Heating: renting a heat pump instead of buying it, real savings or false good idea?

Faced with the cost of purchasing efficient heating equipment, public authorities and manufacturers are working on rental offers, similar to car leasing.

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For both ecological and financial reasons, you have decided to replace your old oil or gas boiler with one. heat pump. This will allow you to reduce your energy consumption and will therefore be less polluting for the atmosphere. The problem is the initial investment you will have to make to purchase this equipment. An air-water heat pump costs between 10,000 and 18,000 eurosaccording to Effy, a company specializing in energy efficiency. A cost to which must be added that of the installation, between 1,500 and 3,000 euros. No wonder the acquisition of such equipment leads some households to take out a bank loan.

This is why public authorities and energy renovation industrialists are working on the creation of energy renovation offers. rental of heating equipmenta bit like car leasing. Instead of paying several thousand euros at once to buy a heat pump or solar panels, for example, you will pay monthly rentto the manufacturer or to a third-party financier such as a bank, in return for the installation, maintenance, troubleshooting and, if necessary, replacement of the equipment, develops the Club for the improvement of the ‘habitat, an association bringing together public and private players in energy renovation.

Price, a determining factor when renting your heating equipment

“Such rental offers still exist very rarely, we are testing this concept with consumers to find out if they would be more interested in paying rent than in making a purchase”specifies Audrey Valin, sociologist within the Actes firm, who is working for the occasion with the Home Improvement Club. “Brands offer equipment rental offers but this remains marginal and they do not go so far as to offer its replacement”adds Emmanuelle Ledoux, general director of the National Institute of the Circular Economy.

Beyond ecological considerations linked, precisely, to the circular economy enabled by this type of rental offers, their price will be decisive for consumers: “if the financial conditions do not suit them, they will not subscribe to it”recognizes Audrey Valin. In fact, nearly three-quarters of the 1,600 French people questioned by the sociologist cite firstly “economic interest» as a factor likely to make them prefer to rent their heating equipment over purchasing it. “The budget is decisive: if it is very expensive to buy, I see the benefit of renting. But if the purchase is not expensive, I don’t see the point”testifies Mathieu, 28 years old, who lives in a rural area. “What interests him is the monthly payment of expenses, which avoids the need for a bank loan”analyzes Audrey Valin.

Financial offers to put together well

Martin is 52 years old and lives in town, but the cost of these future offers also matters to him: “the idea (of rental with maintenance and repair contract) is to be able to control your expenses in avoiding additional costs of unforeseen breakdowns». This means that energy renovation manufacturers will have to “package their offers well” equipment rental, in terms of prices, warns Audrey Valin. What rents can we expect? “It’s too early to answer.”retorts the Home Improvement Club.