Heating a Private House: Gas, Heat Pump or Electric — What to Choose in 2026

2026-10-06

Choosing how to heat your house is the first question where you will be oversold, long before the first wall goes up. Heat-pump sellers promise savings "two or three times over," electric-heating sellers promise "simple, no gas," gas installers promise "cheapest of all." Each is right and each is bending the truth, because each counts from their own side of the table. The honest answer is singular: in 2026 in Ukraine, the cheapest heating to run is gas, as long as gas stays cheap. A heat pump does not always pay off, and electric heating without good insulation and a preferential tariff will drain you. Below are the real numbers: what each system costs to buy, and what it costs to run.

The second thing to grasp at once: heating is not something you add after construction. It is a design-stage decision. A gas boiler needs a boiler room and a flue in the drawings; a heat pump needs underfloor heating and space for the hydro unit; any system needs electrical capacity and pipe runs cast into the screed. In 191 of 202 projects in the DOMRIY catalogue, a boiler room or utility room is a separate room already on the plan — because reworking that after move-in means breaking up the screed and chasing the walls.

Four ways to heat a house — and what each costs

In practice four heat sources compete for a private house: a gas boiler, a heat pump, direct electric heating, and a solid-fuel boiler. We will set the last aside — wood and pellets are cheap per kilowatt, but mean daily loading, ash, a separate fuel store and no automation. For people who just want to live in the house, three options remain, and the choice between them is above all about money.

To compare them honestly, start with the tariffs, fixed until April 2026: natural gas 7.96 UAH/m³, standard electricity 4.32 UAH/kWh, the preferential "heating" tariff (October to April, capped at 2,000 kWh a month) 2.64 UAH/kWh, and the night rate 2.16 UAH/kWh. Everything else is counted from these.

The fairest way to compare systems is not the monthly bill but the cost of one kilowatt of heat delivered into the house. It strips out the marketing and shows the gap plainly:

Gas boiler — about 0.92 UAH per kWh of heat (a modern condensing boiler runs around 95% efficiency).
Air-to-water heat pump (seasonal SPF ~2.8) — 1.54 UAH per kWh on the standard tariff, or 0.94 UAH on the preferential one.
Direct electric boiler — 4.32 UAH on the standard tariff, 2.64 UAH on the preferential one.
Solid fuel — cheapest per kilowatt, but with manual labour and no automation.

The conclusion overturns most of the advertising. Gas is the cheapest in 2026. A heat pump only equals gas on the preferential tariff, and on the standard one costs around one and a half times more. The famous "two or three times cheaper" used to sell heat pumps is a comparison against direct electricity, not against gas. Against gas, a heat pump does not save money while gas stays cheap.

In real money over a six-month season (a 140 m² house, calculated as of July 2026): a gas boiler runs about 38,500 UAH, a heat pump on the standard tariff about 53,400 UAH, direct electricity about 135,000 UAH. The gap between gas and electricity is nearly fourfold over one season — and that is exactly the money you do not see when you look only at equipment price.

Gas boiler: cheapest to run, while there is gas

Gas remains the default for a private house near Kyiv for one reason — the lowest cost per kilowatt of heat. The equipment is not the dearest either: a gas boiler costs from 16,830 UAH for a budget model to 54,703 UAH for a premium dual-circuit one (2026 prices). Turnkey installation runs from 1,500 UAH for a simple coaxial-flue hookup to 9,600 UAH for fitting a single-circuit boiler up to 28 kW, and up to 15,840 UAH when the system is replaced with depressurisation.

But gas has three traps the boiler shop will not mention. First, connection: if there is no gas on the plot yet, a new connection is a separate budget of tens of thousands of hryvnia and months of waiting for technical conditions. Second, dependence on electricity: the boiler's circulation pump runs on mains power, and during an outage the house cools unless you have a generator or a UPS. Third, the tariff is fixed only until April 2026, and no one knows what comes after.

