New heating technologies are on the rise

Handelsblatt Energy Summit

Philipp Pausder, Christian Deilmann and Florian Unger (from left) discussed the heat transition with Handelsblatt editor Catiana Krapp.

(Photo: Marc-Steffen Unger for Handelsblatt)

Berlin A far-reaching upheaval is emerging in the German heating market. The past year has shown that. “Our customers have always focused on combined heat and power plants and gas boilers. That changed radically on February 24, ”said the head of the real estate segment of the energy service provider Getec, Florian Unger, on Wednesday at the Handelsblatt Energy Summit.

According to Unger, before the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine began, only about 30 percent of his customers asked for heat pumps. It’s now 90 percent. Unger said, “The market for gas-based solutions has collapsed.”

Unger’s company Getec equips large properties with heating systems. But what he experiences can be seen in the entire industry: According to the Federal Association of the German Heating Industry (BDH) and the Federal Association of Heat Pumps (BWP), sales of heat pumps increased by 53 percent in 2022 compared to the previous year.

More and more people are switching from gas to alternative energy sources for heating – and politics is promoting this trend. Because by 2030 there should be six million heat pumps in Germany so that the building sector is CO2-neutral by 2045. For many players, this means a fundamental change.

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Philipp Pausder, founder and boss of the heating platform Thermondo, sees it too. The start-up has existed for a good ten years and claims to be the largest heating installer in Germany. At first, Thermondo also installed classic gas heaters. However, for several months the company has been concentrating on installing heat pumps in German households.

“The fact that the heat pump does not work in the existing building has been refuted”

Pausder said at the energy summit: “We generate 70 percent of our sales with heat pumps.” Last year, however, hundreds of thousands of gas heaters were also installed in Germany.

Heat pump on a new single family building

Heat pumps work most efficiently in well-insulated new buildings. However, according to the providers, they can also be used effectively in existing properties.

(Photo: dpa)

Skeptics often criticize that heat pumps cannot be used in existing buildings, as they are often poorly insulated and have a very high energy consumption, especially on cold winter days. Heat pumps are therefore particularly worthwhile in new buildings.

This was clearly contradicted by several entrepreneurs at the energy summit. Florian Unger from Getec, for example, said: “The prejudice that the heat pump does not work in the existing building has been refuted. That can all be solved.” Thermondo boss Pausder even called the arguments against the heat pump in the old building “pure lobbying”. The established, German heating manufacturers have “overslept a bit” on the topic of heat pumps. But now they too are investing in the topic and catching up.

Smart thermostats can save energy – without replacing the heating system

But the heat transition can be accelerated not only by replacing the heating system, but also by saving energy. The founder and managing director of the start-up Tado, Christian Deilmann, said at the energy summit: “We can reduce our customers’ energy consumption by 22 percent.”

Tado offers, among other things, intelligent thermostats that can be used to regulate heating systems. The heating can be turned down automatically if there are no people in a room for a long time.

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In the course of the energy crisis, the German Energy Agency (dena) made a proposal last summer to introduce a legal obligation for homeowners to install digital radiator thermostats and measuring systems.

Tado boss Deilmann said on Wednesday: “Mandatory installation is a very good idea.” There are more and more political considerations going in this direction. There is also pressure from the European Union on the subject.

Heat pumps and electric cars: This is how the power grid should be relieved

Apparently, however, the so-called grid-friendly behavior of large electricity consumers is even higher up on the list of political priorities. This means that electric cars and heat pumps should ideally draw electricity from the grid when the wind is blowing or the sun is shining, meaning that a lot of renewable electricity is available.

In the past few days, statements by the President of the Federal Network Agency, Klaus Müller, on this subject have caused a stir. He warned that too many heat pumps and electric cars could put a strain on the power grid and endanger it. The Federal Network Agency has therefore published a key issues paper that provides for temporary electricity rationing for heat pumps and electric car charging stations in times of high network utilization.

This arouses fears among some consumers. Not so with the entrepreneurs at the energy summit. Deilmann said that e-cars and heat pumps must be digitized and managed intelligently. Pausder emphasized: “More flexible consumption is an opportunity.”

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First publication on 01/18/23 at 19:06.

Handelsblatt energy briefing

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