Heat pump versus gas heating: You will have to pay these operating costs

Heat pump versus gas heating: You will have to pay these operating costs Costs for energy sources Investment costs according to life expectancy Inspection and maintenance Environmental aspect in brief Conclusion Cost comparison between gas condensing boiler and heat pump

Energy transition means heat transition: In Germany, gas is the main source of comfortable rooms and warm water. That should change quickly. The method of choice is clearly the heat pump: from 2024 onwards, 500,000 of these devices will be installed every year. With the heat pump, the government wants to free Germany from fossil fuels – for the climate and for the independence of states like Russia. But what does this actually mean for us consumers if we replace our heating system in the existing building? The article addresses this question. We not only look at the costs for ongoing operation, but also take into account the investment costs for a new heating system. After all, these are enormous, especially for a heat pump, despite subsidies.

It’s not that easy to compare different types of heating with each other. Heating is a very individual matter. The energy requirement depends largely on the size and type of building as well as its insulation status. Last but not least, every person has their own sense of warmth. For this article we can only assume typical values. According to the Federal Environment Agency, the average energy consumption for space heating is around 125 kilowatt hours per square meter (kWh, excluding hot water). The German Institute for Economic Research in Berlin comes to a similar value in its heat monitor. If you assume a 150 square meter single-family home, you end up with an annual energy consumption for heat of almost 19,000 kilowatt hours.

However, that is too little for some existing buildings and far too much for new buildings. The Federal Association of the Energy and Water Industry assumes a heat requirement of around 26,000 kWh per year for a 150 square meter old building – specifically a 20 to 25 year old building or a partially renovated, older building. In current new buildings, for example according to the KfW 55 standard, one only expects a space heating requirement of less than 40 kWh per square meter – that would be just 6000 kWh per year for 150 square meters of living space. For this article, we calculate based on the average determined by the Federal Environment Agency – i.e. 19,000 kWh for a 150 square meter single-family house.

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