ᐅ Geothermal Heating or Condensing Gas Boiler?

@Saruss
The connection costs for gas are already included; in my case, they amount to 1500 € (around 1600 USD). A ground water heat pump (GWHP) is indeed quite cheap—you can easily get one for about 3000 € (without solar), leaving 1500 € (about 1600 USD) for the installation, which should be generous. Please don’t forget, we’re only talking about the heating system down in the basement; the actual underfloor heating is basically the same for all systems and therefore not shown here.

@djon25
I have heard from some of our neighbors that maintenance costs can be significantly higher. Figures of up to 500 € (around 530 USD) every two years have been mentioned, which equals about 250 € (260 USD) annually. If these costs have decreased in the meantime, that will certainly make a difference.
For a ground water heat pump, chimney sweep fees do apply—85 € (90 USD) every three years, so just under 30 € (32 USD) per year.

Of course, these values can still be debated regarding the assumptions made, etc. This table is certainly not the ultimate authority, but in my opinion, it shows a fairly clear trend.

I only put it together because several salespeople kept insisting that a heat pump is always and inevitably much cheaper. And I no longer believe that at all…

Best regards,

Andreas

I think that allowing for some variation in the final costs due to different connection fees can be left to each individual, so this is already a great help. I just thought that with condensing boilers, the installation and chimney costs (including all expenses inside the building) along with inspections would be somewhat higher, but that doesn’t necessarily have to be the case.

Good evening Andreas,

andimann schrieb:

The connection costs for gas are already included; for me, they amount to €1500. Such a gas condensing boiler is indeed quite cheap, you can easily get one for €3000 (without solar)

A standard gas boiler with flow temperature; but not a proper gas condensing boiler, I simply don’t believe that... sorry. A good Viessmann model, for example, starts at €4,400 and that doesn’t even include installation costs.

andimann schrieb:

But of course, you can still discuss the figures, whether all assumptions are correct, and so on... The table is certainly not the final word, but in my opinion, it shows a fairly clear trend.

In my opinion, this discussion is pointless since with "only" gas under the new energy saving regulation you won’t get very far; it’s also not enough to just add solar for domestic hot water. That simply doesn’t comply with current energy saving regulations.

andimann schrieb:

I only put it together because several salespeople kept trying to convince me that a heat pump is always and inevitably much cheaper. And I no longer believe that...

It’s always relative. If you keep in mind that the price difference between buying a gas condensing boiler and an air-to-water heat pump is quite manageable — for example, you also save the gas connection — the calculation looks completely different. The pure operating costs for gas vs. air-to-water heat pump are not drastically different in an energy efficiency house standard KfW 70. They are significantly cheaper if you use a ground-source heat pump, but the initial investment is so high that it’s almost a hobby for a single-family house new build.

Best regards, Bauexperte

Bauexperte schrieb:
A standard gas boiler with flow temperature; but not a proper gas condensing boiler, I simply don't believe that ... sorry. A good Viessmann, for example, starts at €4,400 (about $4,700) and that’s not including installation costs.

link removed by mod

In my opinion, this discussion is pointless, since with "only" gas you won’t get far under the new Energy Saving Ordinance; adding solar thermal for domestic hot water is also not sufficient. It simply doesn’t comply with the current Energy Saving Ordinance.

According to information from our construction supervisor, nowadays even "only gas" is often sufficient when combined with mechanical ventilation with heat recovery; it just needs to be calculated. Why should gas not be possible under the new Energy Saving Ordinance?

It’s always relative. If you consider that the price difference between purchasing a gas condensing boiler and an air-to-water heat pump is quite small — for example, you also save the gas connection — the calculations look very different. The actual energy consumption costs for gas versus air-to-water heat pumps don’t differ that much for a KfW 70 efficiency house either. Using a brine-to-water ground source heat pump is significantly cheaper in operation, but its initial investment is so high that it almost becomes a matter of preference ... in single-family home new construction.

Have you factored in the €4,500 (about $5,000) subsidy for the ground source heat pump? I see it differently: an air-to-water heat pump is generally not worthwhile. It’s either gas (possibly mandatory solar thermal) or geothermal with BAFA funding.

@Grym
You have been here long enough to know that advertising links are not allowed according to the terms and conditions.
If you do not want to comply, the same consequences will happen to you here as they do elsewhere.

Advertising link? That was just a source, but okay as a reference:

Vitodens 200-W for 1,710 EUR. With installation accessories, storage connection, and exhaust package, just under 2,300 EUR. For 4,400 EUR, you can get two of them.