Oil heating has recently gone out of fashion. Generating heat from other energy sources seemed much more attractive. About heating with gas. That has changed rapidly recently. Because those who heat with oil are currently saving. How much, read here.
The proportion of fossil oil in the heat supply must be reduced. To do this, the proportion of renewable energies must be expanded and energy efficiency increased. So much for the requirement. In practice, oil heaters continue to play a major role in the supply despite stricter future requirements.
Every second heating system in Germany is operated with gas and is therefore directly affected by rising gas prices. Compared to 1995, the share of gas heating has increased by around 10 percent. The proportion of oil-powered heating systems, on the other hand, fell significantly over the same period - although a quarter of all heating systems are still dependent on this energy source. According to Statista, the vast majority of households are still kept warm by oil and gas (49.5 percent gas, 25 percent oil, 14.1 percent district heating, 2.6 percent electricity, 2.6 percent geothermal and 6.2 percent percent other).
However, the prices of gas and oil have risen rapidly in recent times, which is not without consequences for heating costs. Because if you want to keep it comfortably warm, you have to pay significantly more.
Currently, 100 liters of heating oil with a purchase quantity of 3000 liters cost a nationwide average of 152.83 euros (source: esyoil.com). With an annual consumption of 20,000 kWh, this corresponds to annual costs of around 3057 euros. This means that the costs have more than doubled over the year.
The average gas price for households in Germany in the last few days was around 4088 euros for a purchase of 20,000 kWh, which means that the price here has more than tripled over a twelve-month period. This means that heating with heating oil is currently around 25 percent cheaper than with gas. Consumers are currently saving over 1000 euros per year.
If there were also further price increases and the gas levy for natural gas, the total annual costs would be up to 4758 euros, which would correspond to a price increase of 278 percent - the prices would have almost quadrupled compared to August 2021. In view of the political and economic situation, however, it is uncertain whether heating oil will remain cheaper, as Thorsten Storck, energy expert at Verivox, points out.
(This article was first published on Monday, August 22, 2022.)
