Save a lot of CO2 with the right heating system

With every kilowatt hour, a gas heating system emits around 250 grams of CO2. Four to five tons of greenhouse gas per house per year are released into the atmosphere and damage the climate. Homeowners can save a lot of CO2 in a very simple way. In addition to a conscious use of energy, the installation of an environmental heating system also helps. After all, those who burn fewer fossil raw materials emit lower amounts of the climate-damaging gas. A positive side effect: more efficient heating systems consume less and reduce annual heating costs. Thanks to government subsidies of up to 45 percent, heating system renovation is more worthwhile than ever.

Subsidies and levies create financial incentives

Residential buildings account for a high proportion of German CO2 emissions. At the same time, they offer great savings potential and are therefore a focus of the Climate Action Plan 2030. This includes measures to encourage homeowners to renovate and save CO2. One of them, the significant improvement in funding conditions, was already implemented at the beginning of 2020. And with complete success. This is because subsidies of up to 45 percent for a new environmental heating system encourage many homeowners to replace their boiler. In the coming years, further measures are to help increase the renovation rate.

Save a lot of CO2 with the new heating system

The following overview shows what applies to homeowners since 2021:

• Federal Funding for Efficient Buildings (BEG): From 2021, the BEG will combine various building subsidy programmes under one roof. It is intended to make the funding landscape more manageable and give renovators easier access to loans and grants.
• CO2 levy on fossil fuels: A ton of CO2 costs 25 euros in 2021. By 2025, the price will rise to 55 euros per tonne. Anyone who burns fossil fuels pays an additional 100 to 250 euros in heating costs per year. This is one reason why replacing the heating system is more worthwhile.
• Far-reaching ban on oil heating: From 2026, the installation of a new oil heating system will only be permitted in exceptional cases. And that is when natural gas or environmental heat are out of the question. But hybrid heating systems that combine heating oil and renewables are also still permitted.
• EU strategy paper on the "Renovation Wave": Far-reaching changes are needed to achieve future climate protection targets. With the "Renovation Wave", the EU recently presented a strategy paper that describes these changes. According to this, measures such as easily accessible subsidies and higher building standards in existing buildings are to double the renovation rate.

If you want to reduce your CO2 footprint, you don't have to renovate the whole house. After all, even simple measures help to noticeably reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In addition to tips on economical behavior, this also includes heating modernization and the replacement of old heating systems, as the following infographic shows.

The switch to condensing technology

If old constant or low-temperature heating systems are still doing their job, replacing them with a new condensing boiler is a big win. This is because modern heaters make better use of the fuels used. They achieve higher efficiencies and provide savings of ten percent or more – in terms of CO2 emissions and heating costs. The costs of condensing boiler technology are comparatively low. Without the combination with renewable energy sources, however, homeowners will not receive any subsidies for gas heating and oil heating systems.

Heating with renewable energies

Modern environmental heating systems are completely CO2-free or at least CO2-neutral. In addition to heat pumps, these also include log or pellet heating systems. The former use a technical process to make heat from the environment usable for heating. They place high demands on the house and are not worthwhile in every old building. The higher acquisition costs can be cushioned with a 35 to 45 percent subsidy for the heat pump.

Log and pellet heating systems burn renewable raw materials. Since they emit hardly more CO2 than trees convert into oxygen, they are considered CO2-neutral. In principle, the systems can be used for every house. The only requirement is enough space. Log gasification boilers also require a lot of time. This is necessary to add the logs by hand several times a day. This is not necessary with pellet heating systems – they work fully automatically. A 35 to 45 percent subsidy for biomass boilers also reduces costs here.

Hybrid heating for existing buildings

Even if the efficient heat pump alone does not suit every old building, it can fully exploit its advantages in combination with a modern gas or heating oil condensing boiler. This is because environmental heating alone provides warm rooms and hot water for large parts of the year. Only in winter does the fossil heating switch on to ensure cheap and reliable heating operation. 30 to 40 percent subsidies for the promotion of gas hybrid heating systems ensure low acquisition costs.

Different environmental heaters can also be combined with each other. Typical examples are heat pumps with log gasification boilers or wood and pellet heating systems. Since the solutions do not require any fossil fuels at all, there is a higher subsidy for RE hybrid heating systems with subsidies of 35 to 45 percent.

Solar thermal energy for heating or hot water

If the existing boiler runs reliably and efficiently, the combination with a solar system is often an option. Solar thermal energy converts free radiant energy into heat, which it uses to heat heating and/or drinking water. While the costs of such a system are manageable, the savings range from 5 to over 20 percent, depending on the design. A 30 percent subsidy for solar thermal energy makes retrofitting particularly worthwhile.

Heating optimisation for existing boilers

Even without heating system replacement or solar thermal energy, existing heating systems often offer great savings potential. These are mainly in the heat distribution system. Heating optimization, in which experts hydraulically balance the system, equip it with new pumps and adjust it correctly, not only saves CO2. Electricity and heating costs are also falling noticeably. Not to forget: the 20 percent subsidy for heating optimization, which means that the measure pays for itself more quickly.

source : Save a lot of CO2 with the right heating system - Efficiency House online (effizienzhaus-online.de)