The EnEV Ordinance shows the way

The German Energy Saving Ordinance (EnEV) is aimed at reducing CO2 emissions. In order to achieve this goal, the maximum permissible primary energy demand for new buildings has been cut by 25% compared with the previous requirements. This can be achieved either with efficient heating technology on the basis of renewable energy or by taking more substantial insulation-related measures.

A heat pump provides ideal conditions for complying with the primary energy demand of the reference building, which has been reduced by around 25%. This means that, when it comes to the insulation of the building shell, adherence to the minimum standards is often sufficient in order to meet all requirements of the German Energy Saving Ordinance (EnEV 2016). This has the additional benefit of reducing costs.

Although houses being completed today are often still subject to the 2014 version of the EnEV Ordinance that was valid at the time of the building application, it is possible to identify a trend. By 2015, a heat pump was installed in 31.4% of all completed residential buildings – with the figure for detached and semi-detached houses even reaching 33.4% (according to the German Federal Statistics Office).

In an amendment that plays perfectly to the strengths of the heat pumps, the latest version of the EnEV Ordinance features an even more advantageous rating for the electric power that is used in heat generation – a factor of 1.8 in primary energy terms. This is because the power is increasingly drawn from renewable sources. Combined with the particularly high utilisation factor, this has helped catapult heat pumps to the top of the efficiency scale.