ᐅ Recommendation for Digital Heating Thermostat

motorradsilke schrieb:

Do you work professionally with this?

Kind of. I work in commercial real estate financing, currently involved in a major renovation, have done some self-managed construction, and own a small real estate portfolio.
So, an informed layperson 😉

nordanney schrieb:

Yes and no. I work in commercial real estate financing, am currently involved in a major renovation, have already done some building work on my own, and own a small property portfolio.
So, an informed layperson 😉

And where did you get all the values you mentioned?

motorradsilke schrieb:

And where did you get all those mentioned values from?

For example, from various databases. There are databases with heat pump consumption values in all variants, submitted live by users. Or from personal experience (in my current 75m² (800 sq ft) apartment, I only need €300 for heating – partially renovated with external thermal insulation composite system and new windows; previously new build 2015; current construction standard KfW 55).

motorradsilke schrieb:

I’ve been reading about this here in the forum. There is a topic about electricity consumption. In my opinion, it’s mostly about new builds. Definitely larger houses, but not three times as big.

And electricity isn’t getting more expensive?

Electricity has mainly become more expensive in the past due to political decisions, yes.
However, the situation has changed somewhat recently. For example, the surcharge for the Renewable Energy Sources Act is now capped. Even conservative party programs acknowledge that electricity needs to become cheaper to support the transition to sustainable mobility. We’ll see what happens next.

At the same time, carbon pricing started in 2021. This alone made gas about 10% more expensive from 01.01.21, triggered by a very low price of 25€ (euros) per ton of CO2. The price is set to rise to 55€ by 2025 and to 65€ in 2026. That’s the current plan, but we’ll have to wait for the next federal election... The revenue from this charge is intended, among other things, to help cap electricity prices.

Switzerland is ahead of us here, having started at a similar low level but now with prices significantly over 100€ per ton.
In 2019, the Federal Environment Agency calculated that the real cost of one ton of CO2 is 640€, including follow-up damages such as extreme weather and crop failures.
You can think about what that will mean for your gas bill in 10 to 15 years.
You can still "risk" the lifecycle of a new gas heating system now, but after that, these systems will become extremely expensive to operate, and they could even be banned early for re- or new-installations to help with the transition. Of course, there will be attractive subsidy programs for switching, but I would already make sure today to position a heat pump wisely for the future and design underfloor heating or radiators accordingly.

My heat pump (ground source using borehole) consumes about 2300 to 2500 kWh of electricity per year. Around 200 square meters (2150 square feet), four occupants. Some of the electricity is self-generated; the rest is purchased as heat pump electricity at 19 cents/kWh.
Yes, an air-to-water heat pump is less efficient (though they are improving) and it’s easier to make mistakes with heat pumps. However, there are a few basic rules to consider when choosing your heating installer. Then it should work well.

motorradsilke schrieb:

There is still the issue of different temperatures in the rooms. How do you handle that? It’s impossible for me to sleep at the same temperature I have in the living room.

Quite a bit has already been said. The underfloor heating is designed so that the rooms reach the desired indoor temperatures at standard outdoor temperature and an acceptable supply temperature. There are many adjustment options. Diameter of the heating pipes, length/number of loops, spacing of the heating pipes, insulation, and so on.

This way, the underfloor heating can be configured so you have 24°C (75°F) in the bathroom and 20°C (68°F) in the bedroom, but having a much larger temperature difference is usually not feasible because the physics won’t allow it.

Additionally, the sun plays a role, especially if the living room faces south, so it can gain quite a lot of heat. For example, I’m currently sitting on the sofa with the sun warming the back of my neck. The air temperature in the room is 25°C (77°F).

Heating was on from midnight until 6 a.m. The supply temperature rose by about 10 degrees and was around 32°C (90°F) in the morning. After that, the heating switched off and the sun raised the temperature to about 34°C (93°F) by 10 a.m., which then spread to the other rooms.

Now the house cools down until it’s about midnight again, and the cycle restarts.

By the way, don’t let anyone discourage you from using gas. It works very well in new builds and is more robust against sub-zero temperatures and system faults. Unfortunately, many heat pump houses are still built by following a standard template, and the target consumption figures tend to be wishful thinking. However, if you know what you’re doing, handle things yourself, or monitor everything meticulously, operating costs can indeed be lower. But that tends to be more the exception than the rule.

guckuck2 schrieb:

Electricity has become more expensive in the past mainly due to political decisions, yes.
However, the situation is now starting to change. For example, the increasing Renewable Energy Act surcharge is now being capped. There is also recognition, even in conservative political platforms, that electricity needs to become cheaper for the transition to sustainable mobility. We will see what developments come next.

At the same time, carbon pricing began in 2021. Gas prices increased by about 10% on January 1, 2021, triggered by a very low price of 25€ per ton of CO2. The price is set to rise to 55€ by 2025 and then to 65€ in 2026. That’s the current outlook—let’s wait for the next federal election ... Part of the revenue from this tax is intended, among other things, to help cap electricity prices.

Switzerland is ahead of us here; they started at a similar level and are already well above 100€ per ton.
The German Environment Agency calculated in 2019 that the real cost of a ton of CO2 is around 640€, including consequential damages like extreme weather events, crop failures, etc.
You might want to consider what that will do to your gas bill in 10 to 15 years.
It might still be a calculated risk to install a new gas heating system now, but these systems will become absurdly expensive to operate later on and could even be banned from operation or re-installation early on to facilitate the transition. Of course, then there will be attractive subsidy programs for switching, but I would already recommend planning smartly now to be able to install a heat pump later and to design the underfloor heating/radiators accordingly.

My heat pump (ground source) uses about 2300-2500 kWh of electricity annually. Around 200m² (2150 sq ft), four people. Part of the electricity is self-generated, the rest is purchased at 19 cents per kWh as “heat pump electricity.”
However, yes, an air-to-water heat pump is less efficient (although they are improving continually), and it’s easier to make mistakes when installing a heat pump. There are a few simple rules to keep in mind when choosing your heating contractor, and if you follow those, it should work out fine.

Well, as of now, my gas price won’t increase next year—I’ve already confirmed the next contract.
Your assumptions are also challenged by the new gas pipeline from Russia.
But thanks for your detailed explanations anyway.
The problem with turnkey construction is that you don’t get to choose the heating contractor yourself. I didn’t want to have to study everything just to make a decision about the heating system.