Since June 14, the subsidy for the purchase of a heat pump from the “Clean Air” program is available only if the device is on the ZUM (Green Devices and Materials) list. The change in regulations is intended to protect buyers and make it easier for them to choose good quality products. Industry representatives have a different opinion, claiming that the process of creating new regulations was not transparent and discriminated against manufacturers recognized on the Polish market, and the severely limited ZUM list deprives consumers of the right to choose.
The National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management (NFOŚiGW) has introduced changes to the provisions of the anti-smog program “Clean Air”: from June 14, the purchase of a heat pump will be an eligible cost (entitles the purchaser to receive funding) only if the device is entered on the ZUM list. However, the conditions for entering this list have caused the catalog of heat pumps for which the purchaser can receive funding to be radically reduced – from about 4,500 to about 250 a few days after the aforementioned date. The number of devices on the list is gradually increasing, but the pace of their registration is definitely too slow.
During the conference “Heat pump market after June 14 – the voice of the industry”, the presidents of three organizations representing over 80 percent of the Polish market for these devices: the Polish Organization for the Development of Heat Pump Technology (PORT PC), the Association of Producers and Importers of Heating Devices (SPIUG) and APPLiA Polska – the National Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers, wondered why the ZUM list did not include products from most renowned companies that have been building our heat pump market based on high quality for years. These companies often operate on a European or international scale, which is why the quality of their products is confirmed by widely recognized certificates. Today, several of them want to invest in giant heat pump factories in Poland. Together with numerous journalists, we discussed why proven European certificates for heat pumps are only conditionally recognised (until the end of this year) when qualifying for the ZUM list, and new, unproven procedures are being introduced in their place, as well as what the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management was guided by when limiting the beneficiaries of the “Clean Air” programme’s right to choose in such a radical way.
„Poland has a chance to become one of the leaders in the production of green technologies, thanks to investments in the construction of large heat pump factories in our country, around which new plants will be built – producing components for these devices. These are tens of thousands of new jobs, significant benefits for our economy and the image of the country. The plans of some manufacturers reach even 1.5 million heat pumps per year. It is therefore important not to make these decisions difficult for investors and not to make them wonder whether it is worth investing in our country. ” – emphasized Paweł Lachman, president of the Polish Organization for the Development of Heat Pump Technology (PORT PC).
He indicated that the goal of PORT PC, as well as other industry organizations, is to adjust the ZUM list to the “actual market situation”, which means that this list should include a wide range of high-quality products currently available on the market, and the quality should be confirmed by European certificates as well as tests specified by the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management. This gives equal opportunities to both large companies that already use certificates and small companies that, for various reasons, do not have these certificates and prefer to perform tests only to the required extent. The President of PORT PC added that changes to the regulations determining the granting of subsidies to specific devices must be consistent with the principles in force in the EU. This includes the consistency of the ZUM list with the EPREL database. In the EU, this database is the basic criterion for allowing devices such as heat pumps or boilers to be traded on the market.
Janusz Starościk, president of the Association of Producers and Importers of Heating Equipment, recalled that the main purpose of creating the ZUM list was to indicate to buyers good quality products.
„The idea was to not use taxpayers’ money to finance devices that do not meet quality criteria. The market has been flooded with products of questionable quality, which has also led to a flood of negative opinions about heat pumps. ” – explained Janusz Starościk.
He added that the list – apart from promoting good quality – was also intended to prevent discrimination by defending the interests of all manufacturers producing good quality heating devices, regardless of the size of the company or country of origin.
„However, now we have such a bizarre situation that devices manufactured in Europe and tested in European research laboratories, which often built the Polish heat pump market and trust in these devices as a good heating technology, somehow wait in a long queue to enter the ZUM list. The possibility of choosing them for the end customer is therefore very limited. This is very worrying, it is discrimination and this system must be fixed” – noted Janusz Starościk.
In his opinion, the Clean Air programme requires a better control system to protect it from being exploited by dishonest market participants.
„This and other aid programs are often used by companies that do not really care about the end result in the form of good heating, but only about making money. The best solution to the problem of the quality of heating devices would be to carry out random, market checks – in accordance with the requirements of ecodesign, i.e. checking in laboratories whether the technical parameters of the devices are consistent with those declared or listed in the test reports, and not only checking the documents. The aim is to avoid situations when something else is in >>documents<<, and what else in reality” – explained Janusz Starościk.
Wojciech Konecki, president of APPLiA Polska, emphasized that what is currently happening on the heat pump market is an example of changing the rules during the game.
„Renowned companies have been building their position in Poland for years. They have already invested or are planning to invest huge amounts of money in the production of heat pumps in Poland. They made investment decisions based on certain criteria, which are now changing. And this worries us greatly.” – said Wojciech Konecki.
In his opinion, the inclusion of products on the ZUM list, which determines funding under the “Clean Air” program, in most cases determines which product the consumer will buy.
„This is a critical point in the history of the development of this market. Either there will be investments in Poland, or in Ostrava, Romania or Turkey” – explained Wojciech Konecki.
He added that the idea of the ZUM list, which allows consumers to choose good quality products, is very good, but it has been distorted and after June 14, it works to the detriment of consumers and honest producers, instead of helping them.
The President of APPLiA Polska assessed that forcing manufacturers who have already performed comprehensive tests, applying for European certificates, to conduct additional tests for hundreds of heat pumps only for the needs of the “Clean Air” program will increase the price of goods.
“Studies and reports cost a lot of money. When creating the criteria for including heat pumps on the ZUM list, did they take into account that the market would pass on these costs to the consumer and taxpayer, because we are talking about subsidies? And yet the appropriate studies and certificates already exist, only the credibility of quality marks and research procedures that have existed for several decades has been questioned” – said Wojciech Konecki.
Representatives of industry organizations participating in the conference emphasized that they remain in dialogue with the Polish government and are trying to find a solution to the unfavorable situation in which heat pump manufacturers find themselves.
„We want to talk and clarify all the issues that are unclear. We already know that the Polish government knew very little about quality marks. What was introduced – de facto blocking quality marks – was not the intention of the Polish government. We therefore want to discuss all the issues that raise doubts ” – argued Paweł Lachman.
He added that the “confusion” related to the ZUM list is already having a negative impact on the heat pump market. Sales of these devices fell by 70 percent in Poland in the first quarter of this year.
“The declines were caused by high electricity prices, but also by worrying signals related to the new ZUM list, which was already being discussed at the time, but it was not yet known what it would ultimately look like. A massive negative information campaign attacking the credibility of European quality marks and heat pumps in general, conducted in an organized manner, also had a major impact” – pointed out Paweł Lachman.
Tomasz Dobryniewski, Managing Director of Daikin Airconditioning Poland Sp. z o.o., who participated in the conference, spoke in a similar tone.
„What is happening in Poland is creating a bad climate around business. I have heard that two or three planned large investments are frozen due to disinformation about heat pumps. I don’t know who this serves, but it certainly does not serve Polish consumers. ” – summed up director Dobryniewski.
In turn, Krzysztof Ciemięga, Director of the Central European Region at Bosch Home Comfort Group, emphasized: “As members of PORT PC, we believe that products on the ZUM list should be introduced both on the basis of European certificates, such as HP Keymark or EHPA-Q, and on the basis of research results specified by the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management. Thanks to this, we do not deal with discrimination against any of the parties supporting one or the other solution. Moreover, it does not expose the company to the necessity of conducting expensive and lengthy research in the case of having certificates or results of research already performed .
Source of information: PAP MediaRoom
