Comfort & Safety
As your energy partner in the Palatinate, we work with our partner Viessmann to offer you bespoke solutions in heat pump technology. Benefit from first-class technology and comprehensive services.
Whether you lease or buy your system, SWK helps you keep costs under control.
Under the lease model, instead of making an upfront investment, you pay a monthly base charge plus your actual consumption. We take care of the rest.
Maintenance, repairs and other costs are included in the basic fee.
Even if you’d prefer to buy your heat pump, we offer a comprehensive service package for all-round, worry-free support.
Highly efficient
As you are also extracting heat from the environment, you can achieve efficiency levels of between 300 and 500 per cent!
Protecting the environment
By using heat from the air or the ground (renewable energy sources), you conserve fossil fuel resources.
Take advantage of the funding
You can secure up to 70 per cent in government grants towards the purchase and installation of your new heat pump.
The right heat pump for your home
The heat pump uses outside air as its energy source. A fan draws in the air, which is then compressed. This type, also known as an air-source heat pump, is the most common in Germany.
Advantages: space-saving, quick and easy installation, comparatively low purchase and installation costs
Installation: outdoors and/or indoors; usually a split-system heat pump with indoor and outdoor units
Regulations: no planning permission required; minimum distance from neighbouring properties must be observed (regional variations)
© Viessmann Holding International GmbH
The heat pump extracts thermal energy from the ground. This requires deep boreholes or collectors laid close to the surface.
Advantages: Higher efficiency, greater independence from low outdoor temperatures in winter, minimal noise
Installation: Heat pump inside the house; groundworks (boreholes or collectors) outside
Regulations: Notification or approval from the relevant authority may be required (for boreholes)
© Viessmann Holding International GmbH
Attractive price advantage
You can secure up to 70 per cent in government grants towards the purchase and installation of your new heat pump.
A major advantage: efficiency!
Unlike other heating systems, a heat pump’s efficiency is greater than 100 per cent. That’s what makes it so extraordinary!
Find out more in the FAQsDid you know?
Mix and match – and reap the benefits!
Heat pumps use electrical energy to extract heat from the ground, water or air. Combine your heat pump with a photovoltaic system. This allows you to generate a large proportion of your electricity from solar energy. This gives you even greater independence from rising energy costs.
SWK Stadtwerke Kaiserslautern offers comprehensive system solutions and planning services for you, all from a single source.
Enquiry
Please fill in our contact form with any questions you may have about the current situation and your requirements.
Getting in touch
We will contact you by telephone to discuss your individual requirements.
Offer
We will send you a quote tailored to your needs.
Help, documents and further links
Downloads
FAQ – Answers to the most frequently asked questions
Unlike traditional heating systems such as gas and oil-fired boilers, electric heat pumps do not burn fossil fuels. They use free energy from the environment, such as the ambient air or the ground. The energy extracted can be used for heating, cooling and hot water production. This principle not only conserves fossil fuel resources, it also reduces CO₂ emissions. When powered by green electricity or self-generated electricity from solar panels, a heat pump can even operate with virtually zero CO₂ emissions.
Heat pumps derive most of their energy from the environment. However, they do require electricity to power them. The ratio here is approximately 1:4. This means that around one kWh of electricity is required to produce four kilowatt-hours (kWh) of heat. But how does this work in detail?
The heat pump’s refrigerant cycle
As the temperature of ambient heat alone is not sufficient to heat a building or provide hot water, the heat pump’s operation requires a thermodynamic process in the form of the refrigerant cycle:
Environmental heat transfers its energy via a heat exchanger (evaporator) to a liquid refrigerant, which vapourises even at low temperatures. The compressor compresses the gaseous refrigerant, causing it to heat up further. This process requires electrical energy. Another heat exchanger (condenser) transfers the heat from the heated gas to the building’s heating circuit. At the so-called expansion valve, the pressure of the refrigerant drops, causing it to cool and condense. The refrigerant is now back in its original state and can once again absorb heat from the environment.
When choosing a heat pump, there are various criteria to take into account. These include, amongst other things, the size and location of the property, as well as the condition of the building. For example, is it a new-build, or an old building that has not been renovated, or one that has been renovated? Legal requirements may also need to be taken into account. For instance, the installation of a ground-source heat pump with probes extending deep into the ground requires official planning permission.
To help you find the right solution, we’d like to introduce you to the types of heat pumps offered by our partner, Viessmann.
Heat pumps can also be operated efficiently in existing buildings – provided they are custom-designed. This is because the eco-friendly heating system must be suited to the building and the residents’ heating habits. Underfloor heating is advantageous, but not essential. Modern heat pumps such as the Viessmann Vitocal 250-A have been developed specifically for heating system retrofits and can achieve flow temperatures of 75 degrees Celsius. A Viessmann specialist partner will advise you on your options on a case-by-case basis, taking your specific circumstances into account.
Modern heat pumps can both heat and cool. A distinction can be made between active and passive cooling. Passive cooling is particularly energy-efficient, as the heat pump remains switched off apart from when it is being controlled. A heat exchanger extracts thermal energy from the heating circuit and releases it into the environment. Cooling is not possible with an air-source heat pump. Underfloor heating is also a prerequisite. In active cooling, the refrigerant cycle mentioned above is reversed in order to lower the room temperature. However, this requires electricity. Certain technical requirements must also be met.
Heat pumps are not silent when in operation. This is particularly true of air-source heat pumps, which draw in outside air using a fan in order to extract heat from it. With modern systems such as the Viessmann Vitocal 250-A, however, the noise is barely audible. When correctly installed and adjusted, the noise level at a distance of four metres is just 35 decibels (dB(A)). This is roughly comparable to a soft whisper.
Usually, 100 per cent represents the ideal scenario. In this case, the amount of energy generated is exactly the same as the amount expended. However, a heat pump can achieve an efficiency of between 300 and 500 per cent. This means it can generate more energy than it needs to operate – no other heat generator can match that.
How is this possible? A heat pump heats using energy from the environment. It utilises heat from the air, groundwater or the ground. This energy is available free of charge and in unlimited supply. It is not included in the calculation of efficiency. Instead, only the electricity consumption is taken into account for the calculation.
By way of comparison: oil or gas heating systems merely convert the energy contained in the fossil fuel into heat. Physically, this cannot amount to more than 100 per cent. Energy is lost during the conversion to heat. Boilers, for example, leave up to 30 per cent of the energy supplied unused. A gas heating system has an efficiency of 85 to 100 per cent. An oil heating system has an efficiency of 85 to 95 per cent.
As the use of environmental heat makes a significant contribution to the energy transition, the government provides attractive financial incentives. As an owner-occupier, you are eligible for a grant of up to 70 per cent towards your new heat pump.
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