District heating: This is how homeowners heat climate-neutrally

Berlin The heat transition is a complex matter. 75 percent of residential buildings in Germany are still equipped with gas or oil heating. But for a climate-neutral future in the housing sector, that will have to change. In view of rising heating costs, many property owners are now toying with the idea of ​​switching to an electricity-based heat pump or fuel cell.

However, there is another variant that homeowners should take into account when planning climate-friendly heating: district heating. In this case, a building is supplied with heat from a combined heat and power plant – and no longer needs its own heat source. If the supplier uses renewable energy for this, this also helps with decarbonization.

Where do homeowners find this opportunity and when is it worth switching? How expensive would a switch be? The fourth part of the Handelsblatt series on the energetic conversion of real estate below provides an overview of the advantages and disadvantages of district heating and answers the most important questions.