Webinar What about these boilers? - summary

The webinar was organised in the light of ongoing work at European level on the amendment of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive and in the light of numerous alarmist media publications announcing an administrative ban on the use of combustion technology as a heat source in Europe.

The webinar was hosted for the third time by Bartosz Kwiatkowski, Director General of the Polish Liquefied Gas Organization.

The revised EPBD Directive aims to create incentives for the decarbonisation of buildings that make a significant contribution to European greenhouse gas emissions - according to the European Commission, buildings account for 40% of total energy consumption and 36% of greenhouse gas emissions. Since 80% of the energy consumed by buildings is consumed by heating and cooling, that is why this area has become the subject of special interest of legislators.

In Poland alone, there are currently about 2 million single-family homes in cities — usually with access to energy from the grid — and about 3.7 million homes in rural areas. About 1.5 million households use older coal stoves, probably half of which are the main source of smog in Poland. Such a situation is untenable, but before us is the decision on how to carry out the transformation of communal heating. One of the key policy instruments in this area is the Clean Air Programme, the principles of which have been modified since the beginning of 2023.

The grant amounts have been significantly increased compared to the previous version of the Programme due to the market situation, said Daniel Markiewicz from NFOŚiGW. Funding from the Clean Air Program can be obtained for one of three areas of modernization measures undertaken for a single-family building:

• replacement of an inefficient heat source with an air-to-water or ground-based heat pump, including thermo-modernization,
• replacement of an inefficient heat source with another heat source - including, but not limited to, an air-to-air heat pump, a condensing gas boiler, an oil boiler, a wood gasifier or a pellet boiler - together with thermo-modernization,
• thermomodernization without replacement of the heat source, if the building is not heated with solid fuel, or is equipped with a coal-fired boiler of at least class 5.

In order for the project to be eligible for funding from the Clean Air Programme, installed condensing gas boilers must meet the requirements of the energy efficiency class A minimum for space heating on the basis of the product card and energy label.

Ewa Abramiuk-Summer Liquid Gas Europe explained that the scale of the publications devoted to the issue of gas heating is related to the final phase of work on the recast directive on the energy performance of buildings, the text of which will be voted on by the European Parliament on 13 March.

In the current form of the draft directive, we are not dealing with a ban on the use of gas boilers, there is no need to fear that they will have to be dismantled, said Eva Abramiuk-Lété. Gas boilers can also be used in the future, except that the fuel will increasingly be of renewable rather than fossil origin. From 2027, all new public administration buildings and from 2030 all new buildings will have to be zero-emission, so only renewable fuels such as biomethane or biopropane will have to be used in them.

However, after the entry into force of the new directive, financial support for the exchange of heat sources for combustion technology will be stopped - that is, it will not be possible to use the subsidy for the installation of the boiler. If someone is interested in such a modernization project, they should therefore carry it out using the Clean Air programme as soon as possible.

The Council of the European Union proposes that Member States prepare plans for the complete phase-out of fossil fuels for heating purposes by 2040., she added Ewa Abramiuk-Summer. In the coming months, the European Commission, the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament will negotiate the final shape of the directive, which we will know in the second half of 2023.

However, this is not the end of the topic of gas boilers. The European Commission is currently working on a review of the Ecodesign Directive, which will be transformed into a Regulation. Insofar as the Directive has to be transposed into national law by law, the Regulation acts directly. The draft new Ecodesign Regulation, if assessed from current leaks, would mean a de facto ban on the placing on the market of boilers after 2029 by introducing a minimum efficiency limit of 110% for heat sources, a level that is impossible to achieve for stand-alone boilers, warned Ewa Abramiuk-Lété. We will soon know the content of the draft, but the Commission's rhetoric is very worrying.

Janusz Starościk from the Association of Manufacturers and Importers of Heating Equipment noted: MEPs have reinforced the Commission's proposal by creating a framework to ensure a gradual transition away from fossil fuels in Europe, without leaving consumers without affordable heating, which is very important. He stressed that the difficulties associated with the large-scale electrification of the European economy associated with the increase in electricity demand are not an argument to abandon this direction, but rather to implement the transformation of heating rationally, using various technologies - including hybrid systems. Janusz Starościk added that the total phase-out of fossil gas is planned in line with the European Union's climate goals by 2050.

A common sense approach to many millions of old buildings, spoken Janusz Starościk, includes green gases and hybrid installations. This ensures security, affordability and lower costs of the energy system compared to mass electrification. We should let every technology develop, emphasized. Heating systems should work together to allow two basic things: that the user has heat in the house in all conditions, and that this heat is provided at a reasonable cost. Ensuring any monopoly is harmful to the consumer.

Heat pumps do not have to compete with gas heating - especially for already operated buildings, they can be part of hybrid heating systems. Gas condensing boilers with a heat pump or solar collectors are especially popular today and are often installed in residential buildings. In hybrid systems, air-to-water heat pumps are usually used in a split or monoblock.

Key takeaways from the webinar:

• The content of the recast EPBD Directive - which also includes the amendments introduced by RepowerEU - will be finally known in autumn 2023. At present, there is no reason to say that it prohibits the use of gas boilers, but it creates the conditions for EU Member States to phase out fossil gas from municipal heating and only allows the use of renewable fuels or hybrid systems in new buildings after 2030..
• In the case of Poland, a country that still widely uses classless coal stoves for heating single-family buildings, it is important to maintain on the market such a combination of heating technologies that will provide adequate thermal comfort at a possible acceptable cost. A realistic solution is the transformation of district heating using green gases (biomethane, biopropane or renewable DME) and hybrid systems using condensing boilers and heat pumps. Opposing boilers to heat pumps is a false alternative.
• The European Commission is working on a draft of a new ecodesign regulation to replace the current directive. The proposed content will be presented in the coming months, but very restrictive conditions for placing gas boilers on the market can be expected, including in the range of minimum efficiency, which is impossible to achieve otherwise than in operation in a hybrid system.

We also recommend a summary Our previous webinar on How to heat the house?

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