Image: Symbolic photo: colourbox
At the start of the trade fair as part of the energy saving fair in Wels, industry representatives yesterday gave an overview of the situation on the Austrian heating market: The clear winners are heat pumps and pellet heating systems, while the number of gas heating systems sold has fallen sharply.
This emerges from the market figures of the members of the Association of Austrian Boiler and Heating Industry (VÖK) for 2022. According to this, the heat pump was the customer favorite with 50,100 systems sold and an increase of 62 percent compared to 2022. The growth in pellet heating systems was even stronger: 28,600 units were sold here, an increase of 116 percent.
Gas heating was the loser: 31,500 units were sold, 33 percent fewer than in the previous year.
After the delivery problems of the past year, he expects improvements this year, says Helmut Weinwurm, chairman of the VÖK and CEO of Robert Bosch AG. ” I expect a good year economically”says wineworm.
10,000 installers by 2040
Michael Holter, managing director of the sanitary and heating wholesaler of the same name from Wels, is also assuming that the delivery situation will be better this year. “The order situation is already very good well into autumn. Availability and price have improved significantly”he says.
Manfred Denk, Federal Guild Master of Sanitary, Heating and Ventilation Engineers, is also hoping for the same: “We have never had a dynamic like in 2022. On the one hand, the order books were full”he says, on the other hand the delivery difficulties have also presented the companies with economic problems: “We often had to interrupt construction sites for months because we had to wait for parts. As a result, the flow of payments and the payment of subsidies have often been delayed”, says Denk. In addition, more skilled workers are needed: “Since the low in 2016, the number of employees has risen again, by 2030 we need 5000 skilled workers and by 2040 10,000. This is an essential prerequisite for the success of the energy transition”says Denk.
The Renewable Gases Act, for which the federal government submitted a draft for evaluation in mid-February, is a hotly debated topic in the heating industry. This provides for the expansion of the production of biogas – such as methane, which is obtained from agricultural waste – in Austria from the current 0.14 to 7.5 terawatt hours by 2030. Denk calls for more speed here and criticizes the government’s plans, according to which buildings are to be heated by central systems instead of decentralized systems in individual apartments. “That would not only mean exorbitant costs, but also mean increased heat losses through long lines. That would be the wrong way”says Denk.
Start of the trade fair in Wels
The energy saving trade fair in Wels started yesterday as a trade fair and is open to the public from Friday to Sunday. Messe-Wels Managing Director Robert Schneider expects around 70,000 visitors over the five days of the fair. “People are currently dealing with numerous questions about heating – the answers can be found in our exhibition halls,” said Schneider at the opening. Among the 350 exhibitors are companies from the areas of construction, heating and energy saving, as well as numerous consulting institutions such as the energy saving association.
On the occasion of the energy saving trade fair, OÖN is giving away numerous prizes. For example, three Ochsner heat pump vouchers worth 4,000 euros can be won.
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