A gas boiler is the lowest heating bill and the greatest dependence at the same time: on gas, on electricity and on the tariff. You pay for the cheapness with heat that hangs on three decisions that are not yours.

Heat pump: not the magic bullet it is sold as

An air-to-water heat pump takes heat from the outside air and "pumps" it into the house, spending electricity only to run the compressor. One kilowatt of electricity yields 2.5–3 kW of heat — that is the coefficient the advertising waves about. Turnkey, a system for a 100–120 m² house costs 6,500–9,500 euros as of 2026: the equipment itself (pump, hydro unit, tank) is 3,000–6,000 euros, installation with pipework another 1,200–2,000 euros. For 100 m² an 8–10 kW pump is enough.

Now the honest part the brochure omits. The 2.8 coefficient is a seasonal average. In real frost it falls: in the coldest week real measurements show around 1.9, and at minus 15–20 the electric backup heater kicks in, heating at the full 4.32 UAH rate — precisely when you need heat most. The most expensive heating coincides with the coldest days.

The pump saves against direct electricity — yes, by 2.5–3 times.
Against gas it does not save: on the standard tariff it is dearer, on the preferential one roughly equal.
It needs a low-temperature system — underfloor heating, not radiators, or the coefficient and all the savings collapse.
The house must be well insulated, or the pump works at its limit and the backup heater eats the savings.

So a heat pump makes sense not where you "want to save," but where there is no gas on the plot or you do not want dependence on it, where there is a preferential or night tariff, good insulation and underfloor heating, and where you are ready to invest roughly twice what gas costs up front for the sake of independence and quiet. It is a decision about comfort and autonomy, not a smaller bill.

Electric heating: cheapest to install, dearest to run

Direct electricity — an electric boiler or electric convectors — is the cheapest and fastest to install: no boiler room, no flue, no gas connection. But it is the most expensive to run of all. On the preferential tariff it is 40–70 UAH per square metre a month, which over a season for a 140 m² house works out to about 135,000 UAH. And there is a separate trap: the preferential cap is 2,000 kWh a month, and a large house in a cold snap easily blows past it, after which every further kilowatt runs at 4.32 UAH.

Direct electric heating is justified in three cases: a small, very well insulated house; a backup source alongside a main one; or a temporary solution while there is no gas yet. As the sole heating of a large house in our conditions, it is the most expensive scenario there is.

Underfloor heating or radiators — and what it adds to the estimate

The heat source is only half the decision. The other half is how that heat is distributed through the house. Two options — underfloor heating or radiators — and they differ markedly both in price and in which boiler they pair with.

Water-based underfloor heating, turnkey with materials, costs 2,700–3,100 UAH per square metre (Fado or Uponor systems, 2026 prices); labour alone without materials is from 550 UAH/m². Add a manifold at about 4,000 UAH, a pump-mixing unit at 1,400 UAH, and commissioning up to 9,000 UAH. For a house with 150 m² of underfloor heating that is 400,000–465,000 UAH as a separate line in the estimate — a figure forgotten by those who budget "for the shell."

Radiators are cheaper up front and heat a room faster, but run on a high coolant temperature. The key pairing rule: a heat pump needs underfloor heating specifically — on radiators its coefficient and all its savings fall. A gas boiler works with either. So the distribution choice is not a matter of taste but a consequence of the heat-source choice, and the two are made together, at the design stage.

Why heating is chosen at the design stage, not after

All of the above comes down to one practical conclusion: the heating system goes into the project, it is not bolted on later. A gas boiler needs a ventilated boiler room and a flue in the drawings. A heat pump needs space for the hydro unit and tank and a reinforced electrical supply. Any underfloor heating needs pipes in the screed and manifold layouts. Electric heating needs a dedicated cable and spare capacity at the inlet.

