Base Year
- Natural Gas
- Existing District Heating
- Liquefied Petroleum Gas
- Heating Oil
Target Year 2040
- Individual Supply
- District Heating | Existing
- District Heating | Expansion
- District Heating | Review Area
- Gas Network | Review Area
What is a Heat Plan?
A municipal heat plan is a strategic tool that outlines ways to successfully transition from fossil heat to renewable heat and unavoidable waste heat in a municipality, joint municipality, or district.
Heat planning does not result in immediate obligations. However, early and comprehensive involvement of key stakeholders is particularly important so that the heat plan can be implemented after it has been approved.
For the heat plan to be ready for implementation, the concept to be developed must meet both technical and economic standards. Supply safety, economic efficiency, and the resulting social acceptability are central aspects of a good heat plan.
The central element of heat planning is the division of the planning area into so-called suitable areas, which indicate where district energy can be expected in the future and where citizens may have to take care of their own heat supply in the future. In conjunction with clear time specifications, the heat plan creates planning security for stakeholders and citizens. A finely developed heat plan is thus seen as the foundation of the heat transition.
How does municipal heat planning work?
Municipal heat planning is generally divided into four phases: the inventory analysis, the potential analysis, the development of target and intermediate target scenarios including a heat transition strategy, and the preparation of the heat plan. Since these performance phases largely build on each other, the processing is predominantly sequential. Depending on the data situation, inventory and potential analyses can also be partially processed in parallel.
Accompanying the heat planning process is comprehensive stakeholder and public participation. To ensure this, in-depth stakeholder analysis, stakeholder clustering, and selection of suitable participation formats are carried out in preparation for heat planning.
Early and holistic involvement not only promotes acceptance but is also helpful for data acquisition.
Why are we the perfect partner for your heat plan?
We are a service provider specializing in municipal heat planning and transformation planning, bringing experience from more than 25 heat and cooling plans. We have already assisted municipalities and districts with populations ranging from 4,000 to 610,000 in heat planning.
Heat Plans / Cooling Plans
Project area
Federal States
Average Processing Time to Draft
Every heat plan is unique! However, we have a standardized and routine approach that produces reproducible results.
Based on existing data, we comprehensively examine the suitability of air and ground source heat pumps at the building level with subsequent block aggregation.
We develop suitable areas considering technical and economic aspects. A central aspect is a full cost comparison between decentralized and centralized supply structures. This is done comprehensively, including in any existing districts.
We not only assess potentials qualitatively but also quantify and locate them, and develop an initial technology mix as a basis for further analyses, e.g., German BEW Module 1.
Heat Planning and the Digital Twin
A GIS-based planning tool is an important medium for combining the essential data and essences of municipal heat planning. The digital twin also serves as a central tool to preserve new insights and data and incorporate them into further planning.
We develop a digital twin from the beginning and maintain it throughout the heat planning process. The handover is prepared, free of charge, and in common exchange formats such as a Geopackage.
To make the data barrier-free and create synergies within the planning departments, we do not use third-party providers. The GIS-based planning tool comes directly from us. If required, maintenance beyond the heat transition process is also conceivable.
Target group-oriented communication
Establishing a suitable communication strategy including the selection of appropriate communication tools is a central aspect of target group-oriented communication.
We manage the communication process with press releases and short messages, workshops and public events, as well as fact sheets and barrier-free web tools.
We have experience in moderating, presenting results, and discussing, as well as independently conducting public events with up to 200 participants.
We support you!
Do you need help in acquiring funding, advice in the process, or are you planning to put your heat plan out to tender soon?
Feel free to contact us! We are happy to support you and would be glad to participate in your tender.
Questions and answers (FAQ) about municipal heat planning
What is a municipal heat plan?
The municipal heat plan is a strategic instrument that shows a municipality, joint municipality, or office ways to successfully transition from fossil heat to renewable heat and waste heat. The municipal heat plan thus represents the blueprint for the heat transition in a specific area.
The development of the heat plan is referred to as heat planning and is divided into a total of four phases: the so-called inventory analysis, the potential analysis, scenario development including heat transition strategy, and the preparation of the heat plan including a digital twin.
By when must municipal heat planning be completed?
Depending on their size, municipalities are obligated to develop a heat plan. Municipalities with more than 100,000 inhabitants (as of 01.01.24) must complete heat planning by 30.06.26. Smaller municipalities must have a heat plan by 30.06.2028.
