Heat pumps are currently the most efficient heating technology available. By drawing on naturally available heat from the environment, heat pumps can operate at relatively low running costs. These cost advantages are likely to grow as prices for heating oil and natural gas continue to rise. This is why heat pumps are now widely used in new buildings. When heating systems in existing buildings need replacing, many people are unsure whether a heat pump can be installed straight away or whether additional upgrades to the building are required. With the new online tool “Gebäudecheck Wärmepumpe” from the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research Heidelberg (ifeu), which was developed on behalf of the UBA, homeowners can now easily and at no cost check how well their property is likely to be suited to a heat pump system.
By collecting information about the building and about rooms that may be difficult to heat, the online tool determines whether the property can be heated efficiently using a heat pump. It helps homeowners understand whether their building is already suitable, if replacing a small number of radiators would be sufficient, or whether energy efficiency improvements should be considered first to reduce heat demand.
“The transition to clean heating is essential to achieving our climate targets. The buildings sector still has significant potential to reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions. This requires climate-neutral heating systems – above all, heat pumps”, says Dirk Messner, President of the German Environment Agency. “In many existing buildings, this is already possible without any difficulty. The new ‘Gebäudecheck Wärmepumpe’ gives homeowners a simple and free way to assess for themselves whether and how they can heat their property efficiently and in a climate-friendly way.”
“The ‘Gebäudecheck Wärmepumpe’ focuses on heating performance at room level”, explains Jakob Metz, Project Manager at ifeu. “The tool shows, for example, whether radiators in individual rooms should be replaced before installing a heat pump.” In many cases, the result will show that replacing just a few radiators is enough to make the building efficient enough for a heat pump straight away. By focusing on individual rooms, this free online tool bridges the gap between professional planning software and simpler calculators aimed at end users.”
In most cases, suitability can be assessed based on the flow temperature of the heating system. If a flow temperature of 55 °C or lower is sufficient, the building is considered “low-temperature ready” and is likely to be suitable for efficient heat pump heating. The required flow temperature depends on the maximum heat demand of individual rooms on the coldest day of the heating season, and the size and output of the installed radiators.
Further information
The “Gebäudecheck Wärmepumpe” is available on the ifeu website.
The calculator was developed under the lead of ifeu gGmbH as part of the UBA project „Wärmepumpen-Projektdatenbank und Niedertemperatur-ready-Standard“ (Heat Pump Project Database and Low-Temperature-Ready Standard). The tool’s source code is freely available under an open-source license.
The project database “So geht's mit Wärmepumpen!” (How Heat Pumps Work) now includes 75 examples of existing buildings that have successfully been converted to heat pump heating.
The project team consists of a consortium of ifeu – Institut für Energie- und Umweltforschung Heidelberg gGmbH, co2online, and Ingenieurbüro Heckmann.
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