The €1,400 Gap: Oil Heating Costs More Than Double a Heat Pump

12 November 2026

Oil the main heating fuel in 34% of BER-rated homes nationally as prices rise 58.6% in a year.

Irish homes heated by oil pay more than twice as much per unit of heat as homes with a heat pump, according to analysis by Response Plumbing. The plumbing and heating firm compared the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland’s (SEAI) latest fuel costs with Central Statistics Office (CSO) data on how every county heats its homes. Oil is the main heating fuel in 34% of BER-rated homes nationally, around 465,000 in total, rising to 72% in Donegal. It comes as the CSO reports that home heating oil prices rose 58.6% in the year to September 2026.

Based on SEAI’s figures, a typical oil boiler delivers heat at between 22.6c and 28.2c per kWh. An air-to-water heat pump delivers the same heat for between 8.5c and 13.6c. For a home needing 10,000 kWh of heat a year, the midpoints work out at about €2,540 for oil and €1,100 for a heat pump. When asked about the situation, Paddy Crowley, Founder of Response Plumbing says:

Most oil customers we meet don’t know what they pay per unit of heat, they just know the tank empties faster every winter. Put the SEAI numbers side by side and the gap is hard to ignore. Oil prices have jumped by more than half in a year, and a lot of that money is going straight up the flue.”

What a Unit of Heat Costs in an Irish Home

Heating System	SEAI Efficiency Band	Cost Per kWh of Heat	Cost Per 10,000 kWh of Heat
Electric panel heaters	100%	33.9c	€3,392
Oil boiler (kerosene)	60% to 75%	22.6c to 28.2c	€2,257 to €2,822
Gas boiler (mains gas)	55% to 75%	15.8c to 21.5c	€1,577 to €2,151
Air-to-water heat pump	SPF 2.5 to 4.0	8.5c to 13.6c	€848 to €1,357

The Counties Most Reliant on Oil

Rank	County	BER-rated Homes Heated by Oil	BER-rated Homes With a Heat Pump
1	Donegal	72%	12%
2	Mayo	68%	10%
3	Roscommon	67%	10%
4	Leitrim	65%	7%
5=	Cavan	64%	9%
5=	Monaghan	64%	17%
7	Wexford	63%	15%
8=	Galway County	61%	14%
8=	Sligo	61%	13%
10	Tipperary	60%	11%
	Ireland	34%	15%

SEAI prices are the same nationwide, so the counties most reliant on oil have the most to gain from switching. Many also have some of the lowest heat pump uptake, with heat pumps in just 7% of rated homes in Leitrim and 10% in Mayo, against 23% in Kildare. In Response Plumbing’s home county of Cork, an estimated 47,000 BER-rated homes rely on oil, more than any other county.

A heat pump isn’t the right answer for every house, and that’s why we always start with the BER,” Paddy says. “The SEAI grant hinges on your home’s Heat Loss Indicator, so you need to know where you stand before you spend a cent.”

Thinking About Switching? Check Your Grant First

SEAI’s heat pump grant is worth up to €12,500 for a house and €9,500 for an apartment, for homes built and occupied before 2021. A new €2,000 boiler scrappage payment, announced by the Government on September 29th, will add to this for homes replacing a fossil fuel heating system. Full terms are yet to be published by SEAI.

Before you start, Paddy recommends the following:

Find your BER certificate. If your Heat Loss Indicator is 2.3 or lower, you won’t need a technical assessment.
Homes built before 2007 needing a technical assessment can get a €200 SEAI grant towards it.
Get grant approval before any work begins, as SEAI won’t fund work that started early.
Use an SEAI registered contractor, as this is a condition of the grant.

How the Data Was Gathered

Heating costs come from the SEAI Domestic Fuel Cost Comparison, dated October 1st, 2026, which includes VAT but excludes standing charges. The cost of useful heat was calculated by dividing SEAI’s delivered energy price by its typical seasonal efficiency bands. Oil uses the schedule kerosene price of €1.72 per litre, gas uses Band D2 and electricity uses Band DD. The 10,000 kWh example is illustrative. Home numbers are rounded estimates.

County heating fuel and heat pump figures come from the CSO Domestic Building Energy Ratings Q2 2026 release, which covers BERs issued since 2009 and uses each home’s most recent rating. The oil price rise comes from the CSO Consumer Price Index, September 2026. Grant details come from SEAI and the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment.

About Response Plumbing

Based in Blarney and working across Cork since 2005, Response Plumbing is a plumbing, heating and mechanical services business led by Paddy Crowley. The SEAI registered team carries out heat pump installations and boiler upgrades alongside commercial plumbing and gas work.