The new heating law comes into force in January – before that, many owners had gas heaters installed. According to the association, there were more than 1.1 million devices by the end of October 2023.
Many homeowners upgraded and bought a new gas heater this year, before the new heating law came into force. The lengthy and public debate surrounding the Building Energy Act (GEG) resulted in bringing forward effects, said Ralf Kiryk, head of department at the Federal Association of the German Heating Industry, to the dpa news agency. “Most of the people quickly invested in gas heating in order to evade the GEG requirements.”
The months-long debate about the new building energy law, the so-called heating law, finally ended in a compromise by the traffic light coalition. From January 2024, every newly installed heating system must be powered by 65 percent renewable energy. This obligation initially applies to new development areas, while existing buildings receive longer transition periods.
Record year for the Heating industry
The Federal Association of the German Heating Industry predicts a sales record of around 1.3 million heaters in Germany for the whole of 2023. By the end of October 2023, more than 1.16 million devices had already been sold, which corresponds to an increase of 43 percent compared to the same period last year.
The heating industry last had a similar market development in the 1990s, when the new federal states were thoroughly modernized. By the end of October there was an increase in sales of gas heaters of 38 percent to around 694,500 units, and of oil heaters an increase of 107 percent to 94,500. Sales of heating heat pumps rose by 75 percent to 320,500.
However, interest in heat pumps has waned as a result of the GEG debate, according to the association. This is due, among other things, to the long-unclear funding situation regarding federal funding for efficient buildings. Applications for funding for heat pumps from the responsible Federal Office of Economics and Export Control fell sharply in 2023.
Companies expect a decline
The member companies of the federal association assume that the market will decline sharply in the first quarter of 2024. “Our companies do not expect a market revival as a result of the Building Energy Act.”