ᐅ Which Combined Heat and Power (CHP) Unit – Costs?

Hello,

I am considering buying a "Reinhaus" from Reinhhaus AG and I find it somewhat difficult to estimate the heating costs. The ongoing expenses of this power plant, which is actually needed for heating, seem quite high to me, especially since it is supposed to cover 50-70 percent of the plant’s electricity demand in theory, but you still have to pay almost basic supplier rates for electricity.

It is described as follows:

The heat price The energy supplier places great emphasis on transparency in heat pricing. The monthly all-inclusive price for the heat received is calculated from a fixed base price and a consumption-based price.
The base price includes all fixed cost components such as the installation or purchase of the system in the technical center, regular maintenance, operation management, upkeep, chimney sweep fees, and any necessary repairs.
Maintenance of the heat transfer station in the ground floor register of your house is also included in the base price during the five-year warranty period.
The consumption price reflects your individual heat consumption. This includes the grid operation energy required to provide you with heat for heating and hot water production around the clock throughout the year. This cost is shared among all consumers by relating the sum of the heat meters of all housing units to the main heat meter relevant for billing in the technical center.

For 5 megawatt-hours of heating per year for a 145 sqm (1,560 sq ft) house, you are expected to pay a base price of 50.07 and a consumption price of 44.82, totaling 94.89 €/month. On top of that, there is an additional 19.22 charge for metering services.
That means about 114 €/month for just warm air.
If I check prices on Check24 for the same 5 megawatt-hours, I arrive at 303.16 €/year plus roughly 100 for maintenance and another 100 for chimney services, which comes to about 42 €/month, a huge difference in my view.
Even if you factor in a gas boiler that needs replacement every 20 years and costs around 3,000 €, that adds only about 12.50 € per month.

The “free electricity” generated by the community is then sold at quite a high price. However, it seems you can choose a different supplier here.

Have I missed anything, or are the ongoing costs really that much higher per year with this supposedly super-efficient power plant? It makes you wonder whether it might be better to take out an additional 50 € loan and try to buy something else, or if the running costs simply make the price unattractive again.

Well, you can’t have everything. The all-in-one solution doesn’t apply to the German terraced house either.
However, I can tell you, since I know the company, that they deliver overall good quality for the price. Including all the specifics like homeowner associations (HOA), condominium management companies, and similar.
These are industrially prefabricated houses with limited options for custom requests. But on the other hand, they are really well priced.

I would find the term "vertical condominium" more accurate for the concept behind "townhouses." You become a co-owner there, and unlike a traditional apartment, your neighbors are next to you rather than above or below you, with your garden area directly attached to the "apartment in townhouse form." Even with the outdoor cabinets for the trash bins and leaf rake, you can forget about individuality. A combined heat and power unit is only consistent within such a concept. As is common in a homeowners’ association, you effectively have a "connection obligation." This concept only works for you in a yes-or-no way — but only then does the calculation add up. Helmut or Erich, you can’t mix those.

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Being part of a condominium owners’ association (COA) is not necessarily a problem for me, and I’m not looking to invest heavily in creative or financial improvements to the facade or garden. However, buying an A-efficiency house but ending up paying double the heating costs, comparable to an older building, is not very appealing.

That said, I haven’t given up completely. I’m planning to run the numbers with another A-plus house to see if, in the long run—up to the estimated end of life—it would actually be more cost-effective. Since the association is so successful, one might assume it still works out well. But as an average consumer, it’s difficult to calculate.

m1oSis123 schrieb:

one might almost assume that you still get off lightly.

Just pick some residential areas where construction has already taken place (there are plenty of those) and ask the residents there.

I believe this can be skipped: anyone who doesn’t like this concept will drop out early; and those who move in there will like it. I get the impression from this provider that they have precisely found their target group within their niche—just those people, but thoroughly.

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