Subsidies and Support for Heat Pumps

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Subsidies and Support for Heat Pumps in Slovakia

A heat pump is an investment where it's worth considering not only the price of the unit itself, but also whether and how much the state or another programme can reduce your upfront costs. Over the past ten years, Slovakia has seen a succession of several support schemes - from the well-known Green Households programme, through newer instruments financed from the Recovery Plan, to local initiatives run by individual municipalities. The aim of this article is to explain how these programmes work, what conditions they have, what to watch out for when applying, and why it's worth checking the current status directly on the official websites - subsidy policy changes faster than heat pump technology itself.

An important note up front: the specific amounts, support percentages and programme conditions change over time, application rounds open and close, and budgets get used up. The figures given below illustrate how each scheme's mechanism works (so you understand the logic behind calculating support), not a binding price list valid on the day you're reading this article. Before submitting an application, always check the current parameters on the website of the Slovak Innovation and Energy Agency (SIEA), on the obnovdom.sk portal, or with your local municipality.

Overview of programmes that have applied to heat pumps in Slovakia so far

Over recent years there have essentially been three types of support directly or indirectly relevant to installing a heat pump in a family house:

1. Green Households (historical, SIEA programme)

The Green Households programme ran in several rounds from roughly 2015 and was aimed directly at small renewable energy sources for households - solar collectors, photovoltaics, biomass boilers, and heat pumps. It worked on a voucher principle: the household first chose an eligible installer from the SIEA list, and after the unit was installed, the installer or applicant submitted documents and SIEA reimbursed part of the cost directly to the applicant's account in the form of a voucher.

Support was calculated based on the installed output of the heat pump (EUR per kW) and varied by pump type:

Air-water (the cheapest and most widespread technology) - a lower rate per kW, since it has a lower purchase price.
Ground-water or water-water (with a borehole or ground collector) - a higher rate per kW, because earthworks significantly increase the total investment.

In the last open rounds, the actual support paid out for a typical household was around €3,400 for an air-water system and around €5,300 for a ground-water system with a borehole (the exact amounts varied between rounds and also depending on whether it was the Bratislava region or the rest of Slovakia). The Green Households programme is currently closed - new rounds have not opened for a long time, since its role has been taken over by instruments financed from the Recovery Plan. If you come across a reference to this programme today, it is almost always archival information.

2. Renovate Your House (Recovery Plan, comprehensive renovation of family houses)

This is currently the main instrument supporting the renovation of family houses in Slovakia, financed from the Slovak Recovery and Resilience Plan. The programme doesn't focus solely on the heat pump, but on comprehensive house renovation - insulating the building envelope, replacing windows and the roof, and at the same time replacing the heat source (where a heat pump is among the supported, and generally also preferred, solutions).

The key principle of the Renovate Your House programme is that support is not provided as a fixed amount per unit of equipment, but as a percentage of eligible costs, with the percentage depending on the applicant's income group:

Group I (low-income households) - the highest level of support, indicatively up to 95% of eligible costs.
Group II (middle income) - indicatively around 75% of eligible costs.
Group III (higher income) - indicatively around 60% of eligible costs.

A condition of comprehensive renovation is generally achieving an improvement of at least one energy class for the building, which in practice means that simply replacing an old gas boiler with a heat pump without any insulation work usually isn't enough - it has to be part of a package of measures. There is also the option of applying for support for individual standalone measures (for example just replacing the heat source) under smaller calls, where the support cap is lower but the administration is simpler.

3. Green Renovation of Family Houses (smaller standalone measures)

Alongside the large comprehensive renovation scheme, calls focused on individual, standalone measures have also appeared under the Recovery Plan - for example just replacing the heat source with a heat pump without having to address the whole building envelope at once. The support rate for such standalone measures is usually lower than for comprehensive renovation (typically 30-45% of eligible costs), and the support cap per household is lower. This route can make sense for households whose house is already insulated and who are just dealing with replacing an old boiler.

