Heat Pump Emmission Savings
Heat pumps offer significant CO2 emission savings compared to traditional heating methods. Air source and ground source heat pumps can achieve seasonal coefficients of performance (SCOP) around 300%, reducing emissions to 0.069 kg CO2 per kWh, compared to 0.208 kg CO2 per kWh from conventional UK heating sources, an average reduction of 67%. By replacing fossil fuels with heat pumps, homeowners can substantially cut their carbon footprint and contribute to environmental sustainability.
General Emmission Savings
Heat Pump Emmissions
0.069 kg CO2/kWh
(Average UK Heating Energy Source Emmissions / SCOP)
Average Saving / kWh
0.139 kg CO2 (67%)
(Average UK Heating Energy Source Emmissions - Heat Pump Emmissions)
12,580 kWh / year
Reduction per year
813 kg co2e
Reduction over device life span
251,598 kWh
16,253 kg CO2e
Emmission Savings Based from UK Installations 2022-2023
The installation of heat pumps in the UK during 2022-2023 led to substantial CO2 emission savings. Air source heat pumps displaced mostly gas (49%) and oil (20%), resulting in weighted CO2 savings of 0.149 kg CO2e/kWh. Ground source heat pumps and shared ground loop systems also contributed to reductions, with weighted savings of 0.171 kg CO2e/kWh and 0.208 kg CO2e/kWh respectively. On average, households saved 0.176 kg CO2e per kWh used for heating, a reduction of 72%.
Source Boiler upgrade scheme
Source RenSMART - Fuels KWH and CO2
Air Source Heat Pumps
| Fuel type displaced | Installations replacing fuel type | Percentage replacing fuel type | Weighted kg CO2e / kWh | |
| Gas | 8,905 | 49% | 0.09727987765 | |
| Oil | 3,690 | 20% | 0.05240332095 | |
| None | 3,033 | 17% | 0 | |
| Direct electric | 1,709 | 9% | 0.018 | |
| Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) | 576 | 3% | 0.0069 | |
| Coal | 210 | 1% | 0.0037 | |
| Other | 172 | 1% | ||
| Unknown | 13 | 0% | ||
| Total | 18,308 | |||
| 82% | Replacing Known Fuel Source | |||
| 0.218 | Weighted kg co2e / kWh | |||
| 0.149 | Saving kg co2e / kWh |
Ground Source Heat Pumps
| Fuel type displaced | Installations replacing fuel type | Percentage replacing fuel type | Weighted kg CO2e / kWh | |
| Gas | 63 | 11% | 0.02299270073 | |
| Oil | 135 | 25% | 0.06405109489 | |
| None | 295 | 54% | 0 | |
| Direct electric | 33 | 6% | 0.01204379562 | |
| Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) | 9 | 2% | 0.003777372263 | |
| Coal | 9 | 2% | 0.006076642336 | |
| Other | 4 | 1% | ||
| Unknown | 0 | 0% | ||
| Total | 548 | |||
| 45% | Replacing Known Fuel Source | |||
| 0.240 | Weighted kg co2e | |||
| 0.171 | Saving kg co2e / kWh |
Shared Ground Loop Ground Source Heat Pumps
| Fuel type displaced | Installations replacing fuel type" | Percentage replacing fuel type | Weighted kg CO2e / kWh |
| Gas | 2 | 13% | 0.02666666667 |
| Oil | 2 | 13% | 0.03466666667 |
| None | 9 | 60% | 0 |
| Direct electric | 0 | 0% | 0 |
| Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) | 0 | 0% | 0 |
| Coal | 2 | 13% | 0.04933333333 |
| Other | 0 | 0% | |
| Unknown | 0 | 0% | |
| Total | 15 | ||
| 40% | Replacing Known Fuel Source | ||
| 0.277 | Weighted kg co2e | ||
| 0.208 | Saving kg co2e / kWh |
The average house that installed a heat pump in 2022-2023 saved 0.176 kg co2e per kWh they used for heating. A reduction of about 72%.
The column "Weighted kg CO2e / kWh" indicates the average amount of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions saved per kilowatt-hour of energy used by heat pumps. This figure is weighted based on the specific proportions of different heating fuels (such as gas and oil) that heat pumps replace, providing a comprehensive measure of the overall emissions reduction achieved by switching to heat pumps.
The "Weighted kg CO2e / kWh" can be calculated using the following equation:
Weighted kg CO2e / kWh = ( Σ (proportion of fuel type × CO2e savings per kWh for that fuel type) ) / total energy replaced by heat pumps