The ‘heat transition’ refers to the transformation of the heating and cooling sector towards climate neutrality – in other words, moving away from fossil fuels for heating and cooling. It involves two key approaches: reducing heat demand through greater efficiency, and increasingly meeting the remaining heat demand from renewable sources. As part of the energy transition, the heat transition is a key area of action because heating accounts for a large proportion of energy consumption and emissions.
What is the heat transition?
The heat transition (German: Wärmewende) is the transformation of the heating sector away from fossil fuels such as oil and gas towards a climate-neutral supply. It is the counterpart to the electricity transition and concerns heating, hot water and process heat in buildings and industry. Two levers work in tandem here: reducing heat demand through efficiency measures and switching heat generation to renewable sources such as heat pumps, solar thermal energy or climate-friendly district heating. Without both levers being applied simultaneously, the climate targets in the buildings sector cannot be achieved.
Why is the heat transition so important?
Heating accounts for a significant proportion of final energy consumption, and in the buildings sector, most emissions come from heating and hot water. In private households, the bulk of energy demand is spent on heating and hot water; in many non-residential buildings, the proportion is similarly high. As long as this demand is predominantly met by fossil fuels, the buildings sector will remain a major source of greenhouse gas emissions. The heating transition addresses precisely this issue and is therefore crucial to achieving climate targets.
What role do efficiency and control play in the heat transition?
Efficiency is the first – and often the most cost-effective – lever in the heating transition, because heat that is saved does not need to be generated or paid for. A smart heating control system reduces consumption by regulating room temperatures according to need and lowering the temperature in unused areas, without any need to alter the building structure. Energy monitoring highlights where heat is being lost and provides the data needed for further action. In existing buildings in particular, this allows significant gains to be made in the short term, whilst the transition to renewable heat generation follows gradually. Efficiency and renewable heat complement one another in the heating transition.
Related terms
Sources and further information
- Betterspace: MSR-Technik und wie sie Energie spart
- Betterspace: better.energy radiator control
- Umweltbundesamt: Energieverbrauch und Emissionen im Gebäudebereich
- Deutsche Energie-Agentur (dena): Informationen zur Wärmewende