Next Pumped are the two most recommended heat pump tariffs in the UK right now. They take opposite approaches: Cosy concentrates deep discounts into 8 hours across three windows but charges a steep peak rate; Next Pumped spreads cheaper rates across 21 hours of the day with no extreme peak. Which one wins depends almost entirely on whether you can avoid those three peak hours.

· Ashley
Tariff comparisons

Economy 7 and heat pumps: why it usually isn't the right tariff in 2026

Economy 7 was designed for storage heaters and immersion tanks in the 1970s. Heat pumps are a different beast — they run throughout the day, not just overnight. That mismatch, combined with Economy 7's high daytime rate, means most heat pump households end up paying more on E7 than they would on a modern time-of-use tariff. Here's why — and the narrow cases where Economy 7 still makes sense.

· Ashley
Guides

Fixed vs variable tariffs for heat pump owners: which gives a lower bill in 2026?

Most fixed vs variable comparisons assume a typical household with flat usage. Heat pump owners are not typical — they use two to three times more electricity than average, most of it in winter, and a significant share is shiftable to off-peak windows. That changes the calculation considerably. A flat fixed rate competes not with the standard cap, but with the effective blended rate you'd actually achieve on a time-of-use tariff.

· Ashley
Tariff comparisons

Is Octopus Energy good for heat pumps? An honest look at their tariffs, hardware and support

Octopus Energy dominates heat pump conversations in the UK — they install systems, run dedicated tariffs, and have more heat pump customers than any other supplier. But is that dominance deserved? This post looks at the Cosy Octopus tariff, their installation service, customer satisfaction data, and the cases where a different supplier might actually serve you better.

· Ashley