Energy costs at a record high: heating companies under constant stress - "can't keep up"
Created: 05/11/2022, 06:07
By: Uta Künkler
Whether oil, gas or electricity - the rising energy prices are currently an issue in many households.
Advice for heating companies is therefore more in demand than ever at the moment.
Erding - Many citizens in the district are currently asking themselves whether they should change their energy supply - away from the energy-guzzling old burners and towards renewable energies.
Energy prices: Enormous demand for heating conversion - customers want to get away from gas and oil
Today's heating systems, boilers and piping systems are high-tech systems.
Heating engineers like Herbert Niedermaier from Hohenpolding are the contact for customers in matters of installation, maintenance and advice.
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"We can't keep up," says Heribert Niedermaier, head of the building services company of the same name in Hohenpolding.
The need for advice regarding a heating conversion from gas or oil to wood or a heat pump is "extremely high" - anyway, since the subsidies have become so attractive.
However, the situation in Ukraine has “deteriorated significantly” since the beginning of the war.
By the way: everything from the region is also available in our regular Erding newsletter.
Every day, the Hohenpolding craftsmen receive calls from customers who are just as concerned about future security of supply as they are about their wallets given the rising prices.
"Customers are afraid that there will soon be no more oil or gas," summarizes Erding plumber Stefan Kübelsbeck.
They are "very concerned".
High energy costs: Huge need for advice in heating companies - there is a lack of employees in the sector
The need is enormous.
However, the industry lacks employees.
Niedermaier definitely needs to expand his business with around 30 employees, he says.
Alone: There are no people.
Neither specialists nor trainees are easy to find.
"We could already fill almost 100,000 additional vacancies immediately if we only had qualified applicants," says Michael Hilpert, President of the Central Association for Heating, Sanitary and Air Conditioning (ZHSK).
The heating engineers in Erdinger Land are also feeling the effects of the lack of qualified colleagues.
The order books are full.
“We have a lead time of about a year.
We just can't keep up," says Hans Wildgruber about his specialist company in Finsing.
“You now even have to wait two to three months for a consultation,” explains Wildgruber.
An appointment lead time like at the dentist.
If not more gas or oil, then what?
In new buildings, the trend is towards heat pumps, says Bettina Kronseder from the building services company in Dorfen.
However, the rapid increase in demand has an impact on the delivery times of the manufacturers.
Otherwise, pellet boilers are very popular.
"But some customers are also switching to district heating, which is operated in villages with wood chips," says Kronseder.
High energy prices: alternatives to gas and oil - the trend is towards heat pumps
Everyone wanted to get off the gas as quickly as possible, says Wildgruber.
He takes a very critical view of this development.
In some cases, the prerequisites for a change are not given at all, and not every house is suitable for a heat pump.
“If I have an existing and working system, why do I have to replace it at all costs?” he asks.
"Sustainable in the sense of resource conservation is not necessarily."
Of course he supports the use of renewable energies.
But when homeowners throw themselves headlong into the heating conversion because of the situation in Russia and the attractive Bafa subsidy, he can only shake his head.
"You don't have to use force to rip out every oil tank, but calmly weigh the overall situation," warns Wildgruber.
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You can find more current news from the district of Erding at Merkur.de/Erding.