Why tariff flexibility matters for heat pump savings

Key takeaways

• Heat pump savings depend on more than technology and usage – tariff flexibility matters.
• Smart tariffs (like day and night, and market tariffs) create savings opportunities – but only if your system can respond intelligently.
• Aira Heat Pumps optimise against any tariff, so you’re never locked in.

A heat pump is a long-term investment. Your electricity tariff isn’t.

Over the next 15 to 20 years, energy prices will shift. Suppliers will launch new products. Some tariffs will disappear entirely. What looks like the best deal today may not exist next winter.

Electricity is still more expensive per unit than gas on many standard tariffs. That’s why how your system responds to price matters just as much as the technology itself.

Flexibility shouldn’t be a bonus feature. It’s essential.

When you install an Aira Heat Pump, you’re free to choose the tariff that works for you. Standard. Day & night. Dynamic. Even an EV tariff. If you switch supplier next year, your tariff optimisation doesn’t stop. It adapts.

That’s how clean energy technology should work.

What a heat pump tariff really means

In the UK, some suppliers offer tariffs designed specifically for homes with heat pumps. These often include lower rates during certain off-peak periods.

But at its core, a heat pump electricity tariff isn’t a different type of electricity. It’s a pricing structure – and pricing structures vary. 

On a fixed tariff, electricity costs the same all day. Your heat pump runs when your home needs heat. Simple.

On a day & night or time-of-use tariff, electricity is cheaper at certain times. On a dynamic or market tariff, prices change hourly based on the wholesale market.

The real opportunity lies in how your system responds to those price changes.

Without intelligent optimisation, a heat pump runs on a schedule – regardless of price. With Aira Intelligence, your Aira Heat Pump understands the tariff you’re on and shifts more heating into lower-priced periods, while keeping your home cosy.

The problem with closed systems

Not all smart heat pump systems are built for flexibility.

Some only optimise properly if you stay with a specific energy supplier. Others are designed around a single tariff. Leave that ecosystem, and you lose the smart features that were meant to reduce running costs.

Your heating still works. But the tariff optimisations – and much of the savings – disappear. And your heat pump reverts to heating when it needs to, regardless of energy prices. 

Some specialised heat pump tariffs have already been withdrawn from the market. If your system only works optimally with one product, you’re exposed to that risk.

Over the lifetime of a heat pump, that kind of lock-in limits your freedom – and energy markets move too quickly to be tied down.

At Aira, your tariff and your heat pump are separate choices. You can switch supplier. You can move from a day-and-night tariff to a dynamic tariff. The system continues to optimise.

What happens with EV tariffs?

EV tariffs are increasingly popular. They offer very low overnight rates, built around charging a car while you sleep.

But heating a home isn’t the same as charging a battery on wheels.

For households running both an EV and a heat pump, tariff choices can feel like a compromise. Optimise for overnight charging and peak rates may increase. Optimise for daytime heating and you might miss cheaper charging windows.

With Aira, an EV tariff is just another tariff. Aira Intelligence takes the pricing structure into account, but balances it with comfort, forecasts and overall household demand. Heating and charging don’t compete. Your Aira Heat Pump system coordinates around the tariff you choose.

One home. One system.

Modern homes are more complex than ever. You might have a heat pump, an EV charger, solar panels and battery storage. Many setups manage each device separately, across multiple apps and platforms.

That fragmentation creates inefficiency. One device optimises. Another doesn’t. The whole home never quite works together.

Aira brings everything into one connected system with the Aira Home Energy System. Your Aira Heat Pump, solar and Power Store (home battery) are all optimised by Aira Intelligence to heat and power your home in the most efficient way possible. 

Instead of working independently, they all work as one. Tariff data, weather forecasts and comfort settings are balanced automatically. And, if you change your tariff, the system adapts. If prices fluctuate, it responds. If you switch suppliers, nothing breaks.

Less complexity. More control. More savings.

Why long-term flexibility matters

Your heat pump is designed to run for decades. During that time, you’ll likely switch tariffs several times. New products will appear. Energy policy will evolve. Pricing structures will change.

The smartest choice isn’t chasing today’s cheapest deal. It’s choosing a system that keeps working, whatever the market does next.

Savings will always depend on your home, your usage and your tariff. But flexibility ensures you’re never locked out of better options.

That’s the Aira approach.

You choose the tariff.

Your system handles the optimisation.

Clean energy shouldn’t be restrictive. It should be effortless.