Replacing an oil boiler with a heat pump
Oil is where a heat pump saves the most. Start from the litres you bought last year: the calculation gives the saving at this week’s price.
Oil heating is the most expensive per kWh of heat, and new oil boilers can no longer be installed since 1 July 2022, with some exceptions. Replacing one with an air-to-water heat pump keeps the water radiators and often the hot water supply. At the French average price recorded on 19 October 2026 by the European Commission’s Weekly Oil Bulletin, €1.931 per litre, a house buying 2,000 litres a year pays €3,862; the same heat from an air-to-water heat pump would cost about €1,177 in electricity, a saving of €2,684 a year. The calculation counts 10 kWh per litre of oil, the value in ADEME’s Base Carbone, and a boiler efficiency of 86 %, the EU minimum for new boilers; an old boiler does worse, and you can enter your own efficiency. On grants, replacing an oil boiler qualifies for the Coup de pouce, which multiplies the CEE bonus by five, for MaPrimeRénov’ for blue, yellow and purple households, and for a separate flat rate for removing the tank.
My heating-oil tank, converted to a heat pump
Saving per year
€2,414
| Oil today | €3,474 |
| Heat pump electricity | 5,338 kWh · €1,060 |
| Oil price per kWh | 0.193 € |
Estimate: 1 litre = 10 kWh (ADEME Base Carbone), boiler efficiency 86% (EU minimum for new boilers), SCOP 2.9 (ADEME measurement).
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method and sources
The saving from your litres
| Litres of oil per year | Oil bill | Air-to-water electricity | Air-to-water saving | Ground-source saving |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,000 | €1,931 | €589 | €1,342 | €1,514 |
| 1,500 | €2,896 | €883 | €2,013 | €2,272 |
| 2,000 | €3,862 | €1,177 | €2,684 | €3,029 |
| 2,500 | €4,827 | €1,472 | €3,355 | €3,786 |
| 3,000 | €5,792 | €1,766 | €4,026 | €4,543 |
The oil price changes every week: the site updates it from the Weekly Oil Bulletin, which publishes a national average price including taxes per 1,000 litres. Actual deliveries vary with the quantity ordered and the region.
My heating-oil tank, converted to a heat pump
Saving per year
€2,414
| Oil today | €3,474 |
| Heat pump electricity | 5,338 kWh · €1,060 |
| Oil price per kWh | 0.193 € |
Estimate: 1 litre = 10 kWh (ADEME Base Carbone), boiler efficiency 86% (EU minimum for new boilers), SCOP 2.9 (ADEME measurement).
Grants for the switch
Oil attracts the strongest grants: the Coup de pouce multiplies the CEE bonus by five (see Coup de pouce Chauffage), MaPrimeRénov’ pays its heat pump flat rate, and tank removal has its own flat rate. The cap nonetheless limits the total according to your income. The calculator, set to an oil boiler, works out the whole for your département.
Air-to-water or ground-source?
An oil-heated house is often rural, with land: ground-source may be possible. It costs more to fit, but its higher efficiency (4.1 against 2.9) increases the saving further, and its grants are larger. See ground-source heat pump.
Depending on your département’s climate
| Département | Litres a year | Oil bill | Air-to-water saving |
|---|---|---|---|
| Var (1,100 DJU) | 840 | €1,630 | €1,133 |
| Gironde (1,491 DJU) | 1,140 | €2,209 | €1,536 |
| Rhône (2,058 DJU) | 1,580 | €3,049 | €2,120 |
| Bas-Rhin (2,267 DJU) | 1,740 | €3,359 | €2,335 |
| Doubs (2,408 DJU) | 1,850 | €3,568 | €2,480 |
For the same house, 2.2 times as much oil is burnt in the Doubs as in the Var, and the saving follows. If you know your deliveries over recent years, enter them in the calculator: they replace the climate-based estimate, which is only an average for a typical house in that département.
What if prices change?
| Oil price per litre | Saving, electricity at today’s tariff | Saving, electricity +20% |
|---|---|---|
| 1.54 € | €1,912 | €1,676 |
| 1.93 € | €2,684 | €2,449 |
| 2.32 € | €3,457 | €3,221 |
The saving holds up against higher electricity prices, because the heat pump uses about a third as much electricity as the heat it supplies. It falls if oil gets cheaper, without disappearing at the levels in the table. Prices of both energies are reread by the site from their public sources, so the table moves with them; the oil price is the weekly French average, and your own supplier’s price may differ by a few cents a litre.
One more factor works in the heat pump’s favour: oil is bought in advance, in deliveries of several hundred litres, while electricity is paid as it is used. Switching therefore frees the cash tied up in a full tank, and ends the yearly choice of when to order.
What to check
The radiators: an old oil installation often runs on very hot water, 70 °C or more. A high-temperature heat pump or replacing a few radiators may be needed. The electrical rating of your subscription. Where the outdoor unit goes, and noise for the neighbours.