Nfter the excitement about the planned ban on new oil and gas heating systems, the Ministry of Commerce is trying to limit the damage. A paper published on Thursday states that the switch to heating with renewable energy sources should be “supported by subsidies, especially for lower and middle income groups”. The income-related support should therefore come into force at the same time as the planned change in the law on January 1, 2024. A “pragmatic transition with exceptions and transition periods” is planned.
However, the ministry is not moving away from its plans on the matter. The traffic light coalition has agreed on the “switch to renewable heating”. According to the draft law by the Ministry of Economics and Building, from 2024 onwards only heating systems that are operated with 65 percent renewable energies may be installed in both new and existing buildings.
Even systems that are still working usually have to be renewed after 30 years. Previous exceptions to this obligation, for example for one- and two-family houses, will be deleted. By the year 2045, all heating systems must work with renewable energy.
Reference to climate protection
Federal Finance Minister and FDP leader Christian Lindner, on the other hand, reiterated his party’s resistance on Thursday. The draft must be completely revised, he told the “Bild” newspaper. “The draft was well-intentioned in terms of climate policy, but the response has been devastating economically and socially. The plans therefore have to be returned to the assembly hall and fundamentally revised. A superficial repair will not suffice.”
The Ministry of Economics refers to the Climate Protection Act, according to which Germany by 2045 CO2-should be neutral. “The high number of new fossil fuel heating systems that are still installed every year is problematic on the timeline,” it says. According to the heating industry, 980,000 new systems were installed in 2022. Of these, 598,500 were gas heaters and 236,000 were government-recommended heat pumps. The ministry assumes that the industry can supply more than the last-mentioned 500,000 heat pumps per year.
Last summer, Habeck’s ministry reduced the grants for the installation of new heat pumps as part of the “Federal Funding for Efficient Buildings”. Since then, a maximum of 40 percent of the costs have been covered instead of 50; instead of up to 30,000 euros, there is now a maximum of 24,000 euros.
The new funding, which is graded according to income, should only be available for systems that work entirely with renewables, not for hybrid models that also use gas or biomass at peak times. The money is to come from the Climate and Transformation Fund (KTF). If you have a hydrogen-compatible gas heater (“H2-ready”) will have to provide proof that they actually operate it with green hydrogen.