column
Even in the winter after the record summer you need to heat. And basically, there are two ways to keep costs under control: reduce consumption and lower the price of fuel. Both are easy, you just have to do it.
Let's start with consumption :
- For years, the non-profit consultancy CO2online offers a free heating check, with which you can measure whether you heat comparatively much or rather little. The check shows how much energy you consume compared to neighbors and strangers in similarly sized apartments or similar old houses with similar thermal insulation.
And he gives tips on how to get out of midfield into a demanding position without compromising your comfort. The potential is huge. 70-square-meter apartments in apartment buildings were heated last year with gas sparingly for 520 euros or expensive for 1110 euros. The average consumption in German homes is 130 kilowatt hours per square meter (kWh / sqm) living space per year. In the low energy house you are at 70 kWh / sqm. Multiple dwellings are compared to single-family homes in this race at an advantage. - Whether in a single or multi-family house - tenants and owners can strongly influence the consumption. Here are the classic rules : Ventilation instead of tilt windows, no curtains and furniture in front of the radiators, ventilate radiators regularly and use electronic thermostats that automatically consider that the sun is shining straight into the living room or you bake a cake with your children in the kitchen. You can set the room temperature as it is comfortable for you, but best in each room individually - each degree saves energy. And in the winter, roller blinds and curtains help in front of windows and doors, but of course not in front of the radiators.
Owners and property managers can also change the energy source, but I'm at the very end.
You have almost reached the peak in your home in terms of consumption? With the costs you still have a lot of potential. About half of the apartments in Germany are heated by gas, a quarter by heating oil. Savings of a few hundred euros are possible with the right provider in both areas.
- For natural gas , the change of supplier is simple and at the moment particularly attractive, because the market shows a stunning phenomenon: The import prices for gas have fallen since January 2019 by 40 percent and back to the lows of 2016. New customers notice that at least a bit. For them, prices have fallen slightly in recent months on average. At the same time, however, hundreds of gas utilities have increased their prices for existing customers in some cases during the year.
Any such increase gives you a special right of termination. Your answer as a customer is quite simple: if you get an increase, be sure to switch. You should not put up with this type of market as a customer. Already with the single change are for a family, which needs 20,000 Kilowatt hours of gas a year, up to 400 euros in it. If you are looking for a bonus hunt, you can save even more, but in the year 2020 you have to check another change. - With fuel oil , the answer is just as simple: compare and choose the cheapest provider in your region. However, as a customer, you are currently traveling to difficult conditions. Due to the attack on a Saudi refinery, heating oil prices rose by ten cents in the second half of September for a few days. The failure of a Bavarian refinery following an accident in 2018 also continues to ensure that heating oil prices in Bavaria are higher than in the rest of the republic.
When comparing one of the portals, use Heizöl24 or Esyoil. And if you absolutely have to buy this fall, buy enough or with the neighbor and give the supplier a few weeks to deliver. The difference between cheap and expensive dealers on the portals is up to ten cents per liter; the difference between a delivery of 1000 to 3000 liters at up to five cents. And if you need the fuel oil the day after tomorrow, it is especially expensive. In early October, heating oil prices for fast, small deliveries in rural Western Pomerania have risen to more than 90 cents per liter. 3000 liters sometime in the fall rather cost 65 cents per liter. - If you own a heat pump or a power storage heater , you should consider a rate for heat flow - it is usually 25 percent cheaper than household electricity . At Check24 and Verivox you can compare fares.
Which brings us to the ultimate measures available to you as a homeowner or property manager. You can insulate, change the heating system or even the fuel.
And that's the order too. First, you plan the insulation and ensure that the energy consumption of the property drops significantly. Only then comes the reflection on the question of whether you replace only the combustion technology or equal to the fuel.
More at SPIEGEL +
It is best to invite an energy consultant, such as the Consumer Centers, to work out an action plan. There are state subsidies for the consulting costs. If you shy away from the hassle but can spend a bit of money, perhaps a so-called blow-in insulation comes into question. The is mounted within a day, for example, on exterior walls. And the saved energy already ensures that the system pays off after 6 to 7 years, if you take the state subsidy with you.
Next comes a new low-power circulation pump and a new boiler - one that fits the new, lower energy needs.
You can not do all this in this heating season, but it makes sense to deal with it now, sometimes even compelling. The Federal Government wants to gradually ban oil heating systems in the coming years. And as low as the CO2 price according to the climate package may be in the first step, heating with fossil fuels will become significantly more expensive in the future.
Maybe you use one of those wet, cool autumn evenings to plan your energy future on the home sofa. It will be worth it.
