On the one hand, because the CO₂ pricing of heating oil and natural gas will gradually increase over the next few years, meaning that oil and gas prices will also rise. Secondly, the gas volumes in the gas distribution network will become smaller and smaller in future because fewer and fewer households are connected to the gas network. As a result, the costs of the gas distribution network will have to be distributed among fewer and fewer remaining gas customers, so that the price of gas will rise for the remaining gas customers. Those who heat in a climate-friendly way without oil and gas, on the other hand, are independent of these price increases.

It is true that building owners are responsible for energy modernization, including insulation, and also for changing the heating system. But as a tenant, you can also save heating energy and heating costs by heating your apartment to a lower temperature, keeping bedrooms cooler and turning the heating down when the apartment is empty during working hours or vacations.

If your landlord still has gas heating, you may be able to change your gas supplier and use biogas. It may also help to talk to your landlord about insulating the building or changing the heating system.

The NRW consumer advice center, for example, has tips on saving heating energy (opens in a new tab). You can also get individual advice at their  advice center in Bonn (opens in a new tab).

In the case of modernization (not maintenance), landlords are allowed to pass on eight percent of the modernization costs incurred to the annual rent - however, in relation to the monthly rent incurred, a maximum of 3 euros per square meter of living space within six years, and more thereafter.

Since January 1, 2024, the following regulation has been added when the heating is replaced: If landlords replace a heating system in accordance with the requirements of the Building Energy Act and receive the state subsidy for this, they may pass on ten percent of the modernization costs incurred (less the subsidy amount) to the annual rent - but in relation to the monthly rent, no more than 50 cents per square meter of living space (capping limit) within six years. This cap is intended to motivate landlords to apply for the subsidy and tenants to benefit from the lower increase in basic rent. If, on the other hand, landlords do not make use of the state subsidy, they are allowed to pass on the eight percent mentioned above.

At the same time as the basic rent increases, however, the heating costs for tenants are usually reduced thanks to modern and climate-friendly heating. Overall, the warm rent will often even fall.

 Here is (opens in a new tab) a short film on replacing the heating in rented apartments.

There is no obligation to insulate first - it just makes a lot more sense. Because the more heat you keep in the house and do not let out through windows, doors, roof and exterior walls, the less heat your heating system has to generate. This means that you can then buy a heating system with a lower heat output - which is cheaper. Your monthly heating costs will also be much lower.

Not only your heating replacement, but also your modernization of the building envelope is subsidized by the state via the  Federal Subsidy for Efficient Buildings (BEG) (opens in a new tab). Take advantage of the company-independent and free advice from the  Bonn Energy Agency (opens in a new tab), for example.

No. If the gas or oil heating system is still intact and was installed before January 1, 2024, it may continue to be operated (and repaired). Certain boilers that have been in operation for more than 30 years are an exception.

Detailed questions and answers on the Building Energy Act can be found, for example, at the  Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection (opens in a new tab) and  Stadtwerke Bonn (opens in a new tab). The Bonn Energy Agency offers a  leaflet on replacing heating systems (opens in a new tab) (as of 7/2023).

No. If a heating system breaks down, it can be repaired and continue to be operated. If it can no longer be repaired, there are pragmatic transitional solutions and transitional periods of several years. For example, a used gas heating system or rental gas heating system can be installed first.

However, anyone who installs a gas or oil heating system within the transition period from 1.1.2024 and (at the latest) 30.06.2026 must operate it with increasing proportions of renewable energy from 2029. These shares are below the 65% margin. However, Section 71 (9) GEG stipulates gradually increasing shares: "From January 1, 2029, at least 15 percent, from January 1, 2035 at least 30 percent and from January 1, 2040 at least 60 percent of the heat provided by the system (must) be generated from biomass, green or blue hydrogen, including derivatives produced from these". According to current knowledge, no hydrogen will be offered for private households in Bonn. Biogas or "green" oils based on hydrogen or biomass will also not be available on a large scale in the foreseeable future - their production would be extremely inefficient in terms of energy. Anyone currently installing an oil or gas heating system should therefore be warned of a possible bad investment if the heating system has not yet paid for itself by 2029.

You can find a short film about broken heating in your own home  here (opens in a new tab). Detailed questions and answers on the Building Energy Act can be found, for example, at the  Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection (opens in a new tab) and  Stadtwerke Bonn (opens in a new tab). The Bonn Energy Agency offers a  leaflet on replacing heating systems (opens in a new tab) (as of 7/2023).

