When the days get colder and the energy costs higher, there is time to think - like at the turn of the year.

This also raises the question of where and how energy and costs can be saved.

Current expenses have risen significantly in many houses, which means that investing in new devices can be worthwhile.

As a climate-friendly variant, the focus is primarily on the electricity-powered heat pump as an alternative to expensive natural gas, which has been used in new buildings for some time.

Now the demand is increasing, and that usually prevents a quick change.

Jan Hauser

Editor in Business.

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The Federal Heat Pump Association expects a waiting period of several months to a year - despite the strong expansion.

"Everyone is working flat out to increase capacity," says Association Managing Director Martin Sabel.

The waiting times can vary regionally and between providers.

Craftsmen often work together with certain manufacturers, which is why some lack the device and for others their own staff is the bottleneck.

A comparison between companies can be worthwhile here.

If things are going well, the owner of a property does not take care of replacing the heating system at short notice - not even when the heating system gives up the ghost.

In the case of sudden freezing, things have to be done quickly.

This is usually followed by simply replacing the previous type of heating with a new model.

If you want to make time for more options and the use of a heat pump, you start thinking about it at an early stage.

If you want to buy a new heating system in the coming year, you should do so as soon as possible and compare the models.

Insulate pipes, replace windows, seal walls

The quick advice for replacing the heating system is: Get a consultant in the house.

Because each building has to be considered individually.

This allows you to see individually how high the heat requirement is in the rooms and which heating systems come into play at which cost estimates.

Additional measures often promise a lot to reduce consumption: Insulate pipes, replace windows, seal walls.

The calculation in the online renovation configurator of the federal government promises first aid here.

The heat pump association recommends professionals who have qualified according to VDI standard 4645 "Heating systems with heat pumps in single and multi-family houses".

The Federal Association of Energy and Water Management (BDEW) similarly proposes external help.

"We recommend qualified state-funded energy advice," says Friedrich Lutz Schulte, head of the department for domestic heating technology, ventilation and air conditioning.

The type and size of the heating depends on the heating load.

The energetic condition of the building is decisive for this, as well as the year of construction and the energy sources connected to the building.

The advice should therefore be individual and be able to include the subsequent planning of the building.

The association also sees that waiting times vary from region to region.

"With the heat pump, we have twice the effort in man-days than with a conventional heating system."

Estimate heating costs

Heating with a heat pump is generally possible in new builds as well as in older houses.

The question is how high the energy requirement is and thus the costs compared to other heating systems.

According to estimates, the running costs for a heat pump are currently below the operating costs of a gas heating system, and not only in new buildings.

Björn Schreinermacher from the Federal Association of Heat Pumps mentions a single-family house with a heating requirement of 18,000 kilowatt hours per year: A gas boiler with an efficiency of 95 percent comes with a gas price of 17 cents per kilowatt hour and running costs of 3221 euros per year plus maintenance and chimney.

A heat pump with an annual performance factor of 3.1 (the ratio of heat generated to electricity consumption) achieves an electricity price of 45 cents per kilowatt hour and 2613 euros per year plus maintenance.

The higher the annual performance factor, the more efficiently the device works and requires less electricity for heating.