Nature conservation instead of climate protection: the green roots of the right
stern.de, 21st June 2024 (in German)
News publ. 01. Jan 2017
Every third heater in Germany is more than 20 years old. As old heaters use significantly more energy than the current generation, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) has introduced energy labels for heaters more than 25 years old.
The average age of heating appliances is 17.6 years. Effective immediately, chimney sweeps are required to check appliances for whether they are 26 or more years old (year of production 1991 and earlier). Over the next few years, the requirements will be incrementally tightened. The energy label is intended to inform consumers on the energy efficiency of their appliance and provide them information on energy consulting offers and funding possibilities. The goal is to increase the rate of replacements of old appliances, thus increasing the energy efficiency of heating in Germany overall.
A BWMi Flyer provides comprehensive information on the heating label and the optimal way to use heating appliances. Consumers, heating installers, chimneysweeps, and energy consultants can also use an online calculator to determine the individual energy efficiency class of a particular boiler. The label for old heaters is a national label only distributed in Germany. Its system has, however, been designed in line with the EU energy efficiency label. The label and the National Top Runner Initiative (NTRI) are both part of the BMWi’s National Action Plan on Energy Efficiency (NAPE), which aims to reduce primary energy consumption in Germany by 20% (relative to 2008) by 2020, and to cut it in half by 2050.
The NTRI is being carried out under commission of the BMWi by a consortium consisting of Edelman.ergo, the Fraunhofer Institute for Reliability and Microintegration IZM, the Wuppertal Institute, and the Austrian Energy Agency under adelphi’s leadership.
All current NTRI offering can be found on the website "Deutschland macht's effizient".
Click her for more information on energy efficiency in heating.