THE SOUTHAMPTON FIELD GUIDE / AIR SOURCE HEAT PUMPS
Leave the engineer a way back to the unit for servicing. A Southampton heat-pump plan should show access as well as the equipment footprint.
START WITH THE PROPERTY
At a Southampton home, show not only where the outdoor unit could fit but how someone would approach it for service. Gates, fences and planted areas can turn a nominally clear position into an awkward one.
BEFORE YOU ACCEPT A QUOTE
Ask for the unit location, support, drainage, pipe run and any site preparation on the final plan. Those details should sit beside the heat-loss and hot-water design, not appear as late extras.
LOCAL COST EVIDENCE / OCTOBER 2026
A quoted installation price depends on the work inside the home. Electricity use depends on the finished design and tariff.
We could not verify a representative local average for a fully installed, family-sized system. Published installer figures mix starting prices, example homes and different scopes. Averaging them would suggest more certainty than the evidence allows.
For a useful comparison, ask each installer to itemise the heat pump, cylinder, radiator changes, electrical work and commissioning, then show the price before and after any eligible grant.
about £710approximate annual cost if the October–December 2026 unit rate lasted a full year
This is a model, not a measured bill or an average for families with heat pumps. It starts with 9,836 kWh, the 2024 mean annual domestic gas use per meter in Southampton. We apply 85% boiler efficiency and a heat pump seasonal performance factor of 3.1, then price the electricity at 26.47p per kWh in Southern England.
Calculation: 2024 mean gas kWh per domestic meter × 0.85 ÷ 3.1 × Ofgem electricity unit rate. The result is rounded to the nearest £10. It assumes the gas meter's entire use was for heating and hot water, so cooking and other gas use can make it too high. It does not include existing electricity standing charges, servicing, or changes to your other electricity use.
Gas consumption is by local authority, except London, which uses the London region. Oxfordshire combines its five districts by gas-meter count. The electricity rate follows the distribution region for the place; Oxfordshire spans two regions. Actual cost depends on your heat-loss survey, hot-water use, chosen tariff, controls and the installed system's measured performance. Ask the installer for a property-specific annual estimate.
ILLUSTRATIVE QUOTE COMPARISON
One layout squeezes a unit behind planting with no clear service approach.
Another moves it toward the gate and includes a longer insulated pipe run.
Compare access, sound, drainage and the pipe cost. A small footprint in the garden plan is not enough to approve the first location.
ANOTHER PROJECT AT THE SAME ADDRESS?
NEXT STEP IN SOUTHAMPTON
A serviceable unit location is only the beginning. Ask for room-by-room losses, radiator changes and hot-water provision on the same plan as the outdoor siting.