The three choices in front of you
A boiler that has stopped, or is clearly on its way out, leaves you with three routes. Each commits you to something different.
| Repair | New gas boiler | Heat pump | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heat back on | Usually within days | Usually within a week or two | Weeks: survey, quote, grant application, installation |
| What it commits you to | Nothing beyond the repair | Gas, for the life of the boiler, typically ten to fifteen years | Electricity for heating, for twenty years or more |
| Grant | None | None for most homes (ECO4 for some lower-income households, until 31 December 2026) | £7,500 from the Boiler Upgrade Scheme; £9,000 for eligible off-gas oil and LPG homes |
| Who does it | A Gas Safe registered engineer | A Gas Safe registered engineer | An MCS-certified installer, who applies for the grant |
| Good when | The fault is small and the boiler is otherwise sound | There is no space for a cylinder, or you are moving soon | You own the home, plan to stay, and can bridge a few weeks |
The mistake is not choosing a gas boiler. It is choosing one in a panic, on the day the heating fails, without knowing the heat pump option existed.
First, buy yourself time
Before deciding anything, deal with the immediate problem.
- Safety first. If you smell gas or a carbon monoxide alarm sounds, leave and call the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999. For any gas work, only use engineers on the Gas Safe Register, and check the engineer’s ID card.
- Check what you are already covered for. Citizens Advice suggests checking a warranty, a guarantee, boiler cover or home insurance before paying for anything.
- Get a diagnosis, not a sales visit. Ask the engineer what the fault is, what the repair costs and how long the boiler is likely to last after it. A written answer is worth having.
- Bridge the gap. Plug-in electric heaters for the rooms you use, and the immersion heater for hot water if you have a cylinder, keep a home going for weeks.
- If you rent, tell the landlord. Citizens Advice is clear that they are responsible for repairing or replacing the boiler. Our guide for private tenants explains how a heat pump can come into that conversation.
A cheap repair that buys a season is often the best money spent in the whole process, because it turns an emergency into a decision.
The signs a boiler is on its way out
A breakdown rarely comes from nowhere. These are the signs engineers see in the year before one:
- pressure that keeps dropping and needs topping up every few weeks;
- lockouts and error codes that come back after a reset;
- leaks under the boiler or from the pressure relief pipe outside;
- a pilot light or ignition that fails repeatedly;
- banging, gurgling or whistling from the boiler or the pipework;
- radiators that are cold at the bottom or take far longer to warm;
- repair bills that are rising year on year, or parts the engineer struggles to source;
- a boiler old enough to be non-condensing, which usually means fitted before about 2005.
None of these means you must act today. All of them mean it is time to decide what comes next while you still have heating.
Why a breakdown is when people choose badly
A gas boiler fitted this winter will be heating the home well into the 2040s. That is a long time to be tied to gas prices and a gas standing charge, and it is a decision most people make in a cold house, in a hurry, from the only quote they could get quickly.
The heat pump route is slower to start but not harder. The Boiler Upgrade Scheme has no boiler age or condition test, no income test and, since April 2026, no EPC requirement. What it needs is a survey and a few weeks. If the boiler is still limping along, you have those weeks. If it has died, a repair or temporary heating gives them back to you.
What the heat pump route looks like from a cold house
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Step 1: Keep warm this week
A repair if it is cheap, or electric heaters and the immersion heater. Decide nothing else yet.
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Step 2: Survey
An MCS-certified installer measures each room, finds a place for the outdoor unit and the cylinder, and checks the radiators and electrics. Ask for the earliest slot.
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Step 3: Quote with the grant deducted
The quote must show the full price, the £7,500 grant and the balance. Compare two if you can.
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Step 4: Installer applies to Ofgem
Ofgem emails you; you confirm within 14 days. Nothing is sent to you to pay.
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Step 5: Installation
The voucher gives the installer 3 months. Installation itself takes a few days, with the old boiler removed and the gas capped at the boiler.
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Step 6: Handover and the gas account
Controls explained, weather compensation on. If nothing else uses gas, ask the supplier to remove the meter and close the account.
Our step-by-step guide to getting an air source heat pump through the scheme covers each stage in detail, including the application the installer makes on your behalf.
The 120-day rule, if things move fast
An application can be made after a system is commissioned, but only if it is properly made within 120 days, and the quote must still have shown the grant deducted. Agree with the installer before any work starts that the application will be made. A heat pump fitted “to get the heat back on” with no application behind it loses the grant.
When a new gas boiler is still the right answer
A heat pump is not the answer for every breakdown, and this site does not pretend otherwise.
- There is nowhere for a cylinder. A heat pump almost always needs one. A small flat with a combi and no cupboard space is the hardest case.
- You are moving within a year or two. The grant is tied to the property, not to you, and the design work benefits the next owner more than you.
- You rent and the landlord will not act. A tenant cannot apply for the scheme. A landlord who wants a quick fix will usually get one.
- The home loses a great deal of heat and cannot be insulated soon. A heat pump can still work, but the survey may show a system that is expensive to run until the fabric is improved.
If you heat with oil or LPG and have no gas connection, the answer tilts the other way: the enhanced £9,000 value applies, and an oil tank or LPG supply is one more thing a heat pump removes. Our heat pump vs gas boiler guide sets the comparison out fairly, and our boiler replacement page covers the gas route properly.
The one thing a working boiler gives you
Time. A boiler that is ageing but running lets you have the survey, compare quotes, plan the cylinder and the radiators and choose an installation date, with the heating on throughout. A boiler that has failed takes all of that away.
Plan before it fails
If your boiler is showing any of the signs above, or is simply old, have a heat pump survey this side of its breakdown. It costs nothing to find out what your home would need, the grant is not affected by the boiler still working, and the decision gets made in a warm house instead of a cold one.
Check your property
Pick the grant you want to check. Three quick checks, then our team calls you back. It is free, with no obligation.
