A phase-out of gas boilers? Check

One of Fit for 55 's priorities has been to accelerate the decarbonization of the building sector, so far little directly affected by European regulations. Buildings in the EU account for 42% of final energy consumption, and 80% of that value is currently spent on heating or cooling.

Najważniejszym i podstawowym instrumentem dążenia Unii Europejskiej do osiągnięcia celu zeroemisyjnych zasobów budowlanych w 2050 jest dyrektywa w sprawie charakterystyki energetycznej budynków (EPBD). Do 2050 r. wszystkie budynki w Unii muszą uzyskać charakter bezemisyjnych. W sumie ok. 35 milionów budynków w Europie ma zostać zmodernizowanych. Kluczowym dla dyrektywy EPBD pojęciem jest Budynek Zeroemisyjny (ZEB), o całkowitym zużyciu energii pierwotnej określonym dla Polski na poziomie <65 kWh/m²/rok. W roku 2023 instytucje europejskie stały się jednak miejscem sporu o definicję ZEB oraz tempo i metody dekarbonizacji zasobów mieszkaniowych. Temperatura rozmów była wysoka – tak ze względu na koszty omawianych rozwiązań dla obywateli krajów Unii, jak i na trwający równolegle w Niemczech konflikt polityczny o tzw. ustawę ciepłowniczą (Gebäudeenergiegesetz,GEG).

The German GEG dispute was fundamental to heating in the European Union, as it highlighted public resistance to overly radical decarbonization beyond the public's financial capacity and influenced the way other European governments began to look at the costs of the energy transition.

According to the GEG, only heating systems using >65% renewable energy can be installed in new buildings in Germany in the future from 2024, and these can be hybrid systems combining heat pumps with condensing boilers. There is also no ban on new installations of gas heating in existing buildings, with the use of information on the risks associated with possible increases in the cost of fossil fuels made mandatory.

Contrary to earlier rumors, users of gas heating do not have to replace it after the German law comes into force, and they will also be able to repair broken boilers.Replacement is subject - subject to exceptions written into the law - to heating boilers older than 30 years. From 2045, all heat sources installed in Germany will have to use 100% renewable energy sources - not only electricity, but also biomethane, biopropane or green hydrogen.

We have already written about the shape of the text of the negotiated EPBD in 2023. The version reached on December 7, 2023, as a result of negotiations between the Council of the Union, the Parliament and the Commission - and already after a fierce dispute over the German GEG - differs significantly from the text adopted last March by the European Parliament. The differences on boiler issues are summarized in the table below.

The revised EPBD thus allows the use of zero-emission combustion of renewable fuels in buildings and financial support for the installation of hybrid heating systems, but leaves a gap as to the definition of fossil-fuel boilers. Guidelines on this are yet to be issued by the European Commission. What is already clear, however, is that new and modernized buildings will not be allowed to use heat sources powered solely by fossil fuels.

Summary:

• The EPBD does not refer to boilers at all! The terms it adopts apply to boilers powered solely by fossil fuels.
• After 2030, it will even be possible to install boilers in hybrid systems in new buildings, e.g. together with solar panels or heat pumps - this way the boiler can be used, for example, to heat hot water, or switched on during periods of peak heat demand so as not to overload the pump.
• Existing pre-2030 buildings will not be affected in any way by the boiler regulations, with the caveat that fuel with a higher biocomponent content will gradually be introduced to the market.

Most importantly: read the source documents, not just the analyses prepared by one technological option or the other. We recommend reading the regulations. As of the date of writing, the European Parliament has not yet approved the content of the compromise; this is likely to happen in March.

For those who prefer a video message, 3 minutes from a friendly vlogger on why the boiler ban rumor is the nonsense of the year:

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