Photovoltaic-combined heating systems in Germany

Photovoltaic-combined heating systems in Germany

With rising gas prices and the emergence of new environmentally friendly technologies, gas heating is declining in Germany relatively and will increasingly be displaced by the combination of photovoltaic systems with heat pumps. It is also high time for such solutions, with very few climate-relevant emissions, since heating contributes to about a quarter of Germany's greenhouse gas emissions.

This is because the majority of homes in Germany are still heated with fossil fuels. Natural gas heating systems are installed in 50% of apartments and private households in Germany. A further 25% of households heat with oil and 5% with various electrical heating systems including heat pumps, but also other systems. These figures are given by the German Association of Energy and Water Industries (BDEW). The topic heating in the "gas crisis" concerns all Germans at the moment who are worried about a coming cold winter.

The installation of oil heating systems has been severely restricted in recent years. In 2026, a law will come into force that will generally prohibit the installation of new oil heating systems, however, with some exceptions. In 2020, this technology was practically no longer used in new buildings anyway (share approx. 0.7%). The use of fossil fuels for heating homes in general is steadily decreasing and heating with natural gas is on the decline: in 2000, for example, 74 % of new buildings were still equipped with natural gas systems; in 2010, the figure was only 53 %, and in 2020, only 39 % in new single- and multi-family homes.

Sources: https://aussiedlerbote.de/2021/10/otoplenie-v-domax-i-kvartirax/ (last access on 10/27/2021 at 7:15 a.m.)

article “Heizen ohne Öl und Gas” by Dirk Asendorpf on deutschlandfunkkultur.de from 10/26/2021:

https://www.deutschlandfunkkultur.de/neustart-fuer-die-energiewende-heizen-ohne-oel-und-gas.976.de.html?dram:article_id=504739(last access on 10/27/2021 at 7:45 a.m.); article “Technik von PVT-Kollektoren: Zwei in einem“ by Joachim Berner on solarthermie-jahrbuch from 11/28/2019:

https://www.solarthermie-jahrbuch.de/technik-von-pvt-kollektoren-zwei-in-einem/ (last access on 10/27/2021 at 8:30 a.m.)