ᐅ Gas Heating from January 1, 2024 – What to Do If Your Heating System Breaks Down?
Created on: 21 Jan 2023 11:21
L
leschaf
Hello!
My mother-in-law currently owns a mid-terrace house from around 1920. The whole building is uninsulated, with old windows, etc. Heating is done with gas, and the boiler is nearly 20 years old.
As of January 1, 2024, there is a new regulation/law requiring that 65% of heating energy must come from renewable sources when installing a new heating system. We are quite concerned about how this will work if the boiler breaks down.
Option 1) Heat pump: This is basically ruled out because we would have to completely renovate the house (insulate basement, exterior walls, new roof, new radiators and pipes, new windows). This is financially not feasible and also impossible to do while she still lives there. It is also unpredictable when the boiler might fail, and with a one-year delivery time for a heat pump, she would have a cold house for a year. Additionally, she has a small extension with a rental apartment we just renovated. There is a new gas heating system there. Switching to a heat pump would definitely cause complications there as well.
Option 2) Install a new boiler quickly before the end of the year. Then there should be peace of mind for 20 years (repairs are still allowed for existing boilers). My mother-in-law is 76, so this will probably be sufficient.
Option 3) When the heating breaks down, install a hybrid system consisting of a heat pump, gas, and solar thermal. Although this is likely to be quite expensive.
Option 4) Switch to an eco-gas tariff when the gas boiler breaks down (e.g., a truly green gas tariff).
Am I understanding this correctly? Is Option 4 really a viable way to avoid renovation until she no longer lives there? Are there any other possibilities we might not have considered? And if it is really possible to avoid the issue by switching to eco-gas — how is it supposed to be controlled who has which contract, and so on?
My mother-in-law currently owns a mid-terrace house from around 1920. The whole building is uninsulated, with old windows, etc. Heating is done with gas, and the boiler is nearly 20 years old.
As of January 1, 2024, there is a new regulation/law requiring that 65% of heating energy must come from renewable sources when installing a new heating system. We are quite concerned about how this will work if the boiler breaks down.
Option 1) Heat pump: This is basically ruled out because we would have to completely renovate the house (insulate basement, exterior walls, new roof, new radiators and pipes, new windows). This is financially not feasible and also impossible to do while she still lives there. It is also unpredictable when the boiler might fail, and with a one-year delivery time for a heat pump, she would have a cold house for a year. Additionally, she has a small extension with a rental apartment we just renovated. There is a new gas heating system there. Switching to a heat pump would definitely cause complications there as well.
Option 2) Install a new boiler quickly before the end of the year. Then there should be peace of mind for 20 years (repairs are still allowed for existing boilers). My mother-in-law is 76, so this will probably be sufficient.
Option 3) When the heating breaks down, install a hybrid system consisting of a heat pump, gas, and solar thermal. Although this is likely to be quite expensive.
Option 4) Switch to an eco-gas tariff when the gas boiler breaks down (e.g., a truly green gas tariff).
Am I understanding this correctly? Is Option 4 really a viable way to avoid renovation until she no longer lives there? Are there any other possibilities we might not have considered? And if it is really possible to avoid the issue by switching to eco-gas — how is it supposed to be controlled who has which contract, and so on?
Winniefred schrieb:
Eco gas is not a renewable energy source.I found the following from the federal government during a quick Google search:
Homeowners can theoretically still rely entirely on a gas boiler from 2024 onward. The condition is that at least 65 percent of the heating must be supplied by green gases, such as biomethane or green hydrogen. However, the ministries point out that "medium- to long-term demand in other sectors is expected to be high," which could make green gases very expensive.Oh, and for example with Polarstern:
The company offers three different plans:
- Polarstern Really Green Gas Classic:
The biogas in the “Really Green Gas Classic” plan is entirely produced from biogenic residual materials (mainly municipal and industrial waste). Manure is not used. However, the waste materials may contain food waste of animal origin.- Polarstern Really Green Gas Vegan:
The “Vegan” plan contains only biogas from plant-based sources.- Polarstern Really Green Gas Building Energy Act
is a plan for property owners who must comply with the requirements of the new Building Energy Act; the biogas comes from plant-based sources.
What we like about Polarstern Really Green Gas:
- It is the only biogas provider we know that does not offer plans including fossil gas.
- All green gas plans have a TÜV Nord certification.
- The company demonstrates credible sustainability commitment beyond its gas offerings.
Winniefred23 Jan 2023 09:36Alright, but can an old gas boiler operate with such gases?
Winniefred23 Jan 2023 09:39I’m not familiar with this. If something like that works, it would of course be great.
Winniefred schrieb:
Well, can an old gas boiler run on these gases?The boiler can burn the "eco gas" just the same. Similar to "green electricity," you receive whatever is fed into your grid level near your location. It’s purely an accounting matter.Winniefred23 Jan 2023 09:45I just checked, and instead of the current 70 euros, we would end up at 193 euros there... phew. We currently have an eco gas tariff, but of course, it’s still just gas from the local supplier. So I would be surprised if this would count as heating with renewable energy (EEE). Because, in fact, you are not really heating with renewable energy.