Heating cost calculator: every heating system for your German home side by side
One house, six heating systems: the calculator lines up the yearly cost of each for your floor area, energy class and federal state.
Worked through by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How we calculate
Heating cost now (Gas boiler)
€2,403
a year; cheapest: Ground-source heat pump at €1,036
| Ground-source heat pump | €1,036 |
|---|---|
| Air-source heat pump | €1,310 |
| Oil boiler | €2,214 |
| Gas boiler (now) | €2,403 |
| Storage heaters | €4,620 |
| Heat demand a year | 16,229 kWh |
| CO₂ today a year | 3,765 kg |
Step-by-step calculation
- 140 m² × class E (midpoint 145.0 kWh/m²) × efficiency 86.6 % × North Rhine-Westphalia climate (2,929 degree days vs 3,236 in Potsdam, space heating only) = 16,229 kWh.
- Heat pump: 16,229 ÷ SPF 3.4 = 4,773 kWh × 27.44 ct = €1,310.
- Gas at 11.58 ct/kWh (Destatis, first half of 2026), heating oil at €118.68 per 100 litres.
- CO₂ price: €65 per tonne, as included in 2026 prices.
Estimate under the funding guideline and the law as of October 2026, not advice. Only the bank’s grant approval is binding. How we calculate
The heating cost calculator puts the yearly cost of every common heating system side by side for the same amount of heat: gas, heating oil, air-source and ground-source heat pumps, electric storage heaters and, once you enter your price, district heating. The heat comes from floor area, energy class and the climate of your federal state. Prices are official: gas at 11.58 ct per kWh and electricity from the Destatis survey for the first half of 2026, heating oil from the EU Weekly Oil Bulletin, heat pump and storage heater power from the Federal Network Agency. An unrenovated 160 m² house in class F in Saxony needs about 25,690 kWh of heat. With gas it pays €3,804 a year, with oil at the 12-month average €3,504, but €5,014 at the October price. An air-source heat pump costs €2,073, storage heaters €7,314. District heating beats gas as long as the all-in price on the bill stays below 14.81 ct per kWh. At a CO₂ scenario of €150 per tonne, gas would cost €4,407.
Six systems, one amount of heat
A comparison is only fair if every system has to deliver the same heat. The calculator works out that heat once and then calculates back how much fuel or electricity each system needs: for a boiler through its efficiency, for a heat pump through the SPF, for storage heaters and district heating one to one. The energy classes come from annex 10 of the Building Modernisation Act, the climate from the degree days of the German weather service. How much the federal state alone shifts the bill is shown under heating costs by state.
Two houses compared
A newer 110 m² house in class C in Lower Saxony needs 8,177 kWh of heat a year, an unrenovated 160 m² house in class F in Saxony 25,690 kWh. The order of the systems stays the same; the gaps grow with demand.
| System | 110 m², class C | 160 m², class F |
|---|---|---|
| Ground-source heat pump | €522 | €1,639 |
| Air-source heat pump | €660 | €2,073 |
| Oil boiler | €1,115 | €3,504 |
| Gas boiler | €1,211 | €3,804 |
| Storage heaters | €2,328 | €7,314 |
Gas is based on the average price in the Destatis survey, heating oil on the Weekly Oil Bulletin, heat pump and storage heater power on the Federal Network Agency monitoring report. Every price can be replaced with your own under “Prices and heat pump”. The ground-source heat pump at the top is no mistake: it is cheapest to run because it reached the highest SPF in the field study, 4.3. Purchase costs, such as drilling the borehole, are not part of this comparison.
Heating cost in your state
Heat pump a year
€1,448
| Gas boiler a year | €2,657 |
| Degree days (DWD) | 3,318 |
| Heat demand | 17,941 kWh |
Efficiency class E, 2026 prices.
District heating: your price decides
There is no official average for district heating, so the calculator only uses your price. A rule of thumb still follows: in the Saxony example house, district heating is cheaper than gas as long as the all-in price stays below 14.81 ct per kWh of heat. Add up every item on the annual bill and divide by the kWh delivered. More on the bill under district heating prices.
The CO₂ price as a lever
Gas and oil carry a CO₂ price, auctioned in 2026 within a corridor of €55 to €65 per tonne; according to the German Emissions Trading Authority the average was €65. EU emissions trading for buildings is due from 2028, with no official price yet. Set a scenario in the calculator: at €150 per tonne, gas in the Saxony house would rise to €4,407, oil at the 12-month average to €4,304. The surcharge per litre and kWh is broken down under CO₂ tax, the ranking with purchase price and grant under heating costs compared.