Heat pumps are often compared to gas. The comparison is usually wrong — because it ignores timing.
A typical setup
Air source heat pump. COP around 3–4. Agile tariff. This is a very common UK setup now.
The overnight scenario
Electricity overnight on Agile: 3p per kWh. Heat pump COP: 3.5. Effective heat cost: 3 ÷ 3.5 = 0.86p per kWh.
Heat pump overnight: ~0.86p per kWh heat. Gas (after boiler efficiency): ~6p per kWh. It's not close.
Pricing and demand patterns shift daily. Fixed schedules rarely capture the highest-value windows.
"Heat pumps are expensive"
This is where the perception breaks — because people look at peak usage. At 6pm, electricity is 35p with a COP of around 2.5: 35 ÷ 2.5 = 14p per kWh heat. Now it's worse than gas. Same system. Different outcome.
The difference isn't the technology. It's when it runs.
What actually happens
Most homes heat reactively — turning heating up when cold, running during peak. So they see peak prices and conclude heat pumps are expensive.
The real optimisation
Heat pumps should pre-heat when energy is cheap, coast through peak, and maintain temperature — not react to it.
The takeaway
Heat pumps are cheaper than gas. But only if they're run as part of a system.
Fix it with Aveum
Aveum coordinates timing across your battery, EV charger, heat pump, and tariff signals so your home runs in the cheapest and highest-value windows.
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