GEA: Heat pumps will become ‘standard’ in Germany
Michael Nagler, business development manager for CO2 applications at GEA, believes that new regulation in Germany will drive the market.
“Heat pumps will become standard” domestic HVAC&R solutions due to new German regulations governing the use of fossil fuels in boilers, according to Michael Nagler, business development manager for CO2 applications at GEA.
On 1 January 2016, new rules on constructing new buildings entered into force. New buildings in Germany must now meet a maximum primary energy requirement that is 25% lower than the previous threshold.
It does not explicitly ban fossil fuel heating systems, but in practice it would be nearly impossible to meet the new requirements with an oil or gas boiler. This means that people will have to find alternative ways of heating their homes and heat pumps are a way to achieve this result.
Nagler believes this will create opportunities for CO2 heat pumps. Speaking at EuroShop, he cited the example of Switzerland, where “CO2 heat pumps have been used a lot”.
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In the commercial refrigeration industry, natural refrigerants are widely seen as the new normal. “There is only really CO2 and propane here [at EuroShop] – not much else,” Nagler said.
“All [these natural refrigerants] will become standard even more,” he concluded.