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Heating: How we really save a lot of gas - if tenants, landlords and politicians get involved

2022-07-14T05:26:44.427Z


Is Russia turning off the gas tap? In order to prepare for shortages and high prices, we must above all heat smarter. Some things are pretty easy.


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Turning the thermostat: Even small measures help

Photo: Hauke-Christian Dittrich / dpa

Germany is in the worst energy crisis since the oil price shock of 1973. The discussion quickly turns to nuclear power, liquid gas terminals and green hydrogen.

The biggest issue is far more mundane: heating.

About half of German residential and office buildings are heated with natural gas and supplied with hot water.

Almost half of the total gas used is used to heat buildings, far more than in industry or power plants.

When Russia's President Vladimir Putin finally turns off the gas tap - and that could happen any day - it makes sense to make significant savings on heating so that Germany can get through the winter safely and relaxed.

It is also a fact that even if Russia continues to supply gas, heating costs will explode next winter.

Saving energy is therefore also recommended with a view to your own wallet.

But what are the options, how big is the savings potential, and what does politics have to do so that this potential can be leveraged?

What everyone can do

There are a surprising number of ways to reduce gas consumption in the short term that anyone can implement: ventilate the room instead of opening the window, turn off the heating at night and when you're away, let rooms that are rarely used cooler, shower instead of bathing, install an energy-saving shower head and intelligent radiator thermostats, as well as the apartment temperature Reduce by a few degrees - all of this costs little or nothing, requires no craftsmen and brings a surprising amount: In a current study, we show that Germans are already saving.

After the Russian invasion, private households immediately reduced their gas consumption by around six percent.

When it comes to other measures, the owners of the apartments have to take action, such as optimizing the heating systems, lowering the heating temperature all day or at night or better insulating heating pipes in the basement and in utility rooms.

A scientific study by the real estate university EBZ Business School and the TU Dresden comes to the conclusion that there is room for improvement in 86 percent of the heating systems in Germany.

Ten percent of the annual gas consumption alone could be saved, for example, if the boilers were actually switched off in summer.

The association of housing companies GdW speaks of 17 percent energy savings that can be achieved without loss of comfort.

If, for example, 20 percent of gas could be saved through these simple measures together, that would already correspond to the enormous amount of 90 billion kilowatt hours - that is more than the entire gas consumption of the food, steel and automotive industries combined.

Financially, this would mean a relief for private households of around 15 billion euros per year - almost as much as the relief packages from the federal government.

So it's just a lot of money at stake.

What politics must do now

Surveys show that most Germans massively underestimate the threat of cost increases.

Gas price increases of 200 to 300 percent are realistic.

People need to know what to expect.

Every energy supplier should therefore inform its customers early and regularly about cost increases, adjust advance payments - and provide them with energy-saving tips.

Around 60 percent of people in Germany rent their homes.

They are often economically worse off and more vulnerable than apartment or house owners.

To protect them, case law has found many regulations that make sense in themselves, but are problematic in the crisis because they limit the incentives and opportunities to save energy.

We therefore see a need for action in four areas:

  • Inform about cost increases

    : In order to protect tenants, landlords should adjust advance payments and add a cost forecast to the monthly energy consumption information that has been required by law since this year.

    If people happily heat up the winter and are then confronted with huge additional payments, nobody is helped.

  • Financial incentives to save energy – also for landlords:

    In Germany, rent including heating is the norm.

    Landlords can pass on all heating costs here.

    It is therefore hardly worthwhile for them to invest in saving energy, despite the high energy prices.

    In the long term, the federal government wants to examine the introduction of a so-called partial warm rent - part of the heating costs remains with the landlord, so that the landlord also has a financial advantage from lower energy costs.

    As an immediate measure for the coming winter, politicians should examine how landlords can be held accountable in order to actually leverage the potential savings identified by the real estate industry itself.

    For example, what if landlords can only pass on the costs in full if they have achieved these savings targets?

  • Increasing the leeway for landlords:

    In order for landlords to be able to leverage additional savings potential this winter, it would make sense to lower the room temperatures.

    However, the case law is against this: In all living and office rooms, it must be possible to reach 20 to 22 degrees Celsius during the day.

    So that landlords can start the heating period later or lower the heating temperature, we think it makes sense to enact a legal regulation for this winter that allows the minimum temperature to be lowered by a few degrees.

    The regulation should be temporary and should only come into effect when landlords have already taken other measures without loss of comfort.

  • Increasing the leeway for tenants:

    Many leases also oblige tenants to reach certain temperatures.

    This is to prevent mold growth, although regular airing is often the more effective measure against mold.

    If tenants now want to heat less or have to for cost reasons, they can be held responsible for damage to the building fabric.

    We therefore think it makes sense to repeal these requirements for tenants this winter.

  • Despite all savings efforts, the rising heating costs will represent an existential burden for many people.

    The additional burdens must be cushioned, especially for people who are economically disadvantaged.

    But this must be done in a way that doesn't undermine energy-saving efforts.

    The appropriate instrument for this are direct payments.

    This relieves people, but it is still worth saving.

    What if the gas keeps flowing?

    We will then have protected the climate and our wallets and will be looking forward to the next year with full gas storage tanks.

    Source: spiegel

    All business articles on 2022-07-14

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