Heat less, light up less
Habeck’s Energy Saving Ordinance provides for this
08/12/2022, 9:35 p.m
Germany saves energy – but it’s not enough. The Ministry of Economics wants to make further measures binding by regulation. The greatest effect should come from the public sector.
In the coming weeks and months, Germany’s companies and consumers will have to save significantly more energy than before. “According to the current status, Germany has to achieve gas savings of around 20 percent in order to avert a gas shortage,” according to the Federal Ministry of Economics.
So far it has been between five and eight percent, it said, citing figures from the Federal Network Agency. In order to achieve the goal, Minister Robert Habeck’s house has sent an “Energy Saving Ordinance to Reduce Gas and Electricity Consumption” to the other ministries for approval, which is available to ntv.de.
A large part of the prescribed savings is accounted for by “the public sector, which thus fulfills its function as a role model and can thus give orientation to other areas with regard to feasible, practicable savings measures”. Just reducing the room temperature in residential buildings and workplaces by an average of two degrees would reduce gas consumption by around three percent.
Among other things, the following are planned for consumers:
- Tenants are to be exempted from the obligation contained in some rental agreements to heat their apartments to a certain minimum temperature.
- Indoor and outdoor gas and electric heated private pools are no longer allowed to be heated. There are exceptions for commercial use.
- Gas suppliers and owners of larger residential buildings must inform their customers or tenants at the latest at the beginning of the heating season about the expected energy consumption, the costs and possible savings.
The following requirements should apply to the public sector:
- In public properties, rooms should be heated to a maximum of 19 degrees. So far, the recommendation is 20 degrees. Hospitals, nursing homes and social facilities are excluded.
- Rooms in which nobody is regularly present – corridors, large halls, foyers or technical rooms – are no longer heated if the safety requirements allow it.
- Boilers and instantaneous water heaters are no longer used as long as the respective hygiene regulations allow it.
- Buildings or monuments are no longer illuminated if this is only for representative or aesthetic reasons.
- Advertising systems should not be illuminated between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.
This catalog of individual measures is to come into force on September 1st and is to be limited to six months.
Replacing inefficient heating pumps should become mandatory
In addition to these measures, which take effect immediately, the ordinance should also contain steps that will only apply to future heating periods. This includes, for example, a mandatory check of the heating systems by the building owners. Furthermore, the replacement of inefficient, uncontrolled heating pumps in buildings with natural gas heating systems will become mandatory. Finally, companies with an annual energy consumption of ten gigawatt hours (GWh) are to be obliged to take energy efficiency measures. This ordinance will apply for two years. You have to agree to the Federal Council. It will then come into force on October 1st.
According to reports, the ministry expects industry and the residential/office sector to achieve five to ten percentage points of the savings target of 20 percent. About three to five points would be added by reduced gas power generation.
The regulation sees the ministry as one of four areas to ensure security of supply. This includes setting up an infrastructure for liquid gas deliveries (LNG terminals), filling gas storage facilities and maintaining the gas market.
Russia has drastically reduced its deliveries to Europe in several steps. It claims technical reasons for doing so. Currently, only 20 percent of the previous volume is reaching Germany through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline. Experts see this as a reaction to the massive sanctions imposed as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.