Intention: hybrid heat pump as the norm in 2029

On 7 October 2026 the Minister of Housing and Spatial Planning, also on behalf of the Minister of Climate and Green Growth, sent the House of Representatives a letter on the intended standard for smart hybrid heat pumps (Dutch, reference 2026-0000499978). A news item (Dutch) appeared on rijksoverheid.nl the same day.

The standard goes into the Building Decree (Bbl). The cabinet tightens the existing efficiency requirement for heating installations for that purpose. That requirement is technology-neutral and set so that a hybrid heat pump meets it (Dutch). An installation that heats even more efficiently, such as a fully electric heat pump, meets it too. Heating only with a boiler, infrared panels or an electric heater does not.

Where a fully electric heat pump is already possible, it is preferred: the gas connection can then be dropped as well. A hybrid heat pump still uses natural gas and is a stepping stone towards a gas-free home by 2050. How to choose between the two is in hybrid or all-electric.

Weighing a new boiler against a heat pump? That comparison is in heat pump or gas boiler.

The standard only applies at the moment your boiler is replaced, usually when you move, renovate or when the boiler reaches the end of its life. You do not have to remove a working boiler early. The year 2029 is the earliest feasible start.

The cabinet already foresees three exceptions.

Heat network. Homes that will be connected to a heat network in the short term fall outside the standard.

Apartment buildings. There is not always room for a heat pump, noise can be a nuisance and energy use is limited.

Listed buildings. A heat pump needs a monument permit. If it is not granted, a resident cannot meet the standard.

Apartments and listed buildings may still be brought in later: the cabinet is still looking at how and when. A choice on utility buildings, such as schools and commercial property, is also still to come. The exact scope has not been set.

Want to know whether ISDE fits your situation? Start with the ISDE check.

A smart heat pump is controllable. You can set it and drive it to heat when the power grid is quiet or when electricity prices are low. From 2029 all newly installed hybrid heat pumps must also be smart. What such a heat pump has to meet is set out in NTA 8171 (Dutch), a Dutch Technical Agreement that NEN announced on 7 October 2026 and that is freely available.

On cold winter days, when the power grid is under heavy load, a hybrid heat pump can also switch over to gas. That relieves the grid at those peak moments.

Smart control also fits the time-of-use grid tariffs the ACM wants to introduce from 2029: busy moments get dearer, quiet hours cheaper. That proposal is still a draft. What it says is in our article on the new grid tariffs from 2029.

A home with a (hybrid) heat pump uses on average 65% less gas (Dutch) for heating, and the home's CO2 emissions fall by more than 30%. Those are averages from the Dutch government, not a promise for your home. How much it differs for you depends on your gas use, the type of home, the level of insulation and energy prices.

What insulation has to do with a heat pump is in insulation and heat pumps.

This is separate from the 2029 standard. For ISDE, smart is a bonus: intended (Dutch) is 200 euros extra for a heat pump that can communicate via EEBus, S2 or Matter, on top of the amount per kW. You get the bonus once. The final rules are not yet in the Staatscourant, the Dutch official gazette.

As intended, the amount per kW for an air-to-water heat pump goes from 225 to 120 euros on 1 January 2027 and the A+++ bonus rises from 200 to 250 euros. If you buy on or before 31 December 2026, the 2026 amounts apply, without the new bonuses. The RVO worked example for a smart 4 kW heat pump with an A+++ label is 1,025 + 4 × 120 + 250 + 200 = 1,955 euros. The full explanation, with a table for 2026 and 2027, is in our outlook on ISDE 2027.

No need to wait for the standard. It only applies from 2029 and only when a boiler is replaced, and it is not yet law. Until the Bbl is changed, this plan changes nothing about today's rules.

Look at the subsidy. For an air-to-water heat pump there is ISDE. It is intended to change on 1 January 2027, see the outlook. How to apply is in heat pump subsidy.

Mind smart communication. The intended ISDE bonus depends on a heat pump that can communicate via EEBus, S2 or Matter. Take that into account when you compare new heat pumps.

Look at your connection. In most cases (Dutch) a hybrid heat pump needs no heavier connection and can run on a single-phase connection. Whether that holds for your home depends on your current connection and the unit you choose. How appliances count together on your connection is explained in the knowledge base on the diversity factor.

Is all-electric possible? Then that choice is preferred under the intention, because the gas connection can also be dropped. More about the options is on the heat pump page.

It stays an intention until the change to the Bbl is published and in force. For you something only changes when your boiler is replaced at a moment the standard applies.

Boiler due for replacement? Put your situation to us.