Economy Ministry of Economy
Demand for heat pumps in Germany falls to pre-crisis levels
Status: 10:08 am | Reading time: 2 minutes
Observers warn of problems if the demand for heat pumps first comes to a standstill and then suddenly increases rapidly
Source: dpa/Moritz Frankenberg
The number of funding applications for new heat pumps received by the Ministry of Economic Affairs fell in the first half of 2023 compared to the same period last year from almost 100,000 to almost 50,000. Experts attribute the decline to several reasons.
The heat transition in Germany threatens to falter. According to the Federal Ministry of Economics, only 48,804 funding applications for new heat pumps were received in the first half of this year, reports the “mirror”. In the same period last year, there were 97,766. In June 2023, the number of applications was around 7,500, back to the level before the Ukraine war.
Experts attribute the reluctance to several reasons: compared to 2022, concerns about a gas shortage have receded into the background, the state has capped energy costs, and gas prices have calmed down. Added to this is the ongoing debate about the Building Energy Act. Many homeowners will only find out which heating technologies will be possible on site in the future once the municipal heating plan has been completed in their community.
The heat pump had been “really talked to pieces” in the past few weeks, complained Volker Weinmann from the Japanese manufacturer Daikin. On top of that, the federal government has announced that it will increase funding next year to up to 70 percent of the cost of replacing a heating system.
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Observers warn of problems if the demand for heat pumps first comes to a standstill and then suddenly increases rapidly. “Then there will be even longer waiting times and more frustration,” said Karl Dienst, founder of the Cologne-based energy service provider Wegatech. In the meantime, consumers are having more new gas and oil boilers installed. Europe’s largest gas heating manufacturer Vaillant, for example, reports higher demand for gas heating than last year.
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The Ministry of Economy is relaxed. “When the mountain of orders from last year has been implemented, the applications will also increase again,” said Robert Habeck’s ministry. In addition, some consumers are likely to wait for heat pumps to become cheaper once production ramps up.