2026 Heat-Pump Tariffs by Region in Europe: Night vs Day Pricing

Europe’s 2026 heat-pump tariff map: where electricity is cheapest and most expensive

For heat-pump owners, the 2026 picture starts with a simple spread: Ireland has the highest household electricity tariff in the dataset at €0.4042/kWh (country_compare / Eurostat · NASA POWER · EEA · Househeating Pulse subsidy register), while Hungary has the lowest at €0.1082/kWh (country_compare / Eurostat · NASA POWER · EEA · Househeating Pulse subsidy register). The gap is therefore €0.2960/kWh (country_compare / Eurostat · NASA POWER · EEA · Househeating Pulse subsidy register).

That spread is larger than many buyers expect, and it means a heat pump with identical seasonal performance can face very different running-cost conditions depending on market. The broader 32-country context is visible in the live country comparison dashboard and the rolling market index, but the tariff ranking alone already separates Europe into three rough groups.

Highest household electricity prices in the dataset

Lowest household electricity prices in the dataset

For country-level context beyond tariffs alone, the individual profiles for Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Switzerland, Cyprus and Czechia are useful reference points. Switzerland is a reminder that not every field is populated in the registry: electricity and gas prices are not recorded there in this corpus, even though climate and grid-intensity values are (country_compare / Eurostat · NASA POWER · EEA · Househeating Pulse subsidy register).

Night vs day pricing: the biggest dual-rate spreads and what they mean in euros

The research corpus does not include separate day-rate and night-rate tariff fields by country. That means the registry does not record the absolute night-vs-day electricity gap, the percentage night discount, or a ranked table of dual-rate spreads across Europe.

So the core editorial point can only be stated conditionally: where a dual-rate structure creates a large enough off-peak discount, flexible heat-pump operation should be materially cheaper than daytime operation; but this corpus does not quantify that spread country by country.

What the corpus does show is that many of the markets where off-peak optimisation would matter most are also markets with relatively high headline electricity prices. Germany sits at €0.3869/kWh (country_compare / Eurostat · NASA POWER · EEA · Househeating Pulse subsidy register), Ireland at €0.4042/kWh (country_compare / Eurostat · NASA POWER · EEA · Househeating Pulse subsidy register), Belgium at €0.3499/kWh (country_compare / Eurostat · NASA POWER · EEA · Househeating Pulse subsidy register), and Denmark at €0.3312/kWh (country_compare / Eurostat · NASA POWER · EEA · Househeating Pulse subsidy register). In those markets, even a modest time-of-use differential would change running costs more in euro terms than in lower-price markets, simply because the base tariff is higher.

That matters for hardware choice. Buyers comparing buffer-ready monoblocs in the heat-pump catalog, or checking high-efficiency units in the top SCOP leaderboard and air-to-water SCOP ranking, should read tariff timing alongside efficiency. A very efficient unit still benefits from load shifting if the tariff structure rewards it. The same applies to refrigerant-specific model comparisons in the R290 listings and R32 listings.

Which markets still beat gas on running cost for a SCOP 4 heat pump

On a simple tariff ratio test, a SCOP 4 heat pump tends to stay competitive with gas while the electricity-to-gas price ratio remains below roughly 3.7. In this corpus, 22 markets are below that threshold, and one more market, Poland, sits effectively on it at 3.71 (price_ratio / Eurostat household band DC (electricity) / D2 (gas), latest semester).

Markets below the ~3.7 electricity-to-gas threshold

Above that line, Belgium reaches 3.9 (price_ratio / Eurostat household band DC (electricity) / D2 (gas), latest semester), the United Kingdom 4.63 (price_ratio / Eurostat household band DC (electricity) / D2 (gas), latest semester), and Romania 5.11 (price_ratio / Eurostat household band DC (electricity) / D2 (gas), latest semester). For Cyprus, Finland, Malta, Norway and Iceland, the ratio is not available because gas prices are not recorded in the dataset (price_ratio / Eurostat household band DC (electricity) / D2 (gas), latest semester).

This ratio test is only a screening tool, but it is a useful one. The next step for households is to run actual system assumptions through the heat-pump payback calculator and, if relevant, the subsidy calculator.

How tariffs have moved since 2025: the countries with the sharpest rises and falls

The time-series evidence in this corpus is limited to four electricity markets: Germany, France, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. That means the registry does not support a Europe-wide year-over-year ranking of tariff movement across all selected countries.

