Wood heats Austria's households: biomass trumps fossil systems!

Wood heats Austria's households: biomass trumps fossil systems!

In Austria, wood is still number one as a heating energy and has increased its share in space heating requirements in 2023/24 to an impressive 34 %. This emerges from a current analysis that shows the development of heating systems in households. The total share of wooden energy, including district heating, currently exceeds 43 % and reaches the highest value since the 2003/04 heating season. This proportion was only 31 %two decades ago. The use of biogenic fuels in room heat supply has increased by remarkable 40 % since 2003/04, while at the same time the consumption of heating oil was reduced by 38 % and that of natural gas by 41 %, such as ots.at reported.

Currently there are 1.3 million district heating connections in Austria. The biomass content in district heating is 55 %. While the shares of heating oil and natural gas have dropped to 16 %. The number of households with gas heating and oil heating is also not insignificant and is 844,000 or 443,000. Different heating habits show in many regions: natural gas is used in Vienna for around 59 % of heat production, while wood heating in Carinthia, Styria, Salzburg and Burgenland are particularly popular.

climatic influences and heating behavior

The meteorological winter 2023/24 was largely above average. The heating level was 15.6 % below the long -term average, which indicates a higher average temperature level. This has reduced the energy requirements for the heating in the households. Nevertheless, Peter Weinelt, chairman of the Gas Heat (FGW) association, is of the opinion that a well -functioning heating system should also be designed for colder winter. He emphasizes that the expansion route must be energy -efficient and climate -friendly in the future, regardless of the prevailing temperatures.

The fossil heating systems, which are widespread nationwide - a total of 880,000 gas heaters and around 520,000 oil heating - are also the focus of the current debate about energy transition and sustainable heating solutions. Although the number of gas heaters increases in some regions such as Vienna and Tyrol, the oil boilers have almost halved since 2003/04 and are only installed every year. The decline in fossil systems is a clear sign of change in heating behavior.

Distribution of district heating connections

The number of district heating connections has more than doubled in the past 20 years and is now around 1.2 million. In urban centers such as Vienna, 47 % of households are connected to this system, while around 36 % of households have additional district heating connections in Styria. An essential feature of district heating in Austria is the high proportion of biomass, which in most federal states over two thirds of heat production. The exception is Vienna, where only 17 % of district heating comes from biogenic sources, which is mainly based on the use of natural gas.

Overall, there is a clear trend towards more sustainable heating systems, with wooden energies and district heating play a central role in the future heat supply of Austria.