Commercial heat pumps in Liverpool: costs, grants and local rules

Mersey Heat: a heat pump network already running on the waterfront

Liverpool is unusual among UK cities in having an operating district network built around heat pumps rather than gas. The Mersey Heat Energy Centre in Liverpool Waters was officially opened on 7 October 2025. It uses water source heat pumps to extract heat from the Leeds Liverpool Canal and distributes it through a district heating network of around 6 km, a figure given as the network’s design size. The operator is Ener-Vate, with Vital Energi as the design, build, operate and maintain contractor, and the scheme was supported by the government’s Heat Networks Investment Project. Reported connections include the Titanic Hotel and the Tobacco Warehouse, and the network is described as designed to serve up to about 1.3 million square feet of commercial space.

Liverpool City Council, the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority and National Museums Liverpool have signed agreements to extend heat supply to the Cunard Building, the George’s Dock Building and the Museum of Liverpool. If your premises are on the waterfront, the first question is whether a connection is available, not which heat pump to buy. If you are further away, the same principle applies at smaller scale: a shared ambient loop or a building-level system. See heat networks and ambient loops.

The proposed city-centre Heat Network Zone

Liverpool City Council has been taking part in the government’s Advanced Zoning Programme and began formal procurement for a heat network in early 2026 according to local reporting. From 17 June to 2 August 2026 it consulted on the proposed boundary of a Heat Network Zone in the city centre. The anchor loads named in the consultation include public-sector offices and the further-education campuses of the University of Liverpool, Liverpool John Moores University and Liverpool Hope University. The council says feedback would be considered before the boundary is formally designated and that it would then publish a consultation statement. Possible heat sources named in reporting include the River Mersey.

For a business inside or near the proposed boundary, that matters because zoning is the Energy Act 2023 mechanism under which some buildings could in future be expected to connect. We have not verified the final boundary or any connection requirement, and the consultation has closed, so look at the council’s heat network pages or contact the heat network team before committing to a long-life boiler or heat pump plan.

Planning and noise

Commercial heat pumps in Liverpool go through the local planning authority, Liverpool City Council, for sites in the city. The England permitted-development rights for air-source heat pumps cover dwellinghouses and blocks of flats, not commercial premises, and a BS 4142 noise assessment is commonly requested. Waterfront and city-centre sites with nearby flats, hotels or heritage buildings should expect more questions about noise and appearance; the noise and planning guide explains what a typical assessment covers.

The electricity network

Electricity in Liverpool and the rest of Merseyside is distributed by SP Energy Networks (the SP Manweb licence area), not Electricity North West, which serves areas such as Manchester. A heat pump adds electrical load, so ask SP Energy Networks, directly or through your installer, whether your supply can carry it or needs a connection application, and ask early. Confirm your distributor for a specific postcode with the Energy Networks Association “who is my network operator” lookup.

Local support and targets

The Liverpool City Region Combined Authority has set a net-zero ambition for the city region (sources give both 2035 and 2040 depending on the document, so check the current plan). Liverpool John Moores University’s Low Carbon Eco-Innovatory used to pay grants to businesses across the region, including for heating projects, but its eligibility page now says the LCEI Business Grant Fund is closed. The programme continues as research support, so do not plan around a grant from it. Parts of the public-sector heat network extension were funded through the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (now closed) and the Heat Networks Investment Project, and neither route is available for private-business bids.

Water, heritage and noise on the waterfront

Mersey Heat is a reminder that Liverpool’s best heat sources are often water: the canal, the river and the wastewater works have all been named in public documents. For a single building that does not sit on a network, the equivalent options are air-source units on a roof or yard, or water-source and ground-source designs where a borehole or open-loop licence is feasible; see the ground-source guide. Liverpool’s waterfront and city centre also contain many listed buildings and conservation areas, which can restrict where visible plant can go and add consent requirements. Ask the council early, and remember that a leaseholder may need the landlord’s consent before any application. Whatever route you consider, get at least two written quotes against the same specification, and check any installer’s MCS and other credentials on the public registers rather than relying on the quote.

Funding: short version

Boiler Upgrade Scheme grants apply in England and Wales to heat pumps of 45 kW thermal or less for a single heat pump (70 kW thermal for a multi-unit system). See the grants and funding guide and the cost guide.