EPBD without a ban on boilers

The EPBD aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption of buildings across the EU. By specifying requirements for newly constructed or renovated zero emission buildings (ZEBs), it also defines what heat sources will be allowed to be installed in buildings with these characteristics. Since there is a lot of inaccurate information on this issue in the public debate, it is worth taking a closer look at the Directive.

Contrary to sensationalist media comments, the EPBD does not ban the operation of gas boilers

The March 12 vote changed nothing in the the content of the Directive, which we recently analyzed for the installation of gas boilers on our website. The directive does not prohibit the installation of boilers.

We were pleased to see the final form of the regulations on the permissibility of installing heat sources in buildings. The European Union, after a long discussion, has adopted a technology-neutral approach that does not eliminate from buildings any of the heating technologies available on the market. The EPBD allows member states to choose the mix of solutions that best suits the needs of their societies - from the perspective of income, quality of building stock and climatic conditions.

The EPBD makes a clear distinction between boiler technology and fossil fuels, calling on countries member states to phase out the latter and replace them with renewable fuels such as biomethane or biopropane.

As a first step on this path, financial subsidies for replacing heat sources with stand-alone - i.e., non-associated - boilers, fueled solely by fossil fuels, will be discontinued from 2025. Financial incentives will still be allowed for hybrid systems with a significant share of renewable energy sources (RES), such as a combination of a gas boiler with a solar collector or heat pump. This means, for example, changes to the Clean Air Program, which from now on would only be able to finance gas boilers if they operate in cogeneration with renewable energy sources.

Zero-carbon buildings (new and retrofitted after 2030) will not be allowed to use stand-alone boilers powered solely by fossil fuels, including coal, natural gas and fossil LPG. Hybrid systems, consisting of a gas boiler and other RES sources (such as solar panels or heat pumps), will still be allowed to be installed. Boilers powered by renewable fuels will also be allowed to be installed in ZEB buildings, as they will be treated the same as locally installed renewable energy sources under EPBD regulations.

The EPBD also calls on member states to develop plans to phase out stand-alone fossil fuel boilers by 2040 , with a non-binding date. This approach can be illustrated by the example of the German market: according to the German district heating law (GEG) passed in 2023, the admixture of biocomponents in heating fuel should reach 30% in 2035, 60% in 2040 and 100% in 2045. After that, fossil fuels are to disappear from the German market altogether.

Consumers will not be forced to replace boilers

The European Union has agreed to phase out stand-alone boilers powered by fossil fuels. By the end of 2024, the European Commission will issue guidance to member states on what should be understood as a fossil fuel-fired boiler, although they will not be binding on member states. It should be expected that there will be a recommendation for a minimum share of bio-components that would allow a heating device to be excluded from the category of fossil-fuel boilers.

In the case of existing buildings, users of boilers will not have to replace the heating system if it allows the use of an increasing admixture of biocomponents, such as biomethane or biopropane. In light of the EPBD, they will be treated equally to other heating devices powered by renewable fuels, such as heat pumps.

We also remind you of the exemptions from the Directive's provisions for certain categories of buildings: bungalows, historic buildings, religious buildings, workshops and non-residential agricultural buildings or military buildings - these will not have to meet the criteria for zero-emission buildings.

In the negotiation process, member states unequivocally rejected the demand for full electrification of residential heating for technical and financial reasons. By maintaining technological neutrality and allowing different energy carriers for heating purposes, the EPBD will optimize the cost of the Union's energy transition for consumers.

In the next step, the key will be how to transfer the relatively flexible provisions contained in the Directive into national law, namely the Law of August 29, 2014 on the Energy Performance of Buildings.

Application to the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection

Due to an unprecedented deluge of misinformation, the Polish LPG Organization has filed a notice of suspicion with the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection of practices that violate the collective interests of consumers with regard to false information about an alleged ban on gas boilers. We are counting on the OCCP to take an interest in unreliable newspaper headlines aimed at frightening consumers, such as "Financial penalty for using a gas stove," "Gas stove ban," or "Ban on coal and gas heating from 2025." Such media messages are based on an attempt to exploit consumers' fear in order to convince them to buy alternative heating solutions, which should be unequivocally condemned. We encourage you to read reliable sources on building heating, for example on the website of the Association of Manufacturers and Importers of Heating Equipment. We also recommend our February analysis of the EPBD regulations.

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