An obligation to install a heating system that uses at least 65% renewable energy only applies if a new heating system has to be installed. Existing heating systems may continue to be operated and repaired.

The Building Energy Act (GEG) stipulates three different dates for the 65% renewable energy obligation to come into force:

• New buildings within new development areas must be heated with at least 65 percent renewable energy as early as January 1, 2024. See short film  here (opens in a new tab).
• In large cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants - such as Bonn - all existing buildings and new buildings in gaps between buildings (outside a new development area) must be heated with at least 65% renewable energy if a new heating system is installed after June 30, 2026.
• If the city designates an "area for the construction or expansion of a heating network" after the heating plan has been drawn up, the 65% renewable energy obligation for new heating systems already applies one month after the designation decision has been announced - but only within the designated area.

Detailed questions and answers on the Building Energy Act can be found, for example, at the  Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection (opens in a new tab) and  Stadtwerke Bonn (opens in a new tab). The Bonn Energy Agency offers a  leaflet on replacing heating systems (opens in a new tab) (as of 7/2023).

In the case of WEGs, a distinction must be made between two cases: Central heating and floor heating:

• Central heating: If the building used by the WEG is centrally heated, the same rules apply when installing a new heating system as for other existing buildings. The deadlines described under question 6 apply.  Here is (opens in a new tab) a short film on heating in apartment buildings or condominiums.
• Floor heating: If at least one floor heating system is used in the condominium, the special requirements for buildings with floor heating systems apply. In addition, there are special rules to promote the decision-making process in the WEG for the future climate-friendly heat supply:
  
  For example, by December 31, 2024, the WEG is obliged to request all information from authorized district chimney sweeps and the apartment owners about the heating systems that are relevant to the decision on a future heat supply. This includes the type and age of the heating systems, their functionality and their nominal heat output. The WEG then provides the condominium owners with the collected findings so that a decision on the future heat supply of the building can be made on the basis of sufficient information.
  
  As soon as the 65% renewable energy rule applies to the building - in Bonn after June 30, 2026 at the latest - the condominium is obliged to bring about an orderly decision on the future heat supply of the building after the first replacement of a gas heating system. To this end, the manager must immediately convene the condominium owners' meeting. At this meeting, the condominium owners must discuss how a climate-friendly heat supply for the building should be implemented. The COA must then decide within the 5-year period for buildings with floor heating how the building's heat supply is to be converted to 65% renewable energy and adopt an implementation concept.
  
  If it is decided within these five years that the heat supply should continue to be decentralized per residential unit, all floor heating systems installed after this period must use 65% renewable energy. If, on the other hand, the COA decides to centralize within the five years, it has a further eight years to implement this. Until implementation is complete, a report on the status of implementation must be given at least once a year at the condominium owners' meeting.
  
  However, it is definitely advisable for the condominium owners not to wait until the heating system breaks down, but to think about alternative heating solutions at an early stage.

Detailed questions and answers on the Building Energy Act can be found, for example, at the  Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection (opens in a new tab) and  Stadtwerke Bonn (opens in a new tab). You can also find special tips on "Renovating with the homeowners' association (WEG)" in the  Bonn Energy Agency (opens in a new tab)'s  presentation video (opens in a new tab).

The amended Building Energy Act (GEG), which came into force on January 1, 2024, offers you several options for meeting the 65 percent EE target across the board:

• Electrically driven ground/water/air heat pumps,
• Connection to a central  district heating network (opens in a new tab) or a local heating network,
• Solar thermal systems (provided the heat requirement is completely covered),
• Direct electricity heating (infrared heating)
• Biomass heating systems (pellet heating, wood chip heating, log wood heating)
• Heating systems based on "green gases" (this includes biomethane as well as green and blue hydrogen) - It should be noted here that  no hydrogen distribution network (opens in a new tab) will be set up in Bonn.
• Hybrid heating systems (heat pump or solar thermal in combination with gas, biomass or liquid fuel firing to cover peak loads)

Detailed questions and answers on the Building Energy Act can be found, for example, at the  Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection (opens in a new tab) and  Stadtwerke Bonn (opens in a new tab). The Bonn Energy Agency offers a  leaflet on replacing heating systems (opens in a new tab) (as of 7/2023).

