France’s heat pump leasing plan explained
Homeowners will pay back installation costs over three years, with payments cheaper than current bills
Heat pumps are seen as an eco-friendly way to switch to electric heating
Jerome.Romme/Shutterstock
The French government has announced it is working to introduce a ‘leasing scheme’ for heat pump installations, spreading the cost of projects over a number of years while reducing household bill costs.
A social leasing plan – similar to that for electric cars – would see heat pump (pompe à chaleur) installation costs spread over three years for homeowners.
The announcement comes after Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said he is aiming for one million French manufactured heat pump installations per year in France by 2030, doubling the total number of installations to eight million.
The prime minister also announced a ban on new gas boiler installations.
State electricity supplier EDF announced it would provide 80,000 grants for heat pump installations in lower-income households, available in tandem with other aid schemes.
The schemes both look to increase the use of electricity to heat and power homes in France, and replace older oil and gas based heating solutions.
However, warnings over the impact on France’s electricity network and installation issues remain.
How will the scheme work?
The scheme will work similarly other leasing programmes, with the government or an energy supplier paying most or all of the upfront cost and then the property owner paying this back through monthly instalments.
The government envisions a three-year payback for the installation costs, via 36 monthly payments.
“We are working with energy suppliers on a system that will guarantee that the monthly payment for your heat pump and the associated electricity cost for heating will always be lower than your gas bill,” said government spokesperson and Energy Minister Maud Bregeon to Le Parisien.
This means that from the moment the heat pump is installed, monthly expenses will drop, even if paying for the installation cost.
Once the cost of installation has been paid off "you will only pay the cost of electricity, which will be half of your previous bills,” Ms Bregeon added.
Full information on the scheme is yet to be revealed, however it should work alongside the state eco-renovation scheme MaPrimeRénov’.
“We will also continue with the existing MaPrimeRénov' scheme and we will finance, through energy savings certificates, the purchase of heat pumps with larger bonuses than before,” Ms Bregeon said.
“You could receive a bonus, a subsidy, which would vary with a ceiling between €12,000 and €14,000.”
Heat pump popularity
The increase in funding for heat pump installations is required for the scheme to fully cover installation costs, as most variants now cost between €10,000 - €15,000.
This is a prohibitive installation cost for many, with households looking for cheaper alternatives for heating.
Heat pumps can cut bills in half, reduce CO² emissions, and if properly installed “are approximately three to four times more efficient than a boiler or an electric radiator,” said the ecological transition agency Ademe in a recent report.
However, installation issues have left many frustrated with the devices.
“A third of installations do not deliver the expected results, often due to incorrect settings or sizing,” said Ademe in its report.
In addition, there are concerns that rapid installation will simply replace one ecological issue with another, putting too much stress on France’s electricity supply.
A rapid increase in electricity demand would need to be met by an increase in supply, possibly from fossil fuel consumption, with new nuclear power plants not set to be operational until 2040.
