Gas or heat pump? Experiences / Feedback

Durability of gas boilers: In our current settlement built in 2001, all terraced houses have Vaillant gas boilers. Several had to be replaced after 12-15 years, in our row 60% of the devices. It is also a cost factor if you have to buy twice. Were they more durable in the past?

It was supposed to last 15-20 years. Ours in our old terraced house was from Buderus and lasted from 1997 to 2017.

Solar thermal energy necessary as additional costs

If a controlled residential ventilation system is present, not necessarily.

Air-water heat pump. By now a proven technology. Relatively high space requirement in the utility room.

The space requirement also depends. Compared to gas with storage for solar thermal, it actually only applies to special solutions such as ventilation combination units or air-water heat pumps without an outdoor unit. In our utility room, there is only a 200l tank with about 70x70 base area + a few pipes on the wall. And the frequently installed split units with integrated storage are also not huge.

Air-to-water heat pumps without an outdoor unit still need space. For us, it's about 2 sqm of floor space and work area. For many utility rooms/technical rooms too large.

We also have a combination unit in the utility room. I didn’t want to have an outdoor unit. I also wouldn’t have known where to put it.

Regarding noises/humming, I can’t report anything negative. When the heat pump is running at full capacity and the utility room door is open, of course you can hear it in the living room. When the door is closed, you only hear it if you stand right in front of the door.

Here are some pictures from our utility room (shortly after setting up the heat pump):