Guide
Switching from gas to a heat pump on the Côte d'Azur: costs, subsidies and the case for doing it now
Plenty of villas and older apartments on the Côte d'Azur still heat with a gas boiler. If yours is one of them, the sums have moved in favour of a heat pump. This guide compares running costs, what the switch costs, which subsidies apply and why a mild coastal winter suits a heat pump.
How do running costs compare: gas boiler vs heat pump?
Compare the price of one kWh of heat delivered to your rooms. Both figures follow energy prices, so treat them as a dated snapshot:
- Gas boiler: the CRE reference price for heating customers was about 0.135 EUR/kWh in September 2026 and rises to about 0.146 EUR/kWh on 1 October. A modern condensing boiler loses about a tenth of that, so heat costs roughly 0.15-0.16 EUR per kWh.
- Air-to-water heat pump: electricity on the base regulated tariff has cost about 0.20 EUR/kWh since 1 August 2026. A well-sized heat pump gives about 4 kWh of heat for each kWh of electricity. Heat costs roughly 0.05 EUR per kWh.
So a heat pump heats for about a third of the gas price. A medium-sized villa using 15,000 kWh of heat a year would spend roughly 1,500 to 1,650 EUR less. Two things move that figure. The CRE resets the gas reference price every month, and your real efficiency depends on how well the system is sized.
Oil is dearer still. Heating oil cost about 1.85-1.90 EUR per litre in late September 2026, and the price swings from month to month. A litre holds roughly 10 kWh, and an oil boiler wastes about 15% of it. That puts oil heat at about 0.22 EUR per kWh, the most expensive of the three.
Why does the mild Riviera winter favour a heat pump?
A heat pump pulls heat out of the outdoor air. The colder the air, the harder it works. Nice averages around 8-10°C in January, and Cannes is slightly warmer. On the coast it rarely drops below 5°C even at night. Inland in the 06 and 83 you'll see only the odd frosty night.
The efficiency figure on the energy label is measured for a colder climate than ours. On the coast, the same machine usually does a little better than its label says. The winters that make gas feel unnecessary are the ones where a heat pump runs at its best.
What does a gas-to-heat-pump switch cost?
It depends on whether you fit reversible splits (PAC air-air) or an air-to-water system (PAC air-eau) that feeds your existing radiators:
- PAC air-air (reversible splits): 2,000-3,500 EUR installed for a single split, 7,000-14,000 EUR for a multi-split covering a whole house. Wall or ceiling units heat and cool. They don't feed radiators, so this is the cheaper route if you don't have or need a wet heating circuit.
- PAC air-eau (air-to-water): 8,000-18,000 EUR installed. The range depends on property size and whether some radiators need upgrading or underfloor heating is added. It takes the gas boiler's place in the heating circuit and can also make your hot water. It costs more, but it's the direct replacement and the only one of the two that MaPrimeRénov' funds.
Our heat pump cost guide breaks these ranges down.
Which subsidies help you switch from gas, and which need a main home?
Two of the four national aids need the house to be your principal residence. Second-home owners can still use the other two.
- MaPrimeRénov' (principal residence only): the main government grant, sized by household income. It funds an air-to-water heat pump as a single measure. Air-air splits are excluded and get nothing from it.
- Éco-PTZ (principal residence only): a zero-interest loan of up to 15,000 EUR for a single eligible measure, with no income condition. It can sit alongside MaPrimeRénov'. See the Éco-PTZ entry for the other ceilings.
- CEE (main or second home): energy-supplier bonuses with no income condition. Air-to-water units and air-air units that meet an efficiency threshold can both qualify. Your installer usually arranges it. See our CEE guide.
- TVA at 5.5% (main or second home): the reduced rate covers an air-to-water heat pump, equipment and labour, in a home more than two years old. The installer applies it on the quote once you've signed a statement confirming the home's age.
One trap: keeping the gas boiler as a backup turns the job into a hybrid system. A heat pump with a fossil-fuel backup is taxed at 20% TVA, and since 1 September 2026 MaPrimeRénov' no longer funds it.
Grant amounts change often, so check them at france-renov.gouv.fr. We don't print them here because they go out of date.
How does switching from gas to a heat pump affect your DPE rating?
Swapping a gas boiler for a heat pump usually lifts the DPE by one or two letters. Both halves of the score improve:
- Energy use falls, because the heat pump needs far less energy for each kWh of heat.
- Emissions fall a lot, because French electricity comes mostly from nuclear and carries much less carbon than gas.
If your home sits at E or F, pairing the heating switch with roof insulation can often reach the two-letter gain that MaPrimeRénov' parcours accompagné requires. That route pays higher rates, and it too needs the house to be your principal residence.
When is staying on gas the better call?
For most Riviera properties, it isn't. The running costs above favour the heat pump and the coastal climate suits it.
The exceptions are narrow. Your gas connection may have just been upgraded. Your radiators may need very hot water to keep rooms warm, and replacing them isn't practical. Ask the installer whether the current radiators will heat the house at a heat pump's lower water temperature. Or the upfront cost may still be out of reach after subsidies.
The real decision is air-air against air-eau. If the house has no radiator circuit and you'd have to install one, air-to-water gets much dearer. Reversible splits then give you heating and cooling for less. Add a heat pump water heater for hot water, and all three needs are covered for less than a full air-to-water retrofit.
More on gas, heat pumps and the DPE
Sources
Official sources for switching from gas: grants, loan and TVA
- Service-Public: MaPrimeRénov' (F35083) Principal residence rule, air-to-water heat pumps funded as a single measure, air-air splits left out, and the parcours accompagné two-letter gain.
- Légifrance: décret n° 2026-822 of 25 August 2026 The short list of work MaPrimeRénov' still funds one measure at a time from 1 September 2026.
- Légifrance: arrêté of 17 November 2020 on MaPrimeRénov' technical criteria (as amended 25 August 2026) A funded heat pump must have no backup able to burn fossil fuel, which is why keeping the gas boiler costs you the grant.
- Service-Public: Éco-PTZ (F19905) The zero-interest loan, its principal-residence condition and its ceilings.
- BOFiP: BOI-TVA-LIQ-30-20-95, reduced TVA on energy renovation 5.5% on an air-to-water heat pump in a home over two years old, and the loss of that rate for hybrids with a fossil backup since 1 March 2025.
Rules checked against these sources in September 2026. Cost ranges are our own estimates and are not drawn from these sources.