Nicholls
Up to £9,000 BUS grant for oil & LPG homes

A heat pump for your home — without the headache

Heating with oil, LPG or mains gas? A ground source heat pump cuts your running costs, slashes your carbon, and the government pays up to £9,000 towards the install. We design it, drill it and fit it — all in-house.

500+

UK homes heated

£9,000

BUS grant — oil & LPG

40–60%

Cheaper to run than oil

MCS

Certified installer

  • BUS grant handled for you — deducted from your invoice, not claimed back later
  • One team from first visit to annual service — no subcontractors
  • Free site visit and a fixed written quote before you commit
  • 20+ years drilling in Sussex · 4,000+ boreholes · family-run

Get a free quote

No obligation. We aim to respond within 1 working day.

We aim to respond within 1 working day.

Boiler Upgrade Scheme

The grant is real, it's big, and it's yours.

The BUS grant is a government payment that's deducted straight off your installation cost. No cash up front, no claiming back later.

We're MCS certified — the only accreditation that unlocks the grant — and we handle the whole application for you.

Oil & LPG homes

£9,000

If your home is currently heated by oil, LPG or direct electric, you get the higher grant amount. This was uplifted from £7,500 on 21 April 2026.

The typical Nicholls customer is an oil-heated rural home — this grant was designed for you.

Mains gas homes

£7,500

If you're on mains gas and want to decarbonise your heating, the same scheme applies — just at a slightly lower amount.

Scheme funded to March 2028 — but slots can book up.

Want the grant details in depth? Read our full BUS guide →

In plain English

How a ground source heat pump works

You don't need a degree in thermodynamics to get it. Here's the short version.

1

The ground stays warm

A metre or so down, the ground sits at 10–12°C all year round — even in a hard frost. That's useful heat, just waiting to be collected.

2

We drill a borehole

We drop sealed loops of pipe down boreholes in your garden. A fluid circulates through them, absorbing the ground's warmth, and carries it back into your plant room.

3

The pump does the rest

The heat pump concentrates that warmth to the temperature your radiators and hot water need. 1 unit of electricity in → ~4 units of heat out. That's why it's cheaper to run than anything else.

Want the technical version? The three system types differ in how they collect ground heat — here's the detail on each:

Closed-loop →Open-loop →River / water source →Compare all three →

What you'll actually pay to heat your home

Indicative annual heating costs for a typical 3-bedroom rural home using around 18,000 kWh of heat per year (roughly 2,500 litres of oil equivalent). Your actual costs depend on home size, insulation and tariff — a written quote gives you your specific numbers.

How you heat nowYour annual cost
Oil£2,100–2,800
LPG£2,300–3,100
Mains gas£1,200–1,700
Direct electric£3,500–5,000
Ground source heat pumpYOUR FUTURE£800–1,100

Figures indicative, based on published UK price caps April 2026 and typical COP 3.8 for a well-designed GSHP. Your actual costs vary by home size, insulation, and tariff.

Ground source vs air source

Which heat pump is right for your home?

Most homeowners we talk to are choosing between a ground source and an air source heat pump. The honest answer: it depends on your home and how long you plan to live in it.

Ground source (GSHP)Air source (ASHP)
Typical install cost£25,000–£45,000£10,000–£18,000
After BUS grant£16,000–£36,000£2,500–£10,500
Efficiency in winterStable — ground stays 10–12°CDrops when air is cold
Typical running cost (3-bed)£800–1,100/yr£1,000–1,400/yr
Lifespan20–25yr pump · 50+yr loops15–20yr unit
Outside noiseSilent — no outdoor unit40–55dB fan unit outside
Garden space needed5ft access for drilling rig1m × 1m outside wall space
Carbon savings vs gas~75%~65%

Ground source wins if...

  • →You're off the gas grid (oil, LPG, electric heating)
  • →You're in your forever home and care about running costs
  • →You have even modest garden access for drilling
  • →Silence and no outdoor unit matter to you

Air source wins if...

  • →You need the lowest up-front cost, full stop
  • →You have no outdoor space for drilling at all
  • →It's a holiday cottage or flat with modest heating demand
  • →You may not stay in the property long-term

We'll tell you honestly if air source is the better fit for your situation — we don't just want to sell you the bigger job.

Is your home suitable?

A quick gut-check. If most of the green ticks apply to you, you're probably a good candidate. If any red crosses describe you, we'll talk it through before quoting.

✓

You have any outdoor space — a garden, paddock, drive or courtyard (our rigs reach through 5ft gaps)

✓

You currently heat with oil, LPG, gas, or direct electric (all qualify for BUS)

✓

You plan to stay in your home for 5+ years (payback is strongest over the long term)

✓

You have reasonable insulation — or you're open to some upgrades

✓

Your radiators are correctly sized, or you're willing to swap a few for larger ones

✗

You're looking for the cheapest possible up-front install (air source heat pumps are cheaper)

✗

You're planning to sell within 2 years (you likely won't recoup the investment)

What happens after you get in touch

We know how this can feel — it's a big decision. Here's exactly what to expect, with no hard sell at any step.

