Report
Only recently have heat pumps really started to run, and the industry has been unable to keep up with the installations. However, the debate over the planned heating law changed the situation completely.
In fact, Falk Donner hopes to get good long-term business from the heat transition policy. The heating engineer has specialized in heat pump installation more than 20 years ago, and the warehouse has sufficient equipment and 50 employees. He is ready for a huge attack.
What actually happened was extreme ups and downs. “Last year we actually installed 300 devices,” he said. “But we’ve sold almost nothing in half a year.” Orders are down 80%. According to the Federal Heat Pump Association, many in the industry are like Donner and his company “AF Wärme”. The federal government, in particular, has eased the pressure on the heating switchover timetable.
The ecological code for heating the house only applies in cases where it is not possible to connect to the district heating network. And this happens only when the administration of the place of residence has a so-called heating plan. She can take her time, until 2028 at the latest.
waiting politics
“We’re in a state of shock right now,” Downer reported. “Everyone tells us that while they’re interested in heat pumps, they have to wait and see what the politicians do.” Right now, his sales reps are having trouble convincing anyone to buy a heat pump. Two of the three sellers have left the business because they no longer earn enough commissions.
Today, the heat pump specialist and two colleagues are in St. Johann in Alb, Swabia. Here they worked on an old order they still had. They installed a heat pump in Jürgen Goller’s home as a supplement to the hybrid system pellet heating system.
“I ordered a year ago and haven’t regretted my early decision,” Goler said. Even so, he gets 45% of state funding and doesn’t think he can expect more now. “I’m happy to give up 70% of what Mr Harbeck may have committed now, because I believe the ultimate hurdle will be so high that only a very small number of people will be able to access this funding.”
“A lot of things are still speculation, some things are too early to know”
Much speculation about the thermal transition remains, according to Downer, but some things are too early to tell. He believes it is unprofessional that the federal government has announced that new funding guidelines should be in place from 2024.
“It’s clear that most people today aren’t as relaxed as Mr. Goler is, and almost nobody is buying a heat pump these days,” he believes. He also wants the government to change tack and release funds as soon as the law is agreed. Otherwise there is a risk of an impasse by the end of the year. “Not only is it bad for my business, but it’s also bad for thermal conversion.”
Downer and his client, Goler, firmly believe that if you want to switch to greener heating methods, you need government intervention. But politicians have not organized the project well. The long-term ignorance of where this path is headed fuels fear and has consequences that simply do not fit the spirit of the question. “We specialize in regenerative heating systems,” Downer said. “But many heating engineers have no choice but to please their customers and install oil or gas heating quickly.”
looking forward to new prosperity
Downer said his company, AF Wärme, was going through a “deep valley” in terms of business. All that remains is the hope of a surge in orders in the coming year. This is almost certainly to be expected. The only question is how big it is.
Since house heating codes will be developed according to municipal heating plans, the deadline for eco-retrofits in some places is several years after January 1, 2024.