Overview of costs for air conditioning and ventilation systems

Due to the increasing degree of insulation of houses in Germany, the topic of building air conditioning and building ventilation is moving more and more into the foreground. Insulated buildings with mould infestation or moisture in masonry are becoming more and more common.

The latest amendment to the Energy Saving Ordinance (EnEV), which was published in 2016, has further increased the degree of insulation, so that if ventilation is inadequate or incorrect, the risk of mould continues to grow. An automatic ventilation can create remedy here.

General information on air conditioning and ventilation systems

The more a building is insulated, the more difficult it becomes to ventilate it properly. In passive, zero-energy or plus-energy houses, normal ventilation is often no longer sufficient to ban humidity and thus the danger of mould fungi from the house.

In these cases, air conditioning and ventilation systems are used. These are naturally connected with acquisition and operating cost. Depending upon size and kind of the plant there are clear deviations of the individual costs.

Costs for different air conditioning systems

We have collected the costs of different air conditioning systems for you once. So you can usually decide for yourself whether such a device is suitable for you.

Mobile air conditioners

Mobile air conditioners are the cheapest, but also the most inefficient way of air conditioning a room. These units are available in all DIY stores and in some cases also from discounters when a hot summer is approaching. The price range is from 100 to 800 euros for these appliances. The differences lie on the one hand in the cooling capacity and on the other hand in the appliance processing.

On average, the appliances have an electrical output of around 1,000 watts, so that the operating costs are around 24 cents per hour. Assuming an annual service life of 500 hours, this already amounts to 120 euros for just one room.

If several devices were operated, your electricity bill would explode. The mobile air conditioners (Affiliate-Link) are also very inefficient, as everything is very compact and the warm exhaust air has to be exhausted through a door or window gap.

Split air conditioners

Split air-conditioning units (affiliate link) can work much more efficiently and are better suited for air-conditioning individual rooms. However, at around EUR 2,000, the purchase costs are higher than for mobile air conditioners.

In addition, there are the costs for installation, as these systems, unlike mobile air-conditioning systems, are permanently installed in and on the house.

The electrical connection of such devices may be accomplished only by the specialist, so that connection costs at a value of 250 euro come to the operator. The operating costs of split units are lower than those of mobile air conditioners due to significantly higher coefficients of performance. For the operation of a split unit for more than 500 hours per year, costs of 80 to 90 euros are incurred.

The purchase of multisplit systems is more expensive. A cost of 1,500 euros is to be expected for each additional system. The specific operating costs of each system are lower with multisplit systems than with a simple split system.

Energy hero tip: Split devices can work quite efficiently. However, rotten eggs are also offered on the market here. When purchasing a split system, it is worth comparing them.

Pay attention to the energy label, with which the plants are energetically evaluated. Stiftung Warentest (test report from 29.05.2008) has tested various split devices and sorted out the rotten eggs.

Heat pump as air conditioning system

A very sensible variant of building air conditioning is the use of a heat pump, as two birds are killed with one stone. The system is used for heating in winter and cooling in summer. The advantage is that the entire single-family house or building is air-conditioned, not just individual rooms.

The acquisition costs of such a versatile heat pump are higher than those of a simple heat pump and amount to around 15,000 to 20,000 euros. The annual operating costs for a heat pump for heating and cooling amount to 500 to 1,000 euros annually.

Compared to other heating systems, this figure is quite respectable. A very ingenious concept is to connect the heat pump to a ventilation system at the same time.

Energy hero tip: If the decision for the acquisition of a heat pump should be met, it is quite meaningful to use this equal as variable heat pump, if this is possible from the geographical conditions.

Costs for ventilation systems

With regard to the costs for ventilation systems, a distinction must be made between decentralised, cheaper devices and more expensive centralised systems.

Decentralised ventilation system

Decentralised ventilation systems are a good alternative for freeing individual rooms in a building from moisture and bad odours and supplying them with fresh air. The structural expenditure of decentralised ventilation systems is limited, as only a single short ventilation shaft has to be installed in the outer wall.

A distinction can be made between pure exhaust air systems and supply and exhaust air systems with and without heat recovery. Supply and exhaust air systems with heat recovery are the most expensive, but also the most energy-saving variant. For a supply and exhaust air system with heat recovery, including two fans and a control system, costs of around 1,500 euros can be planned.

Visit https://escondidohvacpros.com for more details