Is your system affected by the retrofitting obligation? Then it's worth thinking about replacing the oil heating system completely and switching to renewable energies. This is not only advisable for climate protection reasons, but can also be financially supported by the federal or state government: When replacing heating systems, the switch to renewable energies is subsidized by up to 50 percent.

You can obtain independent advice on heating and funding opportunities from the  Bonn Energy Agency (opens in a new tab).

The system operator is responsible for carrying out the tests in good time. The testing expert prepares a test report, which is also submitted to the responsible water authority.

Outside of protected and flooded areas, all underground systems and above-ground systems with a total volume of more than 10,000 liters of heating oil must be inspected by experts in accordance with Section 2 (33) of the Federal Installations Ordinance (AwSV) before commissioning, after significant changes, every five years and when decommissioning.

Since the AwSV came into force on 1 August 2017, this comprehensive inspection obligation also applies to all heating oil storage systems with a total volume of more than 1,000 to 10,000 liters of heating oil that are installed in designated and provisionally secured flood areas. During the inspection, the suitability of the facilities for flooding is assessed in particular. In flood areas, the intervals for periodic inspections are reduced to 30 months for all underground installations.

If systems are installed in the basement, it is assumed that the basement is completely flooded during the inspection. In the case of other installations and in individual cases, the actual expected water level for the respective property can also be determined. This information must be submitted in writing by the system operator to the expert during the inspection.

According to the North Rhine-Westphalia Plant Ordinance (VAwS) in force until July 31, 2017, above-ground installations that were already located in a floodplain before August 1, 2017 only had to be inspected before commissioning or once and after a significant change. Now, according to Section 70 AwSV, deadlines for the first recurring inspection, staggered according to the year of commissioning, must also be observed.