Wood stoves are popular for heating and cooking

Created: 06/06/2022, 16:05

By: Victoria Strachwitz

The tiled stove builder Roman Dreesbach from Krailling has full order books.

Customers are also increasingly asking for wood-burning stoves like this model for cooking.

Photo: dagmar rutt © Dagmar Rutt

Oil and gas prices are rising.

The supply situation seems uncertain.

Now fireplaces are in demand.

But customers have to expect waiting times.

Würmtal

– "People are worried," says chimney sweeper Thomas Höcht from Pentenried.

He is responsible for Krailling, Stockdorf and part of Planegg.

He is getting more and more requests for the installation of a wood fireplace.

Oil and gas prices are rising, and security of supply has been shaky since the Ukraine crisis, as far as fossil fuels are concerned.

"People want to protect themselves and decouple from the prices," notes chimney sweeper Josef Giehrl, who is responsible for around 2,500 households in Gräfelfing.

Especially at the beginning of the war in the Ukraine, chimney sweep Martin Kelnhofer (responsible for Planegg and Graefelfing) received more and more calls.

But all the inquiries have not yet led to a larger number of fireplaces in the Würmtal.

Höcht says he has not yet accepted a new fireplace that goes back to one of the concerned inquiries.

First of all, the chimney sweeps have a lot to do.

Secondly: “The tiled stove builders are at their limit.

They can't supply ovens."

Kelnhofer notes that the demand has now subsided again.

The gas supply has become safer with the help of fracking gas, the legal requirements for chimneys that came into force in January have made the installation of a fireplace very complicated in some cases, and the market cannot meet the high demand at all.

Roman Dreesbach, a tiled stove builder from Krailling, can confirm the latter.

"Corona has already given us a boost," he says.

People have been at home more than ever before, they have improved their homes and had money left over.

He has therefore been very busy for the past two years.

Now the demand has experienced an increase.

People are looking for an "alternative source of energy for the home," he says.

Not only the heating is important to them.

"Demand for kitchen stoves is also increasing noticeably." The problem: "I can't actually take any more orders this year." Dreesbach explains that on the one hand he has delivery problems.

"Due to the demand, the manufacturers cannot keep up with production." Electronics, metal, fireclay panels, thermal insulation - there are delivery bottlenecks everywhere.

But “the most urgent problem for us is that we need more people.

The shortage of skilled workers can also be felt massively in our industry.” He could hire at least two skilled workers immediately.

But he couldn't find any stove and air heater builders.

He can therefore no longer promise his customers any new fireplaces this year.

"There is a lack of understanding," says the tiled stove builder.

But he couldn't change it either.