4. Local and regional schemes

Besides nationwide programmes, smaller initiatives from individual towns, municipalities or regions sometimes appear (for example a contribution towards replacing a heating source as part of improving air quality in a specific region). These schemes generally have a limited budget, a narrowly defined area of operation, and short application deadlines. It's worth asking directly at your town or municipal office whether a local call is currently running.

Diagram: comparison of the main programmes over time

The diagram below shows a simplified view of how the individual programmes have succeeded one another historically and what type of support each provided.

How support is calculated under the Renovate Your House programme - a heat pump example

To help you picture how the percentage-based support actually works, here's a simplified model example. Let's assume a family house that decides on a comprehensive renovation that includes, among other things, replacing an old gas boiler with an air-water heat pump. The eligible costs for the heat pump itself (unit, installation, distribution) come to €9,500 in our example.

Income group	Indicative support rate	Support on €9,500 of costs	Household's share
Group I (low income)	95%	~€9,025	~€475
Group II (middle income)	75%	~€7,125	~€2,375
Group III (higher income)	60%	~€5,700	~€3,800

This calculation is only illustrative - in an actual application, eligible costs are assessed according to the exact project budget and the caps set by the call, and moreover, comprehensive renovation involves a sum of several measures at once (insulation, windows, heat source), not just one of them on its own. Nevertheless, the example shows the main logic: the lower the income group, the higher the support rate, and therefore the lower the amount you pay out of your own pocket.

Diagram: share of support by income group

Conditions the household and the equipment must meet

Regardless of which specific programme is involved, some common points tend to repeat in the conditions, and it's good to know them in advance:

Who can apply

The applicant is generally an individual - the owner or co-owner of a family house where they have permanent residence or which they actually occupy. Flats in apartment buildings have their own, different support schemes (for example through renovation funds or other instruments), which are outside the scope of this article focused on family houses. The income group is determined based on average household income and is often documented with a certificate or sworn statement; the exact method of proof can change over time.

Eligible installer and documentation

Most programmes require the installation to be carried out by a company listed on the register of eligible installers (for example, for the historical Green Households programme this was a list maintained by SIEA). Under the Renovate Your House programme, the emphasis is more on the installer's professional competence and correct project documentation than on a closed list of companies, but here too you need to reckon with the supplier being able to issue all the documents needed for the application - an invoice with exact specifications, a commissioning report, and possibly an energy certificate before and after the work.

Order of steps - application first, or installation first?

This is one of the most common sources of disappointment. With some programmes (typically the comprehensive Renovate Your House renovation), you need to have an approved, or at least submitted, application before starting the work, or at least before signing the contract with the installer - otherwise costs incurred may be considered "premature" and therefore ineligible. With other schemes (historically Green Households), you applied via a voucher only after the work was done, based on the completed installation and issued documents. That's exactly why it's essential to know precisely in what order your application needs to happen before signing any contract with an installation company - the wrong order can mean losing your right to support.

Diagram: typical process for applying for support for comprehensive renovation

Which types of heat pumps are accepted under the support programmes

Support programmes generally don't distinguish by specific brand, but by the technical type of the unit and its energy efficiency (typically requiring a minimum seasonal SCOP factor or compliance with the relevant energy class under the EU ecodesign regulation). In practice, the following are supported:

Air-water heat pump - the most common and most affordable choice to invest in, suitable for most family houses, requiring no earthworks.
Ground-water heat pump (with a borehole or horizontal collector) - a higher upfront investment due to earthworks, but generally higher and more stable output throughout the whole heating period.
Water-water heat pump - less common, tied to the availability of groundwater, requiring a hydrogeological assessment.

Both split and monobloc versions of air-water systems are generally accepted equally, as long as they meet the required energy efficiency. If you're deciding on a specific pump type for your house, see the more detailed article How to choose a heat pump or the comparison Heat pump air-water vs. ground-water.

