Why oil heating systems need to be replaced

In April 2019, the Petroleum Association (now Avenergy) published advertisements under the title "The CO₂-low oil heating". It gave the impression that thanks to technological developments, oil heating systems could be operated in the future without emitting large amounts of CO₂ eject.

swisscleantech filed a complaint against the advertisement with the Swiss Fairness Commission. The trade association accused the Petroleum Association of disseminating misleading information about oil heating systems (here the complete complaint text).

Advertising can do almost anything
In the meantime, the oil industry has adapted the advertisement and, among other things, has dispensed with the title that swisscleantech had objected to. Despite the clear data situation, the Fairness Commission rejected the complaint. It justified the ruling by stating that the statements in the advertisement refer to the future and that "different opinions can naturally exist about alleged facts for the future as predictions that cannot be proven."

For swisscleantech, the ruling shows that advertising has a great deal of leeway and can even promise things that will not happen according to the knowledge available today.

This is evident in the three specific technologies that the Petroleum Association named in the advertisement: biogenic fuels, the combination with renewable heating systems, and the use of synthetic energy sources produced from surplus renewable electricity.

• Biogenic fuels: Energy yields made from animal and plant waste are not available in sufficient quantities.
• Combi heatersEven in combination with renewable energy systems such as heat pumps, oil heating still emits a lot of CO₂ off.
• Synthetic energy sources: The energy carriers produced from surplus renewable electricity will not be used in the building sector. Their production is very costly, so for quantitative and economic reasons they are used where there are no alternatives (e.g. in industrial processes or in air traffic). For heat generation in buildings, there are already economical renewable solutions with heat pumps.

Detailed information on all three arguments can be found in the complaint.

Replace oil heating systems as quickly as possible
In Switzerland, when a fossil-fuel heating system is replaced in single-family homes, a fossil-fuel heating system is installed again in 50% of the cases, and in multi-family homes the proportion is as high as 60%. Given the 20 to 25 year lifespan of oil burners, replacement must begin now. The sooner this happens, the better for the climate.

You can find all details about the complaint of swisscleantech here