District heating popularity revealed in Germany

The heat transition in major cities in Germany is under the spotlight with new heat map with district heating data compiled by E.ON.

The data shows that district heating is a popular method of heating in many large cities in Germany.

Of the four German cities with more than one million inhabitants, in three of them, Munich, Hamburg and Berlin, more than one-third of houses are already supplied with district heating. While in Cologne, currently with about one-tenth of houses supplied, it is planned to reach the one-third level by 2030.

Berlin leads the quartet of cities in the use of heat pumps with an over 4% share of all heating technologies, while in the other three the share is around half that at 2%.

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There also are clear differences in the use of fossil fuel heating systems between the four cities, with gas and oil still accounting for a large proportion.

In the case of gas heating systems levels range from the lowest at 36% in Hamburg up to almost 57% in Cologne, while levels for oil heating systems vary between 16% in Munich and almost 23% in Cologne.

Marc Spieker, chief operating officer Commercial at E.ON, says that especially in metropolitan areas, the energy transition means above all a fundamental change in heating.

“This is where there is the greatest potential to significantly reduce CO2 emissions and leverage synergies for efficient heat supply. With digital tools and the data from our heat map, we create transparency and show concrete implementation potential.”

Heat efficiency

E.ON reports that more than half of all buildings in Berlin, Cologne and Hamburg are partially or fully renovated, while in Munich, with a high proportion of old buildings the level is just over 40%.

The company points to structural conditions, particularly the energy efficient renovation of buildings, as a key factor in significantly reducing heat consumption and thereby contributing to climate protection as well as lowering heating costs.

E.ON also points to recent research conducted with RWTH Aachen University showing that in addition to building renovations, private homeowners can benefit by renovating and replacing their heating systems.

For example, in the case of an unrenovated terraced house from 1990 the annual energy bill for electricity and heat could be reduced from an average of €2,870 to €904 in 2024 by using a heat pump, solar system and battery storage in place of gas heating.

In a detached house built in 2005, the costs calculated indicate a fall from an average of €2,947 to €815 per year.

Buildings in Germany are estimated to account for about a third of the total primary energy consumption and about 40% of all CO2 emissions.

Under the German government’s law on heat planning and the decarbonisation of heating networks, local authorities are required to draw up heating plans defining how the local heat supply can be made climate-neutral.