Heating season advice: Efficiency, safety, and rising costs

As the heating season begins, experts and consumer organizations are providing guidance on efficiency, safety, and cost management. To reduce energy consumption, experts recommend avoiding tilted windows, which allow heat to escape, and instead using short periods of wide-open ventilation. Additionally, insulating uninsulated heating and hot water pipes in basements can prevent significant heat loss.

For those using fireplaces or stoves, the HKI Industrieverband recommends cleaning the combustion chamber of ash and soot and checking door seals for tightness. Consumers are also warned by the Verbraucherzentrale Brandenburg to be cautious of fake online shops selling heating oil, pellets, and firewood, noting that suspiciously low prices and requirements for advance payment are red flags.

In Northern Germany, specifically Schleswig-Holstein, a rare coalition of tenant and landlord associations, along with renewable energy groups, is calling for relief from high heating costs. They highlight a paradox where regions leading the energy transition face disproportionately high grid fees, contributing to rising utility bills.