Alternatives to Oil and LPG Heating for Off-Gas Homes

A lot of the homes around our Buckingham base aren't on mains gas. Many villages across MK18, north Bucks and south Northamptonshire rely on heating oil or LPG. We get asked about alternatives every week, usually after a big delivery bill or a tank running dry in January.

This page gives you the numbers straight, including where a heat pump doesn't win on cost alone.

Cost per kWh of heat: the honest comparison

The fair way to compare fuels is the cost of each unit of heat that actually reaches your rooms. For a Haier air to air heat pump at the October–December 2026 electricity cap of 26.32p per kWh, that's roughly 7.3p per kWh of heat.

For oil and LPG it depends on what you paid for your last delivery. A litre of heating oil (kerosene) holds about 10.3kWh, and a typical boiler delivers about 85% of that, so around 8.8kWh reaches the rooms. A litre of LPG gives roughly 6kWh of useful heat in the same way. Use your own price per litre:

So, honestly: against oil, a heat pump is roughly level per unit of heat, cheaper when oil prices are high and slightly dearer when they're low. Against LPG it is usually clearly cheaper. The break-even point is roughly 64p a litre for oil and 44p a litre for LPG.

Why oil homes still switch

Cost per kWh isn't the whole story. Oil and LPG homeowners tend to tell us the heat pump wins on other things:

• Room-by-room heating. A boiler heats every radiator on the circuit. A heat pump heats the rooms you're in, so you buy less heat overall, even at a similar price per unit.
• No tank to fill. No minimum orders, no chasing deliveries in a cold snap, and no watching the gauge.
• Price swings. Oil prices can move sharply. Electricity for domestic customers is capped and reviewed quarterly.
• Instant heat. Warm air in minutes instead of waiting for the boiler and radiators to come up to temperature.
• Cooling in summer, which an oil boiler can never give you.

The usual set-up: heat pump first, boiler as back-up

Most off-gas customers don't rip out the boiler on day one. The common approach is to fit Haier units in the living room, kitchen and main bedrooms and let them do the day-to-day heating. The oil or LPG boiler then does the hot water and tops up in the coldest spells. Your fuel deliveries become smaller and less frequent. For homes with a newer boiler, that's usually the most sensible route.

An air to air heat pump doesn't heat hot water. If you're planning to remove the boiler altogether, hot water needs its own solution, and we'll talk that through honestly at survey.

Rural installs we're used to

Village and farmhouse jobs often come with longer pipe runs, older solid walls, outbuildings and, now and then, listed-building or conservation-area considerations. We're based in MK18 and do this work across the Buckingham villages, Winslow, Brackley, Towcester and Silverstone. Bungalow? See bungalow heating.

Haier systems, certified installers

We install Haier exclusively. Keeping to one brand means our engineers know the range inside out, we hold the right spares, and costs stay down. Haier systems come with a 6-year warranty as standard when installed by a certified engineer. Our engineers are F-Gas certified, the business is REFCOM registered, and electrical work is carried out to Part P standard. We're based in Buckingham, MK18, and cover Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, Northamptonshire and the surrounding area.

Heat pump installers near you

Milton Keynes Buckingham Bletchley Newport Pagnell Aylesbury Bicester Northampton Oxford

See the full list of areas we cover, or check recent installations for real examples of our work.

More heating guides

Air to air heat pumps Home office heating Garden room heating Whole house heating Bungalow heating Storage heater replacement Conservatory heating Loft conversion heating Extension heating Garage conversion heating Annexe heating Heating costs compared

Common questions

Is a heat pump cheaper than oil heating?

Per unit of heat it is roughly level. At the October to December 2026 electricity cap, a Haier air to air heat pump costs about 7.3p per kWh of heat. Oil at 64p a litre in an 85% efficient boiler costs about the same. Above that price the heat pump is cheaper, and heating only occupied rooms usually saves more.

Is a heat pump cheaper than LPG?

Usually yes. LPG gives roughly 6kWh of useful heat per litre in a typical boiler, so at 50p to 70p a litre it costs about 8.3p to 11.7p per kWh of heat, against about 7.3p for the heat pump.

Do I have to remove my oil boiler?

No. Most customers keep the boiler for hot water and as a back-up in the coldest weather, and let the heat pump handle day-to-day room heating.

Can an air to air heat pump heat hot water?

No, it heats rooms only. Hot water still needs a boiler, immersion heater or a separate hot water system.

Do you cover rural villages around Buckingham?

Yes. We are based in MK18 and regularly install in the villages around Buckingham, Winslow, Brackley, Towcester and Silverstone.