ᐅ Air source heat pump electricity price increased as of January 1, 2022

WilderSueden schrieb:

I was referring to the switch to low-temperature heating at that point.

Me too. With the facade, windows installed in series, and additional insulation of radiators or the roof, low-temperature heating is the only remaining option. The building envelope then achieves KfW40 efficiency, except possibly the basement.
And of course, a heat pump is then "simply" connected — low-temperature heating with a 30°C (86°F) supply temperature. This is done quickly and easily in multifamily buildings. It doesn’t require much effort, just money.

There are plenty of approaches. District heating networks, especially low-temperature networks combined with booster heat pumps, represent a promising model for the future. However, cities and municipalities also need to allocate funds for this.

If you look at the electricity used for heat pumps this way, it is indeed a blanket solution. Still, I don’t understand why higher earners always have to bear the burden. If someone contributes to climate goals and invests, they shouldn’t be "punished" for it as well.

Alessandro schrieb:

However, I don’t understand why higher earners always have to be the ones who lose out.

This is not about being “against higher earners.” I personally also fall through the cracks with any targeted support, even though I am not a high earner. It is about the basic principle.
Subsidies must first be collected and managed. Every euro less in subsidies actually saves more than one euro. Right now, we are creating incredible bureaucracy just to move money in circles. Take, for example, the so-called energy allowance... the government pays the employer money so they can pay me €300 (about $320), from which I then have to give back almost half in my tax return. Yay!
On the other hand, every subsidy is also an incentive distortion. With enough subsidies and punitive taxes, even ox carts could be made competitive again—it’s all a matter of political will. But objectively, that would not make sense. If you think I’m exaggerating... battery-powered airplanes are not far from this example.
And subsidies don’t solve the real problem. Instead of patching things at the end of the chain by subsidizing electricity for heat pumps, we should start at the beginning and ensure that electricity can be produced affordably in this country. This requires easing historic building preservation rules and the possibility to fairly pass on energy-efficient renovation costs to tenants (we used to have this... but the costs were too high for tenants, and some tenant advocates now prefer to spend expensive money on gas instead...). Then the houses will renovate themselves and switch to heat pumps naturally.

Would have, would have, craft scissors 😉

Germany, Europe, and the entire world have simply slept through and deliberately ignored this whole issue. Now we are all paying the price for it.

It is clear that it makes sense to address the problem at the very start of the supply chain, meaning with cheap renewable electricity. But there simply isn’t enough time left to avoid heating the planet more than 1.5°C (2.7°F).

I keep hearing scientists say that about 20 years ago there was no mobile network or cell phones, and that the energy transition could succeed if we worked just as fast as with mobile networks. What they forget is that it was something completely new and no citizen had to pay out of pocket to finance it.

With the energy transition, two-thirds of existing households have to invest, and that investment is in the mid five-figure range. How are you supposed to get people to participate? If it doesn’t pay off in their lifetime, it’s pointless. That’s how people think, plain and simple.

With that kind of investment, you could practically spend 20 winters in Thailand for the same money...

Don’t get me wrong, I see it the same way as you. But given the lack of time, there are only limited options. Unfortunately...

I also received a letter from ENBW today, showing a consumption price increase from 18.48 cents to 30.30 cents and a base price increase from 9.89 euros to 10.29 euros. :-(

Alessandro schrieb:

I often hear from scientists that about 20 years ago there was no mobile network or cell phones, and that the energy transition would also be successful if we worked as quickly on it as we did on mobile communications.

Perhaps the difference is that this was not a centrally planned project organized by politicians, but a private sector initiative. The flawed energy transition is now naturally a bottleneck for the heat transition and similarly in transportation.
Instead of continuing to rely on detailed bans, subsidies, and sector-specific targets, it would be better to reduce bureaucracy early in the process and gradually make fossil fuels less attractive through emissions trading. The question of how to implement this locally can be well managed by the private sector and the general public themselves. The high investment costs for private individuals could possibly be softened by offering slightly subsidized loans. Ultimately, the investment in renovating a house is balanced by an increase in value, so it also makes financial sense for a 70-year-old retired couple if calculations are made honestly and the fact that the property is rent-free is not simply taken for granted.