Solidarity topped high prices as main driver of heating savings during 2022 energy crisis – report
Clean Energy Wire
During the 2022 energy crisis, German households cut heating energy use by 16 percent compared to the previous year amid fears of a gas shortage, but just two percent of the consumption drop was linked to soaring prices energy prices. That is according to an evaluation of heating energy consumption and prices of more than 100,000 apartment buildings carried out by DIW, a German economic research institute.
Some eight percent of the savings weren't motivated by costs. Instead, they can be traced back to political motivation, such as solidarity amidst Russia's war in Ukraine, when reductions in natural gas deliveries to Europe saw prices soar, and appeals from authorities to reduce heating. The remaining household energy savings - around six percent - weren't related to the crisis but to unusually warm weather and fewer people working from home, DIW found.
Buildings with district heating had higher energy savings, with researchers tracing that to information about price increases spreading more widely. Households experienced the same rising costs at the same time due to there usually only being one local district heating provider.
