Heat pumps in Wirral

Wirral in figures

• 143,253 households in 2021, the largest of the five boroughs and more than a quarter of all their households.
• 84.3% heated by mains gas alone, against 73.8% in England and Wales; 4.8% by electricity alone.
• 4.88% of domestic properties had no gas meter in 2024.
• 41.6% semi-detached, 23.5% terraced, 17.4% detached and 11.9% in purpose-built flats.
• 65.0% owned their home; 18.9% rented privately and 15.4% socially.

The most grants of the five

The Boiler Upgrade Scheme has paid for 257 heat pumps in Wirral since it opened in May 2022, more than any other borough covered here and more than Liverpool's 184. Relative to households Wirral also leads, at about 1.8 per 1,000. That is still well under half the England and Wales rate of about 3.9.

The statistics give no reasons. Wirral has more owner-occupiers than Knowsley or Halton (65.0% against 59.5% and 60.5%), and owners are the people the scheme is built for.

Homes on the peninsula

Wirral's housing is mostly semi-detached (41.6%), with terraces and detached houses making up most of the rest. For a semi, the outdoor unit usually goes at the side or rear, where there is space for air to flow and the pipe run to the house is short. A detached house can have up to two units under Class G, which helps where a large older house needs more heat than one unit gives.

Wirral has 11.9% of households in purpose-built flats. A flat needs the building owner's agreement for an outdoor unit and has a smaller size limit under Class G; see coastal homes.

Listed buildings

The national planning dataset holds 736 listed-building records in Wirral, the most of the five boroughs. Class G permitted development does not apply to a listed building or its grounds, so a heat pump at a listed house always needs planning permission, and listed building consent if it affects the building's character. Check the list before you plan the position.

The Warm Homes: Local Grant in Wirral

Wirral Council's page says the scheme is administered by the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, which holds the city region's allocation of £31,805,813. The national rules apply: a home rated EPC D to G, and a household that qualifies by postcode, means-tested benefit or a gross income of £36,000 or less. Whether registration is open today is not confirmed; the routes page has the detail.

What to check first

1. Whether the house is listed or in a conservation area.
2. The EPC rating, if the Warm Homes: Local Grant might apply.
3. Where an outdoor unit could go, and how far it would be from the nearest neighbouring window.
4. Your gas bills for the last year, so an installer's running-cost estimate can be compared with them.

Heating beyond gas

Gas dominates in Wirral, but not completely. In 2021, 4.8% of households used electric heating alone, 0.34% tank or bottled gas, 0.17% oil and 0.47% a heat network, the highest heat-network share of the five boroughs; 1.5% had no central heating. Each group meets a heat pump differently. An electric-heated home usually gains most on running costs but may need radiators fitted. An oil or LPG home with no mains gas can get the higher Boiler Upgrade Scheme band until 31 March 2027. A home on a heat network depends on whoever runs it.

Owners, landlords and tenants

65.0% of Wirral households owned their home in 2021, 18.9% rented privately, the highest private-renting share of the five boroughs, and 15.4% rented from a council or housing association. Owners and private landlords can use the Boiler Upgrade Scheme; social housing is outside it, so for the borough's 22,065 socially renting households a heat pump depends on the landlord's own plans. Private landlords can also use the Warm Homes: Local Grant for a qualifying home, contributing nothing towards the first property and half on later ones under the national guidance.

Wirral beside the other boroughs

Wirral has more households than any other borough here, the most grant-funded heat pumps and the most listed-building records, and its off-gas share is second only to Sefton's. Next door, Sefton runs its own Warm Homes scheme through the council, while the inland boroughs of St Helens, Knowsley and Halton share Wirral's combined authority route; Warm Homes routes sets all five out in one table, and the borough selector puts Wirral's figures beside its route.

Detached houses and flats

17.4% of Wirral households lived in a detached house in 2021, second only to Halton among the five boroughs, and 11.9% in purpose-built flats, second only to Sefton. Those two groups sit at opposite ends of Class G. A detached house can have up to two outdoor units, each up to 1.5 cubic metres, which suits a larger older house with a high heat demand, and it may have room in the garden for a ground loop under Class C. A block of flats gets one unit in total, no larger than 0.6 cubic metres, and needs the freeholder's agreement, which usually means a decision for the whole building rather than one flat. In between are the semis, 41.6% of households, where one unit at the side or rear is the usual answer. The house types and coastal homes pages go further.