Home energy: the complete guide to spending less

Start with heating, then the bill, and only then think about producing your own energy. In the European Union, heating homes took 61.5% of the energy households used in 2024 and heating water another 15.6%, while lighting and electrical appliances took 14.8% (Eurostat). So for most homes the biggest savings come from paying a fair price for each kWh and from heating more efficiently: a lower thermostat setting, a better boiler or, when the numbers work, a heat pump. Solar panels, balcony kits and batteries come after that, once you know how much energy you use and at what time of day.

This page is the map of the Home energy section. It sums up each big decision with the figures of its detailed guide and links to it. All figures were checked on 31 October 2026 on the sources linked; prices and grants change, and this page is checked again every month.

Where does a home’s energy go?

Eurostat splits the final energy consumption of EU households in 2024 by use. Households as a whole used 26.0% of all the final energy consumed in the EU that year.

Use	Share of household energy, EU, 2024
Heating the home	61.5%
Heating water	15.6%
Lighting and electrical appliances	14.8%
Cooking	6.4%
Cooling the home	0.8%
Other uses	0.9%

The table counts energy, not money. A kWh of electricity usually costs more than a kWh of gas: in Italy, in the first half of 2026, households paid on average €0.3142 per kWh of electricity and €0.1137 per kWh of gas, taxes included (Eurostat electricity and gas prices, the same figures the heat pump guide uses). So appliances weigh more on the bills than on this table. Even so, measured in energy, cutting heating by a tenth (about 6 points of the table) saves about as much as cutting lighting and appliances by two fifths (also about 6 points), and heating is still the biggest item on most bills, which is why it comes first.

Your own home may differ from the average: a flat heated by the building’s central boiler, a home already heated with electricity, a mild climate where heating is small. The next section sorts out where to begin.

Where to start for your kind of home

If you rent, a flat or a house. You usually cannot change the heating system or put panels on the roof, but the thermostat, the electricity contract and the supplier are yours. Start with how to read your electricity bill and the free steps in “What you can do this week” below. In Italy a tenant who pays for a heat pump can still claim a 36% deduction in 2026 (see replacing a gas boiler).
If you own a flat in a block with central heating. The boiler is the building’s decision. Your levers are the temperature, the valves on your radiators (ENEA notes that thermostatic valves are compulsory by law in Italian blocks of flats) and your own electricity contract. If you are thinking of a heat pump with an outdoor unit, check the building’s rules first.
If you own a flat or a house with its own gas boiler that still works. There is time to compare: read new boiler, hybrid or heat pump?, then is a heat pump worth it?, and try the heat pump vs gas calculator with the gas use from your bills.
If your boiler failed its efficiency check in Italy. A boiler in a heating system above 10 kW whose combustion efficiency is below the legal limit and cannot be restored by maintenance must be replaced within 180 days (DPR 74/2013, article 8); the boiler guide explains the rule and the three options.
If you already heat with electricity (a heat pump, electric heaters or an air conditioner used for heating). The bill and the tariff matter most: find your real price per kWh, then check whether a price by time band suits the hours you use.
If your bill suddenly jumped. Check whether the readings were estimated and whether the bill includes a recalculation of earlier periods; the bill guide shows where those lines are.
If you control a sunny roof or balcony. Read the solar and balcony sections below; the detailed solar pages follow the heating ones.

Heat pump: when does it pay, and when not?

A heat pump moves heat from the outdoor air into the water of your radiators, so it gives several kWh of heat for each kWh of electricity. The number that decides its running cost is SCOP, the seasonal coefficient of performance: how many units of heat it gives per unit of electricity over a whole heating season.

