Price of an air-to-water
heat pump.

We reviewed every “heat pump” line in our quotes drawn up between 2024 and 2026. Eight projects include an air-to-water heat pump. The amounts below are rounded and exclude VAT: they are ranges, not a price list, and every house is still priced after a visit.

To get to the price including VAT, apply the 5.5% VAT explained below: €14,000 excl. VAT gives about €14,770 incl. VAT, €20,000 excl. VAT about €21,100 incl. VAT and €26,000 excl. VAT about €27,430 incl. VAT.

The most common line is the first: a gas or oil boiler goes out, and a monobloc heat pump replaces it on the existing radiator system, with a hot water cylinder built into the indoor module. The second line corresponds to heavier renovations, where underfloor heating is created on the ground floor, the radiators on the upper floors are replaced and several heating zones are controlled with a large-capacity cylinder.

The scope first. In some of our quotes, the installation appears on a separate line from the machine; in others, everything is combined in a fixed price that includes removal of the old boiler and its disposal at an approved waste site. Compare totals on an equal scope, never a single line on its own.

Then the water temperature. The models we most often install produce water up to 60°C. A house fitted with old radiators sized for a boiler sometimes needs a more expensive high-temperature model, or the replacement of a few radiators. This is one of the first questions our heating engineers settle on site.

Domestic hot water. A cylinder built into the indoor module is enough for most families. The most expensive projects in our review include a separate 400-litre cylinder or a buffer tank, which add equipment and need space.

The electrics. The outdoor unit needs a dedicated, protected line at the consumer unit. Depending on the output and the model, the installation may have to switch to three-phase: that was the case on one of our projects, where the full electrical renovation of the house was priced separately.

The condition of the system. A clogged circuit wears out the heat pump. Flushing, checking the valves and replacing the thermostatic heads cost little compared with the machine, but they are often missing from the cheapest quotes.

An air-to-water heat pump draws its heat from the outside air. The colder it gets, the harder it works. Output is therefore determined from the house's heat losses, calculated room by room at the site's design outdoor temperature, which drops as you climb in altitude. On the shore of Lac du Bourget and in a village in the Bauges or the Aravis, the same house does not need the same machine.

Too powerful, and the heat pump switches on and off constantly and wears out quickly. Too small, and it lets the back-up electric heater take over in severe cold, and the bill goes up. That is why the output is shown as estimated on our quotes until this calculation has been done: it is confirmed after the visit.

Two details also matter in Savoie. The outdoor unit is fitted on a bracket or ground-mounted stand that holds it above the snow and lets the defrost water drain away. And its position is chosen with the neighbours' noise and snow sliding off the roof in mind.

Finally, insulating before changing the heating reduces the output required, and therefore the price of the machine. If your loft or your walls are not insulated, start with our guides to insulating unused lofts and to insulating walls from the inside.

The air-to-air heat pump blows warm air, or cool air in summer, through wall-mounted units or ducts. It does not heat the water in the radiators and does not produce domestic hot water. In our quotes, the line for a system with several indoor units is between €6,500 and €12,000 excl. VAT, with installation sometimes priced separately; a ducted system controlled room by room across a whole floor has exceeded €20,000 excl. VAT.

The choice is therefore not made on price alone. A house that already has a water radiator system keeps its comfort with an air-to-water unit; a flat or a floor without a system may be better served by an air-to-air unit. As for grants, the MaPrimeRénov' per-measure flat rates listed by Anah cover the air-to-water heat pump and geothermal energy, not air-to-air.

VAT. In a home completed more than two years ago, an air-to-water heat pump is in principle subject to the reduced rate of 5.5%, provided the appliance meets the technical characteristics set by the regulations. Hybrid heat pumps, combined with a gas or oil boiler as back-up, have been excluded since 1 March 2025. For air-to-air, an order of 13 July 2026 sets the efficiency criteria that open up the reduced rate. The details of the three rates are in our guide to VAT on renovation work.

MaPrimeRénov' per measure (par geste). Since 1 September 2026, the per-measure flat rates have been refocused on heat pumps. For an air-to-water unit, Anah indicates €5,000 for very low-income households, €4,000 for low-income households and €3,000 for intermediate-income households. Higher-income households are not eligible, but remain eligible for the energy savings certificates (CEE) paid by energy suppliers.

By way of example, outside Île-de-France, a four-person household is classed as “very low income” up to a reference taxable income of €35,676, “low income” up to €45,735 and “intermediate income” up to €64,550. The home must be at least 15 years old and be your main residence; the application is filed on france-renov.gouv.fr before the work starts, and the company must be RGE-qualified for this measure.

In a major renovation (rénovation d'ampleur), the heat pump is part of a project that includes at least two insulation works and gains at least two bands on the energy performance rating (DPE). This is the framework of our RGE CertiRénov certification (no. CR-2026-73-0095), issued for the global renovation offer (offre globale de rénovation). For a heat pump installed on its own, we indicate on the quote which grants remain available in your case. The full overview is in our MaPrimeRénov' 2026 guide.