Ignorance and uncertainty preventing new energy paradigm from gaining ground, reveals poll

ISH, touted to be the world’s biggest trade fair for innovative bathroom design, energy-efficient heating and air conditioning technology and renewable energy, held from March 12 to 16 at the Frankfurt Fair and Exhibition Centre, reportedly attracted 2,434 exhibitors presenting their new products in two main sections – ISH Water and ISH Energy, the fair organiser Messe Frankfurt said.

As an interesting but significant aside, the organiser revealed that based on a representative poll conducted on its behalf, the average cost of a single-family house for heating and hot water in Germany was around EUR 2,500 pa, with consumers wasting billions every year owing to obsolete heating systems, representing an enormous potential, as around half of the heating energy and, therefore, a considerable amount of money, could be saved through the installation of new technology. However, ignorance and uncertainty were two factors preventing the new energy paradigm from reaching the boiler room, the organiser added.

Although around 90% of respondents knew how old their heating system was, almost half of them underestimated the share of heating and hot water in their ancillary costs, and in actual fact, these costs accounted for around 55% of the total, Messe Frankfurt elaborated. The survey also reportedly showed that although many landlords and tenants were willing to invest in their homes, they shied away from modernisation projects. Building work and costs, difficulty in obtaining an overview of the supply side, and lack of transparency and security with regard to official incentive and subsidy programmes, were cited as the main reasons for this.

The trade fair, whose twin themes were energy efficiency and resource conservation, pointed to the fact that although energy efficiency can make an important contribution to the new energy paradigm, it was frequently ignored in the current discussion, which tended to focus on the increased use of renewable energies and the price of electricity.

“Unfortunately, lots of people are simply unaware of how much energy can be saved by using new technologies”, said Wolfgang Marzin, President and CEO of Messe Frankfurt. “In many cases, they could save up to 50% on their energy costs, which means, investments would amortise very quickly. But that’s not all. Such investments also increase the level of comfort and feeling of well-being. To this end, ISH presents a multi-faceted spectrum of highly innovative solutions.”