Within those four markets, using the latest 2025 semester against the same semester a year earlier:

• France fell from €0.2926/kWh in 2024-H2 to €0.2561/kWh in 2025-H2, a decrease of €0.0365/kWh or 12.5% (tariff_history / Eurostat · electricity household band · series for FR).
• Germany fell from €0.3943/kWh in 2024-H2 to €0.3869/kWh in 2025-H2, a decrease of €0.0074/kWh or 1.9% (tariff_history / Eurostat · electricity household band · series for DE).
• Netherlands rose from €0.2144/kWh in 2024-H2 to €0.2558/kWh in 2025-H2, an increase of €0.0414/kWh or 19.3% (tariff_history / Eurostat · electricity household band · series for NL).

For the United Kingdom, the series in the corpus stops at 2020-H1 with €0.2203/kWh (tariff_history / Eurostat · electricity household band · series for GB), so there is no 2025 comparison available.

Among the countries with comparable 2024-H2 and 2025-H2 points in this dataset, the largest increase is the Netherlands at +€0.0414/kWh and +19.3% (tariff_history / Eurostat · electricity household band · series for NL), while the largest decrease is France at -€0.0365/kWh and -12.5% (tariff_history / Eurostat · electricity household band · series for FR).

Readers wanting the definitions behind these household bands can check the platform methodology notes and Eurostat’s own energy price statistics.

Subsidies and system context: where high off-peak savings meet climate and grid conditions

Because the corpus does not contain measured day and night tariffs, it cannot identify the countries with the “widest” published day-night spreads. What it can do is show where system context is most favourable for heat-pump use once tariffs, climate, subsidies and grid intensity are looked at together.

A few countries stand out.

France combines a relatively low electricity-to-gas ratio of 1.78 (price_ratio / Eurostat household band DC (electricity) / D2 (gas), latest semester), a low grid intensity of 56 gCO₂/kWh (country_compare / Eurostat · NASA POWER · EEA · Househeating Pulse subsidy register), and a maximum subsidy of €11,000 (country_compare / Eurostat · NASA POWER · EEA · Househeating Pulse subsidy register). Heating demand is moderate at 2,759.65 HDD₁₈ annually (country_compare / Eurostat · NASA POWER · EEA · Househeating Pulse subsidy register). That is a strong all-rounder profile, and the current France subsidy page gives the program detail.

Austria has a higher electricity tariff at €0.3272/kWh (country_compare / Eurostat · NASA POWER · EEA · Househeating Pulse subsidy register), but also a low grid intensity of 89 gCO₂/kWh (country_compare / Eurostat · NASA POWER · EEA · Househeating Pulse subsidy register), a ratio of 2.68 (price_ratio / Eurostat household band DC (electricity) / D2 (gas), latest semester), and a maximum subsidy of €23,000 (country_compare / Eurostat · NASA POWER · EEA · Househeating Pulse subsidy register). Heating demand is substantial at 3,309.19 HDD₁₈ (country_compare / Eurostat · NASA POWER · EEA · Househeating Pulse subsidy register). See Austria subsidies.

Germany remains expensive on electricity at €0.3869/kWh (country_compare / Eurostat · NASA POWER · EEA · Househeating Pulse subsidy register), but still sits under the 3.7 screening threshold at 3.16 (price_ratio / Eurostat household band DC (electricity) / D2 (gas), latest semester) and offers up to €21,000 in subsidy support (country_compare / Eurostat · NASA POWER · EEA · Househeating Pulse subsidy register). Grid intensity is much higher than France or Austria at 366 gCO₂/kWh (country_compare / Eurostat · NASA POWER · EEA · Househeating Pulse subsidy register). The relevant country pages are Germany market data and Germany subsidies.

Poland offers the highest recorded subsidy ceiling in the corpus at €31,000 (country_compare / Eurostat · NASA POWER · EEA · Househeating Pulse subsidy register), but its tariff ratio is 3.71 (price_ratio / Eurostat household band DC (electricity) / D2 (gas), latest semester), right at the SCOP 4 break-even screen, and its grid intensity is the highest in the dataset at 661 gCO₂/kWh (country_compare / Eurostat · NASA POWER · EEA · Househeating Pulse subsidy register). This is a case where upfront support is generous, but running-cost and carbon context are less favourable.

