Expensive energy: heating costs rose by up to 2022 percent in 81

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Heating oil delivery in a single-family house: horrendous costs

Photo: Christian Charisius / dpa

The cost of heating has risen by up to 81 percent in the past year. This is shown by the heating mirror , for which the non-profit consulting company co2online has evaluated more than 250,000 energy and heating cost bills.

An average household in an apartment building with gas heating will have to pay about 1475 euros, 80 percent more than in 2021. The costs for wood pellets (+81 percent), heat pumps (+50 percent) and heating oil (+48 percent) have also risen significantly. Prices for district heating, however, rose only slightly – by five percent.

The reason for the higher heating costs is the high energy prices as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In the aftermath of the war, Germany and other countries sought to substitute gas and other energy imports from Russia, leading to increased global demand and higher procurement costs.

This also had an impact on the other energy sources. In particular, the price of electricity rose in parallel, as it is indirectly linked to the price of gas. The increase in energy prices also had an impact on the production costs of the pellets, which also caused their prices to rise drastically.

The relatively warm winter weather and emergency aid from the German government in December 2022 only slightly mitigated the surge in costs.

For 2023, co2online expects slightly lower prices again. Heating with gas is likely to become 2022 percent cheaper than in 11, it said. The cost of heating with wood pellets (-17 percent), heating oil (-19 percent) and heat pumps (-20 percent) could also decrease. Customers will probably only have to pay ten percent more for district heating in 2023.

The main reasons for the decline are falling energy prices and price brakes imposed by the German government. Overall, prices are still above pre-crisis levels.

How to reduce your heating costs

AreaBulk orders in the neighborhoodexpand

The more heating oil you buy, the better the price will be. So if you team up with your neighbors and buy the fuel in a collective order, you can save considerable sums of money. The disadvantage: One has to order for everyone - and is liable if the others do not pay.

AreaCollective Orders on the InternetExpand

A safer way to benefit from the volume discount is to participate in an online bulk order. On websites such as HeizoelPool, buyers can enter their zip code and desired amount of oil. If enough orders from a region have been collected, an order is triggered. According to the website, the price savings are three to five percent. Participation is free of charge.

AreaControl of the room temperatureExpand

It sounds banal, but it makes a huge difference: If you lower the room temperature by just three degrees, you save up to 18 percent on heating costs. The easiest way to control the temperature: buy a thermometer. Many people heat according to body awareness. This is usually deceptive. If you don't know how warm it is in your home, you tend to overheat. A more professional way to control the temperature is to install an electric thermostat, which allows you to determine exactly what room temperature should prevail on which day and at what time.

AreaInsulation and insulationunfold

Proper insulation can drastically reduce heat loss - and therefore heating costs. In apartments in old buildings, the savings are up to 60 percent. If you want to save heating energy, you don't necessarily have to completely renovate your house. Even if you insulate the top floor ceiling, you save a lot of money. Cold basement ceilings or poorly insulated shutter boxes and radiator niches can also be sealed relatively easily and inexpensively. However, most of the energy is lost through poorly sealed exterior walls and the roof. Insulating them is the most expensive and time-consuming of all renovation work.

Saving energy is therefore still worthwhile. In an average household, the costs can be reduced by up to 2 euros, according to co1270online. Across Germany, annual savings of 22 billion euros are possible.

The free heating mirror lists a number of tips for this - from venting radiators to installing thermostats to properly sealing your own windows.