ᐅ District Heating: Contract Duration for Heat Supply – 10 or 20 Years?

Hello everyone,

We have purchased a new row house, which is heated via district heating. Now we have the option to choose between a 10-year and a 20-year contract period with the heat supplier. The only difference is in the basic fee. Since we have no experience with this topic, I wanted to ask for your advice.

The primary energy factor is 0.39fp, with 55% renewable heat, 35% combined heat and power (CHP), and 10% peak load (natural gas).

For 10 years, the basic fee is €107.64 gross per month, and for 20 years it is €61.51.

What would you do?

Best regards

I would then take a look at the labor costs. Or are they fixed?
Would you be able to replace the heating system after 10 years and install a heat pump?

The labor cost is the same for both options. There is a price adjustment clause, meaning a formula that adjusts the labor cost based on a public index. Installing the heat pump after 10 years should not be a problem. I am leaning more towards the 10-year option but am not sure if I might be overlooking something. Complicated topic 😀

mman182 schrieb:

The labor cost is the same for both options. There is a price adjustment clause, meaning a formula that adjusts the labor cost based on a public index. Installing a heat pump after 10 years shouldn’t be a problem. I tend to lean towards the 10-year option, but I’m not sure if I’m overlooking something. Complicated topic 😀

If you can switch after 10 years (should be possible, or is it actually the case?), I would choose the 10-year option (despite the extra cost of 5,500 euros over 10 years). Then install the heat pump later (you could already plan for it now and prepare suitable wall penetrations, assuming the house isn’t finished yet).

Your local heating system is quite an expensive option.

Is the base price fixed, or does it include a price escalation clause?

Otherwise, the 10-year option seems too expensive to me.
Discounted with an inflation rate of 2.2%, the base fee amounts to €11,700.
For 20 years, it would be only €300 more for double the term/usage period.

Is there also a minimum consumption requirement?
Or can you stop using it while still paying the base fee?

RotorMotor schrieb:

For 20 years, it would only be €300 more for double the operating/service life.

But still about €15,000 (around $15,000) just as a base fee plus heating costs. Usually quite high as well. I would get out of this contract as soon as possible, considering that the operating costs for a heat pump (yes, it also requires an initial investment) are probably lower than just the base fee over a 20-year period.