Regardless of their climate compatibility, heat pumps are also a technically sophisticated and quite efficient solution. Because they take advantage of the temperature differences in the environment, you only have to put one kilowatt hour of electricity into the miracle apparatus to get at least two kilowatt hours of heat out of it. However, if you burn gas, the ratio is almost one to one.
According to a new study, it is not the acquisition and installation costs that determine which type of heating system pays off, but the operating expenses over the entire service life. Here, a green-powered heat pump has advantages over its fossil competitors – but only if the ratio of energy prices is right. Currently, electricity tariffs are three times higher than those for gas. The builders are thinking very carefully about whether they want to switch to the new technology.
Reduce electricity tax?
Many do not, especially since the de facto compulsion to use a heat pump when installing a new heating system from next year onwards is off the table after the relaxation of the Building Energy Act. It is true that gas is becoming more expensive again: The comparison portal Verivox has calculated that gas prices are likely to rise by 11 percent after the premature abolition of the VAT reduction at the end of the year. The national and European CO2 prices will also make fossil fuels more expensive in the coming years. However, this does little to change the fact that far too much has to be paid for electricity in this country and that there are therefore no incentives to electrify heat generation and mobility.
Therefore, there is much to be said for the proposal to reduce the electricity tax, which is forty times higher than the EU minimum. The move would benefit households and businesses alike, and complicated exceptions would be eliminated. On the other hand, a subsidized industrial electricity price would only relieve the burden on large consumers, of all things, from the Climate and Transformation Fund, which is allegedly not sufficient for the promised and sensible climate money. Once again, the traffic light is sending out misleading signals, and a stringent economic and energy policy is still sought in vain.