# Heating engineers & gas – what to charge in 2026 (UK)
Heating is where the money should be in 2026 – especially if you're doing boilers and low‑carbon – but only if your day rate and job prices match the risk you're carrying.
1. Day rates – heating engineers in 2026
Here we're talking gas/heating engineers, not just wet‑side plumbers.
- MyJobQuote's 2026 gas engineer guide shows: self‑employed sole trader £29/hour, £231/day, £60,000+ a year; Ltd company owner £34/hour, £269/day, £70,000+ a year.
- Training providers have: newly qualified £150–£180/day, experienced domestic £220–£280/day, commercial £300–£400/day.
- Heating software data (6,000+ firms) shows many UK heating businesses charging £70–£140/hour including VAT for emergency work.
Newly qualified (domestic)
- Most regions: £150–£200/day
- London/SE: £180–£220/day
Experienced domestic heating engineer (3–5+ yrs)
- Most regions: £220–£280/day
- London/SE: £260–£320/day
Commercial / specialist / low‑carbon
- Most regions: £280–£350/day
- London/SE: £320–£400+/day
Indeed data has average heating‑engineer salaries around £38,659/year in England, with London and big cities around £42k–£45k+ as employees. Self‑employed engineers and dual‑fuel (gas + heat pump) specialists can push higher.
2. Common heating jobs and 2026 price ranges
Boiler installation
From 2026 boiler‑cost guides:
Straight combi‑for‑combi swap, same location:
- Labour + standard materials: £800–£1,500
- Total installed (boiler + labour): typically £2,000–£4,500 depending on boiler brand and spec.
More complex installs (relocation, system conversion, extra pipework):
- Labour + standard materials: £1,500–£3,000+
- Installed totals: routinely £3,000–£5,000+ once you include better boilers, filters, controls and upgrades.
What pushes the price up:
- Changing boiler type (system to combi, back‑boiler to combi, etc.)
- Moving the boiler (new flue route, making good)
- System flushes, filters, extra zoning, gas run upgrades, condensate re‑runs.
Heat‑pump and low‑carbon work (headline view)
- Heat‑pump installers and dual‑skilled engineers (gas + ASHP) are expected to earn £7,000–£10,000 more per year than standard plumbers, with many projected into the £48,000–£62,000+ band.
- Full heat‑pump install prices vary massively, but labour day rates for the lead engineer are comfortably in the £300–£400/day territory on these packages.
Heating is at the top end of the pricing tree once gas and renewables are in the mix.
3. What heating engineers actually earn (2026)
Employee side
- National Careers: heating and ventilation engineers: £20,000 starter to £40,000 experienced as a broad band.
- Indeed: heating engineers in England average ~£38,659/year, with London roles around £44,000–£45,000 and other big cities in the low‑40s.
Gas/heating specific surveys
MyJobQuote 2026 gas engineer guide:
- Newly‑qualified: £25,000/year
- Experienced employed: £45,000/year
- Self‑employed sole trader: £60,000+
- Ltd business owner: £70,000+
Training providers and "green skills" outlooks:
- Dual‑skilled (gas + heat pump) engineers: £48,000–£62,000/year expected.
- Renewable heating specialists: £55,000–£70,000/year in some roles.
Plain gas/heating work can put you mid‑40s as an employee. Go self‑employed and price properly and you can push £60–70k turnover; add heat‑pump and low‑carbon skills and the ceiling climbs again – if your day rate and job pricing keep up.
4. What's usually NOT included in heating quotes
All the extras that destroy margin if you don't write them down:
System upgrades triggered by regs Main bonding, gas run upgrades, flue changes to meet current standards – often extras on top of a "simple swap" quote.
Full system cleans Power‑flushing, magnetic filters, additional chemicals beyond a basic flush.
Controls upgrades beyond basics Smart controls, zoning, weather compensation, extra stats.
Making good and decorating Patching and painting around flues, boxing, lifting and relaying floors beyond basic.
Asbestos and major building work Asbestos ceilings or flue routes, knocking out cupboards, structural works.
5. How heating engineers charge – day rate vs fixed price
- Boilers and big heating jobs: nearly always fixed price per job to the customer (new boiler, system conversions, major upgrades).
