Switching to a heat pump saves hundreds of euros a year

This year's winter demands a lot from German citizens. They are expected to save energy and look into new methods of energy supply. Heat pumps are currently politics' favourite child. Do they deliver what is promised? An overview:

The analysis institute Prognos has taken a close look at heat pump technology. After all, from 1 January 2024, newly installed heat generators are to integrate at least 65 percent renewable energies. Verifiable figures are urgently needed. On behalf of the German Heat Pump Association (Bundesverband Wärmepumpe e. V.), the institute has compiled a numerical basis for estimating the economic efficiency of heat pumps in rented apartment buildings under different general conditions.

The project team shed light on the question of the social compatibility of conversion measures by examining the allocation of costs and their economic consequences on tenants and landlords.

Due to the sharp rise in energy prices and taking subsidies into account, the economic efficiency of heat pumps in moderately refurbished apartment buildings has improved significantly compared to the use of fossil-fuelled heat generators in previous years, Prognos confirms. Switching to a heat pump is now more economical than simply replacing a gas boiler.

The German Heat Pump Association (BWP) refers to the result of the Prognos study: consumers can save several hundred euros a year by switching from gas to a heat pump.

The study compares the total costs of a heat pump with those of a new gas boiler over a useful life of fifteen years, including investment, maintenance and operating costs. According to the study, at current gas prices, a heat pump in a 70-square-metre flat in a typical apartment building from the 1980s can save around 65 euros a month, or 780 euros a year. Even with falling gas prices, the cost savings would be at least 25 euros a month (300 euros a year). This includes not only the costs for purchasing energy (electricity or gas), but also the investment costs for heat pumps or gas boilers, which can be passed on to the tenants in the form of the so-called modernisation levy.

(Photo: © Bundesverband Wärmepumpe (BWP) e.V.)