Study: Heat pumps in apartment buildings are often suitable and cost-effective

Heat pumps are usually the first choice for new buildings. And according to a study, many existing apartment buildings are also ready for the technology. However, sometimes larger renovations are required.

According to a study, the majority of apartment buildings in Germany are technically suitable for the use of low-temperature heating systems such as heat pumps. This is the result of an analysis by the building service provider Techem from Eschborn, which evaluated the heat data from 1.1 million apartments.

According to this, around 40 percent of the apartment building stock is suitable for low-temperature systems such as heat pumps or low-temperature heating networks without replacing radiators. “With a radiator replacement, this proportion increases to around 80 percent,” explained a spokesman.

If low-temperature radiators with fans were also used, the suitability would be around 90 percent. “Only the remaining 10 percent require major renovations, such as switching to underfloor heating or surface heating systems as well as additional insulation,” says the Techem Atlas for Energy, Heat and Water 2026.

According to Techem, heat pumps also protect tenants' wallets: "Among all the heating systems considered, the apartment buildings supplied with heat pumps had the lowest heat costs per square meter in 2025." The consumption costs for heat pumps have remained largely stable since 2021, while conventional heating systems have recorded significant increases. The reason is also that the electricity-powered heat pumps in the building stock examined are installed in well-insulated buildings.

Wood, oil and gas more expensive

According to Techem, on average, households in apartment buildings with heat pumps paid around 8.80 euros per square meter just for space heating. If the heating was operated with wood pellets, an average of 9.36 euros per square meter was due. In contrast, in houses with oil heating it was 12.97 euros, with natural gas 13.92 euros and with district heating 16.02 euros.

The study found clear regional differences in the average heating costs in the apartment buildings evaluated for 2025. “Heating is most expensive in Saarland at 14.50 euros per square meter, followed by Schleswig-Holstein (12.77 euros) and Hesse (12.76 euros),” the authors note. At the other end, Berlin has the lowest heating costs with an average of 10.34 euros per square meter. North Rhine-Westphalia (10.69 euros) and Bremen (10.72 euros) were just above that.

There were also significant differences between the cities. "The highest values ​​were in Ravensburg (13.34 euros), Reutlingen (13.22 euros) and Sömmerda (13.10 euros)." According to the evaluation, tenants paid the least in Bielefeld at 8.99 euros per square meter. Rheine and Würzburg are in second place with 9.93 euros each.