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Heating debate: Politicians warn against prejudices against heat pumps!
Federal politicians discuss the advantages and disadvantages of gas heating and heat pumps. Environment, costs and technologies in focus.
Heating debate: Politicians warn against prejudices against heat pumps!
The debate about heating technologies in Germany is gaining momentum. Lower Saxony's Prime Minister Stephan Weil (SPD) pointed out the prejudices against heat pumps in a recent comment on the heating debate. Despite using gas heating in his private household, he sees the heat pump as a future-oriented solution, especially for older buildings. He criticizes the discrepancy between the potential benefits of the technology and the current skepticism that accompanies it. “There needs to be more information about new technologies,” says Weil, in order not to further burden the social debate, reports Bietigheim newspaper.
The discussion about the future of heating technology is further fueled by the Building Energy Act (GEG), which promotes the switch from fossil fuels to renewable energies. In the light of new studies, it is clear that heat pumps can offer advantages in the long term, despite their initial investment costs of 15,000 to 30,000 euros. In comparison, the costs for a gas heater are between 6,000 and 15,000 euros. However, calculations show that the operating costs over 20 years for heat pumps are significantly cheaper at around 20,000 to 31,000 euros than for gas heaters at 28,000 to 56,000 euros, like the platform Utopia highlights.
Costs and CO2 emissions in comparison
The ecological aspects are crucial in the current debate. Heat pumps cause significantly lower CO2 emissions compared to gas heating. While heat pumps get by with around 8.9 kg CO2e per square meter per year, this value for gas heating systems is around 43 kg CO2e. In addition, heat pumps completely eliminate CO2 costs over a period of 20 years, while gas heaters cause around 15,600 euros in CO2 costs, according to the analysis Utopia.
In the long term, forecasts show that heat pumps will be more cost-effective, especially given rising gas prices and CO2 prices, which are unlikely to stagnate in the coming years. The Rhineland-Palatinate Consumer Center points out that heat pumps represent a more cost-effective heating solution after a period of 10 to 15 years.
Installation and installation of heat pumps
The installation effort for heat pumps is considered to be high compared to gas heating. Nevertheless, heat pumps are a future-proof technology, even in view of the strict requirements of the GEG. From 2045, gas heating will be subject to restrictions and will no longer be permitted in new buildings. Therefore, switching to heat pumps could prove not only financially beneficial, but also environmentally necessary, as the studies by Ariadne and the WWF underline.
Prime Minister Weil warns that destructive discussions about technologies such as heat pumps could harm the social debate. He advocates an objective discussion of the issues in order to promote future-oriented restructuring in the areas of energy and heating.