Aerotermia in Barcelona: Cost, Flats, Building Rules, Aid

Picture the quote: €15,000 for aerotermia, a promise that your bill will fall by two thirds and no mention of where the outdoor unit goes or whether your neighbours have to agree. Aerotermia is sold hard in winter, the pitch is mostly about the saving, and the price range is so wide that a quote can be fair or very high without any way to tell. Here is what published sources say it costs to install, what it costs to run, what the building rules mean for a flat and whether there is any aid, with the places where those sources disagree.

What is aerotermia, and how is it different from a split unit?

Aerotermia is a heat pump that draws heat from the outdoor air and moves it into your home. Endesa, which sells aerotermia and so has an interest, says it can deliver up to three times more thermal energy than the electricity it uses. An air-to-water system, which is what most people mean by the word, feeds radiators or underfloor heating and hot water. A split air conditioner with a heat pump function, which OCU treats as a separate option, heats by blowing warm air in the room instead.

How much does aerotermia cost to install?

Habitissimo (updated June 2026) gives a headline range of €1,800 to €25,000 with an average of about €15,000, which is too wide to be useful. For heating plus hot water it cites roughly €6,000 to €21,000, and in another place €6,000 to €25,000. By home size it lists about €3,900 for an 80 m² flat and about €8,000 for a 100 m² flat as starting prices, then €10,000 to €18,000 for a 120 m² house, €12,000 to €21,000 for 150 m² and €14,000 to €25,000 for 200 m². Hot water alone is listed at about €1,800 to €3,900. The page calls its figures indicative and does not agree with itself, so treat €6,000 to €21,000 as a starting range and get at least three written quotes. Our heating and boiler price page keeps these ranges in one place.

What does it cost to run?

In OCU's example, a 90 m² home in climate zone D, reported by Xataka Home in December 2023, aerotermia cost about €306 a year to run, against about €241 for a split air-conditioning heat pump and about €308 for a gas condensing boiler. Xataka says the gap with the split comes from the cost of raising the home's contracted electrical power, which is worth asking about. OCU's comparison put electric radiators at about €1,174 a year, so the big saving is against electric heating, not against a working gas boiler. Habitissimo's own running-cost figures disagree: one section gives about €300 a year for a 100 m² home and a comparison table gives €600. Barcelona is milder than zone D, and these are 2023 prices, so use them to compare technologies, not to predict your bill.

Xataka also reports payback periods of three to eleven years depending on the system, without making clear which period applies to which. Ask any installer to show their working.

Can you fit aerotermia in a flat, and who has to agree?

Often the outdoor unit is the sticking point. In Barcelona the building's facade is a common element, and putting an outdoor unit on it usually needs the approval of the community of owners, with strict rules on main facades, as our air conditioning installation guide explains. A unit on a private enclosed terrace can be different. A tenant needs the landlord's consent as well. Ask the installer to confirm in writing where the unit will go and what approval it needs before you pay a deposit. It is also worth asking whether your existing radiators can work with the system, since that changes the price.

Is there aid for aerotermia in Barcelona?

Not that I can confirm today. 3Cat reported in February 2025, updating the article in September 2025, that Barcelona doubled its home energy renovation grant to up to €6,000 per dwelling, made up of an EU share capped at €3,000 and a municipal top-up of €3,000. Replacing fossil-fuel heating with a renewable system was eligible, works had to cost at least €1,000, and the home had to be your main residence. The article gives 30 June 2026 as the date works had to be finished and as the application deadline, and I found no later call, so it appears closed. Other pages quote subsidies of around 30 per cent (Habitissimo) or up to 60 per cent (Endesa), but they are general and may be out of date. Check the city's housing consortium and the Oficina de Rehabilitació Municipal before assuming any help.

When might another option be better?

If you have a working gas boiler and radiators, OCU's example shows almost no running-cost difference, so the case for switching is about the equipment's age, the cost of the next repair and your tolerance for fossil fuel, not an automatic saving. Our guide to servicing a gas boiler covers the intervals and costs, and our guide to heating a cold flat compares all the options.

What should you ask for in a quote?

• Which model, and what seasonal efficiency (SCOP) does it have?
• Does the price include the indoor tank, radiators or underfloor pipes, electrical work and the removal of the old boiler?
• Where does the outdoor unit go, and what approval does that need?
• Does my electrical contract need to be upgraded, and who pays?
• What warranty comes with the unit, and who services it?

Looking for an English-speaking aerotermia or air conditioning installer in Barcelona? Browse by area: All of Barcelona, or by area: Eixample, Poblenou, Sarrià-Sant Gervasi, Les Corts, Diagonal Mar & Vila Olímpica, Gràcia, El Born & Barri Gòtic and Sants.

Some businesses named in our directory install or service heating, and a listing is not a ranking or an endorsement. Every figure below comes from a named source, not from a listed business. This guide is general information, not technical advice.