Reworking this after move-in costs disproportionately much. Moving a single electrical point after the screed is poured — 800–1,200 UAH; chasing a wall for a new run — 140–220 UAH per linear metre (2026 prices). Now imagine relaying the whole underfloor system or adding a boiler room to a house that never allowed for one. That is why in the DOMRIY catalogue a utility room for the boiler is a separate room in the vast majority of projects — not a planning nicety, but hundreds of thousands saved on rework.

The right order is this: first decide whether there is gas on the plot and what your horizon and budget are, then choose the heat source, then the distribution to match it, and only then it goes into the project together with the boiler room, flue and wiring. Not the other way around, with the house already standing and the heating "fitted in somehow."

How to choose for your case

Strip out the marketing and the decision comes down to a few simple rules:

There is gas on the plot and you want the lowest bill — a gas boiler plus underfloor heating. The baseline and most economical option in 2026.
No gas, or you do not want the dependence, you are ready to invest twice as much up front, with good insulation and a preferential tariff — a heat pump plus underfloor heating.
A small, well-insulated house, a dacha or a backup source — direct electricity.
Either way, insulation matters more than the choice of boiler: a house that loses heat is expensive to heat by any means, and the cheapest kilowatt is the one you never had to produce.

In short

Gas: equipment from 16,830 UAH, a season for 140 m² about 38,500 UAH. Cheapest to run, but dependent on gas, electricity and the tariff.
Heat pump: turnkey 6,500–9,500 euros for 100–120 m², a season about 53,400 UAH on the standard tariff. About independence and comfort, not saving against gas.
Electricity: cheapest to install, a season about 135,000 UAH. Only for a small insulated house or as a backup.
Underfloor heating turnkey 2,700–3,100 UAH/m² — a separate line in the estimate, laid into the project.

Questions and answers

Which is cheaper — gas or a heat pump?

In 2026 in Ukraine, gas. The cost of a kilowatt of heat is about 0.92 UAH by gas and 1.54 UAH by heat pump on the standard tariff, 0.94 UAH on the preferential one. So on the standard tariff gas is one and a half times cheaper, and on the preferential one they are roughly equal. A heat pump is cheaper only against direct electricity, not against gas — that is the main thing the advertising muddles.

How much does a heat pump cost turnkey?

For a 100–120 m² house — 6,500–9,500 euros as of 2026. Of that, the equipment itself (pump, hydro unit, tank) is 3,000–6,000 euros, and installation with pipework and start-up 1,200–2,000 euros. Roughly 650–950 euros per kilowatt of capacity; for 100 m² an 8–10 kW pump is enough.

How much does underfloor heating cost?

Water-based underfloor heating turnkey with materials is 2,700–3,100 UAH per square metre (2026); labour alone without materials is from 550 UAH/m². Add a manifold at about 4,000 UAH, a pump-mixing unit at 1,400 UAH and commissioning up to 9,000 UAH per system.

Can heating be added after construction?

Technically yes, but expensively and destructively. Underfloor heating sits in the screed, the pipes and manifolds are tied to the layout, and a boiler room needs ventilation and a flue. Moving one electrical point after the screed is 800–1,200 UAH, chasing is 140–220 UAH per metre, and reworking the whole system runs into hundreds of thousands. That is why heating goes into the project rather than being added on.

What capacity of boiler or pump does 150 m² need?

A rough rule for an insulated house is about 1 kW of heat output per 10 m², so for 150 m² that is around 15 kW. For a heat pump, 8–10 kW is enough for 100 m². But the exact figure depends on insulation, glazing area and ceiling height, so it is calculated from the specific house's heat losses, not estimated from floor area by eye.

If you would rather not guess how to heat your particular house, that is exactly what gets calculated at the design stage. DOMRIY visits the plot for free, checks whether there is gas, what insulation is planned and what your budget is, and tells you plainly which system pays off in your case and which is overpaying for a nice word. The first meeting commits you to nothing — you pay only once you have decided to go ahead.

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