Reports of the death of gas boilers are greatly exaggerated. Expert reveals what awaits them.

• Reports about a ban on the use of gas from 2040 are nonsense and manipulation, says Bartosz Kwiatkowski, director general of the Polish LPG Organization.
• He points out that the building directive will allow the installation of boilers, for example, running on biomethane, and it will be the gas supplier's responsibility to replace the fossil fuel with a renewable one.
• It will also be possible to use hybrid systems, where a gas furnace will complement, for example, a photovoltaic system.

Today, across the EU, two-thirds of the energy used to heat and cool buildings still comes from fossil fuels. The Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) aims to change this. It calls on member states to phase out fossil fuels and replace them with renewable sources.

However, as Bartosz Kwiatkowski, Director General of the Polish Liquefied Petroleum Gas Association (POGP), assures us, there's no reason to panic. In an interview with eNewsroom.pl, Kwiatkowski emphasizes that the directive doesn't eliminate any available heating technologies from the market and allows countries to choose the most appropriate ones. Furthermore, the EPBD distinguishes between heating boiler technology and fossil fuels.

From 2030, all new buildings in the EU will be required to be emission-free . They will be prohibited from using boilers powered by fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas, or heating oil, and only those installed independently. However, hybrid systems will be permitted , consisting of, for example, photovoltaic panels or a heat pump and a gas boiler activated when there is high demand. Boilers powered by fuels such as biomethane, biopropane, or biomass, including pellets, will also be permitted.

"For two years, articles have been appearing in the media with varying intensity about an alleged ban by the European Union on the installation of gas boilers and a ban on the use of gas for heating from 2040. Such reports are nonsense and manipulation. In 2040, users of gas boilers will not have to remove them . By 2050, all residential buildings in the EU are to be modernized to a zero-emission standard. Until such a thorough modernization, existing buildings can use the same heat source installed today, including gas boilers – unless national law, such as local anti-smog resolutions, stipulates otherwise. The European Commission recommends that member states phase out fossil fuels by this year, but this is not a firm commitment subject to penalties – Germany has decided to phase out fossil fuel heating in 2045," Bartosz Kwiatkowski told eNewsroom.pl.

The expert stressed that reports of the death of gas boilers are greatly exaggerated .

If someone uses a gas boiler today, they will be able to use it until their building is completely modernized—but no longer than 2050. In the future, the gas supplier will be obligated to provide renewable fuel. This will be their responsibility, not the user's.

- explains Bartosz Kwiatkowski.

It's worth noting that gas boilers are no longer listed as eligible for funding under the Clean Air program . They've also been removed from the Minister of Finance's regulation specifying the expenses eligible for thermal modernization relief.