Clean Air. Changes to the program are coming

Vice-President of the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management, Paweł Mirowska, informed the Polish Press Agency that he had sent a letter to the Ministry of Climate and Environment regarding recommended changes to the “Clean Air” program. They concern co-financing the replacement of heat sources with heat pumps.

Clean Air. Will there be changes regarding heat pumps?

Mirowski admitted that for some time the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management has been carrying out work and industry consultations aimed at eliminating unfavorable phenomena on the heat pump market in Poland. – The idea is to exclude the possibility of granting subsidies for devices whose declared technical data do not correspond to actual parameters – said the deputy head of the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management.

Mirowski informed that it is proposed to close the Customer Service List (List of Green Devices and Materials) in the field of heat pumps, i.e. limiting the possibility of granting subsidies only to devices included on this list. The list of UTIs is kept by the Institute of Environmental Protection – National Research Institute (IOŚ – PIB). It includes devices offered by manufacturers for which you can obtain a subsidy.

– Closing the Storage Storage List should be introduced in parallel with procedures protecting against the possibility of including devices on it that do not actually meet the parameters described on the product card and energy label – said Mirowski, adding that preparations to close the list are already underway.

The closure of the ZUS List will be consulted with the industry, and a transition period will also be planned.

Another recommendation of the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management for subsidized heat pumps is to define – in addition to the requirements regarding energy efficiency class – also requirements regarding, for example, the use of a natural working medium, minimum seasonal efficiency for cold climates, and acoustic power. It is also considered to limit the scope of subsidized heat pumps only to devices with energy efficiency class A++ or higher. It is also planned to prepare a report by a Polish technical university, which would include recommendations regarding the determination of additional technical parameters that heat pumps subsidized by the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management will have to meet.

Heat pumps that do not meet the requirements

Experts indicate that the Polish market offers many heat pumps manufactured in Asia that do not meet the requirements and do not meet the technical parameters described in the description. A few weeks ago, the vice-president of NGOŚiGW admitted that dishonest sellers take advantage of the funding for these devices offered by the fund.

This year marks five years since the launch of the Clean Air program. This is a nationwide project aimed at reducing emissions of harmful substances into the atmosphere resulting from heating single-family houses with low-quality fuel in outdated home furnaces. The program includes, among others: subsidies for thermal modernization, or replacing high-emission heat sources with more ecological ones.