Hybrid or all-electric heat pump: which suits your home? Decision table, costs and the pitfalls

Short answer: choose a hybrid if your home has label C or lower, ordinary radiators and a boiler that will last at least another five years: the heat pump cuts 60 to 80 per cent of your gas use without building work, for € 5,800 to € 7,300 including installation and before any subsidy (indicative installed prices in the Netherlands). Choose all-electric if your home has label B or better, underfloor heating or low-temperature radiators, and space for a hot water cylinder: then gas goes out completely, for € 11,300 to € 16,300 including installation. If you are somewhere in between, the order is usually: hybrid now, insulate over the coming years, and only then all-electric. With some brands the outdoor unit can be carried over to that next step.

The decision table

Situation	Advice	Why
Label C, D or E, radiators, boiler less than 10 years old	Hybrid	Boiler stays for peaks and hot water; no changes to radiators; lowest investment per cubic metre of gas saved
Label C, ketel ouder dan 12 jaar	New boiler plus hybrid as a set	Eén installatiemoment, ketel en warmtepomp van hetzelfde merk regelen samen; sets vanaf € 4.749 los
Label A or B, underfloor heating, space for a cylinder	All-electric	Low flow temperature, low heat demand; the gas connection and its standing charge can go
Label A or B, ordinary radiators	All-electric after the 50-degree test	If the house stays warm with the boiler at a 50 °C flow temperature, the radiators are big enough; otherwise enlarge some radiators first
Label D to G, plans to insulate	Insulate first, then calculate	Every insulation step makes the heat pump smaller and cheaper; a hybrid can be an intermediate step
Flat without space for an outdoor unit	Exhaust air heat pump or heat pump water heater	No outdoor unit needed; replaces part of the gas or hot water use

What is the difference in practice?

A hybrid heat pump is an outdoor unit of 4 to 8 kW that is connected to your existing central heating system. The controls choose the cheapest heat source at any moment: the heat pump as long as it is not too cold outside, the boiler in frost and for showers. Indoors you notice nothing, apart from a lower gas bill and a higher electricity bill. The radiators stay, the thermostat stays (and with a matching brand combination such as Intergas Xtend with an Intergas boiler, or Remeha Elga Ace with a Remeha Ace, you even get one app).

A all-electric heat pump replaces the boiler completely. You get an indoor unit or hydrobox, a 150 to 300-litre cylinder for hot water and usually a buffer tank. The flow temperature drops to 35 to 45 °C, so the radiators or underfloor heating must give off enough heat at that temperature. Your gas connection can be disconnected; that saves the standing charge, but the disconnection itself involves a one-off fee from your grid operator.

The costs side by side

	Hybrid (4 to 6 kW)	All-electric (6 to 8 kW)
Heat pump only, in our shop	€ 3.069 tot € 4.500	€ 3,850 to € 6,700
Installation, buffer tank, electrics, commissioning	€ 2,800 to € 3,800	€ 5.300 tot € 8.300, inclusief boiler
Total including installation	€ 5,800 to € 7,300	€ 11,300 to € 16,300
Subsidy or incentive (varies by country)	€ 1.925 (4 kW) tot € 2.375 (6 kW)	Subsidies or incentives may be available in your country — check your national scheme
Indicative net cost after a typical subsidy	€ 3,800 to € 5,300	€ 8,800 to € 13,800
Gas saving	60 to 80 per cent	100 per cent, plus no more gas standing charge
Extra electricity per year (mid-terrace house)	2,000 to 2,500 kWh	3,500 to 5,000 kWh

Subsidies or incentives may be available in your country — check your national scheme for current amounts and conditions. Worked examples per model can be found in Intergas Xtend or Remeha Elga Ace. The installation prices are indicative for a standard situation and vary by country and installer (Instalpunt does not install); long pipe runs, a new circuit in the consumer unit or a base for the outdoor unit come on top.

What to check in advance

• The 50-degree test. During a cold week, set your boiler's flow temperature to 50 °C. If the house stays comfortable, a heat pump can cope with your current radiators; at 45 °C even better. If it does not get warm, all-electric only becomes feasible after enlarging radiators or insulating. More in Does a heat pump work with ordinary radiators?.
• The output. Calculate the heat loss from your gas consumption; the method is explained in How many kW heat pump do I need?.
• The location of the outdoor unit. Free airflow, not below a bedroom window, and observe the night-time noise limits at the property boundary (often around 40 dB(A)).
• The consumer unit. A dedicated 16 A circuit; for all-electric above 8 kW or together with an EV charger, often 3-phase.
• The cylinder. Only with all-electric: 150 litres for two to three people, 200 to 300 litres for a family with a bath. Options in Buying a hot water cylinder 2026.

The pitfalls

A hybrid on an old boiler. A 15-year-old boiler that breaks down next year makes the hybrid investment half worthless: you then have to adapt the controls and sometimes the heat pump anyway. In that case, go straight for a set of boiler plus heat pump.

All-electric without a calculation. Without a room-by-room heat loss calculation, nobody knows whether the attic bedroom will get warm on a cold day. The calculation costs a few hundred euros and prevents an electric element running all winter.

Subsidy as the starting point. Subsidies or incentives may be available in your country and can cover part of the cost, but schemes change regularly and are often paid out only afterwards. Calculate with the net investment and treat any subsidy as a bonus, not a precondition.

The models

Hybrid: Remeha Elga Ace 4 kW (€ 3.069), Elga Ace 6 kW (€ 3,799), Intergas Xtend 5 kW (€ 3,609) and Xtend Eco monoblock 5 kW with R290 (€ 3,989). All-electric: Intergas Xtend Eco 5 kW (€ 3,989) and Xtend Eco 7 kW (€ 4,464). Everything is in the · ; Instalpunt does not install, so have a qualified local installer do the work. See also our installation service.

Frequently asked questions

Can I switch from hybrid to all-electric later?

With monoblock units such as the Intergas Xtend Eco, the outdoor unit can stay and you replace the boiler with an indoor unit with a cylinder. With a hybrid matched to the boiler, such as the Elga Ace on a Remeha Ace, a new indoor side is needed. Ask before you buy.

How much do I save with a hybrid?

A mid-terrace house using 1,200 m³ of gas saves around 800 m³ and uses 2,200 kWh of extra electricity: net roughly € 400 to € 450 a year at Dutch 2026 rates, more with your own solar power. The actual figure depends on your energy prices.

Does all-electric also work at -10 degrees?

Yes, provided the output was chosen for that temperature. Modern air-to-water heat pumps work down to -20 °C; efficiency does drop, and in extreme cold the electric element kicks in.

Do I have to have my gas connection disconnected with all-electric?

You may, but you don't have to. Disconnecting saves the gas standing charge, but involves a one-off fee from your grid operator. If you still cook on gas, you will need to keep the connection.