Heat pump can be a trap. Be careful
Heat pumps can turn out to be an investment failure. As with every fad, with heat pumps too we are dealing with an increasingly widespread and overhyped acquisition of these solutions.
Pumps can potentially be a great solution for reducing bills, reducing the negative impact on the natural environment, and increasing energy independence, but only if they are adapted to local conditions.
Energy audit before purchase
– Heat pumps that are oversized and not adapted to the situation in a given household can actually result in losses when we see higher electricity bills – says Wojciech Jakóbik, co-founder of the Energy Security Center (OBE) foundation, in an interview with MarketNews24. – The lack of such efficiency will occur primarily at lower temperatures.
The decision on such investments, costing tens of thousands of złoty, should be preceded first and foremost by an energy audit. Because sometimes a heat pump will be a good solution, and sometimes it is worth enriching the investment with other solutions also based on fossil fuels.
We should also be prepared that after the audit it will turn out that the heat pump is a solution that will not work.
– We should prepare to say “no” to heat pump or photovoltaic salespeople – comments W.Jakóbik from OBE. – However, it is good that we will have a list of devices that meet appropriate standards, the Ministry of Climate and Environment wants to introduce regulations that will make us not buy Chinese junk, we should not buy scrap, because it will not improve the situation.
Not all heat pumps are subsidized
The National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management has announced that heat pump manufacturers and importers are given more time to adapt to changes in the “Clean Air” program. Technical tests of devices with European quality marks must be submitted by December 31, 2024 to ensure the presence of these devices on the program’s ZUM list.
The new rules in the “Clean Air” program, effective from April 22, 2024, impose requirements on heat pumps that may qualify for subsidies. From June 14, subsidies will only be granted for devices on the ZUM list. The National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management emphasized that many heat pumps may not manage to obtain certificates before the end of the transition period, which may depend on procedural and organizational issues.
Due to the difficulties of the industry in carrying out the required tests and submitting reports, the Ministry of Climate and Environment together with the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management decided to temporarily introduce heat pumps with European quality marks: EHPA-Q, HP KEYMARK or EUROVENT to the ZUM list. However, registration of heat pumps on the ZUM list will only be possible for applications submitted after June 14, 2024.
