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Berlin (German news agency) – Around half of all residential buildings in Germany are suitable for the efficient operation of a heat pump. This is the result of a study by the “Research Institute for Thermal Insulation Munich” (FIW Munich) and the “Institute for Energy and Environmental Research” (ifeu) on behalf of the “Association for Insulation Systems, Plaster and Mortar” (VDPM), about which the newspapers report to the Funke media group (Wednesday editions).
According to this, 9.25 million residential buildings would be “low-temperature-ready” and suitable for the installation of a heat pump. However, this does not apply to around 10 million residential buildings. A heat pump could be installed in these buildings, but they work much more inefficiently. The efficiency of an air heat pump in an old building in energy efficiency class “H” is 36 percent below that of a heat pump in a building in class “A++”. This also has financial consequences. According to calculations by the authors of the study, the average energy costs in a modern 160 square meter single-family house in energy efficiency class “A+” with a heat pump would be around 470 euros per year, with gas heating it would be around 200 euros more. In an uninsulated Class H house, the effect would be reversed: the gas heating would cause energy costs of around 4,520 euros per year there, while the heat pump would cost around 5,900 euros. However, there are currently almost no installed heat pumps in houses in energy class “H”. According to the study, up to five times more heat pumps could be operated with the same grid and electricity capacity if buildings were insulated and integrated into the grid. This also relieves the grids: Insulated buildings would reduce peak electricity loads in winter by a factor of two to three. “The careless installation of heat pumps in unsuitable buildings not only entails high running costs, but also overloads power generation, the power grids and thus the environment,” said FIW institute director and study director Andreas Holm to the Funke newspapers. Peter Mellwig, ifeu topic manager for “Energy efficiency in buildings”, said: “A prerequisite for efficiently working heat pumps are low flow temperatures. The worse a building is insulated, the more difficult and uneconomical it is to install a heat pump.” In view of the results, the Association for Insulation Systems, Plaster and Mortar (VDPM) spoke out in favor of a thermal insulation offensive. “There is no ‘one’ panacea in the building sector. Thermal insulation and heat pumps – these are two sides of the same coin,” said VDPM Chairman Christoph Dorn to the Funke newspapers. “It should also be communicated and promoted that way. A heat protection offensive would be the right support for the heat pump offensive.”
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