On Friday, the Building Energy Act will be in the Bundesrat. There are more and more voices that want to postpone the start of the law. The German government is also open to this.
Berlin – In the debate over the controversial heating law, the planned start date has come more into focus. On Friday, May 12, 2023, the federal states want to talk about the law in the Bundesrat. They have numerous proposals for improvement, including postponing the start of the law from 2024 to 2027. This demand is also being voiced by industry.
Industry associations call for start only in 2025
The German Chamber of Industry and Commerce (DIHK) expressed skepticism about the planned start in 2024. "In view of supply problems and the lack of skilled workers for the installation of new heating systems, longer transition periods would be advisable from the point of view of companies," DIHK energy expert Sebastian Bolay told the Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung. In addition to residential buildings, "well over a million commercial properties" are also affected by the planned heating replacement.
The Federal Association of Surface Heating and Cooling (BVF) called for a postponement of the ban on the installation of fossil heating systems in existing buildings by one year to 2025. "Currently, neither the production figures of heat pumps nor the expansion of heating networks nor the staffing levels in the sanitary, heating and air conditioning trade are sufficient to be able to implement the ambitious goals of the federal government at such short notice," BVF Managing Director Axel Grimm told the NOZ.
Government open to improvements
According to FDP parliamentary group leader Christian Dürr, a later start date than 2024 is also conceivable. "We will not pass a law in which questions remain unanswered," Dürr told the newspapers of the Funke Group. As an example, he cited the openness to technology in the choice of heat source after a heating system has been replaced. The central question is not when the law will come into force, but "that it works and can be implemented locally by municipal utilities and utilities".
Economics Minister Robert Habeck indicated that a later start date for the heating law would be negotiable for him. (Archive image) © IMAGO/Chris Emil Janssen
But Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) also indicated at the weekend that a later start date would be negotiable for him. And the energy policy spokesman of the Liberals in the Bundestag, Michael Kruse, had emphasized that thoroughness takes precedence over speed.
The opposition, on the other hand, continues to rail against the law, and the Union is even calling for its complete withdrawal. "The Building Energy Act must be completely redone," said Gitta Connemann of the SME and Economic Union of the Rheinische Post. "It contains a lot of technical deficiencies that can no longer be corrected."
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The heating industry is experiencing its biggest boom since the 90s
In the midst of the debate, the heating industry is experiencing a boom. Rarely has the industry sold as many heaters as it did this spring, reports the Federal Association of the German Heating Industry (BDH). After 980,000 heaters sold in the whole of 2022, the association believes that more than one million systems sold are possible this year. According to BDH department head Ralf Kiryk, this would be as many as in the mid-1990s. The heat pump division grew particularly strongly, with sales figures rising by 111 percent.
However, it is not only climate-neutral heat pumps that are sold particularly frequently. According to the information, more than half of the new plants will be fired with gas. The association recorded an increase of 14 percent. In the case of oil heating systems, manufacturers even doubled their sales compared to the previous year and sold 21,500 systems. (wal/dpa)