Source: CCTV news client
As winter approaches, electric heating equipment is selling well in Germany due to concerns that there will not be enough natural gas for heating.
Yu Peng: This is the largest household goods market in the center of Berlin, and we have noticed that there are many more types and quantities of heating equipment in this market than in previous years. From a dozen euros of fan heaters to hundreds of euros of electronic heating equipment, customers are favored.
According to market research firm Gfkf, nearly 1 million electric heaters have been sold in Germany from the beginning of 2022 to the end of September, of which sales of electric heaters in the German market from January to August increased by 76% year-on-year.
German national clothing supermarket Bauhaus said that due to rising natural gas and energy prices, the demand for alternative heat sources across Germany has increased seasonally and atypical compared with the previous year, especially oil heaters, low- and medium-priced heaters, and high-priced electric heaters with built-in stone.
Dennis, who lives in Berlin, recently received a letter from his landlord asking for a 75 euro monthly increase in heating bills. According to the practice of renting houses in Germany, the heating fee adopts a pre-collection system, and more refunds and less supplements are made up at the end of the year. Dennis worries that if heating is not saved, 75 euros may not be enough. To this end, Dennis decided to adjust the temperature in the living room to 17 degrees and the bedroom to 16 degrees. Dennis says that in the case of bedrooms alone, turning down the temperature can save 110 euros a year. In order to ensure that he did not get frozen when he slept, Dennis bought an electric blanket.
Berlin resident Denis Simon: This electric blanket cost me 130 euros, is a little expensive, and has 4 levels of heat to adjust. Gear 4 is the hottest, and it will be very hot to turn on to Gear 4, so we generally turn on Gear 1 before going to bed, which is enough.
However, Germany's power sector warned in September that electricity heating is not cheap and could overwhelm the grid this winter. For Dennis, he's more worried about what to do with the next winter after surviving this winter.
Berlin resident Denis Simon: Next year will be tougher because the gas tanks are full now. At the end of winter, the gas storage level is only 20% or 30%, or even lower, and at 10%, it is usually only 4%. If we cannot get enough gas from Russia by then, then Germany will not be able to guarantee gas supply for the next winter, and we may face an even greater crisis next year.