What does a heat pump cost?Purchase and running costs.

An air-to-water heat pump in a single-family home costs around CHF 30,000 to 50,000 including installation, and a ground-source heat pump around CHF 45,000 to 70,000. That is before subsidies. The electricity to run it costs about CHF 1,000 to 2,000 a year in a typical house.

These are ranges, not prices. What your heating system costs depends on the house, the heating system and the plot. That is why we calculate with your figures at the free site visit.

Purchase: air-to-water or ground-source

The air-to-water heat pump is the most common in Switzerland. It needs no drilling. Instead, the location and noise matter.

The ground-source heat pump costs more because the drilling is added. Depending on depth and ground, the extra cost is often in the range of CHF 10,000 to 25,000. In return, it works more efficiently in winter and needs no outdoor unit.

System	Guide to total cost (single-family home)	Seasonal performance factor
Air-to-water	around CHF 30,000 to 50,000	about 3 to 3.5
Ground-source	around CHF 45,000 to 70,000	about 4 to 5

These amounts include the unit, hot water cylinder, hydraulics and installation. What comes on top, you see in the next section.

Extra costs that are often forgotten

A quote for the unit alone says little. When replacing a heating system, further items come in:

• Removal: taking out the boiler, emptying, cleaning and decommissioning the oil tank. The room can often be used differently afterwards.
• Electrical installation: the heat pump needs its own supply cable and fusing. With older meter cabinets, a rebuild is needed.
• Hydraulics and cylinder: connection to the heating system, hot water cylinder, pumps and controls.
• Radiators: if some are too small for low flow temperatures, they are replaced.
• Permits: applications, noise protection certificate and, for ground-source systems, the drilling permit.

In our quotes, each of these items is listed separately. That way you compare offers on the same basis.

Subsidies: regulated by canton

Replacing an oil, gas or electric heating system is subsidised. The canton usually pays the contributions through its building programme. Each canton sets the amount and conditions itself. Some communes and energy suppliers add something on top.

Two points are important:

• In many cantons, the application has to be submitted before work starts. If you build first, you lose the entitlement.
• In most cantons, you can deduct the investment from your taxable income.

Which contribution applies to your address, we check at the site visit. We submit the subsidy application for you. On request, we pre-finance the contribution.

Electricity use and running costs

A heat pump delivers several times as much heat as the electricity it uses. This ratio is called the seasonal performance factor (SPF, JAZ). With an SPF of 3.5, 1 kWh of electricity produces 3.5 kWh of heat. Electricity use is therefore the heat demand divided by the SPF.

Worked example (assumptions, not an offer): a single-family home needs 20,000 kWh of heat a year for heating and hot water. That corresponds to about 2,000 litres of heating oil.

• Air-to-water with SPF 3.5: 20,000 / 3.5 = around 5,700 kWh of electricity.
• Ground-source with SPF 4.5: 20,000 / 4.5 = around 4,400 kWh of electricity.
• Electricity price: according to ElCom (Federal Electricity Commission), the 2026 median for household basic supply is 27.7 ct. per kWh excluding VAT. Your tariff may differ.
• Electricity cost, air-to-water: 5,700 kWh x 0.277 = around CHF 1,580 a year.
• Electricity cost, ground-source: 4,400 kWh x 0.277 = around CHF 1,220 a year.

These figures depend heavily on the house. A well-insulated house needs less, a large older building more. The flow temperature also has a strong effect on the SPF.

Comparison with oil heating over 20 years

Take the same house. The oil heating system uses around 2,000 litres a year. With an assumed price of CHF 1.10 per litre, that is CHF 2,200. On top come servicing and the chimney sweep, assumed here at CHF 400 a year.

Item over 20 years (example)	Oil heating	Air-to-water heat pump
Energy	CHF 44,000	CHF 31,600
Servicing, chimney sweep	CHF 8,000	CHF 3,000
Total running costs	CHF 52,000	CHF 34,600

The difference of around CHF 17,000 offsets part of the higher purchase price. With subsidies and tax deduction, the extra cost shrinks further. Price swings in oil and electricity are not included. The CO2 levy on heating oil can also change.

Besides money, two things speak for the heat pump: you no longer depend on the oil price, and the system can be run on your own solar power.

With a solar system, running costs fall

You do not have to buy every kilowatt-hour from your own roof at the grid tariff. In the example above: if a solar system covers 30 percent of the heat pump’s electricity, that is around 1,700 kWh. At 27.7 ct., you save about CHF 470 a year. The figure is an example. It rises with a battery and good controls.

Most of the electricity is needed in winter, when the roof delivers less. The solar system therefore does not replace grid electricity entirely, it reduces it. Especially in spring and autumn, the heat pump runs on solar power during the day, and hot water can be moved to the sunniest hours.

If you plan both together, you also save effort: meter cabinet, supply cable and controls are built once. We then size the solar system for the future heating electricity right away.

What pushes the price up or down

Two houses with the same living area can be CHF 15,000 apart on the heat pump. The main reasons:

• Heating capacity: a large house with high heat demand needs a more powerful unit and more metres of drilling.
• Condition of the house: insulated houses need less power. With older buildings, we calculate the heating load exactly instead of estimating it.
• Siting: an outdoor unit next to the house is cheaper than an installation with long pipes or sound insulation.
• Access: narrow access and difficult building sites make removal and drilling more expensive.
• Timing: if you plan before a breakdown, you can compare quotes and meet the deadlines for subsidies.

When comparing quotes, count all items, not just the unit. A low figure without removal, electrical work and cylinder is misleading.

Heat pump with an existing solar system

If you already have a solar system, self-consumption counts. We check whether the inverter, meter and yield suit the heat pump and whether an extension of the solar system is worthwhile. If the system is only sized for household electricity, it usually covers the heating electricity only in part.

Is a heat pump worthwhile?

Usually yes, if the old heating system has to be replaced anyway. Then it is not heat pump against doing nothing, but heat pump against a new oil heating system. The heat pump has the lower running costs and benefits from the subsidies.

It is less clear if the heating system will keep running for many years, or the house needs very high flow temperatures. Then we check whether adjustments are worthwhile or whether a later date suits better. We will tell you openly. If your heating system fails right now, you decide under time pressure. So plan early, ideally before it fails.

We calculate it for your house

The figures above are guides and examples. We only know your price after the site visit. We come free of charge to your home, check the heating, radiators, space and electrical installation, and you receive a binding quote within 72 hours. With subsidies, running costs and the comparison with your current heating.