Among colder countries with low-carbon grids, Norway pairs €0.1922/kWh electricity (country_compare / Eurostat · NASA POWER · EEA · Househeating Pulse subsidy register), 5,039.96 HDD₁₈ (country_compare / Eurostat · NASA POWER · EEA · Househeating Pulse subsidy register) and a grid intensity of just 18 gCO₂/kWh (country_compare / Eurostat · NASA POWER · EEA · Househeating Pulse subsidy register). Sweden is similarly low carbon at 14 gCO₂/kWh (country_compare / Eurostat · NASA POWER · EEA · Househeating Pulse subsidy register), though electricity is higher at €0.2711/kWh (country_compare / Eurostat · NASA POWER · EEA · Househeating Pulse subsidy register). Finland combines €0.2254/kWh electricity (country_compare / Eurostat · NASA POWER · EEA · Househeating Pulse subsidy register), 4,407.92 HDD₁₈ (country_compare / Eurostat · NASA POWER · EEA · Househeating Pulse subsidy register) and 79 gCO₂/kWh (country_compare / Eurostat · NASA POWER · EEA · Househeating Pulse subsidy register). These are the markets where flexible off-peak operation would be especially interesting, but again the corpus does not publish the actual day-night spreads.

For climate context and local demand estimates, the climate-fit tool and the climate-zone explainer help translate HDD figures into likely annual heating loads.

What heat-pump owners should do: when flexible operation is worth shifting to night hours

The cross-country lesson for 2026 is not simply “buy where electricity is cheapest”. It is that tariff structure matters as much as tariff level when a household can shift load. This corpus proves the first part and only partially addresses the second.

What can be said with confidence is:

• Running-cost conditions are strongest where the electricity-to-gas ratio stays well below 3.7, as in Sweden at 1.3 (price_ratio / Eurostat household band DC (electricity) / D2 (gas), latest semester), the Netherlands at 1.49 (price_ratio / Eurostat household band DC (electricity) / D2 (gas), latest semester), Portugal at 1.73 (price_ratio / Eurostat household band DC (electricity) / D2 (gas), latest semester) and France at 1.78 (price_ratio / Eurostat household band DC (electricity) / D2 (gas), latest semester).
• Flexible operation should matter most in high-electricity-price markets such as Ireland at €0.4042/kWh (country_compare / Eurostat · NASA POWER · EEA · Househeating Pulse subsidy register) and Germany at €0.3869/kWh (country_compare / Eurostat · NASA POWER · EEA · Househeating Pulse subsidy register), because any off-peak discount would be applied to a larger euro base.
• Low-carbon grids improve the emissions case independently of tariff design, especially in Norway at 18 gCO₂/kWh (country_compare / Eurostat · NASA POWER · EEA · Househeating Pulse subsidy register), Sweden at 14 gCO₂/kWh (country_compare / Eurostat · NASA POWER · EEA · Househeating Pulse subsidy register), France at 56 gCO₂/kWh (country_compare / Eurostat · NASA POWER · EEA · Househeating Pulse subsidy register) and Austria at 89 gCO₂/kWh (country_compare / Eurostat · NASA POWER · EEA · Househeating Pulse subsidy register).

For buyers, the practical sequence is straightforward: check the country profile index, test local subsidy support on the subsidy pages, compare eligible machines in the full heat-pump catalog, and size the system with the heat-pump sizing calculator. If a supplier offers a dual-rate or time-of-use contract, that is the point to test whether buffer storage, higher domestic hot water charging at night, or modest pre-heating are worth the complexity. The market data here suggests that, in the right tariff regime, they often will be — but the actual night-vs-day delta must be checked from the tariff itself, because the registry does not record it.

Sources

• Eurostat · NASA POWER · EEA · Househeating Pulse subsidy register — snapshot 2026-05-30
• Eurostat household band DC (electricity) / D2 (gas), latest semester — snapshot 2026-05-30
• Eurostat · electricity household band · series for DE — snapshot 2026-05-30
• Eurostat · electricity household band · series for FR — snapshot 2026-05-30
• Eurostat · electricity household band · series for NL — snapshot 2026-05-30
• Eurostat · electricity household band · series for GB — snapshot 2026-05-30

Continue reading

• Heat pump payback guide — How to turn tariffs, SCOP and subsidies into a realistic household payback estimate.
• Sizing a heat pump correctly — Why oversizing and undersizing both distort running-cost expectations.
• R290 vs R32 heat pumps — Refrigerant choice matters for model selection, regulation and installer options.
• Country-by-country heat-pump incentives — A practical companion to the live subsidy database across European markets.