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

Why Octopus dominates the heat pump conversation

Octopus is now the UK's largest energy supplier, and they've made heat pumps a central part of their proposition. They manufacture their own heat pump hardware (the Cosy range, built near Belfast), install systems nationwide, and run a dedicated tariff — Cosy Octopus — designed specifically for heat pump households.

For a first-time heat pump owner researching tariffs, "just go to Octopus" is advice you'll encounter constantly. It's not wrong. But it deserves unpacking.

The Cosy Octopus tariff

Cosy Octopus is a time-of-use tariff with three daily cheap windows: 04:00–07:00, 13:00–16:00, and 22:00–00:00. During those hours, electricity is approximately 51% cheaper than the standard day rate. Outside them, you pay the standard cap rate. During 16:00–19:00, you pay a peak rate roughly 50% above the day rate.

Using April–June 2026 rates as a benchmark:

From March 2026, Cosy Octopus became a six-month fixed tariff with a £25 exit fee. Previously it was a no-exit-fee variable. The rate structure and window timings are unchanged, but the commitment is now longer.

The case for Cosy: Eight hours of cheap electricity per day is more than any other dedicated heat pump tariff currently offers. A well-scheduled household — hot water heated in the 04:00–07:00 window, space heating preheated before the 16:00 peak — can achieve an effective blended rate well below the standard cap. Active load-shifters typically save £300–£400/year compared to staying on a standard variable tariff.

The case against Cosy: The 16:00–19:00 peak rate is unforgiving. At ~51.7p/kWh, a heat pump running unscheduled during that window costs 3.5x what it costs during the cheap hours. Households that can't reliably avoid the peak — because of occupancy patterns, an older heat pump without flexible scheduling, or poor insulation — may not benefit from Cosy as much as they'd expect. For those households, a tariff without a peak rate (like EDF FreePhase or E.ON Next Pumped) may deliver better results with less risk.

You can compare what Cosy Octopus would actually cost you — versus EDF, E.ON, British Gas and others — using your real half-hourly usage data on Heat Pump Tariffs.

Octopus's other heat pump-relevant tariffs

Cosy is the headline product, but Octopus offers several other tariffs worth knowing about:

Octopus Agile — 48 half-hourly slots priced against wholesale electricity. Can deliver very low rates (sometimes negative) during periods of high renewable generation, but also spikes during grid stress events. Well-suited to households with home automation or battery storage that can respond to prices automatically. Requires comfort with volatility.

Octopus Tracker — daily rates that follow wholesale prices, smoothed relative to Agile. Less extreme swings, still cheaper than the cap on most days. A reasonable middle ground for households that want wholesale exposure without half-hourly complexity.

Flexible Octopus — their standard variable tariff, priced at or near the Ofgem cap. Not specifically a heat pump tariff, but a sensible baseline if you're new to Octopus and want to assess your usage before committing to a time-of-use product.

Octopus as a heat pump installer

Separately from the tariff question, Octopus is one of the UK's largest heat pump installers. Their approach is built around standardisation: a limited product range (the Cosy 6, 9, and 12 kW units), a national installation team, and fixed upfront pricing.

Key facts as of mid-2026:

• Octopus states that 91% of their heat pump quotes come in below the UK national average installation cost after the £7,500 Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) grant
• 89% of Octopus heat pump customers report satisfaction with their system's performance, including through the cold January 2026 period
• 85% say their heat pump costs the same or less to run than their previous gas boiler
• The Cosy range uses R290 (propane) refrigerant and achieves real-world SCOPs of 3.5–4.1 on well-installed systems
• Systems come with an 8-year product warranty and 5-year labour warranty

The limitation: Octopus installs their own hardware only. If you want an independent installer to fit a Vaillant, Daikin, or Samsung unit, Octopus can't help with installation — though you can still use their tariffs regardless of who made your heat pump.

Customer service

Octopus scores around 4.8/5 on Trustpilot from over 800,000 reviews, making them one of the highest-rated energy suppliers in the UK. Praise consistently focuses on transparency, responsiveness, and their handling of billing disputes. Complaints, where they arise, tend to involve smart meter setup or switching delays.

For heat pump customers specifically, Octopus offers optional remote servicing through their Cosy hub — monitoring performance data without requiring an annual engineer visit.

Where Octopus is not automatically the answer

Your house can't avoid the 16:00–19:00 peak. If you work from home and need heating during peak hours, or your heat pump isn't smart enough to schedule around windows, the Cosy peak rate can undo the cheap-window savings entirely. Run the numbers with your actual usage profile before switching.

You want a no-exit-fee variable tariff. The March 2026 change means Cosy now requires a six-month commitment with a £25 exit fee. If you're uncertain about your setup or expecting a change (moving house, solar installation, major home renovation), a no-exit-fee tariff from EDF or E.ON may give you more flexibility.

You're not an Octopus customer and switching is complicated. Cosy Octopus requires switching your electricity supply to Octopus. If you're mid-contract with another supplier, have a complex meter setup, or are in a recently switched situation, the admin may delay your access to cheap-rate hours.

You have solar panels or a battery. Octopus Flux is typically a better fit for households with significant solar export, as it prices export as well as import dynamically. Cosy is optimised for import-heavy heat pump households without generation.

The honest verdict

For most heat pump households without solar or battery storage, Octopus and Cosy Octopus represent the strongest overall package in 2026: the most cheap hours, strong customer service, good installation options, and genuine transparency about performance data.

The caveats are real though. The peak rate requires active management. The six-month fix means you're committed for longer than you were a year ago. And "best for most people" is not the same as "best for you specifically" — which depends on your usage pattern, DNO region, and how much load-shifting you can realistically do.

The only way to know for certain is to compare against your real usage data. Heat Pump Tariffs does exactly that — Cosy Octopus alongside EDF FreePhase, E.ON Next Pumped, British Gas Heat Power, and others — using your actual half-hourly consumption, not national averages.

Already on Octopus and wondering if Cosy is the right tariff for you? Run a comparison — you can compare Cosy against Agile and Tracker too.