District Heating Is Simple and Reliable in Later Years
When the main district heating line was being built near Hannu Kariniemi’s mailbox, Herrfors reached out and asked if he wanted to switch from oil heating to district heating. It didn’t take long for him to realize it was a good idea. He appreciates that district heating is maintenance-free and that help is close by.
Hannu Kariniemi takes good care of his 162-square-meter house in Ylivieska, but he prefers solutions that simplify life in retirement. He values district heating as a maintenance-free form of heating.
“There are no moving parts in a district heating unit—the circulation pump is really the only thing that could break. With an air-to-water heat pump or ground source heating, there’s more technology involved, which means more complicated maintenance. If something were to go wrong with district heating, I can call a 24-hour service number where someone always answers. That’s something you really appreciate as you get older,” he says.
When Hannu decided to replace his oil heating system with a more modern one, he looked into several options—mainly air-to-water heat pumps and ground source heating.
“District heating turned out to be the cheapest option. When Herrfors contacted me, I received professional and helpful service. I buy both electricity and heat from them and appreciate their customer-friendly approach.”
Half of the cost reimbursed through support
The total cost of Herrfors’ turnkey solution was 8000 euros, and Hannu was informed that he could apply for government support for switching from oil heating to district heating.
“Herrfors helped me with the application because it had to be submitted electronically and I don’t have a computer. I received 4000 euros in support, so only half remained to be paid.”
The switch was carried out smoothly in just a few hours since everything was well prepared. The district heating pipe was routed through the wall into the boiler room, where the new equipment was installed. Hannu didn’t have to do anything himself.
“I tapped off a little water beforehand so I’d have enough for making coffee while they worked. My only real part in the process was to pay the invoice once it was done,” he says with a smile.
Sold the oil and gave away the tank
Once the oil heating equipment has been removed, it’s the customer’s responsibility to empty, clean and possibly remove the oil tank—or hire someone to do it. In September 2020, when Hannu’s house was connected to the district heating network, he still had over 250 liters of heating oil in the tank, which was a bit frustrating.
“I put up an ad to sell the oil, and the guy who came to buy it asked if he could take the entire tank with him. That worked out just fine—it solved the whole problem!”
Another small issue Hannu had to solve was how to dry his rubber boots. Until now, he had used the residual heat from the boiler room to dry them quickly. But how would that work now that the district heating unit had moved in?
“It still gets to 29 degrees in the boiler room, so there’s definitely enough residual heat to keep drying my boots,” he concludes.
Connect your home to the Herrfors district heating network
District heating is a very affordable one-time investment—a district heating connection for a detached house including equipment and installation currently costs around 9000 to 11000 euros with Herrfors. The connection fee alone is 4352 euros. You can apply for a household deduction for both the connection fee and installation work in the distribution center when switching to district heating.
If you are switching from oil heating to district heating, you can apply either for the household deduction or for government support. The Centres for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment (ELY) are still offering support of 4000 euros for homeowners switching from oil heating to district heating, but the project must be fully completed by August 31, 2025.
