Heat pump or gas boiler: which heating to choose for your house

The heating system is one of the decisions that's hard to change once construction is finished, so it's worth weighing up in advance. Let's compare the three main options not by trend, but by real numbers: what it costs to install, and what it costs to run.

Gas boiler

The cheapest option upfront and still the most common solution wherever a gas line is available. Predictable running costs, familiar servicing, a wide choice of technicians. The main condition is that gas must already reach the plot; if not, connecting the network becomes a separate, and not always cheap, line item.

Heat pump

Costs significantly more to install, but saves up to 70% on heating compared with gas or electricity — a pump doesn't generate heat, it moves it from the environment, so it uses far less electricity for the same amount of warmth. The gap in installation cost pays for itself over a few heating seasons, and after that it works purely in your favor every month.

Electric heating

The simplest connection, with no network needed besides electricity. A logical choice as the primary source in mild climates, or as a backup alongside a heat pump or boiler — not for continuously heating a large house through winter, where bills can end up the highest of the three options.

Which option pays off when

• Gas is already on the plot and the upfront budget is tight — a gas boiler remains a sensible standard

• You plan to live in the house long-term and can invest more upfront — a heat pump pays for itself through monthly savings

• You need a backup or supplementary heat source — electric heating as a second circuit

In the construction configurator you can select several heating types at once — they work well together. Choose an option or a combination and see straight away how it affects the estimated budget for your house.