01

Free site visit

We come out, look at the property, geology and heating system. Typically within 2 weeks of your enquiry.

02

Written quote

A fixed-price written estimate with BUS grant deducted. No obligation, no pressure.

03

Design & BUS application

Our in-house engineers design your system. We file the BUS application and handle MCS paperwork.

04

Drilling & installation

Boreholes drilled in 2–4 days. Plant room and radiator work follows. Start-to-finish 8–14 weeks.

05

Commissioning & warranty

System handed over with full warranty, heating curves tuned, and a welcome pack. Annual service optional but recommended.

Why homeowners choose Nicholls

Most heat pump companies are resellers — they subcontract the drilling to someone else and fit the pump. We started as drillers 20+ years ago and added heat pumps on top. When you work with us, one team is accountable for the whole system.

✓

Family-run, Sussex-based since 2005

We're still here in 10 years to service your system.

✓

We own our drilling rigs

No waiting for a subcontractor's schedule — we control the timeline.

✓

MCS-certified installers

The only accreditation that unlocks the BUS grant. We handle the paperwork.

✓

In-house service team

The people who fit your system also service it. One point of contact for life.

See the technical system-type breakdown →

500+

GSHP systems installed

4,000+

Boreholes drilled

20+

Years drilling

12,099t

CO₂ saved since 2008

Homeowner questions, answered

The real questions we hear from homeowners before they commit. Don't see yours? Ask us directly — we'll answer before you quote.

What is a ground source heat pump in plain English?
Below about 1.5 metres down, the ground stays at a steady 10–12°C all year round — even in winter. A ground source heat pump moves that warmth from the ground into your home, topping it up with a bit of electricity to reach the temperature you need. It's the same technology as your fridge, just running in reverse. One unit of electricity gets you roughly four units of heat.
Will it work in my old or period home?
Usually, yes. We install heat pumps in Victorian cottages, Georgian rectories, listed buildings and new builds. The main things we look at are your radiator sizes (they may need upgrading), your insulation (good insulation helps), and whether your garden has space for boreholes (a small garden is usually fine — our rigs fit through 5ft gaps).
How much does it actually cost?
A typical home installation is £25,000–£45,000 before the grant, depending on system size and borehole depth. The BUS grant — £7,500 if you're coming off mains gas, £9,000 if you're coming off oil or LPG — is deducted up front, not claimed back later. So a £35,000 installation becomes £26,000 for a typical oil-heated home. We give you a fixed written quote after a free site visit.
How does it compare to an air source heat pump?
Air source heat pumps are cheaper to install (£10,000–£18,000) but less efficient in winter — exactly when you need heat most. Ground source pumps cost more upfront but run cheaper year-round, last longer (the boreholes themselves last 50+ years), and are silent with no outdoor unit on the wall. For a long-term family home, the sums usually favour ground source. For a holiday cottage or a smaller flat, air source often wins.
Will my running costs actually go down?
For oil and LPG homes, almost always — typically 40–60% cheaper than oil heating. For mains-gas homes it depends on your electricity tariff, but most households see some reduction and all see a big cut in carbon emissions. The big win either way is price stability: you're not exposed to oil deliveries or gas-market spikes.
Do I have to fit underfloor heating?
No — heat pumps work fine with radiators as long as they're correctly sized. Some of your existing radiators may need to be swapped for slightly larger ones (heat pumps run at lower water temperatures than boilers), but you don't need to rip up floors. Underfloor heating does give the best efficiency, so it's worth considering in rooms you're already planning to re-floor.
How long will installation take — and how disruptive is it?
Expect 8–14 weeks from first visit to commissioned system. The noisy bit — drilling the boreholes — takes 2–4 days depending on how many you need. We use compact rigs that fit through 5ft gaps, and we put the ground back as we found it. The internal plant room and heat-pump install adds another 1–2 weeks. BUS grant approval runs in parallel.
Who handles the BUS grant paperwork?
We do. As an MCS-certified installer, we apply on your behalf. You don't fill in forms or claim anything back later — the grant is simply deducted from your installation cost. If the application is rejected for any reason (rare), we tell you before you commit.
What about servicing — will you still be around in 10 years?
We've been drilling in West Sussex since 2005 and are family-run. We have a dedicated in-house service team (not subcontracted) and offer annual service contracts that keep your system running efficiently and your manufacturer warranty valid. Most of our service clients are people we installed for 10+ years ago.
Do you install outside the South East?
Our core catchment is Sussex, Surrey, Hampshire and Kent — where most of our 500+ installed systems are. We do occasionally travel further for larger projects, but for a typical home installation we'd recommend someone local. If you're outside the South East and want a second opinion on a quote you've had, we're always happy to look at it.

Send us the details of your home

Tell us about your property — current heating, rough size, any concerns. We'll come back within 1 working day with next steps and rough costs.

We aim to respond within 1 working day.

Or just pick up the phone.

Most homeowners get what they need in a 10-minute chat. We won't pressure sell — promise.

Call 01403 820750