From 2024, only heating systems operated with renewable energy may be installed if possible. This includes heat pumps.
The demand for heat pumps has increased, manufacturers Bosch Thermotechnik and Stiebel Eltron say when asked by Business Insider.
This also has an impact on availability. “In addition to heat pump types that are available directly from stock, there are also models for which we have delivery times of up to twelve months,” says a spokeswoman for Stiebel-Eltron.
After much back and forth, it was decided. The federal government has agreed in the cabinet on a reform of the Building Energy Act. This means that from 2024 only heating systems that are operated with at least 65 percent renewable energy may be installed – such as heat pumps, direct electricity heating systems, heating systems based on solar thermal energy.
Oil or gas heaters, which are still installed in households, are therefore excluded. When it comes to new heating, homeowners have to resort to sustainable options.
724,000 exchanged per year
The federal government assumes that in future 742,000 heating systems will be replaced each year in German housing stock. In a cost-benefit analysis, the Federal Ministry of Economics determined which of the alternatives mentioned is the most economical.
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Renewable heating was compared to gas heating. The calculation is based on an 18-year service life.
For single-family homes, the ministry came to the following conclusion: Regardless of whether it is completely renovated or not at all, an air-to-water heat pump ensures savings over its entire service life compared to gas heating. The investment costs would be higher than for gas heating. However, these would be offset by savings in operating costs. In the end, the property owners left the heating exchange with a profit of up to four figures.
Business Insider asked heat pump manufacturers Bosch and Stiebel Eltron what the market situation was like. That’s what they answered.
Stiebel Eltron: “Delivery times of up to twelve months”
A spokeswoman for Stiebel Eltron says that demand has been at an “extremely high level” for more than a year. And adds: “The massive growth rates in sales of heating heat pumps were and are a challenge for us – as for the entire industry. In addition to heat pump types that are available directly from stock, there are also models for which we have delivery times of up to twelve months.”
In addition, supply bottlenecks for materials are not over yet. Compared to 2021, the company has been able to increase heat pump production by 60 percent. “Unfortunately, we don’t see any real relaxation yet,” says the spokeswoman.
The spokeswoman sees no relaxation for the future either. “Of course” the demand will continue to rise, she says. “The heat pump will replace the gas boiler as the standard heating system – even in countries where the heat pump is not already available.”
Around 236,000 heat pumps were installed last year, but there are still around 650,000 gas boilers. “So there is still a lot of potential,” says the spokeswoman.
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Bosch: Increased demand
The spokesman for Bosch Thermotechnik, one of the largest heat pump manufacturers, also spoke of an increased question.
In order to meet the demand, Bosch will invest more than a billion euros in its European development and production network for heat pumps by the end of the decade. The company has significantly expanded its development capacity for heat pumps in Germany since 2019. Heat pumps will soon also be produced in Poland.