Energie: Plus 28 Prozent: Heizen wird dieses Jahr für viele Haushalte deutlich teurer

Since the onset of the Iran crisis, the price of crude oil has surged, leading to a significant increase in the cost of heating oil. The "Heizspiegel" report released on Tuesday illustrates the additional expense consumers will face during the upcoming heating season. The CO2Online non-profit consultancy gathers data annually for the Heizspiegel, funded by the Federal Environment Ministry, gathering information on the costs of various heating sources.

For this analysis, they examined the energy consumption of 67,000 buildings, including both single and multi-family homes. The assessment considers changes in heat demand due to weather compared to the previous year, using data from the German Weather Service, as well as the average prices of individual energy carriers up to summer.

Gas costs are expected to decrease due to a one-time effect, with heating by district heating and heat pumps remaining relatively stable in price. However, this stability depends on the future transition of energy networks towards renewable energy sources. Alexander Steinfeldt, co-responsible for the Heizspiegel at CO2Online, notes that significant investments will be necessary over the coming years for this transition.

The lower gas price is attributed to delayed impacts of higher wholesale prices resulting from the Iran crisis. Many customers receive their gas through contracts with price guarantees, and the gas storage surcharge, which was completely removed at the beginning of the year, contributed to the recent cost reduction. The federal government included this additional cost in response to the 2022 energy crisis to finance the refilling of gas storage.

The surcharge is now at 0.289 Cent per kilowatt-hour, and consumers will no longer need to pay it as of January. Despite this, gas is expected to become the most expensive heating method in the long run due to the increasing CO2 price. Wood pellets are almost as heavily increasing as oil, as they are used as fuel in automatic heating systems.

However, unlike fossil fuels, their price increase is not linked to commodity markets but to regional factors. Mostly, they are made from waste products such as sawdust, wood chips, and bark produced during the lumbering process. The shortage of these byproducts directly affects pellet production. The surge in construction activity indirectly impacts pellet prices due to the lack of available waste materials.

Despite the significant price increase, pellets remain the most affordable heating source after heat pumps. The Heizspiegel predicts a moderate long-term development in pellet prices. Germany can meet its demand for pellets as the largest producer in Europe, so consumers are not dependent on imports. Switching to pellet heating is particularly beneficial for old buildings.

However, the Federal Environmental Agency does not consider wood sustainable due to the generated greenhouse gases and fine dust. In well-insulated new buildings, heat pumps are the best option. For buildings with high heat demand and difficult-to-repair condition, heat pumps may be technically or economically impractical. In such cases, switching to pellets may be a viable alternative, replacing the old oil heater with a new pellet storage silo.