Regardless of where you live or how old your building is, there’s an easy way to find out if your home is suitable for a heat pump.

If you can feel comfortable at home when the flow temperature on your boiler is reduced to 55C, then you can install a heat pump straight away without retrofits or insulation upgrades.

Of course, not everyone can choose how their home is heated. Germany has one of the lowest home ownership rates in Europe, which means the onus is on landlords and housing management companies to upgrade heating to serve the country’s approximately 40 million tenants.

The German Heat Pump Association has seen housing providers begin to understand that decarbonisation will soon begin to affect their bottom line.

“They have the goal of decarbonising their building stock because they realise that if they don’t, in 10 or 20 years, they won’t be able to rent these flats anymore,” says Martin Sabel.

Tenants who would prefer to take matters into their own hands may soon be able to access smaller-scale heat pump solutions for heating and cooling individual rooms.

US start-up Gradient hopes to enter the European market in 2023 and is working on producing small, affordable, self-install heat pumps that fit over window sills and can replace existing air conditioning units.

For Viessmann, the long-term vision is to build a holistic low-carbon, low-cost energy system where heat pumps, high-quality insulation, solar energy, rerouted waste heat, other renewables, and smart technology work in tandem to provide a circular system of heating and cooling, charging cars, and meeting other energy needs for homeowners and their wider community.

Germany may still be a long way from that, but heat pumps are a good step on that road. When asked what message homeowners should take home about heat pumps, Thomas Nowak has a simple answer.

“They work. That’s all. Don’t trust anybody who tells you they don’t.”