The green German economy minister scared the Germans when he said he wanted the ban on oil and natural gas stoves to come into effect in just a few months. It will take more time to fulfill this requirement. The heat pumps promoted by the minister are still very expensive.
Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection Robert Habeck of the Green Party wants to change the way most German homes are heated. He electrified listeners when he said he wanted a near-total ban on new oil and gas heating systems early next year, according to Deutsche Welle.
Every second house in Germany is heated by natural gas
“More than 80 percent of heat demand is still covered by burning fossil fuels. The building heating sector is dominated by natural gas. Every year we burn more than 40 percent of the natural gas consumed in Germany to heat our buildings and supply them with hot water. Of the approximately 41 million households in Germany, almost one in two is heated by natural gas.
Habek wants the old heating systems to be replaced with electrically powered heat pumps. Electricity, on the other hand, must come from renewable sources such as wind turbines or solar installations.
The idea stems from two premises. Firstly, climate protection, and secondly, the rise in the price of oil and natural gas.
Work on the ban will not begin until 2025.
He said the change was “necessary” and that Germany needed to “catch up” in its transition to renewables in the short term. Otherwise, neither statutory climate targets nor the transformation of the German economy into prosperity will be possible.
However, if the ban on the installation of liquid fuel and gas stoves comes into force, then, regardless of the intentions of the minister, this will not happen from next year. In early 2021, the ruling coalition agreed that it would take steps to ban new oil and gas boilers only in early 2025.
The uninformed service “DV” reports that a heat pump for a private house costs from 11,000 to even 25,000 euros. This is a big investment, even if the state covers up to 40 percent of the costs.
High purchase and installation costs are not the only obstacle that can stand in the way of the minister’s idea. DV notes that there is a shortage of skilled workers who could install the pumps. The solar industry is also reporting 200,000 vacancies. It should also not be forgotten that although Germany is a rich country, the implementation of the billions of euro subsidy program will not go unnoticed in the German budget.
Popularity of heat pumps on the rise in Poland
According to the Polish Organization for the Development of Heat Pump Technology, sales of heat pumps increased by 120% in 2022. This is another year with over 100 percent. height. When modernizing heating systems in their homes, the Poles are looking for the cheapest possible solutions, and heat pumps are still one of the most cost-effective sources of heat.
“Over the past 10 years, the market for air-to-water heat pumps in Poland has grown by more than 100 times. For the fifth year in a row, the Polish market for air-to-water heat pumps has had a sales growth of around 100%. from year to year, and over the past two years it was the highest dynamics in sales of heat pumps in Europe.
Source: Wprost
I am George Brown, author at Daily News Hack. I mostly cover economy news and I have been doing this for quite some time now. I have a lot of experience in this field and I’m always looking for new opportunities to learn more.
