There are still numerous technically obsolete heating systems in German cellars. Of the approximately 4.3 million oil heaters that required metering last year, 75 percent were more than 20 years old, as can be seen from the annual statistics of the chimney sweep trade. Of the approximately 6.2 million gas heaters that are subject to metering, 65 percent were installed before 2002.
In total there are around 19 million gas and oil heating systems in Germany and a good one million heating systems with solid fuels such as logs, coal or pellets. This also includes around 8 million more recent condensing boilers that do not have to be examined for exhaust gas losses according to the Federal Emission Control Ordinance.
The chimney sweeps found almost 60,000 environmental violations in oil heating systems last year. Almost 1.9 million devices were checked. Of 2.8 million gas heaters checked, 35,000 emitted more exhaust gas than permitted. In the case of heating systems with solid fuels, there were defect rates of between four and seven percent.