Only 5.7 % of newly permitted housing units in Germany this year will use gas for heating, 64% will use electric heat pumps. Gas heating will soon be quasi-dead in new buildings.

https://www.reddit.com/gallery/1ge0ex1

by Straight_Ad2258

38 comments

  2. for gas heating users ,its gonna get worse and worse regardless of international gas prices

    as fewer and fewer buildings use gas heating, the network and utility costs are going to be spread over a smaller and smaller number of people

    already network costs are going to increase by 25% next year, as many gas networks are old and need maintenance, while simultaneously fewer and fewer people use them

    [https://www.focus.de/immobilien/wohnen/energieverbrauch/wird-in-den-kommenden-jahren-weitergehen-wegen-netzentgelten-gaspreis-steigt-ab-2025-wieder-das-koennen-sie-jetzt-machen_id_260414653.html#:~:text=Was%20ist%20passiert%3F,Spitzenwert%20liegt%20bei%2056%20Prozent](https://www.focus.de/immobilien/wohnen/energieverbrauch/wird-in-den-kommenden-jahren-weitergehen-wegen-netzentgelten-gaspreis-steigt-ab-2025-wieder-das-koennen-sie-jetzt-machen_id_260414653.html#:~:text=Was%20ist%20passiert%3F,Spitzenwert%20liegt%20bei%2056%20Prozent)

    the ratio between prices for new electricity contracts and new gas contracts is now 2.63 , last year on 28 October it was 3.4

    this means that now electricity is 2.6 times more expensive per kwh than gas, last year on Oct 28 it was 3.4 times more expensive

    electricity prices are falling due to more renewables lowering wholesale prices ,and there are likely going to be tax changes as well

    [https://www.verivox.de/gas/gaspreisentwicklung/](https://www.verivox.de/gas/gaspreisentwicklung/)

    [https://www.verivox.de/strom/strompreisentwicklung/](https://www.verivox.de/strom/strompreisentwicklung/)

    i always believed cheap electricity is the only subsidy for heat pumps and electric cars we need, when electricity is cheap enough, it can save heat pump and EV users thousands of euros over the device lifetime

  3. The current government (especially the Greens) have made VERY GOOD progress during a number of extreme crises. Freaking impressive!

    No wonder the far-right and the russian troll army is attacking them like crazy.

  4. Better start building more nuclear plants if we all are to be heating, cooking, driving and powering our utilities on electricity.

  5. There is always a tipping point in these tech transitions where it goes from overpriced gadget for people with too much money to the cheapest solution. And from „ we hate this this just cost extra money and our current system is fine“ to this is just how you do it and anything else is annoying . The key is mass production.

    When demand reaches a certain point the industry starts not just investing inn production but competing for it and has volumes where economy of scale really makes each single product dirt cheap. On the flipside the outgoing technology loses economy of scale and becomes more and more expensive.

    I heard the bickering about heat pumps until very recently (to be fair us Germans are always complaining especially about new things) but this is one that has already passed the tipping point. You couldn’t stop the transition even if you wanted to now.

  6. While this is great don’t forget that district heating has steady share and that most of the district heating plants still use gas or coal. There is very few if any which transitioned towards completely green sources.

  7. > Only 5.7 % of newly permitted housing units in Germany this year will use gas for heating, 64% will use electric heat pumps. Gas heating will soon be quasi-dead in new buildings.

    Isn’t that too little, too late?

    I mean, it seems like you can’t see the forest for the trees ; Germany intertwined their energy consumption to gas and coal, despite going all out of renewables.

    In the current context, it means being backstabbed by Russia and, for now, buying gas to the US at a way higher prices.

    It really seems like exactly what many warned Germany since around 2 decades ; and yet, it seems like changes are all happening way too late, even given the government’s timeline.

    The whiplash is going to be really hard when it will happen.

  9. … in new buildings. what about *the other* 95%, you know, the non-new ones… 🙂

  10. can we talk about how high wood % is still

    I understand Alaska or Siberia having high % of wood heating, but Germany?