The heat planning makes it clear that, for a variety of reasons, it no longer makes sense to install new gas or oil heating systems when changing heating systems from now on:

Fossil-fueled heating systems can no longer be operated from 2045 at the latest, as Germany wants to be climate-neutral by then. Building owners would therefore have to replace this heating again by then, even though it often has a service life of more than 20 years.

Building owners who install a new gas or oil heating system between 01.01.2024 and (at the latest) 30.06.2026 must operate it with increasing proportions of renewable energies from 2029 according to the Building Energy Act: 15 percent from 2029, 30 percent from 2035 and 60 percent from 2040. From July 1, 2026 at the latest, the installation of a new gas or oil heating system in Bonn will only be permitted if it is operated with 65% green gases from the outset. However, such high quantities of green gases are unlikely to be available:

• One variant of green gases is biomethane. Biomethane is produced by fermenting energy crops grown for this purpose, liquid manure and dung as well as organic waste. The biomethane is extracted from the resulting biogas mixture. However, due to the very large amount of land required for energy crops, it is not foreseeable that biomethane could be made available in anywhere near sufficient quantities to replace natural gas.
• Another variant of "green gases" is hydrogen (H2). The installation of H2-ready gas heating systems in Bonn is also not expedient. According to the distribution network operator, a new hydrogen network will not be built at present, nor will hydrogen be added to the existing gas network. It will therefore not be possible to meet the requirements of the GEG even with H2-ready gas heating systems.

In particular, the Bonn target scenario for 2035 cannot be met under any circumstances if gas or oil heating systems continue to be installed in the coming years, as these generally have a life expectancy of at least 20 years. Based on these results of the municipal heating planning - and in order to protect building owners from bad investments - the administration recommends that no new gas or oil heating systems be installed today.

Heat pumps mainly use environmental heat for heating - either heat from the air or from groundwater, waste water or river water, or heat from the ground. Only a small amount of electricity is used for heating. An air source heat pump, for example, can generate around three kilowatt hours of heat from one kilowatt hour of electricity by contributing two kilowatt hours of heat from the ambient air. This efficiency factor of "3" is called the annual coefficient of performance (COP). Water and geothermal heat pumps can even generate four to five kilowatt hours of heat from one kilowatt hour of electricity - the seasonal performance factor is therefore four to five. The higher the seasonal performance factor, the more efficient a heat pump is and the lower your monthly electricity costs.

You can find more information in the leaflet  "Heat pumps: free energy from the environment" (opens in a new tab) from the Bonn Energy Agency (as of 7/2023).

By the way: Stadtwerke Bonn offers a particularly favorable tariff for  heat pump electricity (opens in a new tab).

Infrared light is heat. In an infrared heater, electricity is converted into heat. They have an efficiency of almost 100 percent. This means that one kilowatt hour of electricity is almost converted into one kilowatt hour of heat.

Although this may sound ideal at first glance, heat pumps can do much more: by using environmental heat, electric heat pumps require 2 - 5 times less electricity than infrared heaters. This not only saves you money every month, but also makes social sense, as less green electricity has to be generated and transported through the electricity grids.

Direct electric heating systems are only recognized as a GEG compliance option if strict structural thermal insulation requirements are met.

District heating is climate-friendly if the heat transported via the network comes from renewable energies or from unavoidable waste heat - this also includes waste heat from  waste recycling plants (opens in a new tab). The  waste heat from the Bonn waste incineration plant (opens in a new tab) at Dickobskreuz is fed into a high-efficiency turbine at the northern combined heat and power plant, which produces district heating (as well as electricity) in a climate-friendly way with the help of combined heat and power generation. This unavoidable waste heat from the waste recycling plant already covers around 50 percent of the district heating.

The first steps are being taken to gradually convert the remaining 50 percent of Bonn's  district heating (opens in a new tab), which is currently generated using natural gas, to renewable energies and thus follow the decarbonization path. These are also outlined in a transformation roadmap that describes the path to achieving climate neutrality for district heating. So far, this includes the conversion of the waste recycling plant with major efficiency improvements, the planning of a river heat pump on the Rhine and, in the future, the use of hydrogen in the combined heat and power plant - the combustion of hydrogen only produces water, not climate-damaging CO².