Diagram: indicative investment cost by pump type (before deducting support)

Combining a subsidy with other measures on the house

One practical question that comes up repeatedly in our advice service is: "Is it worth applying just for the heat pump, or is it better to deal with the whole house at once?" The answer depends on the condition of your property and on which programme is currently running:

If the house is already insulated, has new windows, and the only thing missing is a modern heat source, it makes sense to apply for support for a standalone measure (for example under Green Renovation of Family Houses), where the administration is simpler, even though the support percentage is lower.
If the house isn't yet insulated or has old windows, it's generally worth considering a comprehensive renovation all at once - not just because of the higher overall support rate, but above all because a heat pump sized for an uninsulated house is unnecessarily oversized (and therefore more expensive), and after insulation it would run outside its optimal output range. The order "building envelope first, then heat source" has a purely technical justification too, not just a subsidy-related one.

A practical example from everyday practice: a family with a house from the 1980s, which had only partial facade insulation and original wooden windows, first had an energy assessment done. It turned out that insulating the roof and replacing the windows would reduce the heat loss enough that instead of the originally considered 14 kW pump, a 9 kW unit would be fully sufficient - which meant not only a lower purchase price for the pump itself, but also lower running costs for years to come. Combining the measures under a single comprehensive renovation application also brought them higher overall support than if they had addressed each measure separately at different times.

If you're interested in correctly sizing the pump's output based on the condition of your house, read What heat pump output do I need, or for information on compatibility with underfloor heating and radiators, see the article Heat pump with underfloor heating or radiators.

The most common mistakes when applying for support

The same mistakes come up repeatedly in the experience of installation companies and advisory centres, and they are fairly easy to avoid:

Signing the contract before submitting the application

As mentioned above, with some programmes it's essential to have the application submitted (or in some cases even formally approved) before signing the works contract or paying a deposit. Households that first "booked the installation date" and only then sorted out the paperwork have sometimes found out that costs incurred before submitting the application are ineligible.

Incorrect or incomplete documents from the installer

An invoice that doesn't include exact specifications of the equipment (type, output, serial number), or a missing commissioning report, can needlessly delay the application by weeks or months. It's worth agreeing with the installer in advance that all documents needed for the subsidy programme are part of the delivery, not just a standard invoice.

Underestimating the energy class requirements

For comprehensive renovation, a demonstrable improvement of at least one energy class is a common condition. If the house is renovated "in pieces" without a prior energy assessment, it can happen that replacing the heat source alone doesn't meet this condition, and the application needs to be extended with another measure (for example insulating the attic), which extends preparation time and increases the budget.

Swapping a "neighbour's" plumber for an eligible installer

Even if a skilled tradesman without formal registration in the system can install a heat pump well, this generally isn't enough for subsidy purposes - the application can be rejected if the installation wasn't carried out by a company meeting the programme's formal conditions. Check the installer's status before signing the contract.

Incorrect assignment to an income group

The support rate is directly tied to the household's income group. Incorrectly or late-submitted income certificates can result in the application initially being assessed in a lower group than the household actually qualifies for - which, at a difference of 60% versus 95%, represents more than €3,000 in our model example.

Diagram: where the most common problems arise in the application process

How to prepare for an application - a practical checklist

Let's summarize the preceding sections into a practical process worth going through before you approach an installation company:

Find out which programme is currently open and whether it applies to your type of property (family house, or a duplex, detached house, and so on).
Get an indicative energy assessment of the house done - this tells you whether it's worth going the comprehensive renovation route or the standalone measure route.
Find out your income group before you start planning your budget - it significantly affects how much you'll actually pay out of pocket.
Choose an installer who is formally eligible to carry out work for the given programme and has experience putting together the documentation for the subsidy.
Submit the application in the correct order - check whether in your case the application needs to be submitted before signing the contract, or whether you can apply after the work is completed.
Keep all documents (invoices, inspection reports, photos of the work in progress) - even if the system doesn't require them all at once when applying, you may need them if the application is checked or needs supplementing.
After the work is done, get a new energy certificate issued if the programme requires it - without it, the support may not be paid out even for an otherwise correctly implemented project.

If you're also dealing with the installation itself and want to know what's worth checking with the installer independent of the subsidy topic, see the article Heat pump installation - what you need to know.

