# Heating a house in Crete, and the Εξοικονομώ grants: what is open, who qualifies, and what a mild winter costs

> Crete's winters are among the mildest in Greece and well under half as cold as the EU average — but a stone house built for summer still needs heating. What the Eurostat data show, what electricity and heating oil cost going into winter 2026, and why almost every energy grant in Greece, Εξοικονομώ included, is for main residences only.

- Canonical URL: https://honestcrete.com/buying/heating-and-energy-grants-crete-home/
- Author: Fotis (Honest Crete, Heraklion)
- Section: Buying property in Crete · Stage: Owning
- Rules verified: September 2026 · Updated: 2026-09-26 · Published: 2026-09-26
- How to cite: "Honest Crete — Heating a house in Crete, and the Εξοικονομώ grants: what is open, who qualifies, and what a mild winter costs (rules verified September 2026), https://honestcrete.com/buying/heating-and-energy-grants-crete-home/"
- Disclosure: Honest Crete does not sell or list property and nobody here is an estate agent. Enquiries sent from this section go to a licensed, registered estate agent, not to us. No article names a developer or a specific property. Adverts on these pages are labelled as adverts and buy no say in the text.
- Sources:
  - Eurostat, heating degree days by NUTS 2 region, dataset nrg_chddr2_a (updated May 2026) — 2025: Crete 824, Attica 951, Greece 1,446: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/api/dissemination/statistics/1.0/data/nrg_chddr2_a?format=JSON&indic_nrg=HDD&geo=EL43&geo=EL30&geo=EL52&geo=EL53&geo=EL&sinceTimePeriod=2021&lang=en
  - Eurostat, heating degree days by NUTS 2 region, dataset nrg_chddr2_a (updated May 2026) — 2025: South Aegean 505, lower than Crete: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/api/dissemination/statistics/1.0/data/nrg_chddr2_a?format=JSON&indic_nrg=HDD&geo=EL42&sinceTimePeriod=2022&lang=en
  - Housing Policy portal (June 2025) — Εξοικονομώ 2025: application period over; main residences only; energy certificate class C or lower; at least three classes of improvement; subsidy 95% for the lowest incomes, otherwise 50–80%: https://stegasi.gov.gr/programs/exoikonomo-2025/
  - Ministry of Economy and Finance (August 2026) — Greece's Social Climate Fund plan, €5.3 billion, approved: Εξοικονομώ upgrades for 62,000 homes and 280,000 heat pumps and solar water heaters for vulnerable households, 2026–2032: https://minfin.gov.gr/egkrithike-to-ethniko-schedio-gia-to-koinoniko-tameio-gia-to-klima/
  - Ministry of Environment and Energy (June 2026) — 'Ανακαίνιση Κατοικίας': €500 million for pre-1991 homes of up to 120 m² with an energy class of C or lower, becoming or being a main residence or long-term let; 70–80% subsidy up to €36,000; income limits apply: https://ypen.gov.gr/pano-apo-6-700-vevaioseis-epileximotitas-meso-tis-ilektronikis-platformas-gia-anakainisi-kai-ipia-energeiaki-anavathmisi-sto-plaisio-tis-drasis-anakainisi-katoikias-tou-espa-2021-2027/
  - Enikos (September 2026) — household variable electricity tariffs for September 2026: about €0.148–0.297 per kWh, average €0.207, before regulated charges: https://www.enikos.gr/economy/timologia-revmatos-septemvriou-2026-deite-tis-times-ana-parocho/2637440/
  - dnews (September 2026) — heating oil expected at around €1.75 per litre when the 2026/27 season opens, against about €1.10 a year earlier: https://www.dnews.gr/eidhseis/oikonomia/610970/varys-xeimonas-me-petrelaio-thermansis-sta-1-75-evro-to-litro-apo-1-10-evro-perysi-ti-tha-ginei-me-to-epidoma-thermansis
  - Ministry of Environment and Energy (read September 2026) — heating allowance 2025/26: for the main residence of tax residents who filed a return, within income and property limits; €100–800, up to €1,200 in high-need areas: https://ypen.gov.gr/ti-deftera-10-noemvriou-xekinoun-oi-aitiseis-gia-to-epidoma-thermansi-ta-kritiria-gia-tin-epidotisi-kai-oi-imerominies-katavolis/