- Call‑outs and repairs: often hourly or day rate, with premium rates for emergencies; many set standard and "out‑of‑hours" tariffs via software.
- Heat‑pump work: usually quoted as full packages, again built from strong day rates and subbie costs.
Under the bonnet:
Domestic heating engineers will be using target day rates roughly in the £220–£320/day band (higher in London and on specialist/low‑carbon work), then building job prices from that plus materials and risk.
6. Materials and markup – heating (2026)
Heating kit is expensive, and you're the one on the hook when it fails.
- Boiler‑cost guides are explicit: boiler‑only prices and installed prices are very different. Straight‑swap labour and standard materials alone are £800–£1,500 on a typical combi job – that's your time, pipe, fittings, flue bits, inhibitor, benchmarking, paperwork.
- On boilers, cylinders and major components, heating engineers commonly work with 20–30% markup on their trade cost to cover sourcing, logistics, warranty and call‑back risk.
- Everyday materials (pipe, fittings, valves, chemicals, fixings) often sit in the 10–20% markup range.
You can word it simply:
"It's normal for heating engineers to add 10–20% on everyday materials and closer to 20–30% on boilers and big kit. That margin pays for ordering, delivery, paperwork and you standing behind the system when something goes wrong."
Plumbing vs heating in 2026 – side‑by‑side
If you're currently "a plumber who does a bit of heating", there's a clear money argument for tightening your boiler pricing and adding (properly trained) heat‑pump/controls work.
| Plumbing (incl. heating, not gas‑only) | Heating engineer (gas / boilers / low‑carbon) | |
|---|---|---|
| Typical 2026 day rate – most of UK | £250–£350/day experienced | £220–£320/day experienced |
| Typical 2026 day rate – London/SE | £300–£400/day | £260–£400+/day (domestic to low‑carbon) |
| Newly self‑employed band | £180–£230/day outside London | £150–£200/day outside London |
| How work is usually priced | Fixed price for domestic (bathrooms, installs); day rate for fault‑finding | Fixed price for boilers/installs; hourly/day for call‑outs |
| Common domestic jobs | Leak fixes £75–£150; bathroom plumbing £2,700–£4,000 | Boiler swap labour £800–£1,500; full install £2k–£4.5k+ |
| Average employed earnings | ONS medians low/mid‑£30,000s | £38,000–£45,000 depending on region |
| Self‑employed target | £45,000–£60,000/year | £60,000+ sole trader; £70,000+ Ltd |
| Materials markup – small stuff | 10–20% | 10–20% |
| Materials markup – big kit | 20–30% on boilers/cylinders | 20–30% on boilers/major components |
| Upside if you level up | Add heating/controls skills → higher band | Add heat pumps/low‑carbon → £48k–£70k+ |
What to do next
- Read: 14.2 – How to price your first job without underselling yourself
- Read: 14.8 – Materials: who supplies, who pays, where's the margin?
- Read: 14.10 – Cashflow and pricing – why a profitable job can still break you
- Read: 14.T1 – What plumbers actually charge (if you do both plumbing and heating)
- Download: Payment schedule and deposit terms template
- Use: Late Payment Calculator
Sources (UK, 2026‑relevant)
- MyJobQuote – "How Much Does a Gas Engineer Make in the UK? [2026 Guide]" – day rates and annual earnings by seniority.
- Training provider salary outlooks – newly qualified to commercial gas engineer day rates; dual-fuel and heat pump earnings projections.
- Boiler cost guides 2026 – installed boiler prices, labour breakdowns, swap vs conversion costs.
- Indeed – heating engineer salary data, England average ~£38,659/year.
- Heating software data (6,000+ firms) – hourly charge-out rates for standard and emergency work.
- National Careers / GoConstruct – heating and ventilation engineer career and salary information.
- Contractor markup resources – typical materials margin ranges for heating and plumbing businesses.
Know someone who needs this?
Was this guide useful?
Didn't find what you were looking for?
Spotted something wrong or out of date? Email us at hello@kilnguides.co.uk.
In crisis? Samaritans 116 123 ·