Heat pumps could cost 50% less for housing corporations tenants
Housing corporations can now reduce the cost of installing heat pumps in rental properties by nearly 50 percent, following a joint plan announced Monday in Utrecht. The initiative, reported by RTL, involves collaboration between housing corporations, manufacturers, installers, the research institute TNO, and the Ministry of Economic Affairs.
While costs vary depending on the type of home, projects that previously cost up to 12,500 euros—including purchase, replacement, and maintenance—can now be installed for roughly 6,000 euros in well-insulated homes.
Maarten Hommelberg, director of Team Duurzaam Installeren (TDI), a collaboration of eight leading installation companies, said, “We have been running an innovation program for three years. The results have been so positive that the participating parties now say it is possible to scale up significantly.”
Mark Harbers, chairman of Techniek Nederland, added, “If we succeed in halving the total life-cycle costs of the heat pump, sustainability becomes attainable for tens of thousands of corporate homes. By collaborating with all market players, we make this part of the energy transition financially feasible. We can really accelerate the process.”
The average lifespan of a heat pump is currently about 15 years, though some manufacturers guarantee up to 25 years. Installation times have dropped from an average of 32 hours to around 16, and many devices can now be monitored remotely, reducing the need for service visits and further lowering costs.
This initiative has not disclosed the number of homes slated for heat pumps. Hommelberg said the goal is to “gradually increase volumes."
Currently, one-third of Dutch homes—roughly 2.4 million—are owned by housing corporations, with 1.8 million still connected to natural gas. The government aims to make 450,000 of these homes gas-free by 2034.
Hommelberg also emphasized energy independence, citing geopolitical concerns: “We also have Russian President Putin, and we prefer to be less dependent. This is an important driver to produce more of our energy and take care of our heating.”
Experts often suggest hybrid heat pumps, which combine electric pumps with gas boilers, as a transitional option. But some argue that skipping this step in favor of fully electric heat pumps is more effective. Hommelberg said he hopes corporations will install “all-electric-ready” systems, which initially operate as hybrids but can eventually provide full heating without gas once insulation is sufficient.
Over the past three years, TNO's research has evaluated the necessity of fully insulating homes before installing a heat pump. Rob Kotte of TNO said, “We also studied what offers the best return per euro.” Preliminary findings show that fully electric heat pumps already deliver significant benefits, even in moderately insulated homes, with lower CO₂ emissions, reduced energy bills, and lower upfront costs, allowing more homes to be upgraded for the same investment.
Liesbeth Spies, chair of the housing association Aedes, said, “By reducing the cost of a heat pump, tenant energy bills can ultimately decrease. But we cannot do this alone. The move allows a major step toward a gas-free corporate housing stock.”
