Energy transition in heating sector gets going but needs further boost

A rise in electric heat pump sales suggests the energy transition has finally reached the heating sector, Daniel Wetzel writes for Die Welt. According to the German Heating Industry Association (BDH), sales of oil-fired heating sharply declined in 2017 and heat pumps have reached a higher market share than oil condensing boilers for the first time. “But appearances are deceptive,” Wetzel says, arguing that at current rates, the modernisation of German heating systems is nowhere near fast enough to fulfil the 2030 climate goals. Germany’s Climate Action Plan stipulates that the building sector must emit at least 40 percent less CO₂ than in 2014 by the end of the next decade. “To reach this goal, 13 million old installations must be modernised, meaning 1 million per year,” BDH president Manfred Greis says. The lobby association argues that the necessary rate of modernisation can only be achieved with more tax incentives for all forms of efficient heating, including those that use combustibles.

Read the article in German here. 

See the CLEW factsheet on Germany’s Climate Action Plan 2050 for background.