Leicester & Leicestershire
A plain-English comparison of heat pumps and air conditioning that heats and cools — so a Leicestershire homeowner can choose a path, not a catalogue. Artifis installs both. Many homes want both.
Heat pumps Hybrid Underfloor vs radiators Air con heat + cool Which to choose Grants
Two complementary systems
A heat pump (air source or ground source) is usually a whole-house heating system. It replaces — or works towards replacing — a gas, oil or LPG boiler and feeds your radiators or underfloor heating. Eligible installs can attract the Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant (currently up to £7,500 for qualifying air-to-water or ground source systems in England and Wales).
Air conditioning is a heat pump in the wall unit. In summer it cools. In winter it heats that room. It is fast to live with, room-by-room, and is what most people mean when they want comfort on hot Leicestershire days — bedrooms, lofts, home offices, living rooms.
They are not rivals. Plenty of homes keep (or move to) a whole-house heat pump for daily heating, and add air conditioning for summer cooling plus extra winter heat in the rooms that overheat or never quite warm up. Artifis designs and installs both.
Heat pumps
Both take heat from outside and lift it into the house. Both can be MCS-certified. Both can feed radiators or underfloor. The difference is where the heat is collected and how much garden work you accept.
| Air source (ASHP) | Ground source (GSHP) | |
|---|---|---|
| How it works | Outdoor unit takes heat from the air. Sits outside, like a larger AC condenser. | Heat from the ground via buried loops or boreholes. Indoor plant is quieter at the boundary. |
| Install disruption | Usually days to a couple of weeks for a typical house. Outdoor pad, pipework, cylinder and controls. | Higher: trenches or drilling. Garden or drive is out of use during the ground works. |
| Running in cold weather | Modern units heat well in a UK winter. Output and efficiency drop as it gets very cold; design must allow for that. | Ground temperature is steadier, so efficiency is often more even through winter. |
| Running cost | Typically cheaper to run than oil, LPG or older electric heat when the system is sized properly. Electricity in, several units of heat out. | Often a little more efficient still — if the ground array is designed correctly. Higher install effort to get there. |
| Best for | Most Leicestershire houses replacing a boiler, including many with existing radiators (often upsized). | Larger plots, new-builds, or owners who want long-term efficiency and can accept ground works. |
| Grant (BUS) | Qualifying MCS air-to-water and ground source installs can attract the Boiler Upgrade Scheme. See our grant page — Artifis does not decide eligibility. | |
Heat pumps are sized in kW to the house after a heat-loss survey — not guessed from a brochure. Free online survey or a physical survey if you want us on site. Details: heat pumps in Leicester.
Hybrid
A hybrid keeps your existing boiler and adds a heat pump. The heat pump does the bulk of the year; the boiler covers very cold snaps or a house that is not yet ready for a full switch. It can be a sensible stepping stone — less “rip everything out” in one go.
Grant honesty: hybrid systems (for example a gas boiler plus an air source heat pump) do not qualify for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme. If the grant is part of the decision, a full qualifying heat pump is the path to check first on our BUS page.
How the heat is delivered
Heat pumps like a lower water temperature than an old boiler. That is efficient — but the heat has to get into the rooms somehow. Underfloor heating has a large surface, so it suits heat pumps well. Existing radiators often work if they are large enough; some rooms need bigger emitters.
| Underfloor | Radiators | |
|---|---|---|
| Comfort | Even, gentle heat from the floor. Good with a heat pump’s steady running. | Familiar. Fine when emitters are sized for the lower flow temperature. |
| Disruption | High if you are opening floors in a finished house. Easier in a renovation or extension. | Lower: swap or upsize radiators, keep most floor finishes. |
| With a heat pump | Usually an excellent match. Lower flow temperatures, efficient running. | Often viable. Survey may recommend larger radiators in some rooms — not always every room. |
| Best for | New floors, extensions, whole-house refurbishments. | Lived-in houses where you want heating replaced without lifting every floor. |
We do not guess radiator sizes from a floor-area rule of thumb on this page. A heat-loss survey tells you which rooms, if any, need larger emitters.
Air conditioning
A split air-conditioning system is a heat pump. Cooling mode takes heat out of the room. Heating mode reverses the flow and puts heat in. That is why Artifis talks about air con as year-round comfort — not a summer-only gadget.
It does not automatically replace a whole-house boiler. It heats the rooms you fit. That is the point for many homes: a loft conversion, a west-facing bedroom, a home office that cooks in July and feels mean in January.
| Single split | Multi-split | |
|---|---|---|
| What you get | One outdoor unit, one indoor unit. One room (or open-plan zone) done properly. | One outdoor unit serving two or more indoor units. Several rooms, one outdoor footprint. |
| Control | Simple. That room on its own schedule. | Each indoor unit can usually be set separately. Outdoor capacity is shared. |
| Best for | One problem room, a first step, or a house that later adds more singles. | Two or three key rooms where you only want one outdoor unit on the elevation. |
Install, service and repair across Leicester and Leicestershire: air conditioning. REFCOM F-Gas certified.
Leicestershire homeowner
Use this as a chooser, not a datasheet. A survey still decides kW size, electrics and whether radiators need work.
| If you mainly want… | Lean towards | Also consider |
|---|---|---|
| To replace the boiler and cut heating bills | Air source or ground source heat pump (MCS, BUS if you qualify) | Air con in the rooms that overheat in summer |
| A stepping stone, keep the boiler for now | Hybrid (understand: no BUS on the hybrid) | Fabric upgrades so a full heat pump becomes realistic later |
| Cool bedrooms / loft / office, and some winter heat there | Air conditioning (single or multi-split) | A heat-pump path for the rest of the house when you are ready |
| New floors or a renovation | Heat pump + underfloor where the floors are open | Air con for storeys or rooms that still need cooling |
| Lived-in house, keep the décor | Heat pump on upsized radiators, or air con only in the worst rooms | Hybrid if a full switch is a stretch this year (no BUS) |
| Grant as part of the budget | Qualifying whole-house heat pump — confirm on the BUS page | Do not plan a hybrid or a “boiler stays forever” design around the £7,500 figure |
Hot summers and a gas boiler that is due replacement are two different discomforts. Air conditioning solves the first. A heat pump solves the second. Artifis does both, so you are not pushed into the only product on the van. Many customers start with the rooms that ruin sleep in July, then plan the heat-pump replacement on a later survey. Others do the heat pump first and add cooling to the rooms that still bake. Either order is valid.
Money from government — current schemes only
No prices on this page. A survey and a written estimate come next — free online survey, or a physical survey if you want us at the property.
Physical survey visit charges: domestic up to 5 bedrooms £35; 6–10 bedrooms £70; over 10 bedrooms and larger commercial premises are priced by Artifis. Standard commercial £165 weekdays or £175 weekends. That payment is a service charge, not a deposit. The survey cost is a service charge and is non-refundable. At the discretion of Artifis Ltd, the amount paid may be credited to the final invoice for a full installation of an air conditioning or heat pump unit with Artifis, provided that installation takes place within 90 days of payment of the survey charge. Artifis reserves the right to decline any refund.