It costs less to run than a gas boiler when its SCOP is above the price of a kWh of electricity divided by the cost of a kWh of heat from the boiler. With official household prices for the first half of 2026 and a boiler at 90% efficiency, that break-even is about 2.5 in Italy, 2.8 in Germany, 2.9 in Spain and 1.7 in France; in Great Britain, on the Ofgem price cap for October to December 2026, about 3.0. Measured in real homes, air source heat pumps averaged 3.1 in a German field test by Fraunhofer ISE, leaving out two very good outliers, and reached a median of 2.78 in the British Electrification of Heat trial. Leave a margin: in the British trial the efficiency measured in homes was below the design SCOP in 92% of them. The full guide gives the prices, sources and the formula.

The Italian example from that guide, and how much it moves. A home burning 1,000 Smc (standard cubic meters) of gas a year for heating and hot water.

Assumption	Value	Source
Gas used in a year	1,000 Smc	example value, change it to yours
Energy in 1 Smc	10.7 kWh	ARERA reference value, 0.03852 GJ per Smc
Gas price, taxes included	€0.1137 per kWh	Eurostat, first half of 2026
Electricity price, taxes included	€0.3142 per kWh	Eurostat, first half of 2026
Boiler seasonal efficiency	90%	example value

Case	Yearly saving against the gas boiler
Low: poor installation, SCOP 2.5	about zero
Central: SCOP 3	about €210
High: SCOP 4	about €460
SCOP 3 with the prices of the second half of 2025 (electricity €0.2966, gas €0.1481)	about €630

The same gas costs about €1,220 a year in this example. Whether the saving repays the purchase depends on the price you are quoted and on any grant; no independent survey of Italian purchase prices was found, so ask for at least three written quotes. Simple payback is the price minus the grant, divided by the yearly saving, and ignores price changes and interest.

When it pays: a home that holds heat reasonably well, radiators or underfloor pipes that can heat it with cooler water, electricity not much dearer than gas, and an installer who sizes the system with a room-by-room heat loss calculation.

When it does not: small radiators in a home that loses heat fast and needs water near 55 °C, electricity much dearer than gas (in Britain a median heat pump on a standard tariff costs slightly more to run than a modern boiler), a small heating demand that cannot repay the purchase, or a gas contract kept only for cooking, whose fixed charge stays.

My boiler is old: new boiler, hybrid or heat pump?

Three choices replace an old gas boiler. A new condensing boiler is the smallest job. A hybrid pairs a smaller heat pump with a condensing boiler: the heat pump works in mild weather, the boiler on the coldest days. A heat pump alone costs the least to run in a home where it works well, but needs space outdoors, electrical work and often more contracted power at the meter.

The boiler guide works out what each would cost to run for the same home:

Assumption	Value
Gas used last year	1,000 Smc (example value)
Energy in 1 Smc	about 10.7 kWh (ARERA)
Gas price	1.20 euro per Smc (example value; VAT in, fixed charges out)
Electricity price	0.30 euro per kWh (example value; VAT in, fixed charges out)
Efficiency	old boiler 80%, new condensing boiler 90%, heat pump SCOP 3

Option	Yearly running cost
Old boiler	about €1,200
New condensing boiler	about €1,070
Heat pump	about €860

With a SCOP of 2.5 instead of 3, the heat pump costs about €1,030, close to the new boiler; with electricity at 0.35 instead of 0.30 euro per kWh, about €1,000. Each extra kW of contracted power costs about 26 euro a year, VAT included, says ARERA.

What the rules say. In Italy a gas boiler on its own has had no tax deduction since 1 January 2025, condensing models included, while heat pumps and factory-built hybrids still get one in 2026 (Agenzia delle Entrate). The EU buildings directive, Directive (EU) 2024/1275, ends public money for stand-alone fossil fuel boilers from 2025 but does not ban selling or installing one, and does not oblige anyone to remove a boiler that works.

A new boiler suits a home where space, the power supply or the budget rules out the other two; it keeps you on gas prices. A hybrid suits a home that is fine with a heat pump most of the winter but not on the coldest days. A heat pump alone suits a reasonably insulated home whose radiators work with cooler water.

Fixed or variable price, and do time bands help?

