Renewables play more prominent role in heating in Germany

Oct 10, 2013 - German household consumption of renewable energy for heating rose by 56.7% between 2005 and 2012, the country's statistics office, Destatis, said yesterday.

At the same time, the overall consumption of energy by Germany's households fell by 4.8%, while the volume of energy used for heating decreased by 8.4%.

Households used mainly firewood for additional heating and are increasingly relying on wood pellets for fully-fledged heating systems, Destatis added. Wood made up 90% of the used renewables for heating, with solar heat and heat pumps accounting for the rest. At the same time, the use of mineral oil and natural gas for heating has decreased by 25.7% and 9.5%, respectively, over the last seven years. However, the use of district heating and coal has increased by 13.5% and 62.9%, respectively.

Choose your newsletter by Renewables Now. Join for free!