As of: January 21, 2024, 7:03 p.m
By: Stella Henrich
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The new heating law has been in effect since this year.
You can find out what this means specifically for owners of gas heaters here.
Bremen – At the moment, every landlord probably likes to give the boiler room of their property a wide berth.
Because the federal government's new version of the Building Energy Act (GEG) - also known as the Heating Act - is causing many owners and landlords to lose sleep.
Only one thing is clear: the 2024 reform should be the starting signal for the switch to heating with renewable energies.
And homeowners only have to take action once they know which energy source and supply they can count on locally.
That means: As soon as cities and municipalities have determined their municipal heat planning for the coming years.
The new heating law: repair possible, no replacement necessary
If you have a gas heater in the basement, you can leave it running as long as it works.
If the system breaks down, it can also be repaired.
There is only a general need to replace the gas heater if the heater is irreparably defective.
Owners have these options if the broken gas heater needs to be completely replaced:
Anyone who installs a new gas heater (or fossil fuel heater) must first receive
energy advice
.
Without this there is no gas heating.
Energy advice is funded by the Federal Office of Economics and Export Control (BAFA).
Installation of a
gas heater that can be converted
to hydrogen operation , for example if the network operator converts its network to green hydrogen.
It is currently completely unclear whether the change will ever happen: Green hydrogen is not yet produced anywhere in Germany, and there is no operator energy network.
If the municipal heat planning does not provide for a hydrogen network, gradual requirements will apply for the addition of climate-neutral gases such as biomethane.
The end date for the use of fossil fuels such as gas is December 31, 2044.
Transition periods of several years apply
when replacing heating systems
: five years apply in the event of a total failure, up to ten years in the event of a heating network connection and three years in the event of a failed expansion of district heating or hydrogen.
Sources: Home ownership NRW, Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection (BMWK)
Owners of existing gas heating systems therefore have enough time to decide.
According to the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection (BMWK), if you want, you can even temporarily have a used, fossil fuel-powered heater installed.
The new heating law provides answers: what it means for owners of a gas heating system and when a system should be replaced.
(Symbolic image) © IMAGO
In cases of hardship, homeowners can be completely exempted from the obligation to replace the heating system.
In each individual case, it is checked whether the necessary investments are in an appropriate relationship to the income or value of the building.
According to the BMWK, the obligation to switch to renewable heating may also be waived “due to special personal circumstances, such as a need for care”.
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The new heating law: The installation of a system with renewable energy will only be mandatory later
The GEG also stipulates that owners are allowed to install heating powered by oil or gas between January 1, 2024 and June 30, 2026 if the respective municipality does not yet have a municipal heating plan.
According to energiewechsel.de
, heating systems will only have to use an increasing proportion of bioenergy or hydrogen
from 2029 onwards .
Share of renewable energies such as biogas and hydrogen for gas and oil heating:
2029: at least 15 percent
2035: at least 30 percent
2040: at least 60 percent
2045: 100 percent
However, if the municipality has already made a decision on this, the installation of heating systems with 65 percent renewable energy has been mandatory in a new development area since January 1, 2024.
These heaters will meet the new rules from 2024.
The new heating law – and what it means
Since January 2024, every newly installed heating system must be powered by 65 percent renewable energy.
This regulation provides for the new version of the Building Energy Act (GEG).
The federal government wants to advance the “heat transition” in the building sector with the reform for more climate protection.
Anyone who installs a new oil or gas heating system during the transition period will have to use increasing amounts of bioenergy from 2029.
Even after the transition periods have expired, new gas or oil heating systems are still permitted in various constellations, for example as hybrid solutions in combination with a heat pump or a solar thermal system, when operated with green gases or temporarily within the framework of the various deadlines and exceptions.
It's all about installing new heaters!
Existing heaters can continue to operate and broken heaters can still be repaired.
Source: energiewechsel.de
The new heating law: Waiting for the heating plan from municipalities and communities
This much can be said: For the time being, there will be no immediate changes for homeowners as long as the system of their property is intact.
A lot also depends on the municipalities and communities and their heat plans.
When replacing a system, the Federal Association of Consumer Advice Centers (VZBV) points out that the prices for gas and oil are likely to continue to rise and the CO₂ price for fossil fuels could continue to rise.
In 2024 alone, the price for one ton of CO₂ will be 45 euros and, according to the federal government, next year it will even rise to 55 euros, which will not only make heating but also refueling significantly more expensive.
The new heating law also has an impact on tenants.
Ultimately, however, these must also be protected from “bearing the entire cost or even more through the modernization levy,” explains VZBV board member Ramona Pop.
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