Home heat pumps to cut electricity bills

As winter approaches and recession lingers, CKW’s idea to help households replace inefficient heating systems seems to be well-timed. A pot of 5 million francs from company coffers will subsidise new installations.

Electric heat pumps extract warmth from areas in and around buildings where it is not needed, and circulate it to parts of the building where people need to stay warm. The pumps can also transfer heat from the ground to a water tank.

Locating ambient heat and circulating it in the right direction improves home thermal efficiency, which benefits the environment, as well as the consumer’s bank balance.

“CKW's 5 million-franc programme will benefit customers and the heating industry in our supply area,” said CEO Andrew Walo to Swisster. “Our customers will receive subsidies and reduce their household costs by increasing the efficiency of their heating systems.” Walo also pointed out the benefits to local heating engineers in Luzern which will rake in 35 million francs in installation fees.

According to federal government figures, approximately 130,000 heat pumps are in use today in Switzerland, accounting for 1.5 per cent of the country's electricity consumption. A more striking figure is that 80 per cent of heating systems in new build homes are heat pumps. Forecasts predict there will be more than three times as many pumps by 2020.

CKW’s customers in Luzern can contact the canton’s energy and environment department to ask for a free consultancy session. If the canton’s energy advisers propose a heat pump installation, CKW will help fund it. A third partner in the initiative, Luzerner Kantonalbank, is offering low-interest renovation loans to help improve thermal efficiency.

Swisster spoke to Dr Hansueli Bruderer who has been selling heat pumps to households and commercial enterprises for 30 years. He says savings from heat pumps depend on comparing the current system with the proposed new installation and local energy prices vary between cantons.

CKW communications director, Dominik Müller, says: “we think about 14 per cent of the cost of a new heat pump system will be funded by CKW”. This low figure makes the initiative sound a little less appealing, as the home owner has to make up the rest.

The average cost for a heat pump in a typical home is 30,000 francs and pumps which derive heat from soil are more expensive.

Müller says that it will take 6 years for the average household to make back its investment, implying that a pump can save over 4,000 francs per year, based on the home owner putting up 86 per cent of the initial outlay.

The scheme will not take effect until February 2010, but there are other options in the meantime. Households and businesses can go straight to  Bruderer’s company Satag Thermoteknik and a regional sales representative will explain the options.

For some residents, the environmental benefits may outweigh the financial savings.

Heating accounts for approximately one third of total Swiss energy consumption. CKW reckons the initiative will reduce CO2 emissions by 3,400 tons per year, helping Switzerland meet climate change targets, which from 2000 have been enshrined into law.

The federal government’s energy efficiency action plan, published last year, says it wants to reduce energy consumption from buildings, appliances and vehicles by 30-70 per cent in the next 20 years. In June it announced new efficiency standards for home lighting, fridges and other electrical appliances which will be implemented from January 2010.

Bruderer says the federal government gives “umbrella promotional support” for heat pumps. But cantons vary in their enthusiasm; Luzern, Bern and Aargau are especially supportive, he says.

The government has no direct involvement in the initiative, but thinks it is “a good and very attractive initiative which could serve as a model for other energy companies,” said chief spokesperson for the federal office of energy, Marianne Zünd, to Swisster.

Zünd acknowledges that “pump systems are still significantly more expensive than gas or oil fired heating system,” but she says “market penetration in new buildings is already very high.”

CKW is part of Axpo Holding AG based in Baden, which is wholly owned by the cantons of north east Switzerland. Consumers can learn more about the initiative and how to register here: www.ckw.ch/energieeffizienz.