The Building Energy Act (GEG) passed last year caused unanswered questions and one or two concerns, especially among owners. However, with useful knowledge at hand, the transformation in your own company could be much more tolerable.
Munich – Around every second German citizen currently heats with natural gas, and another quarter of households rely on heating oil. This emerges from figures from the
Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection
. In order to counteract this, renewable energy has had to be used when installing new heating systems since January of this year. With a few tricks, existing oil and gas heaters can still be used. There are even government subsidies under certain conditions.
Oil or gas heating systems can still be used
The
Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection
writes on its website that functioning heating systems can continue to be operated. This explicitly also includes cases in which heaters break but can still be repaired. If this is no longer possible or if an oil or gas heating system is more than 30 years old, there are “pragmatic transitional solutions and transitional periods lasting several years”. In addition, an exemption from the obligation to use renewable heating is provided for in cases of hardship.
The study “Heating with 65 percent renewable energies - accompanying analyzes on the design of the regulation from the 2021 coalition agreement”, published in 2023, was also intended to examine the conditions under which existing heating systems can be maintained despite the GEG. Combinations of oil and gas heating systems with other additives play a particularly important role, as long as individual limit values are not exceeded.
Continue to operate gas heaters thanks to station wagons
There are various options available to avoid having to replace an already installed gas heater. One solution, for example, would be to operate the gas heating system with at least 65 percent biomethane or green power to gas, reports Focus Online magazine
.
If a gas condensing boiler that uses at least 55 percent biomethane or power to gas is combined with solar thermal drinking water heating, there would be a government subsidy of currently 25 percent for this system, according to
Focus Online.
A quarter of the respective purchase costs will also be subsidized if a photovoltaic system were purchased for the above-mentioned drinking water heating, explains
Focus Online.
If the existing gas heating is a so-called “H2 Ready” variant, which can also use the more climate-friendly hydrogen in addition to gas, it is also possible to retain it. The same applies to “hybrid heating systems with gas BW plus water-conducting pellet stove or with gas BW and electric BW”.
How oil heating can be used in the future
If you do not have a gas heater installed in your home but are currently using oil, you should consider the following alternatives so that you can continue to heat with oil in the future. The latter could, for example, be combined with 65 percent organic oil or green Power to Liquid, writes
Focus Online.
In addition, a hybrid oil heating system and a water pellet stove would also be an option.
In addition, combinations of 55 percent bio-oil or green power to liquid with solar drinking water heating or between 45 and 50 percent bio-oil or green power to liquid with solar heating support are available,
Focus Online
continues. Which choice you choose should be considered in consultation with a qualified energy expert.
Good news for all tenants - according to
the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection,
landlords are allowed to pass on up to ten percent of the costs for new heating systems. However, this levy is capped to protect tenants from excessively high costs. The basic rent may not increase by more than 50 cents per square meter of living space per month.