What an air-to-air heat pump actually is
The heat pumps that get talked about in the news are air-to-water. They take heat from outside air and put it into your radiators and hot water cylinder. They replace a boiler, and they're a substantial job.
An air-to-air heat pump takes heat from outside air and puts it straight into the room as warm air. No radiators, no cylinder, no rerouting your heating. A wall unit and an outdoor unit.
If that's starting to sound a lot like air conditioning, it is. A modern reverse-cycle split system is an air-to-air heat pump. The same box cools in August and warms in April.
Why this matters more than it sounds
Air-to-water heat pumps only stack up in properties with reasonable heat loss and emitters that can run at low flow temperatures. That rules out a great many British houses, or at least makes them expensive to convert.
Air-to-air has no such constraint. It doesn't care what your radiators are like, because it doesn't use them. For a flat, a converted loft, a home office, an extension the central heating never quite reaches, or a bedroom that's unbearable in July and freezing in February, it's a far better fit than anything else on the grant list.
In the regulations, not yet claimable. The £2,500 is written into the scheme, but MCS is still building the certification route for air-to-air, so nobody can put a claim in for you today. If you see it advertised as available now, it is worth asking when they expect to actually be able to claim it.
The two conditions that catch people out
First, the system has to be capable of heating the whole property on its own. That is the wording in the amended regulations, and it is the important one: a single wall unit in the back bedroom does not qualify, however good it is. You are looking at a multi-split sized against the heat loss of the whole house.
Second, it is residential only. An air-to-air system in a shop, an office or a salon is not eligible, whatever the building used to be.
The usual Boiler Upgrade Scheme rules still apply on top: you own the property, you are replacing a fossil fuel system, and the work is done by an MCS certified installer.
What to do in the meantime
If air conditioning was already on your mind, the timing is worth knowing before you commit, because it could be worth £2,500 to you.
If you want a room sorted before next summer, get the assessment and the design done now. Sizing, siting, whether your electrics are up to it, and whether a whole-house system is realistic for your property or whether you would rather just do the one room without the grant. That is a real choice and there is no wrong answer to it.
Tell us you are interested and we will come back to you when the certification route opens, with what it actually means for your job. No deposit, no obligation, and we will not quote you a grant we cannot yet claim.
Common questions
Is this the same as the £7,500 grant?
No. The £7,500, or £9,000 for eligible properties off the mains gas grid, is for air-to-water and ground source heat pumps. The air-to-air amount is a separate and smaller £2,500.
Could I claim it retrospectively if I install now?
There is no basis to assume so, and we would not advise anyone to install on that expectation. If the timing matters to you, plan now and fit later.
Can I get the grant for one room?
No. The regulations require a system capable of meeting the property's full space heating demand on its own, so a single wall unit does not qualify. A one-room system can still be an excellent idea. It just is not a grant job.