Gas with solar thermal? Or heat pump with photovoltaics? Consultation

What are your monthly costs with the heat pump?

Just under €60 for 160sqm KFW55 (insulation is, except for 6 instead of 5 chamber profile windows, at the energy saving ordinance level). Photovoltaics not yet considered. But I find the comparison pointless. A colleague once said he only has €30 per month, no wonder, in the living room it was not even 21 degrees, the rest of the house also felt hardly heated. Whoever likes it warmer simply consumes more, even with the same configuration, you can't derive anything about the technology from that.

...and don’t forget the invoices for the craftsmen for all that technical stuff. Those are costs too.

The initial purchase was a bit more expensive for us, but the really good KFW conditions made up for that. After that, we paid for one maintenance. From now on, we do it ourselves once a year; more than an Allen key, a vacuum cleaner, and a shower is not needed for us.

It is clear that it is not 100% comparable.

I just wanted to have some figures in general.

We currently live in a house of about 120 m2 from 1996 and have gas costs of 80 euros per month.
The house doesn’t even have a condensing boiler.

I assume that we will then consume significantly less in a new building.

I am only used professionally to think economically when it comes to real estate. I am not doing any tenant or leaseholder a favor if I slap a lot of styrofoam on the walls to make the energy certificate look better, or if I install expensive heating technology or even photovoltaic systems. The investments are passed on to the base rent. The maintenance and operating costs increase the total rent. What you save is easily eaten up by what you spend more on. It is not a benefit for the user of the apartment. In the end, they live more expensively and still not better. This is not an isolated case; it practically always applies to rental properties, unless they are so dilapidated that there is mold, rain gets in, and drafts like hell. But we do not let it come to that. What applies here also applies to ownership. The numbers don’t change. That’s why gas boilers, because it is required by law, solar thermal systems, which are economically nonsense anyway, but no one in Berlin wants to hear that. K.

Hello,
I realize this is a hot topic

In the end, I want and have to decide on the more economical system, and that is as of now and not in 10 years. Since no one has yet developed a usable crystal ball for looking into the future.
As already mentioned, the thing with the heat pump and photovoltaic system would also be a big aspect of "playing" for me, since it is a new technology that at least gives the appearance of a future-proof and economical system. Some might even argue: ...then I can charge my electric car with the photovoltaic system... which from my point of view is nonsense, since you would need a huge photovoltaic system in the sun-poor northern Germany.

I have now made an appointment at the Consumer Advice Center in 2 weeks and will discuss the topic with an independent graduate engineer there. Let's see what he says?! I will definitely report!

For me, the issue with heat pumps and photovoltaic systems is also a major aspect of the "playing" involved

Not really. You can fiddle with a gas boiler just as much as with a heat pump. Let's be honest, the end user hardly ever gets beyond the settings on the unit’s control, and here you have the same possibilities with both the usual consumer heat pump and gas boiler. Granted, the gas boiler lacks the cooling function, but that’s not really worth mentioning. Without a shading concept, you keep the heat inside with both options.

because it is a new technology that at least gives the appearance of a future-proof and economical system.

That’s not really true either, the technology is not new; it’s just more promoted due to politics and current topics, and thus is on everyone’s lips. Other countries, for example, rely on pure electric heating and consider that to be the future.