Freezing to save: One in ten people had not heated up by the end of November
Created: 06/12/2022, 14:08
By: Thomas Schmidtutz
Thermostat: In order to save energy costs, many consumers are currently accepting lower room temperatures than usual.
© Bernd Weißbrod/dpa
Because of the high energy prices, many consumers heat their homes less than they used to.
This is the result of a recent survey.
Berlin - One in ten Germans did not heat their home despite the sometimes low temperatures in late autumn.
This emerges from a survey by the opinion research institute YouGov on behalf of the German Press Agency.
The vast majority (90 percent), on the other hand, had already switched on the stove or the heating by the end of November - but changed their heating behavior significantly: According to this, 68 percent heat less this season than in the same period last year.
Around half of them even heat up significantly less.
High energy prices: Many households turn down the controls
As justification, 56 percent of those surveyed referred to turning down the regulator to save money.
20 percent heat less because of higher outside temperatures and 15 percent would like to make a contribution to security of supply through the reduction.
Only six percent stated that they wanted to make a contribution to climate protection with their changed behavior.
The prices for electricity, gas and heating oil had recently risen drastically in some cases due to the Ukraine war.
Given the development, many households are now watching their expenses more closely than they used to.
Dramatically increasing energy costs
The federal government wants to relieve consumers with an electricity and gas price brake.
The price should be capped for 80 percent of consumption.
The normal market price must be paid for the remaining consumption.
Saving should therefore be rewarded.
In order to prevent unjustified price increases by suppliers, the traffic light wants to equip the Federal Cartel Office with extended powers.
Many utilities have drastically increased gas prices this year.
Nevertheless, the majority of those surveyed (78 percent) stayed with the same heating system as last year.
At least 7 percent stated that they wanted to keep their apartment or house warm this winter more with the stove or fireplace than with the built-in heating system.
Half of them do this because it is financially cheaper.
A good one in three would like to save on scarce energy sources and almost one in four considers heating with wood to be more climate-friendly.
