ᐅ Experience with local heating/district heating in new construction combined with photovoltaic systems

Hello everyone,

Since the responses to my last post about heat pumps vs. district heating have mostly focused on heat pumps, I wanted to ask if anyone has specific experience with district heating in energy-efficient new buildings (with low flow temperatures due to underfloor heating)?

Also, does a photovoltaic system with 8 kWp combined with an electric heating element and a combined buffer tank actually increase the degree of self-sufficiency in a noticeable way?

Specifically, we are building a KfW40 standard new house with 200 m2 (2,150 sq ft) of living space. The offer includes a local district heating network with a flow temperature of about 70°C (158°F) and a return temperature of max. 50°C (122°F) or lower.

In principle, I find district heating interesting because it is uncomplicated and "robust" compared to a heat pump — I am just not sure if it fits well with a KfW40 new build and a photovoltaic system, or if perhaps an air-to-water heat pump might be better suited to the building?

Hopefully, this time I won’t just get "pro heat pump" replies again ;-)