What obligations arise from heat planning?
None. The heat plan is a strategic planning instrument, without immediate obligations for the municipality, stakeholders, or citizens. However, the heat plan is considered the foundation of a well-thought-out heat transition. The heat transition must happen to achieve climate goals, achieve long-term price stability, and attain a certain independence from fossil energies and energy imports. Regionality and regional value creation are the goals of heat planning.
A good heat plan is developed with the participation of key stakeholders. This promotes acceptance of the plan, which is an essential step for subsequent implementation. A good heat plan goes into implementation!
If there are no obligations, how does the heat plan create planning security?
A good heat plan is developed with intensive involvement of regional stakeholders. This increases planning security and acceptance on the part of the various stakeholder groups. An essential task of heat planning is to reconcile the various interests and orientations of the stakeholders. This significantly increases the probability of implementation.
In addition, the heat plan identifies suitable areas for district heating, gas networks (hydrogen, biomethane, biogenic liquid gas), and individual/decentralized supply. Since many parameters are considered in this analysis, the fundamental validity is unlikely to change much.
Where uncertainties still exist today, areas are usually classified as review areas. These are areas where a black and white distinction cannot be made today because future developments need to be awaited. Unfortunately, until the next update (every 5 years), there is uncertainty in these areas regarding connection to a district heating network or the transformation of existing gas networks. However, citizens can ensure planning security themselves by replacing their heating systems.
Furthermore, the heat plan primarily creates planning security for citizens who are very unlikely to receive district heating and for whom a conversion of the natural gas network to green gases can be ruled out. In the event of a failure, they must take care of a new heating system themselves and have gained corresponding planning security through the heat planning.
Is the heat plan set in stone after approval?
No. The heat planning is carried out based on the available data and is developed independently, technology-neutral, and with scientific standards by Theta Concepts. This is our basis for a well-founded, participatory heat plan.
However, over the course of the 20-year consideration horizon, significant changes will occur in many municipalities, joint municipalities, or offices that will require adjustments to the heat plan. Therefore, the heat plan is not a rigid construct but will be updated in due course. Legally, an update is required at least every 5 years.
The heat plan is finished. Do I have to replace my heating system now?
This connection between the Heat Planning Act (WPG) and the Building Energy Act (GEG), also known as the Heating Act, is a widespread misconception. Basically, according to the GEG, no functioning heating system needs to be replaced with a new one. The GEG only regulates the technological transition from fossil to renewable energies (and waste heat) in the event of a failure. As long as the heating system can be repaired in case of damage, it may continue to operate until 2045. However, if a heating system fails irreparably after certain milestones, a new heating system must be installed that meets the 65% rule. This is regulated in the GEG and has nothing to do with heat planning.
The heat plan is a planning tool that becomes valid through a municipal resolution. The central content of the heat plan is a division into suitable areas to create planning security.
To achieve a controlled expansion of district heating or a controlled transformation of the gas network, a separate second resolution can be made to designate areas for district heating and gas networks. If such a designation is made, the 65% rule from the GEG applies in the affected districts 1 month after the announcement of the designation resolution. Such a second resolution can be a means for transformation, but there is no legal obligation to do so. The decision lies within the discretion of the municipalities.
In any case, an advancement of the deadline for compliance with the 65% in existing buildings only occurs through a separate, second resolution.
Does it make sense to link heat planning with cooling planning?
With the exception of technical applications (including data centers, cold storage houses), the cooling demand of buildings in our latitudes is comparatively low. This usually precludes the widespread implementation of centralized cooling supply for economic reasons.
Moreover, cooling provision is largely electrified and occurs on-demand. Therefore, large excess potentials are hardly found.
However, opportunities may arise in newly constructed districts that create synergies between heat and cooling supply. In this context, cold district heating through, for example, near-surface geothermal energy and/or ice storage can be a sensible option for new districts, which can be examined as part of combined heat and cooling planning. Therefore, the linkage can be meaningful.
How does one implement the heat plan?
A comprehensive technical and economic consideration significantly increases the acceptance and implementation probability of heat planning through broad acceptance.
For this reason, various perspectives need to be included during the planning process. Comprehensive stakeholder involvement is therefore a central means for later implementation. Furthermore, a focus should be placed on economic efficiency and the identification of the most reliable and economical supply types. The heat transition can only be implemented with consideration of economic efficiency.
You can find further information on heat planning here!
