Purchasing a hybrid heat pump is the quickest step to lower energy bills. Moreover, it is a simple solution to making existing buildings more sustainable. Because with a relatively small and light device, a huge savings in energy consumption is achieved.
'For a house with a gas consumption of around 1,000 m3 per year or more, it is always an attractive investment,' explains Ralf Jansen of Intergas. 'Apart from the climate gain, it is a financially sensible solution, also for the future. Reduced to the question: am I doing it for the climate or am I doing it for myself? Even with today's energy rates, the hybrid heat pump is very cost-effective. Research last year showed that a household saves 1,000 euros per year by installing a hybrid heat pump. As a result, the investment is recouped within a few years.'
Payback period
From 2026, the hybrid heat pump will become the standard for heating homes, if it is up to the outgoing cabinet, Jansen says. 'I don't like obligations, as do most people. But looking purely at the hybrid heat pump, it is an economically attractive solution that serves your own wallet and helps the climate a step forward. A hybrid heat pump always pays for itself, only the rate varies, depending on your current gas consumption.'
'At the beginning of the Ukraine war, you saw that people started to calculate. But even now that the price of gas has fallen again, the purchase is worthwhile,' Jansen argues. He makes the comparison with the stock market. 'You don't know how gas and electricity prices are going to develop. Now the gas price is low.' But that's no reason to delay the investment, he believes: 'If the price rises again, your payback period goes down.'
Social solution
Jansen is an ardent advocate of the hybrid heat pump as the technology for making existing homes more sustainable. Above all, it is also a social solution, he emphasizes: "If you use a lot of subsidy money to completely take a few homes off the gas, that is unfair to all the other people where you don't do that. It is much smarter and more social to opt for the easier solution. A hybrid heat pump is an affordable option, especially for older homes and homes with high gas consumption. Climate goals are met faster and easier with the "hybrid route." You save 75 to 80 percent in terms of gas and you use the central heating boiler for hot water and in the cold winter weeks.
A solution where you insulate homes and heat all-electric is expensive and inefficient, Jansen argues. 'You need a storage tank. You can't fit that in many homes. And in winter weeks you have to generate and transport extra electricity to heat the houses. Financially and practically that is an impossible task. The market and the electricity grid can't handle that.'
That's why installing a hybrid heat pump is the "low-hanging fruit strategy," he believes. "It's a logical and low-hanging fruit extension to your heating system. You don't have to change or remodel anything on the house. It's compact and affordable, all you have to do is install a 40-kilogram box. You achieve 75 percent energy savings for perhaps only a quarter of the money. For that last 20 percent gas usage, you can then come up with another cleverness.'
ISDE subsidy
The purchase and installation of the hybrid heat pump costs a total of between 6,000 and 7,500 euros. A large part of the costs you will receive back through the ISDE subsidy. This is paid out through the RVO. On top of that, there is often support at the provincial level. 'The procedure is quite easy. You can upload the bill through the site, along with the notification code you received from the installer. For our Intergas installation, the ISDE subsidy is currently € 2400. We are going to step up our heat pump even further, which should allow it to fall into an even higher subsidy class.' Ultimately, an amount of around €4000 remains for the homeowner. 'Once you've earned that back, the rest is pure profit.'
This article was produced in collaboration with Intergas. Come to Intergas' booth at VSK, hall 12 booth D092, to talk further about the hybrid route.