The municipal distribution network operator Bonn-Netz GmbH currently operates a  district heating network (opens in a new tab) with a length of around 127 kilometers. It is pursuing the goal of doubling the length of the network and multiplying the number of house connections. Concrete expansion planning will start in 2025 - but implementation will take many years, possibly decades.

However, third parties, such as citizen energy cooperatives, can also set up and operate their own local heating networks and heat generation plants based on renewable energies.

The investment costs for connecting to a heating network tend to be lower than for installing your own heat pump. The particularly efficient brine and water heat pumps in particular are significantly more expensive to purchase than local/district heating. On the other hand, you usually have lower monthly heating costs with heat pumps than with local/district  heating (opens in a new tab).

Both local/district heating and heat pumps are environmentally friendly heating systems. Both heating solutions are therefore subsidized by the  Federal Subsidy for Efficient Buildings (BEG) (opens in a new tab).

The provider of district or local heating generates heat in its own heat generation plants or uses unavoidable waste heat. This heat is delivered to your front door in the form of hot water or steam through an insulated pipe network. At your house, a transfer station ensures that the heat is transferred to your building's heating pipe system. This takes place through a heat exchanger. There are therefore separate circuits in the public heating network and the private domestic network.

There is no official or legally defined distinction between local heating and district heating. The term local heating covers smaller heating networks that, for example, only cover a few streets, a specific development area or a single district. If the networks are larger and cover many districts, they are considered district heating. Some players draw the line at 1,000 meters of pipe, but there is no uniform definition.

However, a local heating network also has a minimum size: the Building Energy Act distinguishes heating networks from building networks. It defines "a network for the exclusive supply of heating and cooling to at least two and up to 16 buildings and up to 100 residential units" as a "building network". Any larger network counts as a "heating network".

The Heat Planning Act does not stipulate an obligation to connect to local or district heating. However, the Council of the City of Bonn would have the legal option of stipulating an obligation to connect to and use a heating network by means of a statute (in accordance with  Section 9 of the NRW municipal code (opens in a new tab)). However, such a statute would have to provide for appropriate transitional regulations (protection of existing buildings) to cushion social hardship and could also contain exceptions - for example, for heat pumps or other heating systems in operation that already meet the legal requirements of the Building Energy Act (see City of Hanover).

Replacing an electric heat pump with a heating grid connection would make neither ecological nor economic sense. The City of Bonn is not currently subject to a connection and use obligation.

No. A  hydrogen distribution network (opens in a new tab) to residential buildings is not planned in Bonn. Hydrogen is far too expensive and inefficient to produce and is available in far too small quantities to heat all our private households. Hydrogen will be a building block of the energy transition, but only for applications where there are no or insufficient climate-friendly solutions - for example in industry, partly in central CHP power plants or certain areas of heavy goods transport. In order to have the option of using green hydrogen in highly efficient CHP plants at the HKW Nord site, Stadtwerke Bonn is committed to connecting Bonn to the hydrogen core network, which is to be established throughout Germany by 2032.

No. The municipal distribution network operator Bonn-Netz is not currently planning to add hydrogen to the existing gas network. It would be technically possible to add up to 20 percent hydrogen. But 80 percent gas would still remain, so climate neutrality would not be possible. The task is to completely replace natural gas, not just to reduce its use.

Bonn wants to become climate-neutral by 2035. This also includes the heating transition - in other words, we want to heat without burning fossil fuels, including natural gas. If parts of the gas distribution network are no longer needed in the future, they can be gradually disconnected from the surrounding gas networks. However, this will only be the case once all customers supplied via the respective pipeline section have switched to alternative heating systems. The natural gas pipes that are then no longer required can either remain underground for the time being or they will be dismantled piece by piece when the streets have to be opened up anyway and space is needed for other infrastructure.

The municipal heat planning process is very precisely prescribed by the Heat Planning Act (WPG), which has been in force since January 1, 2024:

• A suitability test is carried out to determine which sub-areas are highly unlikely to be suitable for supply by a heating network (Section 14 WPG). Data on current heat demand, existing heat generation plants and energy infrastructure facilities are compiled in an inventory analysis (§ 15 WPG). In the potential analysis, all existing potential for building renovation, heat generation from renewable energies, the use of unavoidable waste heat and central heat storage is determined (§ 16 WPG).  Results (opens in a new tab) for these sub-steps are already available.
• Based on this data, target scenarios for the long-term development of the heat supply are defined (§ 17 WPG), the city of Bonn is divided into prospective heat supply areas and these are each assigned which types of heat supply are particularly suitable there - in each case for the years 2030, 2035 and 2040 (§§ 18 and 19 WPG).
• In the final step of heat planning, an initial implementation strategy is drawn up (§ 20 WPG).