---

People who buy in Crete tend to budget for air conditioning and forget about heating. That is half right: the island's winters are genuinely mild, among the gentlest in Greece and well under half as cold as the EU average. But a stone village house with single glazing and a tiled floor can be colder inside in January than the weather outside suggests, and the Greek grants that pay for insulation, windows and heat pumps are, almost without exception, for **main residences**. If Crete is your second home, assume you will pay for any energy upgrade yourself. Climate data, prices and programme rules as they stood in September 2026, checked against Eurostat, the Ministries of Environment and Finance, the Housing Policy portal and Greek energy reporting.

I am not an engineer or an energy adviser and this is not technical or financial advice. The right heating for a particular house depends on how it is built, and an engineer's energy certificate is the place to start.

**Heating and grants in one minute.** Eurostat's **heating degree days** for 2025: **Crete 824**, Attica 951, **Greece 1,446**, **EU 2,828** — mild, but the South Aegean (505) is milder. Household electricity supply ran about **€0.15–0.30/kWh** in September 2026 before regulated charges; heating oil was expected near **€1.75/L** for 2026/27, up from about **€1.10**. **Εξοικονομώ 2025** closed on **13 April 2025** and was for **main residences** only; the next round, inside a **€5.3 billion** Social Climate Fund plan, is aimed at vulnerable households from **2027**. **Ανακαίνιση Κατοικίας** pays **70–80%** up to **€36,000**, but only for pre-1991 homes that are or become a main residence or long-term let. The **heating allowance** is for **tax residents** only.

## How mild the winter is

Heating degree days measure how much heating a climate needs. Eurostat's figures for **2025** put **Crete at 824**, against **951** for Attica, **1,446** for Greece as a whole and **2,828** for the EU. In other words, Crete needs less than a third of the heating of an average EU region. It is often described as the mildest part of Greece; it is not quite — the **South Aegean** islands recorded **505** — but it is close. All four Cretan regional units fall in the warmest zone of the Greek building-energy code.

What the averages hide is the house. Many old Cretan houses were built to stay cool: thick stone walls, small windows, stone or tiled floors, and often no insulation in the roof. They hold the cold of a damp January as well as they hold off the heat of August. The [energy performance certificate](https://honestcrete.com/buying/energy-performance-certificate-greece/) will tell you what you are buying; a class G house will cost far more to keep comfortable than the climate suggests.

## What heating costs

The obvious choice for most houses is a **heat pump** — in practice, the same air-to-air units that cool them in summer — because the winter is short and mild enough for them to work efficiently. Household variable electricity tariffs for September 2026 ranged from about **€0.148 to €0.297 per kWh**, averaging **€0.207**; those figures are the supply charge only, and regulated network charges come on top, so the real cost per kWh is higher. Heating oil opened the 2025/26 season at about **€1.10 a litre**, and reports in September 2026 expected around **€1.75** for 2026/27. Wood stoves and fireplaces are common in the villages; I found no official statistics on how Cretan homes are heated.

Solar panels, and how they offset a winter electricity bill, are covered in [solar panels and net metering](https://honestcrete.com/buying/solar-panels-and-net-metering-crete-home/); the whole annual bill in [running costs](https://honestcrete.com/buying/running-costs-of-a-home-in-crete/).

## The grants: Εξοικονομώ and its successors

**Εξοικονομώ 2025**, the main Greek home energy-upgrade programme, **closed to applications on 13 April 2025**. Its rules show the pattern: the home had to be a **main residence** (owners, or tenants with at least seven years left on a lease), have an energy certificate of class **C or lower**, and improve by at least **three classes** with a primary-energy saving of more than 30%. The subsidy was **95%** for individuals earning up to €5,000 or households up to €10,000, and otherwise **50%** — 65% for families with three or more children, 80% for households with a disabled member. Enrolled homes have until **30 November 2026** to complete their works.

The next round sits inside Greece's **Social Climate Fund** plan, worth **€5.3 billion** and approved by the EU in August 2026, which includes Εξοικονομώ upgrades for **62,000 homes** and **280,000 heat pumps and solar water heaters**, aimed at **vulnerable households**, between 2026 and 2032. The main renovation phase is reported to start in 2027. No call dates or income limits have been published, and the planned version is reported to exclude short-term rentals.

