Air source & ground source heat pumps

Heat pump installation in Edinburgh, designed around your home

Air source and ground source heat pump installation across Edinburgh, Midlothian and the Borders. Sized from a full heat loss survey, commissioned properly, and backed by a team that doesn't leave until it's running the way it should.


4.8★

Excellent Google reviews

Up to £7,500

Home Energy Scotland grant

Since 2016

Based in Loanhead

MCS

Certified installer

Why customers choose XKY Energy

A warm house, low running costs, and no surprises

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Sized for your house

We measure every room to work out how much heat it actually needs, then size the system to those numbers. That lets it run at a low temperature — which is what keeps your bills down year after year.

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Advice on your side

We'll tell you which radiators genuinely need changing — and which don't. And if a heat pump isn't the right move for your home yet, we'll say so.

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We finish the job properly

We commission the system and show you how to run it. Snags get sorted quickly, and we're here for servicing afterwards. We keep an eye on it remotely through the manufacturer's monitoring. Most of our customers stay with us for years.

The decision that matters most

The radiator question — and why it decides your bills

A gas boiler runs at about 70°C. A heat pump works best near 35°C. Your radiators now have to heat the same rooms with much cooler water — and there are only two ways to solve that.

Every quote you get has quietly picked one. Most won't tell you which.

Option A — the cheaper quote

Keep the existing radiators

Cheaper on the day. But undersized radiators force the heat pump to run hotter — and a heat pump running hot is a heat pump running expensively, every winter you own it.

Cheaper upfront, quicker install


No redecorating, minimal mess


Higher flow temperature = higher electricity bills


The saving is spent back, then exceeded, over the system's life

Option B — how we do it

Upsize only the radiators that need it

Costs more on day one, then runs at a genuinely low flow temperature — the whole point of a heat pump. And it's rarely every radiator; in most Edinburgh homes plenty are already big enough.

Low flow temperature = meaningfully lower running costs


Warmer, more even heat across the house


Usually only some radiators, not all of them


Higher upfront cost and a few days more work

Our promise: we'll show you the running-cost difference in writing, so the choice is yours to make with real numbers — not ours to make quietly on your behalf. Plenty of customers pick Option A without realising it. What shouldn't happen is finding out three winters later.

Get your free estimate

Funding available

Up to £7,500 grant towards your heat pump

The Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan is a Scottish Government scheme. Eligible homeowners can get a grant of up to £7,500 towards a heat pump — money you don't repay. Rural and island homes may qualify for a further £1,500.

An optional interest-free loan of up to £7,500 is available on top if you want to spread the remaining cost. That part is borrowing, not a grant — it's subject to affordability and credit checks, carries a 1.5% admin fee (max £150), and is repaid over up to 12 years.

Talk to us about the grant

£7,500

Grant — never repaid

£7,500

Optional loan — repayable


Worth knowing: funding is first-come, first-served and subject to availability. You must have a written funding offer before work starts — it can't be granted retrospectively. Your installer and product must both be MCS-certified (we are). Replacement heat pumps get the loan but not the grant, hybrid heat pumps aren't eligible at all, and the system must provide 100% of your heating and hot water. Figures current July 2026 and set by Home Energy Scotland, not by us — we'll confirm what applies to your property at survey.

What to expect

How the installation works

What happens, from first call to a system that's running.

1

Free consultation and survey

A free consultation, then a heat loss survey measuring your home room by room. No obligation — and if a heat pump isn't the right move yet, we'll tell you.

2

Design and quote

We specify the heat pump and which radiators need changing, then prepare your quote. We'll explain the reasoning in plain language and answer as many questions as you need.

3

Grant funding

You'll get a detailed written proposal containing everything the Home Energy Scotland application needs. The application is submitted by you — Home Energy Scotland requires it to come from the homeowner — and the MCS certificate the claim depends on comes from us.

4

Installation

Typically 4–7 days for a heat pump, longer for more involved jobs — you'll get a firm schedule with your quote.

5

Commissioning and handover

We commission the system properly and show you how to run it, staying on hand while you get used to it.

6

Aftercare

Snags sorted quickly. Once you've had it through a cold spell we'll come back and fine-tune the settings — just ask. We can also see how your system is performing remotely through the manufacturer's monitoring, and annual servicing keeps your warranty valid.

What you actually get

The benefits — honestly stated

Plenty of sites list the same five claims about heat pumps. Here's the version we'd stand behind at your kitchen table.

Efficient — if it's designed right

A heat pump moves heat rather than burning fuel, so it delivers several units of heat for every unit of electricity. That efficiency depends entirely on the design — which is why the radiators and flow temperature matter so much.

Genuinely lower carbon

No fuel is burned in your home, and Britain's electricity grid keeps getting cleaner. This is the one benefit that isn't up for debate — a heat pump cuts your heating emissions substantially, and improves further every year the grid does.

