The crafts president Jörg Dittrich criticizes the fixation on heat pumps in climate-friendly heating renovation. He also complains that there is too much bureaucracy in the promotion of heat pumps.
Craft President Jörg Dittrich has warned against only paying attention to the number of built-in heat pumps when switching to more climate-friendly heating in Germany.
“Heat pumps are by no means the most ecologically efficient way in every building, so things like the overall energetic condition, the insulation and much more have to be taken into account,” said Dittrich of the “Wirtschaftswoche”. It is more expedient to first look at the CO2 targets and then to consider which paths lead there. “Heat pumps alone will certainly not save us,” said Dittrich. “And without energetic refurbishment, the heat pumps in existing buildings are useless anyway.”
Last week, the traffic light coalition reached a compromise on the controversial building energy law that banned the installation of new gas and oil heating systems. According to the draft law, from January 1, 2024, newly installed heating systems must be operated with 65 percent renewable energy. In addition to heat pumps, it should be possible to use solar thermal energy, for example. It is also possible to install a hybrid system of heat pump and gas heating, in which the heat pump covers the basic supply and the gas heating takes over on cold days.
Dittrich also emphasized that bureaucracy had to be reduced for the heat transition. “Especially with the heat pumps, the specifications are so complex that some craftsmen then ask themselves: Is it actually a matter of installing as many pumps as possible as quickly as possible, or of filling out forms so that the client receives his subsidy?” said Dittrich . “Honestly, I’m not surprised that many companies prefer to build bathrooms because they don’t have to wade through mountains of paper.”
Source: Stern
