Many property owners have to go to mandatory inspections. Apartment owners and house owners with gas heating have two years to carry out a heating check. FOCUS online says what the inspection costs, how long you have to wait for appointments and how you can save.
Due to the Federal Government’s second Energy Saving Ordinance, gas households in Germany must gradually carry out a “hydraulic balance” from October 1st. The detailed heating check is carried out by craft businesses. The apartment owners bear the costs.
Large apartment buildings with gas heating must carry out the “hydraulic balancing” by September 30, 2023 at the latest. So if you rent an apartment in an apartment building, you are affected.
Single-family houses and smaller flat-sharing communities have until September 30, 2024.
FOCUS online advises those affected: Do not order the craftsman extra for this heating check. You should use the regular maintenance, cleaning, control and inspection appointments for your heating system for the new compulsory inspection.
For example, when the heating is inspected by the chimney sweep.
Linking to other compulsory appointments or usual maintenance saves you money.
During hydraulic balancing, a specialist company determines how much thermal output is actually required to heat the individual living rooms of a house. Based on this, the required amount of water for the heating system and the optimum flow temperature are set.
In addition, the pump performance and the necessary resistances in the heating circuit are calculated. This ensures, for example, that exactly the required amount of water always flows from the circulation pump to the radiators and back. Because if too much or too little water flows, not all rooms in the house are heated evenly. The result: colder radiators are turned on more. This causes unnecessary costs.
The measure is carried out by heating contractors and, depending on the size of the system, takes several hours, perhaps with an interruption of two days for the calculation.
Hydraulic balancing costs a good 600 to 1200 euros, depending on the size of the home and the heating system.
FOCUS online advises: If you want to have the hydraulic balance carried out and you are not legally obliged to do so, get government help. After submitting your application, you will receive 15 percent of the costs back from the Federal Office of Economics and Export Control (Bafa) via the “Heating Optimization” program.
The subsidy is only available for houses with up to five residential units.
Shortly before the respective deadlines expire, there could be a great rush to specialist companies. Therefore, it is advisable to explore in good time after an appointment.
If the maintenance of the heating system is due in spring, carry out a hydraulic balance at the same time. The demand for inspections of heating systems usually increases with the start of the heating season in October and then decreases from mid-March.
If the heating needs to be optimized or modernized, the following applies: First get a cost estimate and check whether there are possible subsidies for the modernization or maintenance.
That way you don’t have to bear the total costs. You must request the buff prior to crafting. Processing takes two to three weeks.
There are usually subsidies if the gas heating system is more than two years old and a hydraulic adjustment and a heating check have been carried out.
In extreme cases, you can also get a second opinion. To do this, you must commission another craft business to carry out a heating check again.
Energy has never been as expensive as it is now. But instead of panicking, you should calmly check potential savings at home. As our guide shows, there are many of them.