• On December 2, 2021, the city council commissioned the administration to draw up a municipal heating plan for the City of Bonn (printed matter  212052 (opens in a new tab)). The heat planning is the essential basis for all decisions on how to heat Bonn in the future. It is also part of the city's climate plan, which was adopted in March 2023.
• In October 2023, the City of Bonn received a funding commitment from the National Climate Initiative (NKI) to create the heating plan (printed documents  231003 (opens in a new tab) and  232187 (opens in a new tab)).
• Following an EU-wide call for tenders (printed documents  231003 (opens in a new tab) and  231816 (opens in a new tab)), the City of Bonn commissioned Bonn-Netz GmbH and its partners evety GmbH and DigiKoo GmbH with the municipal heat planning in February 2024 (printed document  240183 (opens in a new tab)).
• The results of the inventory and potential analysis were presented in June 2024 (printed matter  240943 (opens in a new tab)).
• The drafts for the heat supply areas with suitable heat supply types and for the target scenarios for 2045 and 2035 were published in October 2024 ( printed matter 241427 (opens in a new tab)).
• In January 2025, the city administration presented an implementation strategy with a package of measures that would have to be implemented in order for Bonn to become climate-neutral in the heating sector by 2035 (printed matter 241723 (opens in a new tab)).
• Following the statutory public participation period (9 January to 7 February 2025), 93 comments from citizens and organizations were examined and incorporated into the heating plan where appropriate. The draft resolution for the Council on May 8, 2025 contains all revised documents as of March 2025 (printed matter 252604 (opens in a new tab)).

From January 9 to February 7, 2025, the public was able to submit their comments, concerns, wishes and suggestions on the draft heat supply map, the target scenarios and the implementation strategy as part of the statutory participation process (Section 13 (4) WPG). These comments were individually examined and weighed up for the preparation of the draft resolution on the heating plan.

Even after the formal participation period has ended, you can submit your comments on the municipal heating plan at any time by sending an email to  klimaschutzbonnde. The administration takes your opinions and suggestions seriously.

The heating plan is to be submitted to the Bonn City Council for approval in May 2025 - more than a year earlier than required by law. However, a heat plan must be continuously developed. According to the requirements of the Heat Planning Act, it must be revised every five years at the latest.

The heating plan cannot replace an individual energy consultation - available free of charge from the Bonn Energy Agency and the consumer advice center. However, it does provide building owners with an initial guide to phasing out oil and gas:

• In areas that are "probably" or "very probably" suitable for a decentralized heat supply, building owners should promptly look for an independent heating solution that complies with the Building Energy Act (GEG), particularly in the form of heat pump technologies.
• In areas that are "very likely" to be suitable for a local or district heating network, the regional distribution network operator will carry out concrete expansion planning for district heating following municipal heating planning. Before a heating network is built, feasibility and profitability studies, for example, must be carried out, planning and approval processes must be completed and coordination with other road construction measures must be ensured. In principle, the construction of new heating networks is also possible, for example, through citizen energy cooperatives.
• In areas that are only "probably" suitable for a local or district heating network or in the case of dual suitability, infrastructure expansion can only be expected in part and generally further in the future. From today's perspective, it seems questionable whether it will be possible to multiply the length of heating network routes and house connections to the necessary extent due to capacities in planning and approval processes and in civil engineering, for example. If a heating system needs to be replaced in the near future, it is therefore recommended that the various options for heat pump technologies are considered in good time, even in these areas. The independent decision in favor of a heat pump is permissible in any case and recommended insofar as it is accompanied by a direct reduction in emissions in terms of climate protection. Here too, the construction of new heating networks by citizen energy cooperatives is possible and desirable - especially in the area of local heating solutions for neighborhoods.

Once the heating plan has been completed, the Bonn City Council will decide whether and where to designate "areas for the construction and expansion of heating networks" (Section 26f WPG). However, these area designations do not result in a direct obligation for citizens to use a future heating network and no obligation for a network operator to provide this heat supply infrastructure (see Section 27 (2) WPG). However, the heating plan and area designation must be taken into account in urban land-use planning.