Methodology · August 2026
How Our Calculators Are Built – Real-World Price Reality Checks
The planning numbers start from public equipment and materials prices, then add the professional layer that turns a kit into a working system on an older South West house.
The simple rule
We only use public prices. We do not invent figures or rely on private quotes. The Planning Passport figures start from those public prices and then build a realistic full-installed planning band that accounts for design, labour, electrics, commissioning, access and the practical realities of older properties across Devon and Cornwall.
That is why the numbers sit where they do. They are designed to survive a proper survey rather than fall apart once someone looks at the actual house.
Figures reviewed: August 2026. Built for planning, not as a fixed quote.
How the Planning Passport numbers work
The Passport gives a planning band for your home — a realistic range you can use before you speak to installers. It is not a fixed price and not a formal quotation.
- What is included in the bands: design and sizing logic, equipment at public-market levels, typical labour, electrics, commissioning, and a practical allowance for South West access and older fabric.
- What is often extra: major structural work, full rewires, complex scaffolding, unusual planning constraints, or emitter upgrades beyond a normal few-to-many radiator change.
- Conservative assumptions: we use cautious seasonal performance (for underfloor heating planning we typically anchor around SCOP ~3.7 rather than brochure peaks), and we do not assume ideal new-build conditions on retrofit homes.
- Grants: BUS figures follow current published GOV.UK rates (£7,500 standard / £9,000 where the oil/LPG uplift applies). Always confirm live eligibility.
Installer introductions are optional. If you ask, we introduce you to a small number of vetted local installers who cover your area. We do not sell your data and we are not paid to push a particular brand.
For the public prices that sit underneath the bands, use the Price Monitor and Reality Check articles below.
The living Public Price Monitor
We keep a single page that tables the key public prices we track — heat pump kits, radiator upgrades, underfloor systems, controls and scaffold. Updated quarterly. You can see the foundation numbers yourself.
Public Heat Pump & UFH Component Price Monitor 2026 →The Reality Check series
Each Reality Check takes one part of the planning model and shows the public prices that sit underneath it, then explains why the planning band is set where it is. Read them in any order.
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Online Kit Prices vs Full Installed Reality →
Public kits £6,600–£10,200. Full MCS-installed systems typically £11,000–£18,000 before the grant. The professional layer explained.
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Radiator Upgrade Costs – Few / Many / Full →
Public upgrade ranges and how the calculator’s planning uplifts (£0 / £750–1,250 / £1,500–2,500) sit inside them.
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UFH Systems Compared – Screed vs Overlay vs Structural →
Public £/m² ranges and floor-height reality in older Devon & Cornwall properties.
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Controls, Wiring Centres, Thermostats & Secondary Pumps →
The controls layer that appears on proper quotes and is already allowed for in the full installed bands.
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Cylinders, Buffers & Low-Loss Headers →
Heat-pump-ready cylinders and hydraulic separation — public prices and why they form part of the equipment package.
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SCOP & Running Costs Reality →
Field data (UK average ~3.4, UFH ~3.7) and why the calculator uses conservative figures.
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Combined Heat Pump + Underfloor Heating →
How the two systems interact on cost and efficiency, and how the Combined calculator builds the total.
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22mm Chipboard & Structural Board Paths →
Public board prices and the routes used on joisted floors common across the South West.
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New-Build Scaffold & Access Savings →
Public scaffold costs and the real new-build access advantage reflected in the solar and combined calculators.
What this means for a Devon or Cornwall home
Older solid-wall houses, period terraces, restricted access in villages and limited floor height are common here. The planning bands are set with that stock in mind. They are deliberately realistic early figures rather than the absolute lowest kit-only headline.
Use the free Passports to get a planning band for your own home. Every submission is personally reviewed. No obligation and no hard sell.
Start with a realistic planning band
The numbers already include the professional layer that tends to survive a proper survey on an older South West property.