New rules are underway: no discounts for stoves, fireplaces and thermo fireplaces if they replace a gas boiler. The bonuses for heat pumps, hybrid and solar thermal systems remain. Here’s how not to lose the boiler bonus if you want to change the heating system.
Change the boiler bonus 2026. With Legislative Decree 5/2026, which implements the European RED III directive, Italy tightens the rules on incentives for home heating: stricter standards, fewer margins, more ambitious environmental objectives. In line with Brussels’ requests, the objective is to push families to abandon old combustion technologies and switch to more efficient and low-impact systems. The most concrete consequence concerns those who were thinking of replacing the gas boiler with a pellet or wood stove or a fireplace: from now on, in most cases, this choice no longer gives the right to any incentives. However, everything remains confirmed for those who focus on heat pumps, certified “factory made” hybrid systems and solar thermal systems.
Stop incentives for stoves and biomass: those who remain excluded
From August 3rd pellet stoves, wood stoves, thermo fireplaces and fireplaces totally lose access to any form of economic relief when replacing a gas system. It is no longer possible to request the 50% IRPEF tax deduction (via Ecobonus or Restructuring Bonus), nor any vouchers or contributions allocated by regional, provincial or municipal tenders. Behind the stop there is not an economic reason, but above all an environmental one: to limit the production of fine particulate matter. There is however a margin, albeit narrow: the directive also introduces the principle of the so-called “cascade use” of biomassaccording to which wood should be used primarily for other uses and only as a last resort for combustion for heating.
The exception for the latest generation biomass
Anyone who already owns an old biomass system and wants to renew it, or who discards a coal or diesel boiler, can still access the incentives. But stringent technical requirements are needed: 5-star certification according to Ministerial Decree 186/2017, thermal efficiency at least 87%, 20 liter thermal storage for each kW of installed power (a threshold previously not required) and particulate emissions below 1 mg/Nm³ in cases of exemption from gas or LPG, a limit that selects only the most advanced appliances. Fuel also counts: the incentive is only available with ENplus A1 certified pellets, the highest class, and the purchase invoices must be kept for any checks. Anyone found with non-certified pellets or without invoices in order loses the bonus and he also risks fines. Stoves for heating a single room, however, remain outside these constraints.
Confirmed benefits: heat pumps, hybrid and solar thermal systems
The squeeze only concerns biomass: those who focus on electric and low-impact technologies will find the 2026 boiler bonus fully confirmed. Electric heat pumps continue to access the 50% Ecobonus for the main home (36% for second homes), the Home Bonus for renovations and the Thermal Account 3.0. The same applies for “factory made” hybrid systemsthe units that integrate a high efficiency condensing boiler with an electric heat pump: only if certified as such by the manufacturer, they access the same benefits as heat pumps. The incentives remain confirmed also for solar thermalintended for the production of domestic hot water and heating integration.
What is Thermal Account 3.0 and how it works
Among these benefits there is the Thermal Account 3.0which works differently from other bonuses. Unlike Ecobonus and Home Bonus, it does not go through a tax deduction but gives a direct refund to the current account within a few months of the approval of the application. It can cover up to 65% of eligible expenses for energy saving interventions and heat production from renewable sources: it is often the quickest and most convenient way for those who install a heat pump or a certified hybrid system.
How not to miss the boiler bonus
Specifically since August it is no longer possible to present a project that involves the simple installation of a stand-alone gas condensing boilerwithout any renewable integration. There is a way out, but it is narrow: the exemption is permitted only if the qualified heating engineer demonstrates, in the technical project report, a real and documented technical or economic impossibility to install alternative solutions. It’s not enough to prefer it or want it to save money. For this reason, anyone who is thinking of changing the boiler should act early. Better decide the type of system from the beginning of the projectbecause intervening once the construction site has already started risks blocking the construction process and causing the bonus to be lost. It’s important too check the start date of the worksgiven that it is the one that establishes whether the regime valid until 2 August or the one which came into force from 3 August 2026 applies. And finally, be followed by a qualified heating engineer remains the safest way to choose between a heat pump, factory made hybrid system or solar thermal, and to prepare the technical report in time if an exemption is needed.
