There is currently a lot of discussion about the 🚦 federal government’s new heating law. Unfortunately, there is also a lot of fake news circulating about it. Here are the most important facts:
⚡️ Buildings account for slightly more than ⅓ of total energy consumption in Germany. The heat transition, i.e., the conversion of the heating supply away from dirty coal and oil heating to climate-friendly heating, has stalled in Germany for too long. In many neighboring European countries, for example, the proportion of heat pumps installed is significantly higher than in Germany. 🆙
‼️ The heat transition is urgently needed if we are to achieve our climate protection targets by 2030 and become less dependent on natural gas imports. Important to know: Fossil fuel prices will foreseeably continue to rise in the late 20s. The era of cheap (Russian) gas and oil is over.
Therefore, from January 1, 2024, according to the proposed reform of the Building Energy Act:
1️⃣ A minimum requirement of 65 percent renewable energy will be set for newly installed heating systems.
2️⃣ The law is open to all technologies, i.e. it does not stipulate exactly which technology must be installed. For example, hybrid solutions with heat pumps or solar thermal systems are also possible. Under special conditions, heating with green hydrogen is also possible.
3️⃣ If an old heating system breaks down after the deadline, it can of course be repaired and still be used. If repair is technically no longer possible, the new 65 percent rule also applies – but with a transition period of 3 years.
4️⃣ Generous transition periods will also apply, for example, to multi-family houses with gas-fired floor heating systems and individual furnaces. If for special reasons it is economically unreasonable to fulfill the obligation in a specific case, a general hardship provision will apply.
5️⃣ In order to make the switch to renewable energies financially viable, a socially acceptable financial subsidy of up to 70 percent will be provided. The aim of the subsidy is to ensure that the costs of a heat pump, for example, can also be borne by households with small or medium incomes.