Before changing anything at home, find out what you really pay. Your real price per kWh is the bill total divided by the kWh used in the period it covers; it is always higher than the energy price in your offer, because the bill adds network charges, system charges, fixed fees and taxes. For ARERA’s reference household, the regulator’s own figure for October to December 2026 is 43.43 cents per kWh, taxes included (ARERA). Fixed fees weigh more the less you use: for an Italian primary residence with 3 kW, ARERA’s 2026 values for households put network charges at about 3.5 cents per kWh at 2,700 kWh a year and 9.4 cents at 1,000 kWh, before taxes. The bill guide goes through the Italian bill line by line, with short sections on the UK, Germany, Spain and the US.

Fixed or variable? In Italy, with a fixed price the energy price does not change for at least 12 months, while a variable price follows the index named in the offer box of your bill (ARERA). In Great Britain the price cap protects people on tariffs whose unit rate can go up or down with the market, not those who agreed a fixed tariff, and Ofgem sets it every three months (Ofgem); leaving a fixed tariff before it ends may cost an exit fee (Ofgem). A fixed price buys certainty for its period: it can turn out dearer or cheaper than the variable one, depending on where the market goes, which nobody knows in advance.

Time bands. A time-of-use tariff charges different prices at different hours. In Italy ARERA defines three bands: F1 on weekdays from 8:00 to 19:00, F2 on weekdays from 7:00 to 8:00 and from 19:00 to 23:00 and on Saturdays from 7:00 to 23:00, F3 every night from 23:00 to 7:00 and all day on Sundays and national holidays; a “bioraria” price splits F1 from F2 and F3 together. Bands help when much of your use already falls in the cheaper hours, or can be moved there: a washing machine, a dishwasher, a heat pump’s hot water. With an electronic smart meter, the bill shows your use by band, and ARERA’s free Portale Consumi shows up to 36 months of it.

Compare. In Italy ARERA’s free Portale Offerte lists all offers on the retail market; in Britain Ofgem says the best option may be with your current supplier, so compare with it too. Also check your contracted power: most Italian homes have 3 kW, and if your highest monthly draw stays well below it a lower level may do.

Solar panels: when do they pay off?

Solar panels lower the bill by the electricity you use yourself while they produce. That share is called self-consumption, the part of your solar energy you use at home instead of sending to the grid, and it decides most of the result. Each kWh you use yourself saves the full price per kWh you worked out from your bill. Each kWh you send to the grid earns only what the export scheme pays: in Italy the GSE’s Ritiro dedicato pays a price for each kWh fed in, based on market conditions; in Great Britain the Smart Export Guarantee rate is set by each supplier and must be above zero.

They tend to pay in a sunny spot you control, in a home that uses electricity in the daytime (people at home, a heat pump making hot water, an electric car charging at midday), and where grants or tax breaks lower the price. They pay less when the roof is shaded or faces north, when nobody is home during the day, and when you count on them for winter heating: panels produce most in summer and at midday, when a heat pump uses least.

To see what panels would produce at your address, the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre runs PVGIS, a free tool with no registration that estimates solar electricity for any location in the world except the poles. It gives kWh, not euros: multiply the share you would use yourself by your price per kWh, and the rest by the export price. Detailed solar guides with worked examples are planned for early 2027.

Balcony solar and home batteries: a first look

A balcony kit is one or two panels with a small inverter, the box that turns the panels’ current into the kind your sockets use, plugged into the home’s wiring. The rules differ by country:

