Runaway gas prices boost sales of oil-fired heating systems in Germany

The drastic gas price increase has pushed the sale of heating systems burning oil in Germany. "From the beginning of January to the end of July, twelve percent more oil heaters were delivered by the manufacturers compared to the previous year," according to the country’s heating industry federation (BDH). Some 29,000 oil systems were installed between January and July, the association told the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND). In 2021, a total of 45,500 oil heaters were sold. Overall, some 930,000 heating systems per year are delivered in Germany.

While the price of heating oil has risen significantly as a result of the current energy crisis, the increase is not nearly as high as that of gas. Oil heating systems can still be installed in Germany until 2024, when the government will drastically limit their installation to very few exceptional cases to lower emissions in the heating sector. However, hybrid systems that cover 65 percent of the heat requirement with renewables by combining an oil burner with solar energy or heat pumps, will continue to be permitted. The BDH assumes that there will still be 1.36 million oil and bio-oil heating systems installed in Germany in 2045, when the country plans to become climate neutral.

According to comparison portal Verivox, gas has become around 235 percent more expensive within a year, while heating oil has risen 114 percent in price. An average family currently saves around 1,000 euros a year with an oil heating system compared to a gas heating system.