**Ανακαίνιση Κατοικίας** is the other live programme: **€500 million** for homes with a building permit dating from before the end of 1990, up to **120 m²** (150 m² for families with three or more children), with an energy class of **C or lower**. It covers occupied main residences and **closed homes that will become a main residence or a long-term let**, within income limits of roughly €18,000–25,000 for a single person and €25,000–35,000 for a couple, and it pays **70–80%** up to **€36,000**, plus €2,500 for studies. Sources disagree on its deadlines and on whether the rental commitment is three or five years; check before relying on it. [Renovating an old house](https://honestcrete.com/buying/renovating-an-old-house-in-crete/) sets out the building side.

The **heat-pump and solar water heater voucher** — which, unusually, accepted secondary homes — has closed; a new round for 2027 has been announced without criteria.

## The heating allowance

The Greek **heating allowance** is paid only to **tax residents who filed a Greek return**, for their **main residence**, within income and property-value limits. For 2025/26 it ranged from **€100 to €800**, up to €1,200 in areas of high need, and was claimed through the tax authority's platform. An owner who is not a [Greek tax resident](https://honestcrete.com/buying/tax-residency-greece-183-days/) is outside it.

## The honest downside

The data flatter Crete a little: a mild climate does not make a cold house warm, and old stone houses can be both. The grants are generous but narrowly aimed — at main residences, at modest incomes, at vulnerable households — and the next Εξοικονομώ has no dates. For a buyer from abroad with a holiday home, the realistic assumption is that insulation, windows and heat pumps are paid for privately, and that the price of the house should reflect what they will cost.

*Disclosure:* Disclosure: Honest Crete does not sell or list property. Enquiries sent from this section go to a licensed estate agent, not to us; the full statement is below. Nothing in this article names a developer, a property, an installer, an engineer or any other professional, and it never will.

**The verdict.** **Worth it if** the house's energy class and heating system are known, and your budget includes the upgrade it needs without counting on a grant. **Skip it if** the numbers only work with an Εξοικονομώ subsidy for a home that will not be your main residence.

## Quick answers

**How cold is winter in Crete compared with the rest of Greece?**

Mild. Eurostat's heating degree days for 2025 were 824 for Crete, against 951 for Attica, 1,446 for Greece as a whole and 2,828 for the EU. Crete is among the mildest regions in Greece, but not the mildest: the South Aegean islands recorded 505. A house still needs heating for a few months of the year.

**What is the cheapest way to heat a house in Crete?**

For most houses, an efficient heat pump — in practice air-to-air units — running on electricity, because the winter is short and mild. Household electricity supply tariffs in September 2026 ran about €0.15–0.30 per kWh before regulated charges, while heating oil was expected around €1.75 a litre for 2026/27. Insulation matters more than the fuel in an old stone house.

**Is there an Εξοικονομώ programme open in 2026?**

No. Εξοικονομώ 2025 closed to applications on 13 April 2025, and enrolled homes have until 30 November 2026 to finish their works. Greece's €5.3 billion Social Climate Fund plan, approved in August 2026, includes a new Εξοικονομώ for vulnerable households, with the main renovation phase reported to start in 2027; no call dates or income limits have been published.

**Can a holiday home in Crete get an Εξοικονομώ grant?**

No. Εξοικονομώ 2025 required the home to be a main residence, and the planned successor is reported to exclude short-term rentals. The 'Ανακαίνιση Κατοικίας' programme covers closed homes only if they become a main residence or a long-term let. A second home used for holidays is outside all of them.

**Can foreign owners in Crete get the Greek heating allowance?**

Only if they are Greek tax residents who filed a Greek tax return. The heating allowance is paid for the main residence, within income and property-value limits, and is applied for on the tax authority's platform; for 2025/26 it ranged from €100 to €800, up to €1,200 in high-need areas.

**Are there grants for heat pumps or solar water heaters in Greece?**

Not open as of September 2026. The last scheme, which unusually accepted secondary homes as well as main ones, has closed. A new round funded by the Social Climate Fund and the Recovery Fund has been announced for 2027, but its criteria have not been published.