Portsmouth · Heat pump installation
Heat pump installers in Southsea
One call covers MCS certified installation of air source heat pumps for heating and hot water, with the Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant applied for in Southsea: diagnosis, fixed price, work and sign-off. An F-Gas certified company, NICEIC approved, on Checkatrade.
- Checking emitters for a heat pump
- Checking whether planning permission is needed
- An oil, LPG or gas boiler near the end of its life
What you can do yourself, and what needs us
Never try to top up, release or handle refrigerant yourself. The law requires anyone working on equipment containing F gas to hold the right qualifications, and the company to be certified, and refrigerant lines can cause cold burns. If you suspect a leak, switch the system off and call us.
For air conditioning, cleaning the indoor unit’s filters is the main job owners can do where the manufacturer’s manual explains how. They come out, get a gentle clean and go back only when they’re dry. For a heat pump, the main owner jobs are a clear outdoor unit and sensible control settings.
Air source heat pumps in Southsea
Installing an air source heat pump in a home is zero-rated for VAT until 31 March 2027, then 5%. This is HMRC’s energy-saving materials relief, which applies to homes rather than businesses. For air-to-air systems, we confirm the VAT on your quote. Please treat this as general information rather than tax advice. If the problem is moving away from fossil-fuel heating and no space for a hot water cylinder, we can help.
Older homes in a town like Southsea can still suit a heat pump, though some need bigger radiators or better insulation first. The heat loss calculation shows what’s needed.
Think of the paperwork as the system’s health record: what was fitted or found, what was done and when. If anything goes wrong later, it helps the next engineer and the manufacturer and it’s worth keeping safe.
- Location
- Southsea (PO5, PO4, PO1)
- Wider area
- Portsmouth
- Credentials
- F-Gas certified, NICEIC approved, MCS
- Quote
- Fixed after a survey or photos
- Price guide
- Air-to-water £8,000–£16,000 before any grant (0% VAT for homes)
- Call
- 07833 053749
- Reviewed
- 30 October 2026
Air source heat pumps around Southsea
The coast is only about 1 mile from Southsea. Coastal sites are worth mentioning at the survey, as salt air affects the outdoor unit and its fixings. About 74% of homes in the Southsea area were built before 1919, according to Valuation Office Agency council tax records, and about 57% of households live in terraced houses, according to the last census (2021). Older homes can lose heat faster, so a room-by-room heat loss calculation, and sometimes insulation or larger radiators, comes before sizing a heat pump. Shared walls keep a terrace’s heat loss down, while gardens next door make the noise check on the outdoor unit important.
Homeowners near Fratton station often ask whether a heat pump can take over from the boiler, and the heat loss survey answers that. Period properties close to St Margaret of Scotland can suit a heat pump, though insulation and any heritage protection are checked first.
Southsea is about 2 miles south of Portsmouth, in Portsmouth. Across the PO5 area, we cover air source heat pumps. Our list for Portsmouth has 19 entries and Southsea is among them. For properties nearby, see our Worthing page, about 29 miles away.
Not far from Southsea, a recent job of ours was on East Street, Chichester (PO19), about 13 miles east: installing a Daikin wall-mounted unit in the dining area and a second unit serving the kitchen pass area.
Our working area takes in PO5, PO4 and PO1 in full. That includes properties on Bath Road, Liss Road and Beach Road and the roads around them. Other places close to Southsea include Milton (1 mile north-east), Fratton (1 mile north), Kingston (1 mile north), Landport (1 mile north-west) and Baffins (2 miles north). Further out, we also cover Hilsea (3 miles north), Wymering (4 miles north), Paulsgrove (5 miles north) and Cosham (4 miles north).
What’s near Southsea
Typical jobs here are in properties near The Festing pub, St Edmund's Catholic School and Mayville High School, among other places. For rail, the closest station is Fratton station, about 0.8 miles north of the centre. Well-known places in the area include St. Mary's Hospital (1 mile north) and Southsea Castle (1 mile south-west). For a walk, there’s Milton Locks.