The economics of the investment with and without support

A subsidy mainly changes the payback period of the investment, not its long-term operational benefit - that depends mainly on energy prices and on what heating the pump is replacing. If we compare our model example (an air-water pump for €9,500), we see the following differences in payback depending on whether the household receives the subsidy:

Scenario	Own cost	Indicative payback*
No support	€9,500	longer, depends on savings vs. the original source
Group III (60%)	~€3,800	significantly shorter
Group I (95%)	~€475	payback is practically immediate

*The exact payback period depends on the specific energy savings, which differ from house to house - a detailed calculation can be found in the article How much a heat pump saves compared to gas and electricity.

The table shows why it's worth investing time in preparing a proper application - the difference between no support and the highest support rate can, in this model example, represent more than €9,000, an amount that in practice equals the cost of the whole unit.

What to do if your application is rejected or the programme isn't currently open

If the current round of a call is closed or its budget used up, it doesn't necessarily mean the investment needs to be postponed indefinitely. We recommend:

Regularly checking the SIEA and obnovdom.sk websites - new rounds of calls tend to be announced with some advance notice.
Asking your bank whether it offers a discounted "green" loan for house renovation - some banks have their own products tied specifically to installing a heat pump or insulation, independent of the state subsidy.
Considering carrying out the work in stages - first the measures that currently don't have open support but are technically necessary (for example insulation), and dealing with the heat pump once a more suitable call opens.
If your application is rejected, requesting the exact reasoning - a large share of rejections can be fixed by adding a missing document, without needing to submit a completely new application from scratch.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I still apply for the Green Households subsidy in 2026?

No, the Green Households programme has been closed for a long time and no new rounds are planned to open - its role has been taken over by instruments financed from the Recovery Plan, primarily the Renovate Your House and Green Renovation of Family Houses programmes. If you see a reference to Green Households anywhere with an active application form, it is highly likely an outdated or fraudulent link - verify information directly on the official SIEA website.

What is the difference between Green Households and Renovate Your House?

Green Households provided a fixed amount per kW of pump output in the form of a voucher paid out after the work was completed, regardless of the applicant's income. Renovate Your House works on the principle of percentage-based support from eligible costs (typically 60-95%), with the percentage based on the household's income group, and generally requires a more comprehensive approach to renovating the house (not just replacing the heat source).

Can I get a subsidy for a heat pump if I'm only insulating my house and not replacing the boiler?

In most programmes, replacing the heat source is just one of several supported measures, so it isn't a mandatory part of every application. If you decide not to deal with replacing the source for now, you can apply for support for insulation only and come back to the heat pump later in a separate application - you just need to check whether the specific call allows this kind of partial approach.

Who is entitled to the highest support rate (around 95%)?

The highest support rate is intended for households assigned to the lowest income group (Group I), with the exact criteria for assignment (income per household member, or receiving certain social benefits) set by the specific call. Assignment to a group is generally documented with an income certificate or a sworn statement; the exact procedure is always stated in the programme's current conditions.

Does the installation have to be carried out by a certified or registered company?

Yes, in most subsidy programmes it is a condition that the installation be carried out by an installer meeting the programme's formal requirements (for example, being listed on the register of eligible installers or demonstrable professional competence). We recommend checking the company's status before signing the contract, ideally directly in the register maintained by the relevant institution.

Can the subsidy be combined with a bank loan or a discount from the seller?

Generally yes - the subsidy only covers part of the cost, and the household can finance the rest from its own funds, a bank loan, or any commercial discount from the seller or installer. You just need to make sure the documents submitted with the application (invoice, contract) exactly match the amount actually paid, including any discount - discrepancies in the documents can needlessly complicate the application.

What if the programme's conditions change during implementation?

The conditions valid at the time the application was submitted generally govern that application, even if the call is later changed or closed to new applicants. Nevertheless, we recommend keeping all correspondence with the support provider (confirmations, emails) carefully stored - in case of any ambiguity, this is the only reliable evidence of the conditions under which the application was submitted.

Have a question on this topic?

Not sure what to decide, or dealing with a specific situation in your home? Write to us - we're happy to help.