Several energy companies, installation companies and environmental organisations are teaming up to make the traditional central heating boiler disappear in Dutch households. Boilers convert gas into heat relatively inefficiently. That is why the parties want the more than 350,000 central heating boilers that are replaced every year in the Netherlands to be replaced from 2021 only by a hybrid system, a water pump or another sustainable way of heating.
50% less CO2 emissions
If central heating boilers are no longer allowed to run entirely on gas from 1 January 2021, the boilers will have to be adapted or replaced. Ecorys research shows that it currently costs around £18,000 for a terraced house to become gasless. In fact, a gasless heat pump is much more expensive than a central heating boiler, but reduces your home’s CO2 emissions by 50 to 60 per cent. Because it is quite an investment, the parties therefore advocate a system where you sign a service contract per house for all installations that provide heat and power. When you sell your house, the next owner takes over the contract.
Alternative: hybrid heat pump
An alternative is the hybrid heat pump. This pump works alongside your central heating boiler and is cheaper than the heat pump. A hybrid heat pump costs £3,500 to £5,000 on average. The hybrid pump does most of the work and reduces your home’s CO2 emissions by 35 per cent. The central heating boiler only turns on when it is very cold and provides hot water. One disadvantage of the hybrid heat pump is that it is not a final solution. The Netherlands eventually wants to get rid of gas altogether.
Isolation is a must
Milieu Centraal is a proponent, but does warn against (hybrid) heat pumps. Poorly insulated houses are not suitable for heat pumps. “The heat just flies out the door and the house cannot be warm enough,” he says. Properly insulating your house also reduces CO2 emissions. Milieu Centraal therefore advises to do an insulation check first, then install the insulation and only then buy a heat pump.
Improving heat pumps needed
It won’t be long before 1 January 2021, so it is urgent to improve (hybrid) heat pumps. The hybrid heat pump currently needs improvement on noise level, grid load and pump size. Another bottleneck is the shortage of skilled technicians. UNETO-VNI is prepared to retrain 30,000 central heating installers as soon as possible, so that they too can install the water pumps.
Waiting decision Lower House
The proposal is a widely supported initiative by organisation agency Berenschot and is supported by Essent, Eneco, Gasunie, Milieudefensie, Greenpeace and the boiler manufacturers’ interest group (VFK), among others. There have also already been proposals in the Lower House to say goodbye to the traditional central heating boiler. It therefore looks as if the proposal has a chance of being put into practice.
We will keep you informed if there are any new updates on the abolition of traditional central heating boilers.
Not yet ready for heat pumps?
Is it (almost) time to replace your central heating boiler, but you are not quite ready for (hybrid) heat pumps yet? Then replace your central heating boiler for an HR++ combi boiler before 2021. A HR++ boiler has an efficiency of at least 100%; in short, there is no loss of heat, which can save up to 10% on your energy bill. On average, an HR++ boiler costs £1,380.
Source image: Heating price