What happens on the day
Each visit runs to the same pattern: agree the plan on site, put the dust sheets down, do the work, check the system and explain it all to you. On site, the work takes anything from a couple of days for air-to-air to the best part of a week for air-to-water with radiator changes. Most visits to homes in Southsea are booked for a weekday, with businesses fitted around trading.
- First, a chat about the property and your goals for the heating.
- A survey covers heat loss, radiators, hot water and where the outdoor unit could sit.
- You get our view on the right type for the house, and on whether the Boiler Upgrade Scheme applies.
- The system is installed and connected to the controls.
- We commission it, complete the MCS certificate and show you how to use it.
Getting ready for the visit
- Make sure someone can let us in at the agreed time
- Tell us about any building rules, permits or sign-in
- Mention any roof access, ladders or high-level work
How to get a quote
VAT is set out clearly on every quote, with the rate that applies to your job. Homes, businesses and different kinds of work can be treated differently for VAT, so we confirm it in writing rather than guess. To get one, ring 07833 053749 or email us.
Read more
Looking after your system
Looking after it is simple, and it helps at the next service:
- Book a yearly service
- Look at insulation alongside the heat pump
- Leave space around the outdoor unit
We show you how to use the controls and explain how a heat pump works differently from a boiler. Heat pumps tend to work best running steadily rather than in short bursts, and we’ll explain the settings for your home.
Keep the outdoor unit clear of leaves, plants and stored items. Airflow is what it runs on so keep it unobstructed.
Questions from Southsea
Will a heat pump in Southsea need planning permission?
There’s no single answer: the building and the outdoor unit position decide it. Central Southsea is a short walk from the Craneswater and Eastern Parade, Southsea Conservation Area. On a house, an air source heat pump can often go ahead under permitted development, with an outdoor unit of no more than 1.5 cubic metres and an installation that meets MCS 020(a), which includes a noise check. Those rights do not reach the grounds of a listed building, and conservation areas rule out walls or roofs facing a road. If that might affect you, we ask the planning department at Portsmouth council, usually the authority for Southsea.
Does the Boiler Upgrade Scheme cover homes in Southsea?
Yes, the scheme covers homes in England, including Southsea, if they qualify. Air-to-water and ground source systems attract £7,500. Air-to-air gets £2,500, but only where it takes over from fossil-fuel heating and covers the whole home’s heating demand. The installer applies, and we’re MCS certified.
What’s the price of a heat pump installation?
An air-to-water heat pump costs £8,000–£16,000 (0% VAT on homes) before the grant. Eligible homes in England and Wales can get £7,500 through the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, and we confirm eligibility before you commit.
How long does a heat pump installation take?
A typical installation takes from a couple of days to around a week, depending on the system and how much of the heating changes. The programme is planned to keep time without heating short and agreed before work begins.
Can I fit air conditioning or a heat pump myself?
Not the refrigerant work. Under the F-gas rules, it must be done by qualified engineers from a certified company, and a new electrical circuit is notifiable building work unless a registered competent person does it.
Will I get records for the system?
Yes, always. New installations come with commissioning details, F-Gas records and warranty information, and repairs and services get a record of the work.
Who has to arrange F-Gas leak checks?
Responsibility is shared between the operator, usually whoever owns or controls the equipment, and the service technicians. The interval depends on the refrigerant charge, measured in tonnes of CO2 equivalent: at least yearly for 5 to under 50 tCO2e, and every 6 months for 50 to under 500 tCO2e.
Also near Southsea
More services for Southsea
Managing agents and facilities teams in Southsea
The F-gas rules share responsibility for leak checking between the equipment’s operator and the service technicians. Where a building is let or managed, the lease or contract should make clear who looks after the system, and we can work for either side.
We regularly work with managing agents. Tell us the property, the work and the access arrangements and we’ll come back with a fixed-price quote.
A customer’s words
“Office air con broke down in the July heatwave. Called at 8am, engineer was here by noon and fixed within 2 hours. Brilliant emergency response. They now hold the service contract for the whole building.”
James T., Crawley, office manager