One third of the energy consumed by private households is used for heating and hot water preparation, which also account for a significant proportion of energy costs. Older houses consume three times more energy for heating than new buildings because they are poorly insulated. This is why energy renovation measures are worthwhile for houses built in 1990 or earlier. Energy consumption can be reduced with three measures:
The building envelope is important for the choice of heating. That is why it makes sense to have the exterior walls, roof, windows and cellar checked. If you want to sustainably reduce your energy consumption, you should not only have a modern heating system installed, but also renovate the house for energy efficiency. In this article we focus on heating system renovation.
With the Energy Strategy 2050, the Federal Council wants to increase security of supply and reduce energy-related environmental pollution. To achieve these goals, the cantons are adapting their laws. This has consequences for homeowners. At the end of November 2021, for example, voters in the canton of Zurich will vote on a revision. The four most important changes in the law:
{{heatingcalculator}}
In the first section of this article we mentioned the importance of the building envelope for the choice of heating. The worse a house is insulated, the more important the flow temperature is. This is the temperature at which a heating system delivers the heating water to the heating circuit. Heating with gas or oil is worthwhile if high flow temperatures of up to 60 degrees are necessary, as in older buildings with radiators. Most ground-source heat pumps or air-source heat pumps are designed for lower flow temperatures and work efficiently especially in well-insulated buildings or with floor heating systems with a low flow temperature. For the renovation of older buildings with an oil heating system and radiators, there are now also air-source heat pumps with up to 75 degrees flow temperature.
If, despite everything, you want to install a new oil or gas heating system, you should supplement it with a photovoltaic system on the roof of the house. This way you can additionally minimise your CO2 emissions. A new gas system also reduces CO2 compared to the old system.
Heat pumps are environmentally friendly and sustainable because they obtain two-thirds of their energy from the environment and energy from the earth, air or water is always available. Furthermore, there are heat pumps that are operated with climate-neutral or even CO2-neutral refrigerants and do not pollute the ozone layer.
Renovating a heating system is time-consuming. You can outsource a lot of work and concentrate on the important tasks and the decision. The online heating finder from Vaillant relieves you of the burden of evaluation, planning and implementation, but also of the decision. You only have to answer a few questions and will then be contacted by a qualified heating installer from the Houzy network. The installer is from your region and will advise you at home. Free of charge and without obligation, of course.