Real funding, available now

Eligible homeowners can get up to £7,500 from Home Energy Scotland — a grant, not a loan. (The old Renewable Heat Incentive closed in 2022; anyone still advertising it is out of date.)

Long service life

A well-installed heat pump should run for around 20 years with an annual service — longer than a typical gas boiler. Servicing also keeps your manufacturer warranty valid.

No fuel deliveries, no flue

Nothing to order, store or run out of, and no combustion in the house. Particularly worthwhile if you're on oil or LPG and tired of watching a tank gauge.

What we won't claim

That it'll definitely be cheaper than gas — that depends on your design, your tariff and the electricity-to-gas price ratio. We'll show you the numbers for your house and let you decide.

The question we're asked most

Do heat pumps actually work in Scottish winters?

Yes. Modern air source heat pumps run down to around −20°C. Edinburgh rarely sees −5°C, and Norway and Finland have among the highest adoption rates in the world.What matters far more than the weather is whether the system was designed for the house. A properly sized one keeps you warm through the coldest week. An undersized one struggles — and costs a fortune doing it.

Get your free estimate

What about older and stone-built homes?

We fit them in Victorian and Edwardian properties across Edinburgh regularly. Older homes lose more heat, so the survey matters more — and sometimes insulation first, heat pump second, is the better order. We'll tell you if that's your situation.

Choosing your system

Air source or ground source?

The right choice usually comes down to how much land you have.

Air source (ASHP)

Ground source (GSHP)

Best suited to

Most Edinburgh homes — townhouses, semis, bungalows

Properties with land, rural homes and larger developments


Space needed

An outdoor unit about the size of a large wheelie bin

A borehole, or a ground loop across a sizeable garden


Efficiency

Very good; dips slightly in the coldest snaps

Highest and most stable — ground temperature barely changes


Upfront cost

Lower

Higher — groundworks or drilling on top of the system


For larger ground source schemes we also carry out thermal response testing — so the borehole count is based on measured evidence, not assumption. At several thousand pounds a borehole, that matters.

Combined systems

Heat pump and solar PV together

A heat pump runs on electricity; solar generates it. Sized together they work better than either alone — and we install both, so it's one team and one point of responsibility.

Lower running costs

Your own generation offsets a meaningful share of the heat pump's demand, especially spring and autumn.

One design, one install

Both specified together from the start, not retrofitted awkwardly around each other later.

Proper site safety

We scaffold every solar install. No ladders, and we don't leave until the finish is right.

Based in Loanhead

Areas we cover

Across Edinburgh

Morningside · Stockbridge · Marchmont · Merchiston · Murrayfield · Corstorphine · Bruntsfield · Colinton · Barnton · Cramond

Midlothian, the Lothians & Borders

Loanhead · Penicuik · Dalkeith · Bonnyrigg · Musselburgh · Livingston · Haddington · Peebles · West Linton · Galashiels

Not listed? Ask us — we cover most of central and southern Scotland.

Rated 4.8 across 83 Google reviews

Knowledgeable, reliable, and they don't leave until it's sorted

Questions answered

Heat pump installation FAQs

Do heat pumps work in Scottish winters?

Yes. Modern air source heat pumps are rated to operate down to around −20°C, well below a typical Edinburgh winter low. Performance drops slightly in the coldest weather, which is exactly why the system has to be sized and designed for your specific house rather than fitted to a rule of thumb.

Do I need to replace all my radiators?

Not always. Heat pumps run at lower flow temperatures than a gas boiler, so each radiator has to be checked against the heat loss of its room. In many Edinburgh homes a proportion of the existing radiators are already large enough and only some need upsizing. We’ll tell you exactly which, and what it means for your running costs.

How much does heat pump installation cost in Edinburgh?

It depends on the size of the property, its heat loss, and how much of the existing system can be retained. Eligible homeowners can get a Home Energy Scotland grant of up to £7,500 towards the cost, with an optional interest-free loan of up to £7,500 available on top if you want to spread the balance. We give you an itemised written quote after the survey so you can compare properly.

How long does installation take?

An air source installation is typically 2–5 days depending on how much emitter work is involved. Ground source takes longer because of the groundworks or borehole drilling. We’ll give you a firm schedule with your quote.

Are you MCS certified?

Yes. MCS certification is required to access Home Energy Scotland grant funding, and it means our installations are assessed against the industry standard for design, installation and commissioning.

Can you service a heat pump another company installed?

Yes, and we do it regularly. We service the whole system rather than just the manufacturer’s components, which is often where problems with rushed installations show up. More on heat pump servicing.

The next step

Find out what a heat pump would cost for your home

Free survey, a written quote, and the grant funding you qualify for.

Get your free estimate