Given the need to modernize heating systems, rental models could become more interesting for many owners in the future. How these “contracting” offers work and who they are suitable for.
Many owners of oil or gas heating systems are unsure about future funding conditions and are therefore holding back on investing in a new system. According to a survey, over half of property owners are ruling out energy-saving renovations in the near future. However, this means that alternative heating models are becoming more important. Providers of rental heating and energy services expect significant growth in the coming years.
Although the number of contracts in this business, also known as “contracting”, is likely to increase only moderately in 2023, around 19.4 million residential buildings alone will have to be converted in the coming years, said Dave Welmert, climate and energy policy advisor at the industry association Vedec , the news agency dpa. Also because the systems for heat and energy supply are becoming increasingly complex, service providers are likely to come into play here.
Monthly flat rate for installation, maintenance and service
According to the association, last year the growth in contracting was lower than in 2021 (plus 11.9 percent), with an increase of 5.5 percent to 78,562 contracts. This is also due to the uncertainties in connection with the Building Energy Act (GEG). This year we expect a contract increase of a similar amount to last year, said Welmert.
The model usually works like this: A service provider – in this case also called a contractor – concludes a heat supply contract with a property owner and binds them to them over a longer period of time. The contractor is responsible for installing the customer’s heating system, takes care of maintenance and repairs and also partially covers the costs of chimney sweeps and insurance.
There are also 24-hour services in the event of disruptions. Customers pay a monthly flat rate, which also includes the financing costs of the system as well as the variable costs for the fuel for the heating system.
consumers and consumers should pay close attention
One of the providers is, for example, the Darmstadt energy supplier Entega. According to a spokesman, the company currently has around 300 contracts in the commercial heat supply business area; annual net sales in this area amount to around one million euros. The offer includes the installation, maintenance and repair as well as the operation of heating systems with an output of up to 50 kilowatts, including heat supply based on natural gas.
The company has also developed a rental product with heat pumps – but in view of the debate and the regulations now made in the GEG, there is currently insufficient demand for this, said the spokesman. Instead, customers rely on conventional and more cost-effective natural gas solutions.
It’s important to look very closely at all offers, says Ramona Mittag from the North Rhine-Westphalia Consumer Center. She called for more transparency from providers, “to make it clear what I get and what I pay.” People usually decide on a new heating system for the next 20 to 30 years – given this long term, property owners often get a cheaper deal if they modernize their new heating system themselves and use subsidies.
Rental offers also for heat pumps
Given the relatively long contract periods, rental offers are, according to the consumer advocate, particularly unsuitable for people who change their place of residence frequently. On the other hand, they could be more interesting for older people with little equity, who would find it more difficult to get loans for a new heating system – and for people who were looking for “all-round worry-free packages” for heat and electricity and ultimately accept higher costs for this could, said Mittag.
In general, homeowners should focus on the question of how they can move their building towards climate neutrality in the long term and how they can invest in order to be able to operate their heating efficiently and cheaply. The expert expects that if more and more houses have their own photovoltaic systems, electricity storage systems, heat pumps and wallboxes for electric vehicles in the future, contracting models will become more important.
The supplier EWE, for example, has its sights set on such solutions with customers in northern Germany between the Ems, Weser and Elbe as well as in parts of Brandenburg and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. However, the natural gas rental heating business for private customers has been discontinued since July 1st and only heat pumps are offered in this area, a spokeswoman said. The existing 25,000 contracts are not affected by the decision; they will of course be fulfilled until the end of the contract.