More than 60 percent of the buildings in Bavaria could theoretically cover their heat needs entirely via surface geothermal energy – i.e. via groundwater heat pumps, geothermal probes and geothermal collectors. This is the result of a new, comprehensive study by, among others, the Technical University of Munich and the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, which the Ministry of Economic Affairs, as the client, presented to the State Parliament’s Economic Committee on Thursday.
However, in order to be able to fully utilize the potential, a large proportion of the buildings would first have to be energy-efficiently renovated – i.e. insulated or provided with new windows. According to the study, given the current condition of buildings, only about five percent of buildings could completely cover their heating needs using groundwater heat pumps and the like. However, the study does not take into account the fact that in practice partial solutions are also conceivable or even common: that the entire heat requirement of a house does not have to be covered by surface-level geothermal energy, but that this energy could only be a building block in heating.
In contrast to deep geothermal drilling, which is only feasible and sensible in certain areas, homeowners can use so-called near-surface geothermal energy themselves. Heat is extracted from the earth in different ways: from the groundwater, via slightly deeper boreholes with so-called geothermal probes or via geothermal collectors – a type of hose system that is laid underground.
Both coalition and opposition representatives called the study results promising. Bavaria has a “huge treasure” underground, said Green Party politician Martin Stümpfig, Kerstin Schreyer (CSU) even spoke of a “treasure of gold”.