MaPrimeRénov' 2026: French Aid for Heat Pumps & Solar Explained

Aid rates change during 2026 — every figure in this guide was verified as of September 2026. MaPrimeRénov' was suspended in 2025, reopened on 23 February 2026 with tightened rules, and its amounts are revised by decree — confirm the current values at france-renov.gouv.fr before applying.

What is MaPrimeRénov' and what changed in 2026?

MaPrimeRénov' (MPR) is France's main home-renovation grant, paid by the national housing agency Anah as a fixed amount per "geste" (individual measure) that varies with household income. After a turbulent 2025 in which the scheme was suspended amid budget uncertainty, it reopened on 23 February 2026 with a budget of €3.6 billion — and four significant tightenings:

• The dwelling must be more than 15 years old.
• A DPE (energy performance diagnosis) or energy audit is mandatory with every application since 1 January 2026.
• Aid under the per-measure track is capped at €20,000 per dwelling over five years.
• The highest ("rose") income band is excluded from the decarbonisation gestures — heating grants now target the three lower bands (bleu, jaune, violet).
• From 1 September 2026 (décret n° 2026-822 of 25 August 2026), the per-measure track in mainland France no longer funds solar water heaters, combined solar systems, PVT hybrid collectors, thermodynamic water heaters, biomass heating, insulation or ventilation; heat pumps (air-to-water, geothermal or solar-assisted), district-heating connections and the energy audit remain.

Gas boilers get nothing: they have been excluded from MPR and CEE support, and have carried 20% VAT since March 2025 — France's implementation of the EU-wide end of fossil-boiler incentives.

How much does MaPrimeRénov' pay for heat pumps and solar in 2026?

An air-to-water heat pump earns €3,000–5,000 depending on income band; solar-assisted and geothermal heat pumps earn up to €11,000. The full per-measure amounts:

Three rows changed on 1 September 2026. The combined solar system (SSC) — collectors serving both space heating and hot water — was one of Europe's most generous solar thermal grants at up to €10,000, and France was one of the few countries funding PVT hybrid collectors as their own category ("capteurs hybrides"). The decree of 25 August 2026 removed both, together with the individual solar water heater, from the per-measure track for applications filed from 1 September 2026 in mainland France; they remain eligible only in the overseas departments. In mainland France, solar thermal support now runs through the CEE scheme, which applies boosted coefficients to solar water heaters and combined solar systems from 1 September to 31 December 2026.

The amounts are fixed sums, not percentages: the grant does not scale with the invoice, which rewards competitive quotes. And since gas boilers are excluded and fossil heating faces rising EU carbon costs under ETS2 from 2028, the table above is effectively the menu of every supported heating route in France.

Can you combine MaPrimeRénov' with CEE, 5.5% VAT and the éco-PTZ?

Yes — stacking is the norm in France, and 2026 strengthened it. The CEE scheme (certificats d'économies d'énergie, financed by energy suppliers) entered its 6th period on 1 January 2026, running to 2030 with the obligation raised to 1,050 TWhc per year — 35% more than the previous period — which means more supplier co-funding chasing eligible projects.

• The Coup de pouce Chauffage remains for air-to-water heat pumps: for very modest households, CEE can add roughly €5,800 on top of MPR. Cumulation ceilings apply to the combined MPR + CEE total — confirm the current caps in the applicable arrêté via france-renov.gouv.fr.
• VAT at 5.5% applies to renewable heating equipment including heat pumps, solar thermal and biomass; air-to-air heat pumps joined the 5.5% rate on 18 July 2026 (art. 92, Loi de finances 2026).
• The éco-PTZ interest-free loan of up to €50,000 can finance the remaining cost — confirm the current 2026 conditions at france-renov.gouv.fr.
• Air-to-air and hybrid gas heat pumps were removed from the Coup de pouce list.

Worked example: a very modest (bleu) household replacing a gas boiler with an air-to-water heat pump can combine the €5,000 MaPrimeRénov' grant with roughly €5,800 of CEE Coup de pouce aid — a package in the €10,800 range before the reduced 5.5% VAT is even counted, subject to the current cumulation ceiling. The remaining balance can be financed through an éco-PTZ at 0% interest, so the out-of-pocket cost of switching falls to a fraction of the sticker price.

Who is eligible — and what do RGE and Solar Keymark requirements mean?

Two quality gates decide eligibility: the installer's RGE qualification and the equipment's certification. Without both, no aid flows.

RGE (Reconnu Garant de l'Environnement) is mandatory for MPR, CEE and the éco-PTZ: QualiPAC for heat pumps, Qualisol for solar thermal. Verify the installer's RGE status on the official directory before signing anything — an invoice from a non-RGE installer is unrecoverable.

Equipment certification: solar thermal products must hold CSTBat or Solar Keymark (or equivalent). Until 31 August 2026, PVT hybrid panels funded by MaPrimeRénov' additionally needed a glycol circuit, at least 1 m² of aperture area and the LabelPack A+ system label. Solar Keymark — the pan-European certificate based on EN ISO 9806 testing — is the same certificate accepted by the German and Italian schemes, which is why export manufacturers certify once for many markets: Solimpeks' Wunder collectors (DIN CERTCO) and PV-T hybrid panels (Kiwa) carry Solar Keymark.

Your income band (bleu, jaune or violet) follows Anah's published income tables for your region and household size; Île-de-France has separate, higher thresholds.

How do you apply for MaPrimeRénov'?

1. Identify your income band against Anah's current tables.
2. Commission the mandatory DPE or energy audit — required with every application since 1 January 2026.
3. Obtain quotes from an RGE-qualified installer (QualiPAC or Qualisol as relevant).
4. Create your account and file the application on the official MaPrimeRénov' portal, reached via france-renov.gouv.fr — before the works begin.
5. Receive the grant confirmation, then have the works carried out and invoiced.
6. Submit the invoice to trigger payment. CEE aid is claimed separately through your chosen energy supplier or délégataire — normally committed before you sign the quote.

What deadlines and changes should you watch next?

MaPrimeRénov's recent history is the warning: it was suspended mid-2025 when the budget ran dry, and reopened in February 2026 with tighter rules. The practical consequences:

• Apply early in the budget year. A €3.6 billion envelope is finite, and France has already shown it will pause intake rather than overspend.
• The €20,000 five-year cap makes sequencing matter — a geothermal heat pump alone can consume more than half the ceiling, so plan multi-measure renovations as a whole.
• Watch the Loi de finances 2027 (debated in autumn 2026) for next year's amounts, band thresholds and any new conditions.
• Unlike Germany's BEG, which now cuts rates on a fixed six-month schedule, French amounts change by decree without a published glide path — the official page is the only reliable reference.

For households weighing technologies: the solar rows in the table pair naturally with a heat pump geste, and that combination is exactly where a hybrid solar + heat pump system turns from a technical question into a financial one — since September 2026 MaPrimeRénov' funds the heat pump side in mainland France while the solar side is supported through CEE aid and 5.5% VAT, and where PVT or solar collectors serve as the heat pump's source the system can qualify in the solar-assisted heat pump category (up to €11,000); confirm the equipment requirements with your RGE installer.