Country	What the official text says	Source
Italy	Systems below 800 W can connect with a single form, the Comunicazione Unica, sent to the local distributor, with no fee, at an existing connection point with an active supply contract (with available power not lower than the system’s) and no other generator; the owner gives up any payment for energy sent to the grid. The rule set in 2020 quotes the CEI 0-21 standard of the time, which defined “plug and play” kits as up to 350 W, plugged into a dedicated socket on its own circuit prepared by a qualified installer. The CEI 0-21 standard has been reissued since, in 2022 and most recently as CEI 0-21:2026, in force from August 2026; no later ARERA decision changing the Comunicazione Unica was found on 31 October 2026, but check the current technical conditions with your distributor and a qualified electrician before you buy a kit.	ARERA delibera 315/2020/R/eel, 4 August 2020, and its press release
Great Britain	Since 27 August 2026, plug-in solar devices up to 800 W through a standard plug and socket are allowed if they comply with the government’s interim product specification. The general rule for small generators in the same regulations still asks that the network operator be told before, or when, it starts working. The installation rule covers England, Wales and Scotland.	SI 2026/848 and regulation 22 of the 2002 safety regulations
Germany	Plug-in solar devices with an inverter limited to 800 VA and up to 2,000 W of panels, put into service since 16 May 2024, no longer need to be reported to the grid operator if the owner takes no payment for the energy fed in, but must be registered in the national register, the Marktstammdatenregister.	Bundesnetzagentur

A balcony kit saves money only on the energy you use while it produces, so the same self-consumption logic applies, on a smaller scale. Use only equipment certified for your country.

A home battery stores daytime solar energy for the evening. It is worth more when you are out during the day and use most electricity in the evening, when a kWh you buy costs much more than a kWh you export earns, and when its price, after any grant, is low enough for the yearly saving to repay it within its warranty years. It is worth less when you already use most of your solar energy as it is produced. Batteries are installed by a qualified electrician, and the maker’s limits on where they can go apply.

Detailed guides on balcony solar and home batteries, with the country rules, the sums and the safety rules, are planned for early 2027.

An energy community lets neighbors, small firms and local authorities share renewable energy produced nearby; in Italy the GSE pays an incentive on the energy shared among members.

What you can do this week without spending

Set the heating to 19 °C. ENEA, the Italian energy agency, says 19 °C is enough for comfort at home and that each degree less saves up to 10% of fuel (ENEA, 22 October 2026).
Turn it down at night or when you are out. The US Department of Energy says turning the thermostat back 7 to 10 °F (about 4 to 5.5 °C) from its normal setting for 8 hours a day can save as much as 10% on heating (Energy Saver).
Leave the radiators free. ENEA’s heating advice of 23 October 2025 warns against curtains or furniture in front of them.
Close shutters, blinds or heavy curtains at night, which the same advice says cut heat loss through the windows.
Air rooms for a few minutes, as the same advice suggests, rather than leaving windows open for long.
With a warm-air system (common in the US), check the filter every month, especially in winter and summer, change it when it looks dirty and at least every three months, as ENERGY STAR advises.
Work out your real price per kWh from your last bill: total divided by kWh used (bill guide).
Check the bill for estimated readings, recalculations and contracted power, and compare your offer on the regulator’s tool (Portale Offerte in Italy) or with comparison sites in Britain.

The savings figures in this list come from public bodies; a device or an offer that promises large cuts is making a seller’s claim.

Which grants and tax breaks exist?

They often change the answer more than any tip on this page. In 2026 Italy gives a deduction of 50% or 36% for heat pumps and factory-built hybrids, spread over ten years (Law 207/2024, art. 1, c. 55, with the rates changed by Law 199/2025), and the Conto Termico 3.0 grant; England and Wales give £7,500 toward an air source heat pump through the Boiler Upgrade Scheme; Germany’s KfW 458 grant pays 30% to 80% of eligible costs. Incentives country by country gives who qualifies, how much, until when and how to apply. All checked on 31 October 2026; incentives can change, so check again before you sign.

What changed this month?

October 2026, checked on 31 October 2026.

