ᐅ Switching the Heating System to a Heat Pump

Hello everyone,

A brief overview of the situation:
Our single-family house was built in 2003, with about 165 m2 (1,776 sq ft) of living space, underfloor heating throughout, a 13 kWp photovoltaic system, and a battery storage. So far, we have been heating with gas (around 10,000 kWh consumption).
Our heating system is still running perfectly. However, our heating technician suggests that we should start considering a replacement soon since the system is now over 20 years old and might begin to cause issues.
At the moment, I’m a bit uncertain about what to do. On one hand, our heating works without any problems so far. On the other hand, I think it might be wise not to wait until a total breakdown before replacing it.
That’s why I’m currently considering switching to a heat pump.
I would appreciate any advice or experiences. I hope I’m not the only one facing this situation.

Given your starting point, you should be able to switch to a heat pump without any problems. I would get a few quotes, and if you find a reasonable offer, go ahead with the conversion. There are quite good incentives available, and with a 20-year-old heating system, I wouldn’t wait until it’s completely worn out.

Electricity currently costs about three times more compared to gas.
A heat pump would operate in the house with an annual performance factor of around 3,
so heating costs would likely remain unchanged.
This could improve in the future (if gas becomes more expensive and electricity cheaper).
The heat pump costs approximately €20,000, and you would receive about 45-50% in subsidies.
The roughly €12,000 investment will not pay off through energy savings,
but would only replace the "old" heating system.
In a few years, better technology might be available, and there will likely be more clarity regarding electricity and gas prices.
However, the subsidy might have expired by then.

Difficult decision… personally, I would keep using the gas heating until the situation changes significantly.

NK092019 schrieb:

I would appreciate some advice or experiences. I hope I’m not the only one facing this situation.

As @WilderSueden already mentioned, the exchange is definitely possible. But please take your time with it. There’s no rush, and prices will continue to drop.

1. Have a room-by-room heating load calculation done (costs about 150-200€)
2. Get quotes for heat pumps first
3. Do nothing this winter at all
4. Maybe consider it in 2025, unless the gas heating completely breaks down before then. Subsidies should still be good – without them, a heat pump won’t be feasible in the next few years

We faced the same decision last year, although our house is a few years older and doesn’t have underfloor heating, and we chose a heat pump. Therefore:

- Get quotes
- Make a decision based on those
- Don’t wait until a total breakdown; that only puts you under pressure and makes it more expensive in the end
- There are also some additional incentives if you replace a still-functioning gas heating system
- And if you do it in summer, you won’t have a cold house

I would do it again every time.

Messerjoe schrieb:

but only replace the "old" heating system.

But that is exactly the point. At 20 years, the old heating system should be considered fully depreciated. Some last 30 years, others need replacing after 15. The political goal is to switch to heat pumps anyway. And before you have to pay a premium in an emergency when the heating breaks down in the middle of winter (because it always breaks down when it’s in use), I would rather replace it in time, provided you get a reasonable offer. Admittedly, that’s the tricky part.