Replacing the heating

“Now is the ideal time to convert”

Air heat pumps as a climate-friendly alternative to oil or gas heating systems.(Bild: stock.adobe.com)

If you want to replace your oil or gas heating system with a climate-friendly alternative now, you can count on high subsidies. Air source heat pumps are often an alternative, as Burgenland Energie emphasizes.

According to the heating strategy, buildings in Burgenland should no longer be heated with oil or gas from 2030. There is still a long way to go until then. Around 67,800 buildings are currently supplied with renewable and climate-neutral heat - just over 50 percent of the total, according to Burgenland Energie. This involves district heating, air heat pumps or pellets. The other half, around 66,900 buildings, still need to be converted.

New technologies ensure savings
A logical step for Burgenland Energy CEO Stephan Sharma: "New technologies, such as air heat pumps, are much more efficient." An average household could save up to 500 euros a year on heating costs. It is also bizarre that we continue to import most of the Russian natural gas over 4000 kilometers and then burn it at 1000 degrees in order to maintain a room temperature of 23 degrees. Added to this is the uncertain supply situation due to the war in Ukraine.

Burgenland Energie is therefore consistently pursuing the implementation of its heating strategy. While in the north of the province it is mainly gas heating systems that need to be replaced, in the south it is oil heating systems. "Now is the ideal time to convert," says Sharma. For air heat pumps, there are currently up to 75 percent subsidies from the federal and state governments, and even up to 100 percent in cases of social hardship. Various packages, such as the "PumpenPeter", including maintenance, are available for customers, depending on whether they want to buy the system immediately or pay it off in monthly installments. At the same time, the company provides assistance with funding applications. "We manage planning and installation within eight weeks," says Sharma. If you convert now, you will be prepared for next winter.