Italy, 2027 budget. On 28 October the government approved the 2027 budget bill; its press release calls the home renovation deductions “confermate” (confirmed) for 2027 without giving rates. The law in force sets 36% and 30% for 2027 (Law 199/2025); the final rates depend on the law Parliament passes.
Italy, end of the Servizio a Tutele Graduali. On 12 October ARERA announced the first notices on bills about the end of this electricity service on 31 March 2027. Households in it that do not choose an offer move automatically to their seller’s free-market offer with the lowest estimated yearly cost among those available in December 2026, with conditions that last at least 12 months and no fee for leaving early; vulnerable customers move to the Maggior Tutela service from 1 April 2027.
Italy, faster supplier change. From 1 December 2026, under ARERA delibera 58/2026/R/eel, a household’s change of electricity supplier can take effect on any day of the month, one working day after the request, instead of only on the first of a month; when the supply is suspended or carries a charge for unpaid bills, ten working days.
Italy, regulated price. From 1 October the price of ARERA’s reference household in Maggior Tutela, the service for vulnerable customers, rose 37.3% to 43.43 cents per kWh, taxes included, because wholesale prices rose.
Italy, heating season. On 22 October ENEA estimated that repeating the 2022 measures (15 fewer days of heating, one hour less a day, one degree lower) would save about 0.8 billion Smc of gas in homes compared with 2025.
Great Britain, price cap. From 1 October to 31 December 2026 the Ofgem cap puts a typical yearly bill at £1,723, up 4%, with electricity at 26.32p per kWh and 54.83p a day and gas at 7.97p per kWh and 29.68p a day (Direct Debit, average for England, Scotland and Wales). There is no VAT on electricity from 1 October 2026 to 31 March 2027.
Great Britain, plug-in solar. Legal since 27 August 2026, as in the table above.

Where does this guide stop?

It sums up and points to the detailed pages; it does not size a heating system, check your roof or fill in a tax form. Averages and examples here are not your home: use your own bills and written quotes. This page explains how it works and what to ask; it is not financial advice or a design. Electrical work and paperwork are for a qualified installer or advisor.

Where to go next

Is a heat pump worth it compared with a gas boiler?: the break-even by country and the worked example.
My gas boiler is old: new boiler, hybrid or heat pump?: the three options, the rules and the Italian tax breaks.
How to read your electricity bill: what you really pay per kWh.
IoT in energy: how smart meters and the grid exchange data.

Common questions

Do you actually save money with a heat pump?

It depends on your energy prices and on how efficient the heat pump turns out to be in your home. With a gas boiler at 90% efficiency, a heat pump costs less to run once its seasonal efficiency (SCOP) is above about 2.5 in Italy, on official prices for the first half of 2026, and about 3.0 in Great Britain, on the price cap for October to December 2026. In the Italian example on the heat pump page, a home burning 1,000 Smc of gas a year saves about 210 euro a year at SCOP 3 and about nothing at SCOP 2.5.

Is it better to have a fixed or a variable price for electricity and gas?

Neither is cheaper in every year. In Italy a fixed price keeps the energy part of the bill unchanged for at least 12 months, while a variable price follows the index named in the offer. In Great Britain the Ofgem price cap protects variable tariffs, not fixed ones, and leaving a fixed tariff early may cost an exit fee. Compare offers on the regulator's tools before choosing.

How many kWh does a family use per month?

There is no single figure, but regulators publish reference households. In Italy ARERA uses homes with 3 kW of contracted power using 2,000 and 2,700 kWh a year, about 170 and 225 kWh a month. In the United States the EIA puts average residential use at 10,791 kWh a year in 2022, about 900 kWh a month. Your own figure is on the front page of your bill.

How can I save on my gas bill?

Start with the heating, which uses most of a home's gas. ENEA, the Italian energy agency, says 19 °C is enough for comfort and that each degree less saves up to 10% of fuel. It also advises not covering radiators with curtains or furniture, closing shutters or heavy curtains at night and airing rooms for a few minutes rather than leaving windows open.

Is plug-in solar legal in the UK?

In Great Britain, yes, since 27 August 2026: Statutory Instrument 2026/848 allows plug-in solar devices with an output of up to 800 watts that connect through a standard plug and socket, as long as they comply with the government's Plug-in Solar Device Interim Product Specification. The same regulations still require the local network operator to be told before, or when, a small generator starts working.

Topics: home energy, energy bills, heating, heat pumps, tariffs, solar, energy saving