  11. While the housing units that are completed today in Germany are generally built to a high standard and using electricity for heating is undoubtedly becoming more popular for new construction, it is also true that the number of housing units that are actually built has been [steadily getting smaller](https://www.zdf.de/nachrichten/wirtschaft/wohnungen-bau-genehmigungen-mieten-statistik-2024-100.html). Germany is forecast to permit the construction of roughly 200k new units this year, about half of the government’s official yearly goal.

    I’d much rather want to have significantly more housing construction in Germany, even if it means lowering some standards here or there. The social issues stemming from the ongoing and increasing housing crisis, especially for anyone who doesn’t own their own home, will have major ripple effects throughout Germany’s economy and society.

  12. Kudos to Germany for pushing this. Their early adoption drives down prices of the technology and shows what is possible. They did the same for solar panels.

  14. Compared to the intra-annual development in recent years, the primary heating energy used in new buildings as a gas energy source has decreased significantly in favor of energy sources such as electric heat pumps and district heating. And here’s a link to the article. [https://www.bdew.de/service/daten-und-grafiken/entwicklung-beheizungsstruktur-baugenehmigungen/](https://www.bdew.de/service/daten-und-grafiken/entwicklung-beheizungsstruktur-baugenehmigungen/)

  15. Those poor brainwashed 5,7%. That will be a costly endeavor xD Conservative Party basically praised Gas as the future xD

  16. Heat pumps are incredibly [neat](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7J52mDjZzto):

    – 400% efficient
    – Can make use of natural resources if you have them (water-sourcing etc)
    – You get both heating and air conditioning
    – With fan-coils or duct air you don’t even need separate devices to do both
    – Can also produce hot water
    – Able to perform some heat storage in case of blackouts

  17. This is progress in a very complex environment. Europe as a whole is actually on quite a good path. However, there are lots of things that are actually going to fuck Europe. High bureaucracy and energy costs are pushing the industry out, especially in Germany. Key future technologies are not represented sufficiently in our pathetic startup market. Compared to the US, Europe is failing to gain ground in key fields of the future like AI and GPUs. Then, there is our demographic catastrophe that will rip generations apart.

  18. From 2030 all new buildings have to be carbon neutral by law so gas will just be killed straight away

  19. What’s wild about heat pumps is that it’s actually more efficient to burn gas at a plant to make electricity, and then use that to power the heat pump. It’s like having more fire for your fire.

    (Now, if you use nuclear reactors instead…)

  20. Gas in general is slowly going away – heating is now mostly eletric, stoves as well… Although this could be a good thing, it’s making a bit more reliant on the system as whole.

  21. One small good thing for energy production in Germany, after closing all the nuclear power…

  22. To think that the discussion about heat pumps was like a culture war. Looking at the evidence, it is a no brainer.

  23. As a Dane, using gas as heating is just such a weird concept. I have never lived anywhere, be it big city of rural area that didn’t have central heating via water.

  24. Well, that’s because there are hardly any new houses being built in Germany…

  25. And that is despite the best efforts of FDP, Springer (BILD, WELT), CDU/CSU and Reichelt’s fakeNIUS.

  29. Gas heating, non-decomposing plastic bags, private cars are all unsustainable but better quality for money.

  30. While this is awesome in itself, there is still a big problem. In absolute numbers, heat pump sales have plummeted and the industry is hurting badly.
    Building as a whole is down majorly in Germany.

  31. We have recently installed a heat pump in our house. Parts of our family fear that we will not make it through this winter.
    When I tell them, that the pump will still be able to generate heat, even if it’s -25°C outside they just say: “No, that’s not possible.”

    So, now I’m sure: I will freeze to death this winter.

  32. So how exactly will Germany power all of these new heat pumps during long winter nights, no solar and wind available? Only gas power plants can ramp up and down so quickly. So burning gas, distributing electricity and spending it to power heat pumps? Right … god forbid gas heating!

  33. Isn’t it more like 30% with municipal heating? Or are they moving away from gas in that as well?, that would be awesome.

  35. Overall I would say good news BUT give us CHEAP electricity! Current electricity prices are very very high and not even solar/wind has brought it down!

    It seems like nuclear power is the only cheap option.

  38. Great news, thanks for sharing! Impressive development. What is “fernvärm”? District heating?

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