Experts warn of a dangerous heating trend: "Suddenly everything that emits heat is eligible"
Created: 10/17/2022 12:56 p.m
By: Ines Baur
An upside down flower pot with saucer and a few burning tea lights - the construct is called a tea light oven or tea light heater.
© Patrick Pleul/dpa
More and more people are looking for alternatives to save on heating.
Some are testing methods such as the homemade tea light oven.
Firefighters and chimney sweeps are concerned.
Munich – Despite rising prices and the energy crisis, it should be warm in your own four walls.
In order not to have to freeze in the cold season and to save money, many people resort to a wide variety of methods.
One with a thick sweater and two pairs of socks.
Others to fan heaters, infrared heating or open fireplaces in the apartment such as the tea light oven - that harbors dangers.
Homemade tealight heaters can self-ignite and be dangerous
There are countless instructions for building a tea light oven on the Internet.
It doesn't require any manual dexterity: screw the saucer, threaded rod and a small and a large flower pot together - done.
The German Fire Service Association and the Federal Association of Chimney Sweeps are not so relaxed about the trend.
They fear an increased risk of fire when resorting to alternative heating methods in view of the energy crisis.
One warns against self-made tealight stoves, as they are currently receiving a lot of attention in social media, said spokesman Andreas Walburg from the chimney sweep association.
As Frieder Kircher, chairman of a joint committee of the fire brigade association and fire protection association, explained, the tea lights could quickly ignite due to the lack of distance from each other.
This in turn leads to a dangerous wax fire, which can quickly lead to a deflagration or an apartment fire.
The Braunschweig fire brigade shows via Instagram what can go wrong.
But not only tea light ovens are considered questionable for heating an apartment.
According to the chimney sweep association, other heating methods can also be dangerous.
For example, no outdoor devices should be used indoors.
“Suddenly anything that emits heat in any form is eligible.
We're seeing a dangerous trend here," Walburg said.
The expert emphasized that stoves and fireplaces in particular should only be operated in consultation with the local chimney sweeps.
Tea light stoves and outdoor equipment in closed rooms pose a risk of fire and suffocation
Aside from the major fire hazard, there is still the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning, which can lead to asphyxiation.
The invisible and odorless carbon monoxide spreads unnoticed, displaces the air we breathe and can therefore be fatal to humans.
Heating the apartment with a charcoal grill has already been fatal for many people in Germany.
(dpa/ib)