Will I Need New Radiators for a Heat Pump? Leicester Homes Explained

It depends on what you have now

Your home now	What to expect
Gas boiler, interwar or post-war semi	1–3 radiators upgraded
Gas boiler, Victorian terrace	3–5 radiators upgraded
Gas boiler, large villa	5 or more
Electric storage heaters	A full new set of radiators and pipework

Your survey will give the exact list, room by room.

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Why radiators need to be bigger

Radiators give out more heat the hotter they are. A gas boiler typically runs them very hot, around 70°C. A heat pump runs them much cooler, around 45–50°C, to stay efficient. At that temperature, a radiator gives out only about a third to a half of the heat printed on its label.

If your old radiators were generously sized, they may still be fine. If they were only just big enough with a gas boiler, they’ll need replacing with larger ones.

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Rooms that usually need upgrading

In a typical Leicester Victorian terrace:

• the front room with the bay window — big glass area, outside wall, often a chimney
• the back bedroom over the kitchen — three outside walls
• the kitchen extension itself — flat roof and outside walls

In an interwar semi, it’s often just the larger rooms on the exposed side of the house. Mid-terrace rooms with neighbours on both sides often keep their radiators.

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Homes with storage heaters

If your home is heated by storage heaters, there are no radiators or pipes to connect a heat pump to. A full wet heating system is installed: a radiator in each room and pipes running to them, often under the floors. It adds roughly £4,000–£7,000 and a few extra days, but the running-cost savings compared with storage heaters are large — often over £1,000 a year. For small flats, an air-to-air heat pump (warm air, no radiators, £2,500 grant) can be a simpler alternative, though it doesn’t heat water.

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Choices of radiator

• Bigger version of what you have — the simplest swap.
• Double or triple panel — more heat from the same wall space, handy in small terraced rooms.
• Column radiators — suit period homes.
• Fan-assisted radiators — extra output where there’s little wall space.

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What it costs

Around £350–£600 per radiator, fitted, is typical. A Leicester terrace usually adds £1,200–£2,200 to the job. It’s included in the quote, and the grant covers the whole installation.

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Microbore pipes

Lots of Leicester homes had heating fitted in the 1970s and 80s with thin microbore pipes, which may not carry enough water for a heat pump. Your surveyor should check. Replacing some sections means lifting floorboards and adds cost.

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Why not just run it hotter?

You could run the heat pump hotter instead of fitting bigger radiators, but it would cost more every year. See flow temperature explained. Bigger radiators are a one-off cost; higher bills last for the life of the system.

Related: booking a heat loss survey · Victorian terraces and heat pumps