How much does heating a house cost? Bills for houses from 32 to 117 m²
Annual and monthly heating costs with hot water for each of our houses, comparison of heat pump with gas boiler and heating mats, and what really lowers the bill.
In short. Heating with hot water in a 70 m² house with a heat pump is 2,420 zł annually, about 200 zł monthly. In an 85 m² house — 2,560 zł, and in the largest, 117-square-meter Bory Elite — 2,880 zł annually.
The same 70 m² house heated with a gas boiler would cost 3,640 zł, and with heating mats 6,710 zł annually.
Cost of heating house by house
Each row is heating and hot water for three people at 21 °C, including fixed meter fees. The heat pump range starts from developer state.
| House | Area | Heat source | Annually | Monthly |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bory Compact | 32 m² | Electric heating | 5 270 zł | 440 zł |
| Model 44 | 44 m² | Heat pump | 2 170 zł | 180 zł |
| Bory Classic | 56 m² | Heat pump | 2 320 zł | 190 zł |
| Model 70 | 70 m² | Heat pump | 2 420 zł | 200 zł |
| Model 85 | 85 m² | Heat pump | 2 560 zł | 210 zł |
| Bory Simple | 87 m² | Heat pump | 2 620 zł | 220 zł |
| Bory Premium | 90 m² | Heat pump | 2 650 zł | 220 zł |
| Model 104 | 104 m² | Heat pump | 2 720 zł | 230 zł |
| Bory Elite | 117 m² | Heat pump | 2 880 zł | 240 zł |
Heating and hot water for three people, 21 °C, zone III, without heat recovery and photovoltaics, including fixed fees. Calculated with the same formula as heating cost calculator, where you can set your own parameters.
This table shows something that surprises most often: the bill does not increase proportionally to the area. A 104 m² house is more than twice as large as a 44 m² one, but pays only about one quarter more for heat.
Why a small house is not the cheapest to heat
Two things contribute to this. First is the shape: a 32 m² house has significantly more wall and roof per square meter of floor than a 117 m² house, so it loses proportionally more heat. Second is hot water — its cost depends on the number of residents, not the area. In a small house, it can be a larger part of the bill than heating itself.
Therefore, when choosing the size, it is worth looking at the total annual amount, not the cost per square meter. Model 44 is 180 zł monthly, and the two and a half times larger Bory Elite — 240 zł. The highest bill in the entire offer is for the smallest house, Bory Compact, but for a completely different reason: it is the only model without a heat pump. We write about it below.
What makes up the bill
- Heating — building demand divided by the efficiency of the heat source. The heat pump delivers about four units of heat per one unit of electricity.
- Hot water — calculated as a flat rate per person. The pump heats it to a higher temperature than underfloor heating, so it works less efficiently here.
- Fixed fees — subscription and network components you pay regardless of consumption. For a small house, this can be one third of the bill.
- Fan electricity, if the house has heat recovery — they work all year, regardless of the heat source.
Assumptions: 1.05 zł per kWh of electricity and 0.42 zł per kWh of gas, heat pump SCOP 4.0 (hot water 2.5), gas boiler efficiency 92%, three people, 21 °C indoors, climate zone III. Wall U-value is 0.16 W/(m²·K) in Bory One and 0.19 in the Standard collection. You can calculate your bill with your own parameters in heating cost calculator.
Heat pump, gas or electric heating
For example, in an 85 m² house with the same assumptions: heat pump costs 2,560 zł annually, gas boiler 3,880 zł, and heating mats 7,260 zł.
Gas loses here despite cheaper fuel because the boiler delivers about as much heat as energy it consumes, while the pump delivers four times more. The gas bill also includes a second fixed fee — for the gas connection, in addition to electricity fees you pay anyway. Electric heating is the simplest to install and the most expensive to use.
In our houses, the heat pump with underfloor heating is included in the developer state, so it is not an extra cost — except for one exception described below.
How much electricity a house with a heat pump uses
For heating and hot water: about 1,900 kWh annually in a 70 m² house and 2,200 kWh in a 104 m² house. This is the pump's consumption — household electricity for lighting, appliances and cooking is added to the bill, which we describe in a separate article about maintenance costs.
What really lowers the bill
Indoor temperature. Each degree above 21 °C increases the bill by about 6%. The difference between 21 and 24 degrees is greater than many tariff changes.
Photovoltaics. With a heat pump, the bill is roughly halved: in a 70 m² house from 2,420 zł annually to 1,320 zł.
Insulation and tightness. PUR foam and triple-glazed windows are standard here, and the Bory One wall has a better coefficient than in the Standard collection. Details are described on the technology.
Location. In the coldest, fifth climate zone, demand is about 16% higher than in central Poland, and about 8% lower in the west of the country.
Rekuperation works differently than commonly thought. It recovers about 20% of heat, but its fans run all year and consume about 350 kWh of electricity. With a heat pump, these two roughly cancel out — heat recovery is taken for air quality, not for the bill. Real savings occur only with a more expensive heat source, for example with heating mats.
Bory Compact — the only house with heating mats
W Bory Compact (32 m²) cannot fit either a heat pump or a gas boiler. The only heat source is heating mats, and the bill is 5,270 zł annually, or 440 zł monthly — the highest in the entire offer, despite being the smallest house. If you plan to live year-round and want a low bill, a better choice is already Model 44 with a heat pump.
